Labrador Leadership

Many folks that want to move up to the next level in the leadership game continue doing a great job but never get the call.  Bob talks to day about actions you can take to get noticed. Liz Ryan in Forbes wrote about about some tactics here that can show you can be a leader.

The biggest mistake can be hiding behind the precept that if they wanted you they would ask you, that it is nice to be asked.  Well, indeed it is nice to be asked, but a leader will be more quickly seen when they step out of the box to take action that exhibits the core leadership skills.  Don't wait until you become aware that there is an imminent opening.  Start well before that.

Look Like a Leader Ready to Step Up

* Learn what the goals are of your team and your larger unit.  You may know what your own goals are, but a great question to ask is how they fit into the bigger picture.

* Observe carefully to learn what a supervisor in your unit does.  Don't ask...watch.  This will put you in a position to say that you have some knowledge as to what the job requires.

* Set and reach your own goals.  These are not the ones you've been given they you have investigated the "fit" of (although you better meet these), but rather stretch goals that you set yourself.

* Take on a leader-like project.  Liz's article talks about taking on producing a manual or an FAQ wiki.  One I really like to see is leading a brown bag session where you gather folks once a month to talk about technical issues of the job (like how we might improve processes)  or reading a business book together about soft skills.

Take on a couple of these and you start to look like a leader not only to your boss but also to those around you.

Leave a comment below to add your suggestions as well! (Isn't contributing like that a leader type of action?)

Liz Ryan's article can be found here.

Today Bob talks with an entrepreneur who has realized that the key is hard work, networking, and taking action.  Samuel Anderson joins Labrador Leadership to talk about his journey from sleeping in an insurance office to running three successful businesses, including his own consulting firm.

Samuel Anderson  met his business partner at Longwood College.  He know he wanted to be a business owner, but at the time the classroom just wasn't a source of fulfillment for him.  He left college to pursue his business dreams, and at the time no one in his inner circle was supporting this.  He lived in a spare room in an insurance company . He was a factory worker, a waiter, and a painter, all the time remembering the advice that to find out what you want to do, start with doing something you hate.

His first real job was as an intern at the Boys and Girls Clubs.  He was then a mental health worker in the field.  He knew he would have o work harder then everyone else because he would be competing against everyone entering the field with masters degrees.

If you need inspiration to figure out what you want to do, work at something you hate.  That will inspire you faster than anything.

Sam's advice to a newly minted MBA:  Hire people that are smarter than you.

He is currently in business with Jeremy Demaio in a company called Cycul.  The company provides laundry and dry cleaning services featuring home delivery and pick up.  The key to success he says is getting started. People today are willing to outsource tasks that are mundane and repetitive as laundry.  Universities are a target market for Cycul.

Other businesses he has underway involve bubble soccer and consulting.  These along with Cycul have been so successful he has been able to leave his corporate project manager job and chase these initiatives full time.  In serving his clientele he has come to realize that time is the most valuable resource that they have.

The universe has a way of getting out of your way when you are determined.

Sam can be found here:

mrpreneur.org

About me

Richmond Bubble Soccer

mrpreneur tv

Cycul

 

 

Recovering from acts of dishonesty from the previous administration and leadership team calls for special tactics and communication.  Bob and Alex talk about these and the challenges that you face.

Bob suggests that if the sum total of your power comes from external sources previously discussed like your position (your box on the org chart) rather than from internal sources (such as your referential power), and you seek more wealth and more power, your team and employees see this as dishonest.  The leader that follows a predecessor that has failed in this way needs to work in a way to slowly rebuild the trust.  You cannot expect employees to take you at your word.

Strategies For Rebuilding Honesty

* Don't take sides on the guilt of those that came before you.

* Beware of the increased use of the rumor mill.

* Do not take it personally when your team is frustrated.

* Temper honesty with consideration.

Kathleen Listman's article on rebuilding honesty is here.

