ChoinqueCast

Our Academy Leadership group, a terrific team of former military officers who are also senior civilian executives, often share our stories. With his permission, I would like to read to you an email from Kevin Derbin, 1979 Naval Academy Graduate. It’s a powerful coaching story from Kevin and his wife Pam. Their words. Their story:

I wanted to share a very personal story about the power of our Personal Leadership Philosophy.  I hope you get a quick chance to read this and appreciate your busy schedules.

In January, Pam’s division of Humana was eliminated unexpectedly.  As always, things happen for reasons whether we plan for it or not.  As she began her search, it created a time of reflection and redefining purpose (as it has for many of us who are veterans of corporate America) while navigating the unknown.  She worked with Humana for over 10 years as a Case and Team Manager in their Home Health business. 

We recently started her quilting business (which she is very gifted at and award winning) but just being christened, it’s not quite ready for sea yet so she began to fish the leadership opportunities in Nursing in the Louisville area.  Her sights set on a similar position, she started casting.  She received several calls of interest (and not) but recently spoke with a national home care company with 2 opportunities as a Case Manager and a Director of Operations.  The recruiter told her that she was overqualified for the Manager role but referred her to the Executive recruiter as she felt Pam had the experience for that role.  Pam was shocked, a bit nervous and doubted whether she was able to fill the expectations of that leadership role.

Her first interview went well and made her realize that she did have the experience and ability to “move up”.  We spent the next week working on her Personal Leadership Philosophy which she felt would be important for her not just during the interview process but to solidify her own confidence and be prepared to be effective in the role should she get it.

During the next set of executive interviews, she proactively asked if she could share her Leadership Philosophy in response to a leading interview question which took the team by surprise as they had never heard of it.  They loved it and were impressed that she even had one.  The proportion of the discussion quickly shifted to leadership, values and examples of living those values.

Pam received an invite to a final round of interviews, in person, with the team that she would be leading and her prospective supervisor (whom she had already met). During this session, Pam again shared her philosophy informally with the team. Not only were they appreciative but were taken back by its candor and heartfelt message. 

She was offered the position with Amedisys (not surprising to me), a promotion from her previous role, and has reenergized her sense of self, her capability and how important her Nursing profession is to her.  She is excited for the position to start in May and looking forward to leading a team again.  Two points.

Had it not been for life throwing a curveball, she would not have proactively searched for a position of greater responsibility outside Humana.

Pam attributes sharing her Leadership Philosophy as key lever in not only putting her own thoughts and values into perspective but the power of having one and sharing it during the interview process was invaluable not only for its authenticity but that she had placed so much emphasis on leadership and its importance in the role already. 

In retrospect, having a Personal Leadership Philosophy doesn’t necessarily guarantee admission but it’s clear that few have heard of one, have one or even think about articulating one.  In the case of interviewing (that we get asked frequently about), it creates a conversation that turns focus toward an open discussion that most likely would not have occurred.  More importantly, a conversation that the one being interviewed controls and becomes the driver. Better yet the leader.

Side note – the quilting continues…and perhaps an opportunity at Amedisys for an E2L/PLP workshop and...!

Respectfully,  Kevin

Kevin didn’t need to share this with our Academy Leadership team. It could demonstrate vulnerability, or perceived weakness. On the other hand, what types of people do we wish to follow? What is your leadership philosophy? Leaders Share Their Stories

In Episode 23, we meet Dan Pontefract, Dan is the founder and CEO of The Pontefract Group, a firm that improves the state of leadership and organizational culture. Dan has presented at four different TED events and also writes for Forbes, Harvard Business Review and The Huffington Post. Dan is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, Gustavson School of Business and has garnered more than 20 industry awards over his career. 

Dan previously served as Chief Envisioner and Chief Learning Officer at TELUS—a Canadian telecommunications company with revenues of $14 billion and 50,000 global employees—where he launched the Transformation Office, the TELUS MBA, and the TELUS Leadership Philosophy, all award-winning initiatives that dramatically helped to increase the company’s employee engagement to record levels of nearly 90%. 

My friend and colleague Susan Packard recently sent me a copy of her new book Fully Human. My hope is that it reaches a larger audience than her first work New Rules of the Game, which was written primarily, although not exclusively for women. Her book is subtitled, 3 Steps to Grow Your Emotional Fitness in Work, Leadership, and Life. This reminded me of a sentence in my Personal Leadership Philosophy: At the end of each day, key questions include “Did I do my best? -- At work, at home, and at life.”

