Audio Tidbits

an Vugt, Mark, and Anjana Ahuja. Naturally Selected: Why Some People Lead, Why Others Follow, and Why It Matters. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2011.

If you're concerned about the amount of time your underlings spend around the water cooler - don't be. Gossip is an entirely natural and frankly ineradicable method of winkling out unsuitable managers, although you might not be so keen on office hydration if you're an office ogre.

Still, the fact is that we are ancient brains trying to make our way in an ultra-modern world; when shiny new corporate ideas rub up against our creaking, millennia-old psyches, the clash can make us feel uneasy. ... nobody wants workplaces to become havens of primitivism, but we do seem happiest when our working environments echo facets of ancestral tribal life - a close-knit structure governed loosely by trusted elders, in which every member was valued for his or her unique contribution to group living and survival.

Every human society that has ever been observed contains a minority who lead and a majority who follow, which suggests that this time-honoured way of organising human society is driven by an ancient imperative.

...we instinctively regard good talkers as being good leaders.

...the babble effect - in which the chattiest person in a group is regarded informally as the group's leader - further demonstrates the link between talkativeness and the perception of leadership potential .

So, while a participative style, which brings subordinates into the decision-making fold, might be productive in one setting, it would not be suited to a fast-moving environment such as a hospital emergency ward or on the battlefield. Someone who can handle a crisis might not be a person who can manage during a slow period.

...how we like to lead and how we wish to be led ...

Mathematical models show that, when uncertainty and complexity reign, distributed leadership actually works better than dictatorial leadership . In this picture, information is pooled from many group members and then a decision is made by averaging out, or a majority consensus.

...the five main dimensions of personality: agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience. Some psychologists have also recently identified a sixth trait, which is called honesty/humility and which may be particularly relevant for leadership.

Humans have a natural capacity to follow, just as evolutionary leadership theory would suggest. You could call followership the default setting of the human psyche. - why humans are natural followers is that by following a leader, you can note and learn the qualities required if you are to become leader one day. It's like on-the-job training. Following a leader not only raises your chances of survival in a mean world, but it is a tutorial in leadership that you can one day turn to your advantage.

...even a small dissenting minority can have an important effect on group unity. It takes only a small ripple to rock the boat...

We propose a new taxonomy of followership based on evolutionary leadership theory. It contains five categories of follower: apprentice, disciple, loyalist, supporter and subordinate.

For example, a charismatic CEO who champions his employees and is generous with his wisdom, while delivering profits that are shared among employees, is going to appeal to followers across the board. He will be a teacher to his apprentices, a source of inspiration to his disciples, a defender to his loyalists, a figurehead to his supporters and a provider to his subordinates.

In America, two-thirds of employees name their boss as their biggest headache, and there is no reason to think this dismal statistic differs wildly in other economies. Common reasons for disgruntlement among employees are the feeling they are being micromanaged; rude or abrasive managers; workplace indecision; and perceived favoritism.

The air is thick with tariffs, or is it? We hear about more and more tariffs and tougher and tougher negotiations. But is that the truth of it, the bottom line? I think not. I suspect the truer story is more and more taxes on each of us. That's the real negotiating strategy. Press play and come to your own conclusion.

Do you know someone who is proud of being his or her own person? By that, they mean that the social rules and customs that apply to most of us just don’t apply to them. They think that conforming and predictability are for everyone else but not for them. They are their own person and others will just have to deal with it. Let’s think about how that might work out over time. Press play and join me.

Do you see a committed relationship in your future or perhaps a renewed commitment to an ongoing relationship? If so, you may do well to listen and consider if you are actually ready to commit.

ockerell, Lee. Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From a Life at Disney. New York: Doubleday, 2008.

Each of the fifty-nine thousand Cast Members is trained to treat each and every Guest with the utmost care and respect. And they do this consistently because they are treated exactly the same way by the Disney leadership: with the utmost care and respect.

...they fail to appreciate the critical difference between managing and leading. I learned the hard way that managerial skills are absolutely essential for getting results, but they are not enough to drive excellence. Excellence requires common sense leadership.

...all everyone wants is to feel special, to be treated with respect, and to be seen as an individual.

