Leadership Masterclass

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Governor Cuomo just delivered a masterclass on crisis leadership in his briefing on the state of work in New York State. 

His briefing was clear - detailing facts when they are facts and his own opinion when it was his opinion. He kept to the script of what he planned to say. He focu

He focused on care - presenting facts and plans he highlighted and spoke with compassion and care for those affected.

He was calm - he answered questions and presented real solutions using common sense in his communication.

He was confident of his team - when asked a question he had no answer to, his response was, we should look into that. He looked around at his team and they had an answer to the question which he did not know an answer to (nor did he know they had a plan for it either). After a clear response from his team, he responded with support of their answer, humor in the midst of it and did not steal the show from the one who spoke.

Throughout these briefings he has clearly stated that he is not running for any political office other than the one he currently holds - governor of New York. He has made these statements consistently to be clear that his decisions and comments are not to gain political currency for a future presidential run.

From the outside watching in, in my opinion, he is leading brilliantly.

Crisis Leadership

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I am busy reading Crisis Leadership by Gene Klann. He lists core skills for leaders to use before, during and after a crisis based on years in the military.

At the same time, we are all getting to see our leaders, in all spheres, attempt to do what he writes about in his book. Unsurprisingly, there is a spectrum from miserable failures to confident successes.

Klann talks about three core leadership skills:

• Communication
• Clarity around vision and values
• Care for people

How would you rate your leader on those core skills? 

What could they do to improve?

How could you let them know to help them?

IT...(not about the clown)

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Craig Groeschel wrote a book about IT in 2008. From the preface of his book, he describes how you can tell when an organization has IT and doesn't. You know when a leader has IT, or doesn't. You know the feeling of working in an environment that has IT, and the drudgery of working in an environment that doesn't. When IT is present, there's a buzz, a vibe, a recognition. And when you begin to feel IT, IT energizes you, inspires you and moves you.

I'm beginning to feel IT. Things are happening to me professionally and personally where I am beginning to experience IT. I'm looking forward to the ride, excited about what might happen and anticipating some incredible manifestations of IT. I am beginning to feel a quickening of my spirit, a clarity of focus, a desire to work harder and growing passion.

IT is hard to describe or clarify...but if you know that feeling, then you know what IT is.

No, it's not about the clown, IT's about guts, energy, passion and drive. 

If you have IT, lead with IT powerfully.

If you follow someone with IT, support them deeply.

If you don't have IT, search for IT without ceasing.

IT will change your life.

Join me in searching and holding on to IT.

P.S. To all those with coulrophobia, I apologize, but I doubt you read this far...Maybe someone can say sorry for me!

Nelson and Martin

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It has been two days since Martin Luther King Jr Day. As usual, my comments filled my feeds and news about activities, comments, quotes and thoughts about the impact of Reverend King. And as predictably, criticism of people's support and quotes was present too.

As an immigrant to the US, my history is of a different black man who fought for justice and civil rights: Nelson Mandela. To my knowledge they never met, but they fought for the same things: dignity, equality, justice. They find commonality in the phrase "free at last" where I believe President Mandela quoted Reverend King when he was released. Their fight was similar, but their outcomes completely different. Reverend King was assassinated, while President Mandela was imprisoned, released and then elected president of the very country that imprisoned him. 

Just like the responses to Reverend King this past Monday, so too, President Mandela was quoted and referenced too. In a similar vein, people also brought to attention all the unpopular views and statements of President Mandela.

Here's an example: people like to quote Reverend King's dream speech. Others critique by quoting Reverend King's views on capitalism. President Mandela is often quoted for his statements about dying for a cause while others critique him for being a terrorist.

This has bugged me: not because they are inaccurate, but because I'm not sure of the point. Let me pose my...irritation seems the right word...as questions:

• What is the end goal of criticizing someone's support of of who you support?
• Is it possible that you can support one part of a person's philosophy without agreeing with all of it?
• Do we allow people to grow and change, even if that change is frustratingly slow?
• Why criticize their change and growth in support?
• Is it possible to celebrate these two men without that celebration becoming a weapon of division, which, I think, neither would have endorsed?

