Women in Leadership: Working with the Good Ol’ Boys

A quick trip down the road to Auburn took me to the Women’s Leadership Institute. The Institute, established by Auburn University, has the distinct purpose of taking a proactive step to close the gender gap found for women in politics, corporate boardrooms, the administration of business and our educational institutions. Keynote speaker, The Honorable Sue Bell Cobb, spoke to the challenges and opportunities for women in leadership, and her significant litany of accomplishments shows that it can be done. Chief Justice Cobb is the only Democrat on the nine member court, and is the first woman chief justice. How did she get there? Not by fighting against the system, but by working within it. Her best reminder of the day, “Qualifications are the only thing that matters.” This is not to say that networking and swimming the channel of the Good Ol’ Boy Club isn’t very important, but that your qualifications will get you in the door. According to Cobb, don’t approach the club by trying to bust through it. You have to navigate it.

Well, how do you do that? First, according to Judge Cobb, “Do more than is expected.” For Chief Justice Cobb that meant working 14 circuits in 40 out of 67 counties. In her words, “Stand for something. Make a decision. Choose your purpose and be unapologetic and outspoken.” As a judge, you must make a decision, which is why you wear the robe. As a leader, you too must make a decision or the effort may founder on the rocks. Her challenge to leaders is to take a stand and be a person of conviction.

Second, seek out support, and seek it out from men who have daughters. What great advice this is! I see this in my own home and family where the relationship between the father and the daughter is a critical gift that helps her define faith, leadership and accomplishment.

Judge Cobb also points out that successful women leaders can cross gender lines. This means that they are able to work with, have fun with, and accomplish much with men and women. Great leaders are people that are not just respected, but liked too. They are uplifting and encouraging. Strong leaders know that anger is useless, and humor is key to building a strong team. This also plays into another important ingredient for a strong female leader. She needs to know how to widen her comfort zone. Don’t get offended so easily and for goodness sake lighten up. The Good Ol’ boys can teach us a thing or two about this, and they certainly know how to have fun AND accomplish much.

But, it is also important to know the difference between friends and allies. No one agrees all the time, even friends. But true friends stay with you thick and thin, and you don’t have as many friends as you think. Most of your “friends” are really allies, and that is okay to know, and more important to understand. Remember, loyalty works both ways, so “dance with the one who brung ya.” No one is successful in isolation. You must remember all of those who helped you to achieve that success.

Leaders must be risk takers too. Whether in politics, running a company, or leading a team, it takes a brave soul. This is a place where women leaders can really shine. We are by nature consensus builders, and this ability can earn buy in to a plan and ownership of an outcome in a solid way. In Judge Cobb’s words, “the rooster crows but the hen delivers.” What does that mean? It means that men tend to vote for the right now. Women tend to vote for the future. They see the vision, the purpose behind the design, and the legacy sought after. Women leaders are therefore vital to sustainability in an organization.

Here is another good tip: Finish what you start. I preach this at my house all the time. No one cares how smart, cute, wealthy or you name the great trait, which you are. If you don’t do something with it, and finish what you start who cares? Judge Cobb asked, “How do you finish a whitewater raft race?” Stay in the boat.

In all, time was well spent on this trip to the Women’s Leadership Institute. The big lesson for women leaders is really quite similar to the words for our male colleagues: find your mentors, set your goal, and seek out partners. Remain full of purpose and conviction, but don’t let that keep you from having some fun. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “I have never wanted to be a man, but I have wanted to be more effective.”

Has it been a while since you attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting? How about the Wednesday morning meeting of the North Jefferson Business League? I had the opportunity to participate with two of these groups this week and in addition to catching up with several of the area business owners and leaders in the area, I learned a thing or two about topics relevant to staying competitive in business today.

The North Jefferson Business League presenter was Dr. Rudy Guess of the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. Dr. Guess shared with us some of his research and ideas on the scriptural directives for leadership. Pulling from the Book of Genesis, he relayed the story of the selection of Rebecca as the wife of Isaac. The story of Rebecca if you have not read it lately concerns the visit of a young woman to a watering well in the village. Off in the distance is the servant of Abraham, tasked with the job of choosing a wife to bring back to marry young Isaac, son of Abraham. Unsure of how to discern which young woman to choose, he is feverishly praying for God to help with the endeavor. “Please, God of Abraham,” prays the servant, “If she be the one, let her ask to bring me a drink of water.” As the story, unfolds, Rebecca is the only young lady among the several at the well who asks to bring the stranger some water. The leadership message comes in the next thing that Rebecca does. She offers to not only bring the stranger water (which for those times is customary), but she also offers to water his camels. This is the “goes the extra mile” message that centered on the leadership focus for Dr. Guess. Always a gifted speaker, Dr. Guess made the visit to North Jefferson Business League this week time well spent. We all need a good dose of “going the extra mile” with our customers and staff, and it is refreshing to know that the directive has changed little in 6,000 years.

The second learning event for me this week was at our Fultondale Chamber meeting. This week we enjoyed a visit by two leaders from the US Chamber of Commerce, Moore Hallmark and Patrick Gartland. I have met both Moore and Patrick at previous events sponsored by the Business Council of Alabama and the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and they agreed to visit with us in Fultondale as we work to grow our Chamber. Whether growing a business team, or a chamber team, Moore and Patrick shared some examples of other Chambers and how they worked to remain strong resources in their communities. High on the list of suggestions was the need to work in partnership with both the State Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber. We are seeking to do just that in Fultondale, Gardendale, and the entire North Jefferson area. The best way to accomplish this is to develop a Government Affairs Team within the Chamber. This team will work on developing policy statements that will position the growth and sustainability of local business, and ultimately can work in partnership with the teams of sister cities in the North Jefferson area. This type of grass roots partnership will help drive outcomes for our legislative and local leadership, help us stay on top of timely and relevant issues to our community, and formulate a supportive infrastructure for government in our community.

