$Account.OrganizationName
The Leadership Advisor
"Helping Leaders Develop Leaders"
January 2009 - Volume 4 Edition 1
A Place to Start:
Sign Up
Modern Snowflakes

"Countless unseen details are often the only difference between mediocre and magnificent." ~ unknown

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~ Dr. Seuss

"We read to know we are not alone." ~ C.S. Lewis

"My wish with Outliers is that it makes us understand how much of a group project success is." ~ Malcolm Gladwell

"I will prepare, and someday my chance will come!" ~ Abraham Lincoln

Leaders
By Phil Eastman

For over ten years, I have been working with leaders. Some great, some not, some quiet, some loud, some pros, some amateurs. Regardless of the leader, however, in many of the cases I have had to dispel them of myths about leadership.

We have gathered the pervasive myths of leadership based on our leadership development work, and my contribution to our newsletter this year will be to share the twelve most common myths and their antidotes with you.

Let's begin with definitions to guide this series. Merriam- Webster's online dictionary has three definitions for the word myth. A myth is either:
1) a traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon
2) a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially : one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society
3) a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence

For our purposes, we will define a leadership myth as:
"A traditional and widely held belief about leadership that contains elements of truth but when put into practice proves to be fundamentally flawed."

Based on that definition, here is our list of leadership myths:
  • As the leader, I know what to do.
  • As the leader, it is my job to have the answers.
  • As the leader, my presence is not required; lending my name will be sufficient.
  • As the leader, I must frequently remind people that I am in charge to maintain control.
  • As the leader, my power comes from my position.
  • As the leader, I can protect my people from uncertainty by controlling information.
  • As the leader, I possess the vision for the organization.
  • As the leader, admitting my weaknesses will diminish peoples' respect for my leadership.
  • As the leader, leadership is something I do when I have spare time.
  • As the leader, I can delegate my leadership role to others.
  • As the leader, people need to hear from me more than be heard by me.
  • As the leader, the people I lead should adapt to my leadership style.

Leadership Myth #1:
As the Leader, I Know What to Do

I have encountered this leadership myth many times. In fact, I have even fallen prey to this myth in the leadership roles that I have occupied. The essence of this leadership myth is in the assumption that leaders necessarily have the most experience and expertise on their teams, and consequently are resident experts in what and how things are done. Just like all myths, the basis for this myth is in a truth that was evident in organizations historically. The way a person became the leader was to be the best at what the organization needed at the time. This meant that the way you moved up the ladder was to be the expert. That expertise was a matter of experience, and as such, the assumption that the leader has the expertise and the experience to direct activities was correct.

Today, however, we find that leaders often lead situations in which they have no particular experience or expertise. This is a good thing since leadership ability is not solely dependent on the context of the leader. This means that a leader could be effective in organizations and settings in which they have little or no experience or expertise.

The implication for leaders and teams is that the leader may not have the answers to the team's challenges and opportunities, but instead is responsible for guiding the team in a way wherein they come to their own conclusions.

I had this myth play out when I was a banker. I was brainstorming with my team one day over a particular challenge. During that session, I apparently said, "Here is what we should do." Following this statement, the brainstorming waned, and we dismissed the meeting. To my great surprise, the team came back together the following week to let me know that the solution I had come up with had not fixed the problem. I was confused. I did not think that I had provided a solution. My team, when they heard my emphatic statement about what we should do, took my comment to mean I was directing the team in a particular way. I had meant to be a contributor to the discussion, but because of my ignorance to the myth my team held (As the leader, I know what to do), my brainstorming became a directive. As my confusion was revealed, we talked about what had happened. It was at that point I realized that, just because I was the leader, some believed that I had a corner on the right answers to the team's questions.

I have since seen this myth played out in teams we have coached. There are two root causes for this myth's perpetuation. The first is when there an over-reliance on the part of team for the leader to have answers they do not possess. This way teams abdicate their role in problem-solving. Alternatively, this myth is perpetuated by leaders who believe that their rise to a leadership role conveyed on them superhuman wisdom.

Whatever the root cause, here are the solutions. If a team is reluctant to take up their role in problem-solving, then empower the team by teaching them to solve problems collectively with the leader as part of the team.