These are just my thoughts this week on this. Happy to hear your thoughts, even if they are criticisms.

As for President Mandela and Reverend King, I think they would have been great friends. In fact, I would love to have been in a room over dinner listening to them talk. Based on the fact that they both professed faith in Christ, I believe they might just be sitting chatting together, not as Reverend and President, but as Nelson and Martin.

If we listen closely, we might just hear their echoes and find some wisdom for our day. 

Speak on, Nelson and Martin.

Do you want to influence people in your life? Here is one simple step.

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I know I have failed to do it. I'm sure you have to.

It is the simplest step to influencing people today and it blows my mind that people don't make use of it more. 

Show up.

That's it. 

Not hard. No special skill required. No training necessary.

Show up.

• When a kid is playing a sport: show up to their game and they will be willing to listen to you.
• When an adult is going through a tough time: show up and they will feel comforted.
• When your community gathers show up and you will be an influence to the culture of that community.

Here's a few real life positive and negative examples:

There is a group of women who regularly gather to support and encourage each other. Those who show up regularly continue to experience support and encouragement, but they also influence the support and encouragement given.

There is a pastor who offers to pray for his staff every week at a set time and almost no one shows up. They don't get to be influenced by that pastor, but they also don't get to influence that pastor through their requests and prayers.

In the church world, regular attendance has declined from 3 times a month to once a month, but people want to influence their communities of faith. Showing up is the key to doing it.

People bemoan politics but fail to show up to vote - probably one of the most significant impacts of showing up.

In my own family, one youth leader won the respect and commitment of my own child by showing up and listening over ice cream. That leader now has influence in his life, positive influence that I value.

If you want to influence your boss, listen to the things they say are valuable to them. Especially pay attention if they talk about programs, events or activities that they value. Show up to those things (if appropriate), or at least ask about them. While they may know that you are doing it to influence them, they will notice the effort. You might even like what you go to, but at the very least you will learn what they like and more about them. They will notice you and you will learn how to lead up better.

That's it. One simple step to influencing people, especially your boss.

Show up.

Cat Litter and Bad Leadership

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I was wondering around a wholesale store today trying to find the cat litter. In fairness, it isn't my regular chore. I usually do the grocery shopping, but not the wholesale shopping. So the aisles were foreign to me. I spent ages wandering from one row to the next trying to find cat litter. The aisle titles gave no hints about cat litter. They didn't reveal hints or suggestions. I was lost.

After at least the fifth time around the store I looked up and saw the aisle titled "Pet Care". I felt...foolish! I had walked past that aisle five times...at least. I was looking for "Cat Litter" and all the time the data was there, but under another heading.

Leaders have a habit of doing that...focusing themselves on what they want, while missing what is there. It's a classic example of the blind spot (in this case literally). I wanted cat litter, and no matter what I saw in some aisles, I went back again and again, trying to wish the boxes into existence. Leaders do this all the time with their plans, visions, goals and strategies. They try to force what isn't there into existence and ignore what is already there that will help.

I remember Bono saying this once, many years ago: why do I keep asking God to bless what I'm doing. Instead, why don't I find what he is already blessing, and do that.

Leaders, more than ever today, our task is to pay attention to what is already there, and work with what exists, rather than forcing what doesn't. Our blind spots wreck our plans. We need people who will point them out to us so we can find what is already clear and start succeeding at what is needed.

Do you have someone who is your blind spot revealer?

Anyone care to share what mine are?

And yes, don't go shopping with me for cat litter!

Quicksand, quagmire and quag: a leadership rant

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Making decisions as leaders is incredibly complex today. 

Personally, I, sometimes, envy those leaders who seem to make decisions so easily. They seem certain, clear in their minds about what is right and wrong, living in a two-tone world of black and white. They lead forward with what some call decisiveness, vision, boldness and power. 

And they are often wrong, and the trail of the bodies behind their decisions are left for others to clean up.

These leaders, aren't clear, certain or decisive. They are apathetic, self-serving and ignorant or unwilling to learn. They don't lead well. At least, not in this new world.