...leaders have to set the proper tone by staying cool, calm, and collected under pressure. No matter what's going on, they have to focus single-mindedly on doing the best they can with what they have instead of blaming, whining, or wishing that things would change.

Just as great parents pay attention to everyone in their family, so great leaders pay attention to everyone in their organizations, bolstering his or her self-esteem and self-confidence at every step. If everyone feels recognized, appreciated, and listened to, everyone will want to take every opportunity to learn and grow.

Make me feel special. Treat me as an individual. Respect me. Make me knowledgeable.

Every individual in your organization should clearly and completely understand what he or she is responsible for, what level of authority he or she has, and how he or she will be held accountable.

Each layer through which information is filtered multiplies the inaccuracies and distortions, making it much more likely that something minor will snowball into a serious problem.

...The better your direct reports, the more of them you can have. Why? Because they need very little supervision.

...People don't always recognize the merits of change right off the bat. But if you persist, they'll soon come to see why breaking the mold is not only in the best interest of the company but in their best interest as well, and they may even follow your example by initiating changes themselves.

Whether they're called rules, procedures, policies, or operating guidelines, processes define how employees should interact with other people--coworkers, customers, and external business contacts--as well as with the physical environment and technology in order to accomplish specific tasks in the best and most efficient way. Effective processes make the routine things run smoothly and consistently, freeing employees to do the extra things that can turn a good business into a great business.

...You ignore the details at your peril.

..."We've always done it that way" could mean that you've been doing it wrong all along.

As a leader you have to keep your ear to the ground and listen for the sound of complaints from your staff. It helps to have a process in place to root out process problems and then follow up to make sure they're resolved.

Being poorly organized is one of the biggest problems leaders run into, and they don't always recognize it. Crises keep erupting around them, and they don't realize that many could have been averted if they'd been better organized in the first place. And the more fires they have to put out, the more they resist getting organized, because they can't stop long enough to take stock of their routines.

When a problem arises, seek out the process failure; don't just look for someone to blame.

If you don't appreciate, respect, and encourage those you lead, they'll give you only halfhearted effort or, worse, sabotage you or leave you high and dry. Great leaders know that, and they look for opportunities to give out the free fuel of ARE in an authentic, specific, and timely manner.

Be conscious of the impact of your presence and your interactions with people.

iseman, Liz and Greg McKeown. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2010.

It isn't how much you know that matters. What matters is how much access you have to what other people know. It isn't just how intelligent your team members are; it is how much of that intelligence you can draw out and put to use.

The Diminisher is an Empire Builder. The Multiplier is a Talent Magnet.

The Diminisher is a Tyrant. The Multiplier is a Liberator.

The Diminisher is a Know-It-All. The Multiplier is a Challenger.

The Diminisher is a Decision Maker. The Multiplier is a Debate Maker.

The Diminisher is a Micromanager. The Multiplier is an Investor.

Would your people describe you as someone who recognizes talented people, draws them in, and utilizes them at their fullest? Would they say they have grown more around you than any other manager they have worked for? Or would they describe you as someone who pulled them into your organization not as a talent to be developed, but more as a resource to be deployed and then left to languish?

What people do easily, they do without conscious effort. They do it better than anything else they do, but they don't need to apply extraordinary effort to the task. They get results that are head-and-shoulders above others but they do it without breaking a sweat.

"Ignore me as needed to get your job done."

Leaders most often know who the blockers are. The most common mistake they make is waiting too long to remove them.

While a Tyrant creates stress that causes people to hold back, a Liberator creates space for people to step up. While a Tyrant swings between positions that create whiplash in the organization, a Liberator builds stability that generates forward momentum.

One way he elicits the best thinking from people is that he knows what people are actually capable of producing. He knows everyone's job intimately, but he doesn't do it for them. generate rapid learning cycles.

Liberators don't just listen the majority of time. They massively shift the ratio, listening most of the time. This creates space for others to share what they know.

Diminishers give answers. Good leaders ask questions. Multipliers ask the really hard questions. They ask the questions that challenge people not only to think but to rethink. They ask questions so immense that people can't answer them based on their current knowledge or where they currently stand.

There are times when a leader is so knowledgeable and personally brilliant that it seems tempting for them to provide directives centered in what they know. However, in the end, Know-It-Alls limit what their organization can achieve to what they themselves know how to do.

