Greetings! Like many Americans - and millions of others around the world, the absurd political wrangling over the weekend over raising the US debt ceiling was on my mind. So was the today's article for Monday Morning CEO, for which I had been preparing to write about how, as CEOs, what we exhibit in terms of what we tolerate is perceived as what we endorse by those we lead. By last night it occurred to me that this lesson in Deliberate Leadership would well serve our elected leaders in Washington. 
Being an effective leader is as much about who we are as what we do. Leadership is not just an on-demand, or as-needed skill, nor is it suited to just-in-time delivery; that's about management. Leadership is a component of our character: always visible to others. There are skills that contribute to how well we lead others, and as with any skill, we can constantly find ways to improve. While our leadership is present in everything we do - literally, how we lead our lives, it is in times of crisis that our leadership skills are tested. As we approached a crisis deadline over the debt ceiling, it was clear to many, that our leaders in Washington failed that test. What You Tolerate is Viewed as What You Endorse I have pointed this simple truth out dozens of times to the CEOs I coach. It is generally a conversation about whether or not - or just when to fire an employee. For most CEOs and executives, hiring and firing is the most difficult aspects of their job - and something most managers do poorly. The larger aspect of the problem is the process of finding and hiring good talent. In many cases - the problem is so large - or painful - that they avoid it all together and just keep poor-performing or even recalcitrant employees in the organization. I had Barry Deutch, the author of "You're Not the Person I Hired" present a half-day workshop to my Vistage CEO group last week. He is a true authority on recruiting and hiring talent - but even more valuable in identifying why most of us fail at this. He makes some excellent arguments for why hiring talent is critical and why we tend to fail. More importantly, he provides some proven strategies for improving both your hiring process and skills. Having worked with his approach, I can personally endorse it. Read about Barry and Download Free Tools and Information at his Website: http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/ The most persuasive argument for ridding your organization of problem employees lies in the fact that not doing so speaks loudly to those who perform well and even your best employees. Beyond the proof found in actual studies, it just makes sense that your top performers would prefer to work in an environment where everyone works as hard as they do. But more importantly, even the average employee knows that they see behavior that is obvious to leadership - and will reasonably deduce that because it is being tolerated - that behavior is actually acceptable. It is the classic truth that actions speak louder than words. We can talk about what our mission, values and culture are about - but who shows up to work each day tells the real story. Remember, that people volunteer to be led. When you fail to set and enforce standards, people lose trust in your leadership. People follow leaders because they have confidence in the direction you are leading them in. The lesson is leadership isn't about why ignoring or even delaying action on problems is corrosive to your ability to lead. The real benefit is that by being deliberate and decisive in addressing weaknesses and problems - your leadership currency increases with those you lead. There are always risks, and you will probably be wrong on occasion, but if you can handle that truth - and be transparent with your mistakes and take ownership of your failures, you will find that the people you lead actually have your back - and will pick you up when you fall. The issue in Washington over these past few weeks hasn't been about hiring or firing - though many wish it were - and that we could perhaps collectively fire the whole lot of them. Outwardly, the argument was over whether the oak is mightier than the willow; with at least four political ideologies with separate agendas all refusing to bend - and standing firm to see who would break first and who might be the last tree standing. The real problem, though, was the absence of any deliberate leadership. The President spoke to the wisdom of the willow; pleading with all sides to bend and collectively weather the storm. But what he said was overshadowed by what people saw. What he and congress actually demonstrated was a tolerance for the dysfunction that has eroded the trust and confidence of the American People - and to many of nations of the world. While the mechanics of a democracy demands the forming of consensus, what makes democracy work is strong leadership. The great leaders of the world have stood-up for the things they believed with all their might - and have turned political tides with that will. It seemed that no one demonstrated the courage or conviction to stand-up against the grinding of the gears and the screeching of the brakes and declare that this was going to stop- that the dysfunction was not going to be tolerated. There was ample opportunity for leaders to rise to the occasion and demonstrate who they are, versus what they want. But instead, our elected officials of every ideology failed to see that their own efforts to stand by their ideals on this one issue did little to demonstrate any real understanding of the larger issue. What was missed was the opportunity to build trust and confidence with the American People. Instead the process widened the divides and achieved little beyond legislative expedience. I think back to presidents Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. They both took risks to stand-up to the forces they faced and declared clearly what they would and would not tolerate. Vistage speaker, Pat Murray says it even more directly: You ARE what you tolerate. So what will you do with the next opportunity to test your leadership? Do the things you tolerate speak to who you really are? The real question might be, what kind of leader to plan to become. As always, wishing you a great and successful week ahead. 
Philip R. Liebman Managing Director, Strat4 Group Chair, Vistage International | 
It's been said that "It's hard to soar with eagles when you're surrounded by turkeys. It speaks to the notion of what you tolerate in the people you depend on. 