If the perpetuation comes from an overly confident leader, then an intervention will be necessary. Sometimes that intervention is proactive. When others see the leader not recognizing his own behavior, they engage a coach or mentor to hasten improvements. Other times the intervention is reactive and more painful. This occurs when the leader has a failure facilitated by the myth and consequently finds his/her credibility damaged, sometimes beyond repair.

This is a pervasive and dangerous leadership myth, and one that I hope you will tackle.

As a Leader, I Know What to Do is #1 in a series of leadership myths, Phil promises to have fun exploring this year.

Phil Eastman is the founder and president of Leadership Advisors Group, a Boise-based consulting firm. Phil combines more than 25-years of leadership experience with his passion for consulting, coaching, and teaching to develop leaders, build teams, and improve performance. It is his desire to enhance leadership effectiveness for all of his clientele.

Phil earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Organization from Idaho State University. He is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, where he is also an instructor. Phil also holds a Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary.
Outliers
By Lorene Rasmussen

Over the past two years, you have become acquainted with me through my journey to the Marine Corps Marathon and the interview series with local business leaders and heroes. I have made you endure shin splints and lunch hours; you have read about my encounters with cold weather and warm people. You have been privy to my internal dialog, whether running a ten-mile stretch of road or waiting for a guest. And you have learned that when I am passionate about someone or something, I use plenty of modifiers in my writing, such as: wonderful and fabulous, magnificent and unprecedented, genuine and most favorite . . . and . . . well, you get my point!

The human interest side of my articles has gotten rave reviews and quiet criticism. Of course, we welcome both since we like hearing from you. This year we have decided to keep the same format, but have added a new twist: a modified book review. I call it "modified," because the reviews will not be the formal, unbiased kind that you would read in Reader's Digest or the Harvard Business Review. Instead, they will be a dynamic interpretation of the authors' intent, filtered through a slow, passionate reader who runs even slower.

Phil and I are both avid readers and are frequently asked, "What have you been reading?" Without hesitation, we are both quick to recommend books and authors. In turn, we also enjoy hearing about what they are reading. C.S. Lewis is noted for saying, "We read to know we are not alone." And for me, I am never alone, especially if I am reading a great book in a warm coffee shop, next to a lively conversation.

Outliers - The Story of Success

Success, like love, is one of those terms for which everyone seems to have their own definition, regardless of how Webster defines them. And like love, success is a convoluted but delicious mixture of "opportunity, ability, and arbitrary advantage." *

The subject of success has occupied my thoughts, conversations, and bookshelves for as long as I can remember. My interest comes from a deep philosophical belief that individuals have the ability to choose, an innate need to live a purposeful life, an aspiration for success, and a desire to love and be loved.

In his latest book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell does a tremendous job weaving together statistical research and individuals' experiences to help de-mystify the various elements of why one person is extraordinarily successful, and why someone else who would be considered their equal may have missed the mark. Unlike other success analysts, Gladwell took into account family of origin, hometown, and date of birth, along with educational opportunities, IQ, and income.

When I first started reading Outliers, I put it down several times, but I was compelled to rejoin the author as he stripped away my "Pollyanna" view of success. It felt as if Gladwell was making the case that success was only for the hyper- intelligent (Robert Oppenheimer), the super-athletic (Michael Jordan), the naturally gifted (Bill Joy), and the extremely lucky (Bill Gates). While Gladwell may contend that extraordinarily successful people have been randomly dealt a very fortunate hand, he would also add that when presented with opportunity, they took full advantage of the circumstances that came their way.

Gladwell holds strong to the fact that there is no simple algorithm to success. However, he gives meaningful insights into the complex matrix of what can make someone successful, and presents a framework that can be applied in your own success journey, both personally and professionally.

When introducing the 10,000 Hour Rule principle, Malcolm dispels the myth of the overnight success. Most people who have been considered an overnight success took at least ten years of deliberate practice to achieve their greatness. He learned that people like Mozart, Michael Jordon, or even The Beatles, spent an enormous amount of time perfecting their craft. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Gladwell explains, "Deliberate practice is focused, intensive practice, with an eye on failures and addressing them before they become habits."