We live in a world where decision making needs to factor in a variety of issues: culture, world-views, facts, impact (global, local, personal and personnel), and outcomes. Some of those issues are easy to determine, others are much harder, and a few are completely hidden from us.

Savvy leaders today take in as much information as they can. Then they empower the right people to make the decision. This is a critical step. Leaders don't make decisions. That is not a philosophy that works today. Leaders empower the right people to make the decision. And sometimes that is the leader, but more often it is the person most impacted by the decision, or most knowledgeable, or most aware. Empowering the right people is essential. Then, together, leader and team step with caution into the future. 

I am often wary of leaders who claim to know how to solve problems and lead with certainty. Even more so of consultants who claim this. I am more open to leaders who claim the "I don't know" space.

In light of these complexities: how would you advice leaders to guide their teams and organizations as they seek to make decisions?

Leadership and Power

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In a recent conversation I referenced what I called "an old adage about people and power". Well, as I tried to share this adage, I realized I wasn't thinking of an adage, but rather an observed phenomenon. Sigh, the brain goes fast in your older years!

Here is the observed phenomenon: if you want to see a person's real character, give them power.

And we certainly see that in our leaders today. From local club leaders, coaches, selectors to national leaders and global influencers, we see their character in their use of power. Some serve with humility, others shine with success. But then, there are those who lord it over their subordinates, and still others who steal the light of others.

Power is an addictive drug. One to be wary of and treated with great respect.

There is one truth, among others, that I notice in the world about power.

Power seeps away.

Every leader loses power eventually. Wise leaders plan for this seepage and prepare others to take up the mantle in their departure. Unwise leaders try to hold on to their power, often in tyrannical ways and diminish their legacy, their organization and their followers in their wake.

If you are a leader: share the power, plan for its loss, and pass it on sooner rather than later.
If you want power: beware the addictive drug, reach for it tentatively and bring others with you to stop it from controlling you.
If you are a under the leadership of one with power: you are not powerless, hold them accountable, give them honest feedback and look for those who lead with power well.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

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I posted this on Facebook earlier, but it is worth repeating.

Melissa Linehan is a powerhouse of humility, love, compassion, care, hard work and grace. She recently received an award, chronicled in an American Way article. She is also glass ceiling breaker: Melissa "...is the first female general manager of sales in Pernod’s history" (American Way article).

And here's the point, you can be too. Don't wait, don't get permission, do it even in fear, break the ceiling stopping you. The world needs you to put your best foot forward. We need you to. So please read this article about Melissa, but then with courage, step out and make a difference.

https://americanway.com/en/features/2019/10/secret-scotch-society

P.S. I hope so many women break the glass ceilings above them that it no longer exists.

Words Matter: Reflections on the KY Election Results

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Leaders, your words matter, and people see through the spin...well, maybe!

This is not about politics, it just uses a political event as an illustration.

The Facts

This Tuesday, state elections were held around the country. In Kentucky, the governor race was closely contested. The Democratic candidate, Andy Beshear, holds 49.2% of the vote and the Republican candidate, Matt Bevin, holds 48.8% of the vote. The Kentucky secretary of state, a democrat, declared Andy Beshear the winner. Matt Bevin has yet to concede. A recount may still be declared and a recanvass has formally been announced by Matt Bevin.

The reporting of this event is a lesson for leaders in messaging and the interpretation of facts. Various news sites reported differently on this race but I want to highlight the two I watched:

The Spin

CNN hosts (Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo) and some of their guests, while not declaring a winner, speculated what the race means. They saw it as a loss for the Republican party, a win against what one guest called "Trumpism" and a revelation on the lack of President Trump's power and influence.

Fox News host (Laura Ingraham), and some of her guests, while not declaring a winner, speculated what the race means. They saw it as a win for the President and the Republican party, and a show of the presidents power to take a disliked governor and turn a race that should have been a 10 point loss into a closely contested race.

You, the leader

Each news source put their spin on the event. Each told a narrative. None of this is new, but it is a revelation of how leaders spin the facts to tell a narrative. It is a trait that we need to be careful with as leaders. Why? Because most people see through it, and they are getting sick of the spin (...well almost...but more and more are). They are hungry for honesty and the ability to make their own conclusions.

