Tinelli on Leadership )
Ideas you can use today Issue 32 - August 31, 2007
In This Issue
  • Are You Listening? Really?
  • Military Experience and Leadership.
  • Woody Allen and Leadership.
  • Summer's ending, Fall's about to begin, and it's time for a bit of a respite over the Labor Day weekend before things pick up again.

    If, as you're preparing for the autumn onslaught, you're considering ways to develop leadership talent, give me a call. I can help.


    Archie Tinelli, Ph.D.

    Are You Listening? Really?

    Andre Gide once wrote, "Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again."

    Gide's remarks came to mind recently when I was talking with a client who had taken a new position in his company. I was concerned about whether the work I had done for him would continue, or not, under his successor.

    He said, "Even though we move around a lot, we don't make a lot of changes when we first take over a new department. Our tradition is to listen a lot and try to learn about the department before determining what we should do differently."

    How refreshing, and reassuring, and unusual. I've seen numerous instances of leaders who, when they take over a new group, make widespread changes immediately and, only later, if ever, recognize the folly of their premature actions.

    It's easy to see the reasons why they tend to take action before finding out what's really going on.

    In some cases, they've been told the group or business they're taking over is in serious trouble and needs to be fixed immediately. So, in order to meet the expectations created for them, they feel compelled to take immediate and visible action.

    In other instances, leaders want to put their stamp on the organization, to make sure their imprint is quickly and effectively made, so there is no question as to who is in charge. And, while it is important for subordinates to know who is in charge, sometimes the ways that leaders assert control and establish their influence is heavy-handed or badly implemented.

    There are other leaders who step in too soon because of inexperience - they're young and concerned that their lack of experience may be a liability that can only be overcome by asserting their influence quickly.

    And, in quite a few cases, the leaders, convinced of their own importance, establish a position of prominence and domination. Their arrogance contributes to their decision to wield power exclusively for their own benefit and to ensure that everyone always knows who is in charge.

    What each of these examples leads to is an unwillingness to listen, an inability to learn from others, and a lack of awareness of the importance of understanding the existing environment and context.

    It's easy to dismiss the leaders' unwillingness to understand as arrogance, or inexperience, or immaturity, or merely ignorance of the need to understand first. At times, there are other, less sinister, reasons for failing to listen.

    Sometimes, leaders are moving so fast, have so much to do, and are so concerned about getting things done that they don't take the time to understand what is really happening on the ground in their organizations. In these cases, the leaders have fallen into the trap of not paying sufficient attention merely due to the pressure they are under.

    Leaders who fail to listen, regardless of the cause, are setting themselves up for unforeseen consequences. And, for the most part, those consequences are negative. Why? Because they failed to understand fully the many and varied factors that led to the current situation.

    Odd, isn't it? The people who have the most to gain and have the greatest need to understand what's going on are, in these cases, the very people who understand the least.

    What can you do to be sure you're not one of them?

    Military Experience and Leadership.

    Last night, at dinner, two of our guests (a nephew and a client) bonded immediately because of their shared military experience.

    Both are Navy veterans, served on the same ship (albeit at different times), and are now working in the private sector.

    It was amazing to watch them quickly establish a rapport and a connection resulting from their common experience. They clearly were proud of and had benefited from their service.

    What is that magic in a bottle that veterans share? Is there anyway that leaders, outside of the military, can capture it? What do you think?

    Woody Allen and Leadership.

    Woody Allen said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." I had never thought of him as a leadership guru, but his words ring true.

    Leaders show up. They take action because they know that without their leadership things will remain static or go backwards.

    Leaders set direction, establish criteria, develop staff, solve problems, resolve conflicts - they take the actions that, if not taken, would undercut the ability of the organization to do its work.

    Are you showing up where you're needed now?

    Quick Links...