To become an expert, you need a lot of practice time, support, and encouragement. "In fact, most people can reach that number (ten thousand) only if they get some kind of extraordinary opportunity that gives them a chance to put in those hours." writes Gladwell. Whether it is parents, partners, or special programs, we must recognize it can not be done alone.

Spring- boarding off the idea that one cannot achieve success on their own, Gladwell takes a look at parentage and patronage and writes, ". . . in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." This is aptly called, The Matthew Effect, which comes from the Biblical reference, Matthew 25:29, "For everyone who has will be given more and will be given abundance . . . ."

This kind of success is the result of what sociologists call "accumulative advantage." Perhaps you or someone you know was at the right place, at the right time, and had the ability to bring everything together to see success unfold before their very eyes. It is as if the words of Abraham Lincoln became reality, "I will prepare, and one day my chance will come."

At first glance, The Matthew Effect may appear to be unfair, especially if you feel you may be lacking. Yet, upon a second reading, and certainly combining it with 10,000 Hour Rule, it gives hope and responsibility for us to support and encourage a loved one's talent or gift, as well as take the time to nurture our own.

Unraveling the fascinating elements of success invited Gladwell on a voyage of understanding why some cultures are better at math, while others are better at flying commercial airplanes. He shatters misconceptions that people with extremely high IQs have a better chance at succeeding than someone else who is ambitious, curious, and willing to navigate popular trends. And finally, Gladwell sheds light on the three things that makes most work satisfying: autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward.

The book's title, Outliers, was not a random choice; it has statistical meaning: a data point far from others in a set of values. Malcolm Gladwell introduces the reader to outliers, individuals whose unprecedented achievement "falls outside normal experience." He systematically tells the story of hockey players who were accidentally groomed to succeed because of their birth date; why you may not know the name of the smartest man in the world; and of his own Jamaica-born grandmother who has her own amazing story of success.

In retrospect, I am glad I wrestled through this book, reading it from cover to cover, visiting Gladwell's website, and discussing the unusual findings. I happily recommended Outliers to my new friend who recently shared his own remarkable story of success. Being the first college graduate from his Mexican immigrant family, he candidly shared his experience as a little boy working the fields in Washington State. He knew in order for him to be an outlier, he would have to engage the delicious mixture of "opportunity, ability, and arbitrary advantage." *

* Malcolm Gladwell's list from page 37.

How Do You Achieve Success? is #1 in a series of informal book reviews.

Lorene Rasmussen is the Partner for Business Operations which guides and supports the daily and strategic operations of Leadership Advisors Group. She combines a unique sense of fun and organization to insure operations run smoothly and that clients receive the highest quality service possible. Lorene earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Boise State University and is a certified Life Coach through Genesis Enterprises in Seattle, Washington.
Prosci Conference

Phil Eastman will be a presenter at the 2009 Prosci Global Conference - Best Practices in Change Management held April 6-9, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

This is the first conference of its type and will provide an opportunity for you to network with peers and listen to case studies to help you manage change in your organization.

You can learn more at by clicking on the logo. . .Hope to see you there!
Web-store
Leadership Advisors Group is pleased to offer HRD Press products in our webstore. For over thirty years, HRD Press has been providing training and human resource personnel products and services. They consistently strive to earn your business by providing:
  • Constant products and innovative solutions
  • Unparalleled breadth of choice - over 1,000 products and counting
HRD Press is a reliable first point of contact for virtually any training or HR challenge, by offering:
  • Training and hiring solutions, and custom product development
  • Licenses that encompass unprecedented collections of development capital, in customizable formats
Leadership Advisors Group helps clients achieve success through:
  • Competency based and character driven leadership development.
  • Comprehensive, flexible, and focused strategic plans.
  • Results oriented change management.

You are receiving this email from Leadership Advisors Group because you are a valued client, have requested information regarding our services, or you are part of a highly respected organization. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, please add phil@leadershipadvisors.com to your address book.

The New Year is already in full swing at Leadership Advisors Group. It is a privilege to partner with you in the midst of change, whether creating strategic plans, developing your leaders, or building your teams.

Thank you for allowing us to serve you!

 Itzme Fellows
Phil Eastman & Lorene Rasmussen
Leadership Advisors Group

phone: (208) 344-0471
Email Marketing by