Where did this focus on Emotional Intelligence come from? It’s likely this started with Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking work Emotional Intelligence. We can think of Susan Packard’s work, as well as Dan Pink’s breakthrough book Drive and Mark Crowley’s wonderful Lead From the Heart, as how-to guides. Goleman’s research introduced us to Emotional Intelligence, and there are many worthy books that inform us how to put Emotional Intelligence, or E.Q, into action, and showcase the benefits of doing so. This also helps us cross barriers between generations, as Kelly and Bobby Riggs shared with us in Counter Mentor Leadership.

Do you still think primarily about performance and potential solely based on I.Q? If you do, you’re not alone. Consider a deeper dive into E.Q. Add some new leadership tools to your toolbox. Leaders Promote Emotional Intelligence.

In Episode 22, we visit Cornell University, and Professor Barry Strauss’ history and classics course “War and Peace in Greece and Rome.” Professor Strauss led a conversation between the two of us about Leonidas and Leadership, engaging the students as well. You can hear Barry & I pretty well, but it might be a bit of a challenge hearing the students. Enjoy the discussion and let us know what you think.

How many of you request feedback in order to learn and improve, or benefit from a 360 evaluation? This past week, at Cornell University, we went back a bit further and explored Leonidas I, the legendary warrior-king of the Greek city-state of Sparta. Most of us know of Leonidas I by way of Steven Pressfield’s wonderful book Gates of Fire. Or, we may have seen the movie 300. Both showcase the famous Battle of Thermopylae which pitted 300 Spartans against Persian King Xerxes’ army of hundreds of thousands.

What did we learn from the past? What leadership lessons did we discuss? Actually, quite a few. Barry Strauss, Professor of History and Classics, Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies, presented questions for me, that we could share with his students for group discussion.

Why is Leonidas an admired figure in modern culture? And why are we fascinated with Sparta, yet no so much democratic Athens? It seems today, as much as in 480 B.C. we are drawn to leaders who have a strong sense of purpose, who serve a cause greater than themselves. Think about our cherished stories of the proverbial entrepreneurs launching a new venture in a garage with nothing then creating something amazing that changes our lives.

We spoke about the differences between leadership and authority, and what makes a good leader. Repeatedly, the concept of leading by example, or leading from the front surfaced. All of these reasons attract us to Leonidas, as well as contemporary leaders and heroes.

When Strauss asked what kind of leader Leonidas was, Professor Sidney Finkelstein’s book Superbosses came to mind, and his three archetypes:

• Iconoclasts, or artistic types such as Miles Davis, who want to be the best in their field
• Glorious Bastards, who just care about winning, such as Larry Ellison of Oracle, or
• Nurturers, who guide and teach their protégées, such as Bill Walsh, legendary coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Many of us found Leonidas a combination of a nurturer, who cared for his solders, who easily was a glorious bastard in battle.

In short, there was a lot to learn thinking about and discussing Leonidas. Both about leadership and about history. We even discussed whether or not Leonidas  had a Personal Leadership Philosophy. Look for a future choinquecast of the entire session.

What lessons do you learn? Do you request feedback? How does that affect your leadership philosophy? Leaders Learn From the Past.

In Episode 21, we meet Lisette Sutherland, who describes herself as a remote-working German-born American living in the Netherlands who is today jazzed by the fact that it is possible to work from anywhere. Not just possible, but completely, productively workable — if you do it right. Lisette is a public speaker, workshop leader, and the director of Collaboration Superpowers, a company that helps people work together from anywhere through online and in-person workshops. 

The past couple weeks have included multiple Academy Leadership Energize2Lead, or E2L, Workshops. Intentionally, this workshop is offered first during multi-day Leadership Development Programs so that attendees can understand themselves and others at a much deeper level. One of the attendees on day one of an Advanced Leadership Course declared to the participant group “I was not a fan of the E2L Profile,” and further mentioned he had contacted his supervisor before the course informing her “I don’t want to complete it.” Somehow his supervisor persuaded him to complete the profile. Interestingly, this skeptical professional later admitted in front of everyone near the end of the first day of the program “The E2L Workshop spoke to me.” How about that!

So, what’s going on here? Good question. A thought that comes to mind is emotional intelligence. It’s an everyday phrase today, but wasn’t in 1995 when Daniel Goleman published the classic work with the same name. Emotional Intelligence, the book, is not just a groundbreaking work, it redefines how we understand intelligence, and perhaps more importantly, for a leader, how we connect with each other. Similar to Christine Comaford’s Smart Tribes, Goleman examines fundamental human behavior, at the physiological, and often instinctive, level.

Just like our E2L profiles. Understanding our instinctive needs, and the instinctive needs of others, is vital for any effective leader. Goleman revealed this to us. Our E2L profile and E2L Workshops explore this. Perhaps this is why the skeptical client changed his mind. He connected instinctively.