The nature of the executive role makes it easy to stay rooted in answer mode and to be the boss. The first step in this journey is to stop answering questions and begin asking them.

Our research has shown that Diminishers tend to make decisions solo or with a small inner circle. As a result, they not only underutilize the intelligence around them, but they also leave the organization spinning instead of executing.

In preparation for the meeting itself, Debate Makers define what needs to be addressed, why it is important, and how the final decision is expected to be made.

At first glance, it appears that Diminishers make efficient decisions. However, because their approach only utilizes the intelligence of a small number of people and ignores the rigor of debate, the broader organization is left in the dark, not understanding the decision, nor the assumptions and facts upon which it is based. With this lack of clarity, people turn to debating the soundness of a decision rather than executing it.

Multipliers enable others to operate independently by giving other people ownership for results and investing in their success. Multipliers can't always be present to perform emergency rescues,

This one is just for listening. Kevin does his magic to brighten up our day, especially if it is still Monday where you are.

Whether the thirty tips from James are actually paths to success is an open question. Even so, they are thirty tips that help us come closer to that success we want. I think James has actually discovered thirty ways of making the same point, and that point is well worth five minutes to be sure we never forget. Please listen and remind yourself.

Thanks for giving me a few minutes to share a couple of thoughts about leadership and taking care of business. I found an interesting book that has some ideas worth consideration.

In Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, produced by the Arbinger Institute and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers in 2002, I discovered what I think is an important truth for everyone but especially for leaders. It starts with a simple but rather strange proposition.

Self-deception determines my experience in every aspect of life.

There you go. Let me share it again. I don't know for sure about you but I personally find the assertion very strange.

Self-deception determines my experience in every aspect of life.

Okay, I'll move on. The arguement works like this.

1. An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is an act of "self-betrayal."

2. When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal.

3. When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted.

4. When I betray myself, I enter the box.

5. Over time, certain boxes become characteristic of me, and I carry them with me.

6. By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box with me.

7. In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.

It might seem that if others are also in the box, my being in the box may not be all that big of a deal. It's a state I can easily justify or at least rationalize, since everyone is doing it.

So what doesn't work in the box? Why do I need to get out and stay out?

1. While I am in the box, there is little hope that others will change their behavior, attitudes or perceptions of me and of their world. I am and remain their justification for maintaining the status quo. I am the everyone in everyone is doing it.

2. In the box, doing my best to "cope" with others is limited by my perspective. I do things and behave in ways that are contrary to what I feel I should do. It doesn't feel right but I think I have no real choice, no reasonable alternative. It's nothing personal, it's just business. It's a dog eat dog world, either I get the bear or the bear gets me, that's just how it goes.

3. Leaving the box is not an option, or at least that's the way it seems to me. Sure, I could get out of the box but I definitely don't want to be out there by myself. Unless everyone is leaving the box or nearly everyone is leaving, I will just stay in the box where it is safe, even though it does not feel quite right to me. It's just business.

4. I know that in theary we could all sit down and talk this over but that is certainly not going to happen. Communicating about how we feel and what would be the right thing to do is just not how to take care of business.

As I said, it's business and talking about feelings, personal values and what we truly believe is just not how business is done. What would people think about me if I started talking about all that warm and fuzzy stuff? It's for sure I'm not interested in finding out.

5. Even if I thought climbing out of the box was a good idea, and I don't, I would need a whole new skill set. I am a business person and not the warm and fuzzy type. I have to focus on getting the job done and not on all that touchy feely stuff. I don't have either the time or interest it would take for implementing those new skills and techniques. It's just not me.

6. Changing my behavior is not something that is either needed or wanted by me or by those I do business with. We are all comfortable in the box or perhaps only think we are comfortable in there. My point is that it doesn't matter either way. It's how business is done and everyone is doing it.

There is not much point in thinking about getting out of the box anyway. I have been in there so long that I don't think I could get out if I wanted to. I don't have a clue about how I would even start.

With twenty or so Dems running for President and Trump fronting the Repubs for re-election, the every-four-year circus is upon us. Campaign season is underway. I thought we might all benefit from a short history of politics and a reminder that politics isn't always what the politicians tell us it is. Please press play and come to your own conclusion.