Tag Archives: Harvard Business Review

Driven By Skepticism

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What makes you think you can teach us how to lead?

That is the question a student asks his college professor on the first day of the leadership course.    A fair and brave question to ask of the experienced teacher standing in front of the lecture hall.  If you were the professor, how would you respond?

Today I read an article (Who Can Teach Leadership?) in the Harvard Business Review by Gianpiero Petriglieri, a college professor in Organizational Development.  In the article he does admit that indeed no student ever asked this question.  Yet he is insightful to imagine such a question and how he would respond.

I too have taught leadership.  We sat in a conference room for days reviewing theory, best practices and assessments detailing our leadership style.  We were in pursuit of the ideal and I was the fool standing in front of the room.   Honestly I do not know how I would have answered that question years ago standing in front of that workshop group.   Today I would be excited to hear such a question, much like the author of this article.

How do we learn about leadership?  By leading.  By  following. 

By gaining one experience after another. 

Yet there is more.  We learn by our exposure to others who lead and yet are different from us.  Their style is different.  Their approach is different.  Their results are different.  This exposure allows us to check our own leadership practices and critically test ourselves.   A good leader-in-training is a skeptic.  He or she questions knowledge and beliefs as presented.  What is true for me?  What is my unique expression of leadership?

By the way, we are all leaders-in-training.  This skepticism should stay with us for life.    As the article points out, while skepticism is useful, cynicism is not.  Be critical and evaluate.  Do not prejudge and assume the worse.

What makes me think I can teach you about leadership?   Here is my story … the path I have taken.   What can you take from it?  I work to earn your trust and I listen to your story.   I commit to broaden your experience and then help you to pause, think and decide on your next step.  I walk this path with you.

I do not teach leadership.  We learn together.

We All Have Our Music

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I recently read a post on the Harvard Business Review website titled, “Choosing Between Making Money and Doing What You Love“.  I enjoyed the article as it reinforced a basic tenet for success.  One that we all have heard over and over, but so few of us actually listen to and follow: Do what you love and the money will follow.

For the authors of this article and their related book, they stress a key component of career choices today.  The stability of the past is gone and the unknown is the way of the road.  Predicting what is around the corner is more difficult.  In this environment we need to focus on our personal desire.  What is the burning flame inside us that shines on what we truly want to do professionally?  This desire will lead us to be more creative, more resourceful and produce our best work.

Okay got that (and yea, I did know that already).  Yet, with my focus on leadership effectiveness and development I have to be honest with myself and ask THE QUESTION.  Am I focused on my desire and what I truly love to do?   The answer is … yes, I am and no I am not.  Yep, I will explain more below.

Beyond myself, how well do I support my team in their pursuit to follow their desire and focus the work on what each person truly loves to do?  This article has a beautiful line that I grabbed for my title today, “We all have our music”.  Each of us have gifts and desires – the music – that if fully matched to our work will lead to great results.

The authors stress that while we need to be careful to not run off to follow our desire and music without some level of awareness of basic economic needs (Hey, they pull in Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs), all of us can take steps to move forward, listen to our music and work to bring it forth into the world.  If big steps are not possible, then small steps in the right direction do work.  In fact the psychology is well-developed here – take small steps toward your goals if that is all you can accomplish now and you will build momentum toward the big steps you will take later.

Why is this important for me as a leader?  I want to be authentic and true to myself – how else to lead others?  I do hear the music.  I am focused on leadership: mine and yours.  These blog entries are my small steps forward and yet, I find that my stride is beginning to widen.  Beyond taking care of me, I believe that one of my most important roles as a leader is to listen carefully for the music coming from others in my leadership circle.  When possible, I will place people in roles that match their desire.  Yet, honestly in some (many) cases the best place is not here; it is out there.  My job as a leader is to listen, then talk, and then listen some more to my folks to get them to hear the music – their music.  Who knows where it will take them.  Yet is it not an issue if people leave to follow their passion?

This reminds me of one of the worse behaviors I have witnessed from a leader in my past.  This is when an employee gives notice that she is leaving to take a new job.  She heard her music, it got louder and she found a position that allowed her to be her best.  How did the leader react?   With indifference and even anger that the employee is leaving.   Have you seen this behavior?  I have witnessed it several times over the years.  While it can be a shock when a good employee leaves, we need to support folks that want to follow their music and where it can take them.  We will be okay as others will follow to take their place.

Do you hear your music … beautiful, huh.

Damn, I Forgot Step One

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I have been blogging for a couple of months on leadership and I forgot to write about step one on leadership.  So what is this first step?  Hold on, we will get there.

First a question – where are you as a leader?  Do you have people reporting to you?  Are you more senior and have people reporting to your people?  Heck, do you have people reporting to other people who report to your people and so on?  To have anyone reporting to you is a huge responsibility (and a gift if you ask me).  This is great; it is what you want as a leader, people and responsibility.  Yet, no matter how many levels of people report up to you, you yourself have a person that you report to as well.

Step one of effective leadership is being a good follower.

In one article I found, R.E. Kelly writes in the Harvard Business Review, “the traits of a good follower are nearly the same as the traits of a good leader. Effective followers: manage themselves well; are committed to the organization and to a purpose, principle, or person outside themselves; build their competence and focus their efforts for maximum impact; and are courageous, honest, and credible. Leader and follower are roles, not people. Both can be capable, ethical, and independent”.

In the book “The Art of Followership” the authors have a great term for us to consider, “Courageous Follower“.  The courageous part is when the follower is strong enough to fully support the leader including constructively challenging the leader when necessary.  As a leader do you not want your followers to challenge you in a constructive manner that is only looking out for what is best for you and your organization?  Of course this is what any truly effective leader wants for his or her team.

As a good leader you can build the environment that supports good followers.  The tenants of Servant Leadership connect here as well.  Tell the truth to your people.  Honor their gifts and abilities.  Provide feedback with compassion.  This builds the environment where your staff can be outstanding and courageous followers.  As a leader and a follower, what can you do to assist your leader to be better?  Same as from the leader to the follower: tell the truth, honor the person, and provide feedback with compassion.  One can look at being a good follower and a good leader as a continuation of the same loop.

Simple. A good leader is a good follower.  Remember we move together.