How well do you know yourself and your team? Are your connections more than superficial? Leaders Connect Instinctively.

In Episode 20, we meet Kristen Lowers and learn how the development of a Personal Leadership Philosophy has shaped her leadership journey, both at work, and in life. Kristen first attended an Academy Leadership Excellence Course in December 2013 and an Advanced Leadership Course in September 2014. She has sponsored numerous in-house leadership events for her teams and is certified to facilitate Academy Leadership Energize2Lead, or E2L Workshops. I’ve had the privilege to serve as Kristen’s coach and colleague since 2014.

An interesting series of leadership discussions started this month with a dynamic and intellectually curious colleague in Australia. Turns out we connected in May 2017 when I was speaking down under about Strategies for the Agile Leader, basing my talk on General Stanley McChrystal’s book Team of Teams. My colleague has a new role now, Director of Enterprise Agility at a well known global firm that works to help clients become leaders wherever they choose to compete. We connect on the weekend on WhatsApp.

In short, we started discussing what it takes to become a 21st century leader, and are considering a series of ChoinqueCast dialogues. Like many, my colleague has been put into a “leadership position” twice in his career. My impression is that he didn’t really buy into the idea of leadership having anything to do with a position. His thoughts turned to Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times, especially the part where Chaplin physically gets stuck in an assembly line machine — highlighting how organizations have treated people mechanically rather than humanely not so long ago. Much of his exposure to leadership so far has focused on processes, not so much people. Maybe times haven’t really changed that much.

Like Jim Collins, my colleague is very curious and wants to study business transformation in the United States, observing organizations and how they work. He wants this course of study to form his Ph.D. thesis. Following and possible contributing to this journey may be the basis for our dialogues. We shared a couple significant topics such as vulnerability, the hazards of a scarcity rather than abundance mindset, and use of a Personal Leadership Philosophy. Great 21st century leader traits.

Curiosity is both the hallmark of a coach, as well as a leader. Stay tuned for a series of dialogues on the ChoinqueCast. Leaders Connect Worldwide.

This past week we held our annual Academy Leadership Conference in south Florida. A lot happens over three full days, and we usually leave very energized. One of the reasons for this is that we share knowledge with each other.

This brings to mind   Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton’s The Knowing-Doing Gap, in that we frequently seem to focus much more on knowledge than doing, exemplified by a passage on page 16:

“But the view of knowledge taken by many consultants, organizations,
and management writers is of something to be acquired, measured,
and distributed — something reasonably tangible, such as patents.”

Administrative knowledge seems an accurate term for this, and we may often presume, that once possessed, this know-how will be used effectively, which in practice often does not happen. Think of most common initiatives undertaken focusing on cloud computing and data warehousing and support software installation, and the rise of corresponding organizational structures. The usual result: Adding technology without changing behaviors which only extends the Knowing-Doing Gap.

Pfeffer and Sutton emphasize the use of the word knowledge as a process rather than a thing as a helpful habit well worth developing. Or put another way, most companies:

“Overestimate the importance of the tangible, specific, programmatic aspects
of what competitors, for instance, do, and underestimate the importance
of the underlying philosophy that guides what they do and why they do it.”

What they do and why they do it. So, what energized our Academy Leadership team this past week? We shared stories about things that we did, ways we engaged with our clients, and most significantly, we captured the stories from our Leadership Excellence Partner award winners. These were the amazing testimonials, shared from the heart, by leaders who are transforming their organizations while working with an Academy Leadership facilitator, or partner. 

There’s an analog here worth reflecting on. We can likewise envision leadership, both term and practice of, as a verb, or as an action or process, rather than a noun or title. At the end of the week, the first cohort of our new Academy Leadership Advanced Leadership Course regrouped for our fourth day. We were processing day three at a coffee shop, and as with the conference just finished, the team was sharing stories, asking themselves how to focus on what really mattered in order to realize their developing future vision. It was a great opportunity to share knowledge from the conference completed two days before. 

During the conference, we held a panel sharing best practices when facilitating development of a Personal Leadership Philosophy. One of the elements of a leadership philosophy, and often overlooked is our leadership priorities. In short, what’s important, and in what order. A member from the panel shared how they ask a group, especially one typically juggling everyday distractions and interruptions (think about a culture of doing more with less): “What are the two or three balls in the air which cannot be dropped?” Fantastic answer and a fantastic story. The cohort immediately connected with the analogy, and we went further. The group then challenged each other whether or not these two or three priorities were mentioned in their respective leadership philosophies, and then whether or not the priorities were aligned.

That’s communication. That’s breakthrough. That’s leadership. Leaders cross the Knowing-Doing Gap.