In the aftermath of the New York Times article on the work culture at retailing giant Amazon, Bob talks bout the details of the article, Amazon's Fourteen Leadership Points, and CEO Jeff Bezos' response to the article.  There is also a rebuttal post to the NYT article from a current employee.

The article paints a picture of a work culture that attempts and accomplishes great things. Hiring the best and the brightest and remaining customer focussed has allowed them to accomplish or pursue the Kindle launch, drone delivery, and fulfillment in urban areas within a matter of hours.

The cost though is severe. The work culture calls for 80 hours a week as the norm, according to the article. There are also former employees who suffered cancer, miscarriages, and bereavements, and who generally felt they were penalized for not being able to work during those times.

Bezos emailed the Amazonians the day after publication saying that the article did not sound like the Amazon he knew and encouraging employees with issues to contact him or Human Resources. There is also a LinkedIn post from an employee refuting the New York Times article.

Bob summarizes his thoughts my citing the call for secret feedback and the annual 360 evaluations as symptoms of a counter-productive culture.  He also mentions that an organization of Amazon's size growing at the pace at which it is places a stress on the ability to develop qualified leaders.  Not being able to accomplish this can create these symptoms.

Links to Articles Mentioned

New York Times article

Jeff Bezos' email reply

Amazon's Fourteen Leadership Principles

An employee's rebuttal

A brief summary of this episode

In episode 59 Bob and Alex talked about how leaders could serve their teams well by giving a long hard look at liberal arts majors.  The source of that discussion was an article written by Dell intern Audrey Lecker.  Today she and Bob talk about this, China, and The Hustle.

As the summer wraps up, she has completed her internship at Dell and is returning to College Station and Texas A&M for her senior year.  She worked for the digital marketing technology department.

Audrey also discusses:

* Working at Columbia Records for three years in music video talent management;

* Traveling to China to study abroad as her first experience in a foreign country;

* Majoring in film with a minor in photography;

* Networking and exhibiting leadership by being able to connect in the moment; and

* Hustle, as in always being working.

She also shares her strategy for hitting the wall, of The Dip.   You have to take time to stop and reconnect for the sake of yourself and your key relationship.

Her advice to undergrads coming into the market is to not follow your dreams but follow your skill set.  Following the skill set will create successes for you and allow you to feel good, and empower you to feel some success.  Chase your dreams on the weekend.

The original article discussed on the show is here.

You can find Audrey on LinkedIn, Twitter, and her blog.

Communication is always noted as a key trait of successful leaders, but it is important to remember that there are often important conversations we need to have within our more intimate relationships. Bob and Alex talk about advice for dealing with your entrepreneurial partner.

Those of us with senior leadership responsibilities have our heads down every day executing tactics to pursue a strategy. Michael Wieser reminds us that sometimes we need the advice of counsel.

Leadership is in part all about being productive with a high level of efficiency. Doing the important things early in the day is generally a key. This is a big part of getting off to a good start. "Eating the frog first" is the addressing of the most urgent or the most difficult item you have to face.

The fact that leadership skills are needed not just on the job but in every part of our lives is evident this time of year as children and adults alike head back to school. Bob talks about what it takes to be successful both for the high school student heading to college and the working adult heading to school, perhaps for the first time.

The jump off to the discussion is an article in the New York Times found here. This is the advice that recent college students give to incoming freshman attending college straight from high school.

The strategies for working adult students are a bit different.  Bob talks about the factors that differentiate a student that successfully graduates and one that doesn't quite do as well as they want.

Five Success Factor For Adult Students

* Go to class.  Even after the worst day at the office ever, go to class.

* Connect with your professor.  Make sure they know who you are.  Participate and contribute.

* Your education is a Big Rock.  Listen to Episode 4 to hear what this means...it's important.

* Have a conversation with your support group.  Most importantly these are your friends and family.

* Come up with a cinematic answer to the question "Where will I work?"