Tinelli on Leadership )
Ideas you can use today Issue 46 - October 31, 2008
In This Issue
  • Hidden Treasures.
  • The Crucible of Work.
  • The Simple Truth.
  • It's Halloween, a time when goblins and witches reign.

    If goblins and witches (unforeseen problems and obstacles) plague your leadership development efforts, call me. I can help exorcise them.


    Archie Tinelli, Ph.D.

    Hidden Treasures.

    Recently, I read in a novel that, "every human being has a hidden story, and that if you were quiet enough and patient enough you could finally hear it."

    There are many leaders whose stories are like lost treasures, hidden away and destined to be ignored, unless someone takes the time to find them.

    Why is it that some leaders' stories are hidden? I've noticed a few reasons, among them:

    Some leaders believe their work should speak for itself. They fully expect that eventually their performance will be given the attention it merits without them having to do anything except just doing their job.

    Others believe that "tooting your own horn" is self- centered and arrogant. They don't want to be seen as being a braggart whose pride, according to the Bible, "goeth before a fall."

    There are some leaders whose introverted or unassuming personalities lend themselves to being quietly ignored. They are left in the backwaters of the organizational landscape, unheard from, working in relative obscurity.

    The organization can add to the dilemma by taking some leaders and their projects for granted, failing to acknowledge adequately the contribution they've made, and by allowing both the leaders and their projects to be rarely seen and barely heard.

    Organizations also overlook leadership talent, expecting their future leaders to be like the current ones - aspiring leaders remain in the backwater if they have different backgrounds, are from different cultures, have personalities unlike the existing leadership, or have had unconventional experiences.

    Why is this a problem? Isn't it just the nature of business to favor some people and not others? Or, as my mother used to say, "Archie, don't expect life to be fair."

    The problem is that in today's business environment, when the challenges and pressures are so great, we can't afford to overlook the leadership talent that we have, but don't utilize fully. Nearly every business I know is crying out for more leaders; is doing everything it can to identify, develop, recruit, and deploy more leaders; and suffers from the inability to have as many qualified leaders as it needs.

    Overlooking existing leadership talent in the business exacerbates this problem.

    What can be done? Here are a few thoughts to consider:

    Open up the process of identifying and developing talent - cast a wider net.

    A few years ago, I led a leadership development project that included more participants than the executives had initially intended. They found, to their surprise, that some of the people they would have rejected ended up being the most promising successors. Let people recommend themselves, allow team members to recommend colleagues, increase the number of participants beyond what you would originally have considered, and reach lower into the organization than you had first planned.

    Look for people unlike you.

    Most leaders look for people like themselves when they search for leaders the business needs. Consciously identify talent with different backgrounds, different personalities, and different skill sets to overcome the tendency to choose only clones of yourself.

    Focus on results.

    Odd as this may sound, many leadership development initiatives begin with only bits and pieces of information about the people who are being selected for development. All too often, a few anecdotes from senior leaders form the basis of the decision about whom to choose. Actual results and consistent performance, if they are talked about at all, remain on the back burner. Spend more time identifying and analyzing the results and achievements of prospective and aspiring leaders.

    Include a devil's advocate.

    Find someone to counterbalance the tendency to limit and restrict the list of candidates. I'm often used as a devil's advocate, as I bring an outsider's perspective to the process of identifying talent. Find someone in your business, or from the outside, who can serve in that role and who brings a fresh, unencumbered or alternative perspective. One of my clients asked a retired executive from the business, who was known for his interest in and ability to develop talent, to become the executive sponsor for the leadership development program in order to identify a broader talent pool.

    The Crucible of Work.

    Joseph Ellis wrote that George Washington's presidency was "the crucible within which the political personality of the United States took shape. In effect, the character of the man and the character of the nation congealed and grew together."

    So true. The challenges in business constitute the crucible that causes leaders and their organizations to influence one another for the better. Leaders learn from their challenges at work and organizations benefit from their leaders' actions.

    The best outcome is when both leaders and organizations are better off as a result of that interaction, specifically, that they "grew together."

    How are the needs of the business and your own development interconnected? What else can you do to use the crucible of work to forge a better business and become a better leader?

    The Simple Truth.

    Oscar Wilde said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple."

    The same can be said for the problems that leaders face today. Many of the problems leaders deal with today are complex, complicated, and gnarly.

    Too many leaders fail to investigate problems sufficiently in order to understand them fully and to identify the root causes. This leads to patchwork or temporary solutions that ultimately fail to solve the problems.

    Which of your current problems requires a deeper level of understanding in order to find an effective solution? What information will help you determine the root cause(s)? What steps will you have to take to get the information you need?

    Quick Links...