Our words matter as leaders, and how we tell a story with those words matters even more. What we say, how we say it, the emotions we evoke with those words, it all matters.

Leaders: What narrative will you tell about events in the areas where you lead? Your followers are watching, and it bears repeating. They are hungry for honesty, and are intelligent enough to make their own decisions.

Followers: Decode the narrative of your leaders and press for the brutal facts. Don't let leaders spin their way to a narrative of their choosing. Be hungry for honesty and use your intelligence and make your own decisions. Hold leaders accountable and they won't be, change them. You actually have the power!

Throwing The Whole Kitchens Sink At It

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What happened off the field in the Patriots vs Browns game is a window into the leadership culture that causes the results on the field. But, I believe Kitchens leadership might be more relevant for the future. It's just that he does it badly.

Culture is a result of what you choose to do and what you choose to tolerate as a leader. That is the premise of leadership podcasts like Craig Groeschel and others. I agree.

This past week's Browns vs Patriots game is a classic example of that. 

Freddie Kitchens is the coach for the Cleveland Browns. It seems he allows his players space to find their level of commitment. Commenting on the loss to the Patriots he said the following:

"We actually beat ourselves with turnovers and penalties. We expect to clean up a bunch of that this week. We have been focused on trying to clean those up and it has not gotten done yet so we got to continue to harp on it. Each individually has to make a commitment to doing that on an everyday basis. That is where it is going to start because you have no chance to win a game if you do those things, which is very evident." (https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/freddie-kitchens-talks-penalties-nick-chubb-and-more-press-conference). 

They have been focused on it since training camp with little change.

In a separate issue, he commented on the fines players have received for complaining about officials, showing another leadership decision about how players comment publicly:


"If they want to give their money to the league, they can do it. It does not matter to me either way. I would like for them to keep their money, but I also like our guys to be passionate about what they are doing. They have a decision to make, I guess." (https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nfl/browns/i-like-money-cleveland-browns-coach-freddie-kitchens-doesnt-talk-about-officials-to-avoid-fines/95-3367af8b-be4d-47fd-bb0a-aba217724e99)

Players need to decide.

The culture he has created is one where players have decisions to make, about when, where, and how they show up. He is clear that he wants more, but cannot seem to get it. It's a bad form of collaborate leadership and the results are showing. The Browns have a losing record.

Compare that to the Patriot coach, Bill Belichick,  who doesn't show any form of collaborate leadership (at least from the outside). Players show up with excellence or are cut (consider the recent cuts to Nugent, Gordon and others). Players who speak out of turn lose playing time or are cut. They have strict guidelines about what they say and how, with stringent enforcement. He shows a successful form of transformational leadership. Patriots are undefeated so far this season.

Two different cultures with clearly two different results.

BUT,  I believe the form of Belichick leadership (transformational but dictatorial) will be less successful in the future while Kitchen's style (collaborative leadership) will be more successful. Kitchens just has to do it better.

Collaborative leadership as a style does not mean democratic decision making, or tolerance of bad behavior. The sooner Kitchens works this out the sooner I believe the Browns will start winning.

Here are two examples of what I mean:

1. Decision making: transformational leaders make all the decisions. In fact, this is often seen as the very skillset that makes a leader a leader. Leaders make decisions. So say multiple books, articles and conferences of the transformational leadership arena. Collaborative leaders don't deny the need for decision making, but where transformational leaders make the decisions, collaborative leaders know who needs to make the decision and empower them to make the decision.

2. Boundary setting: transformational leaders set strict boundaries and enforce them ruthlessly. As shown above, Belichick sets clear rules about media engagement, player code of conduct etc. And failure to follow those rules is met with strict punishment - benching Butler in the Super Bowl for example. Collaborative leaders also know the importance of boundary setting. But where the transformational leader decides what the boundaries are and enforces them as he/she sees fit, collaborative leaders work with the team to decide what the boundaries are, and how they will be enforced. They also determine who enforces them, together. This might mean that in a specific instance the collaborative leader is tasked with enforcing the boundaries and from the outside might look no different than the transformational leader. But it's those on the inside who know the difference and that is what matters most.

While good transformational leaders build great movements, most of those movements die when the leader dies. They are movements for a time. Collaborative leaders, when done well, build movements that last beyond their lifetime or tenure. I believe we need more collaborative leaders today. People who will build great movements in education, business, medicine, science, government and religion.

We need movements building a better world.

We need collaborators not tyrants.

We need you!

We need you to rise up as a leader and make a difference where you are, because leadership is a skill that can be learned. Stop looking for the leader who will make a stand and start being that leader now.

Lead where you are.
Working with those around you.
Start a movement and change your world

Woman Rise Up and Lead

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In light of the recent posts about women in leadership and the responses of some people: I was asked for my biblical case for women in leadership.

Well, here it is, a document I wrote many years ago, but I edited for today. 

My Biblical Case For Women in Leadership

In pursuit of a legacy

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Leaders like to leave legacies. John MacArthur hoped his legacy would be about 50 years of teaching the Bible and that "truth matters". At least, that was the plan. At a conference designed to honor him for his 50 years in ministry, he was asked to play the respond to one word game.

In a previous occasion he was asked to comment on Steven Furtick, to which he replied - unqualified. That didn't turn out well, and Steven Furtick wrote a best-selling book with that title. This time MacArthur was asked to comment on Beth Moore. What followed was one of the most disheartening, childish, immature, dehumanizing and mysogynistic displays of character I have ever seen. It was terrible and disgusting. Some have even said sinful.

I struggled with what to write, and thought for hours about how to respond to what was written. I ended up choosing to encourage the women preachers and leaders I know. So I want to rewrite what I wrote here:

To all the women preachers and leaders I know:

Stand up.
Rise up.
Lead.
Preach powerfully.
Be better than you have been treated.

Men, support them, encourage them, cheer them on louder than ever before.

I don’t agree with the audio content of John MacArthur nor do I agree with the chuckles and laughter that accompanied it. Whether it was really John MacArthur or not does not change what was said or how others responded. And if it was fake I don’t agree with the person creating it.

To women leading and to women everywhere I am sorry for the way you have been treated. To Beth Moore specifically, I am humiliated by my gender and sorry for your persecution. I pray it stops and I pray for those doing it, that God might deal with them as he sees fit and that they would stop too.

So to the amazing women leaders I know - lead on, preach on, stay the course, be incredible as you already are.

John MacArthur, you thought your legacy was going to be about 50 years of bible teaching, instead it is going to be about your sexism and two simple words "go home".

As for the woman I know, may your legacies be powerful and incredible, carved into the lives, careers, companies and people you change because of how amazing you are. May that be your response - great leadership, inspired teaching and changed lives.

Flawed Leadership in a Hyper Critical World

Our tolerance for flawed leadership is getting lower and lower (although not in all spheres). We expect our leaders to be perfect and when they are not, they pay a high price personally and the organizations they lead pay an even higher price sometimes.

I was at a conference yesterday where I heard the same refrain about leaders in the church that I have heard for years: as the pastor goes, so goes the church they lead. I don't agree - or at least, I don't agree that it has to be like that.

Simply put, we are placing too much weight on the shoulders of our leaders and pastors when we say that the future of the organization depends on them. True, they operate this way at times, and as followers, we let them. But it can be different. And perhaps it is time for it to be different.

A quick review of judges will show an ever declining level of moral, skill, faith and character in the judges selected to free Israel. God seems to use whoever is willing, and sometimes at very high personal cost to that selected leader (Samson died for his judgeship). If God uses people no matter their flaws, perhaps we could help our leaders to lead no matter their flaws.

The future strength of an organization, church, movement or industry does not need to depend on the leader. It can also depend on the followers, the environment, the culture and the tenacity of each of these groups to push through towards their goals and objectives. Organizations rise and fall because leaders, their followers and their context all play a role in that rise and fall.

So, leaders, stop taking the weight all on yourself.
Followers, start picking up some weight for the future of the organization.
And everyone, pay attention to the context around you, it plays a role too.

What do you think?