The big message from Moore and Patrick was that while it is nice for a Chamber to support events in a town, the real work is to create true value in the area of leadership. Interestingly, 97% of State Chamber members have 10 or less employees
88% of US Chamber members have 10 or less employees. Most small businesses join Chambers to insure that they have a voice, and you can really cement that happening when you join and take an active role.

According to the US Chamber, small Chambers are key to holding people accountable and the focus of a Chamber should be less on the benefits and service, and more on creating value by increasing public policy involvement and working in economic development. Focus on these efforts will work to keep the Chamber of Commerce viable and relevant.

Corporate Survival 101

We may be pulling out of the recession, but the army of workers that you are doing it with in your organization may have decreased dramatically. The “Less is More” strategy or “Do More with Less” mantra may have you feeling like you are on a treadmill of activity that is hard if not impossible to complete. I like to call my business strategy during these turbulent times “Selective Neglect”. It is okay to give in to the chaos, and learn to prioritize very well so that you are doing the right things right, not just succumbing to endless activity. But what happens when the months of endless piling on doesn’t seem to have an end in sight? Many workers have been tackling large workloads for months. How do you keep from loosing your swagger? How do you keep from loosing your get up and go? If routine assignments begin to take on mammoth proportions, long work hours, and relentless deadlines, take some defensive measures to prevent burn out. How do you keep on the strong track to prevent low morale and eventual reduced productivity? First pay attention to the warning signs and be honest with yourself and your coworkers. Do you:

Have trouble getting out of bed and getting out the door
Arrive late frequently
Feel withdrawn and bad about your performance
Watch the clock
Allow work stress to spill over into other areas of your life
Get into frequent disagreements with your manager or co-workers
Feel that you are making little progress in spite of great effort·
If these symptoms sound familiar, it may be time to make some changes. Here are some strategies to help you renew your enthusiasm and get your career back on track:

1. Own the Outcome, not all the workMeet with your supervisor and get a workable strategy with in a reasonable time frame. Try not to be a hero or a martyr here. Delegate and share work with others that own the outcome. Work is always easier and more fun when you share it with your team. Set some timelines and celebrate your victories together too!
.
2. Assess your time management Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day so be smart with your work hours to stay on target. The way you manage your time also can affect your ability to rebound from job exhaustion. Not sure how to do this? Try keeping a diary of where you spend your time at work for a few days and break it into categories. You will probably uncover some real time wasters that you can dismiss and allow refocus for better investment.

3. Don’t Bring me DownThe OZ principles talk about keeping things positive. Do you have an issue or challenge? Certainly bring it up, but make certain that you do it with a solution in mind. The psychology of this is powerful, and it will help insure that you feel in charge and not a victim.

4. Find Your Tonto A common symptom of burnout are feelings of isolation so don’t be the Lone Ranger. I know how much we all like to think that we are indispensable, but if there is one thing that this economy and downsizing has shown us it is that everyone can do more and everyone can be replaced. This is a harsh reality, but good to know. In fact, now may be the perfect time to train someone on the skills needed to work at a higher level and then set some expectations of group performance. Asking for help does not make you a complainer when it is done in the right way.

5. Check out mentally when you need to for some down timeI guarantee the work will still be there when you get back, and yes you will be missed. Use your vacation to recharge. Take a lunch away from your work or desk, get out of the office and walk around. Time away will give a fresh perspective and separate you from some of the distracting minutia that may be causing your stress.

6. Find the FunThis is really the most vital part. Life is too short to work all the time, so put some fun into it for sure! My Team recently submitted their favorite songs that get them motivated and we had everything from AeroSmith to Big and Rich to the Beastie Boys. A Team member downloaded the music, copied it to a Team CD, and now we have music to inspire us when the chips are down. A great team theme may just give you the “Skills to pay the Bills!”

Change is the Only Certainty in Business

“May you live in interesting times,” reads the quote. How true it is to know that we are living in both interesting and changing times that have us emerging from another tumultuous year with the future for many still uncertain. Previously we have written here on the need to not just change, but to seek it out and embrace it to remain competitive. Change is both necessary and possible, and now is the time to go after it in a strategic manner. It is not just the concept of change, but a metamorphosis on such a large scale that your predecessors may not believe their eyes. In my primary industry which is the pharmaceutical sector, there is a fundamental rethinking of market research, the entire industry, and what it now means to be in healthcare. Perhaps the same may be said of your sector be it banking, retail, information or any number of business types and descriptions. In the pharmaceutical world, there is discussion of the role of evidence based medicine and the creation of niche busters, not block busters. For a highly regulated industry such as banking or pharmaceuticals, the need for clear product positioning in the marketplace has never been more important.

According to Jim Kirk of Quintiles, companies need to apply VIGOR to their marketing strategy. VIGOR is valuable, innovative, global, outstanding and responsive. Value means being the keeper of product history and data, as well as bringing value and insight to the market. Innovation means breaking with the status and running after new ways of thinking. Global doesn’t mean just emerging markets and geography, but considers the different potential audiences that may play into your market such as regulators, governments and restrictions to business. Outstanding does mean standing out. What makes you truly unique? Lastly, make the strategy responsive to include faster, smarter, resilient, cheaper, or just plain better.

The challenge remains the quest for understanding your customer at a very high level without emotion and in a service mindset. Looking at the pharmaceutical industry for example, the days of the customer just being the physician are long gone. Now industry marketers must address a plethora of customers in the mix to include insurance coverage, step edits, unemployment coverage, patient access in general to medicine, price and ability to pay, and of course clinical outcomes to name a few. If you work in a regulated industry, the list is most likely the same with just the names changed a bit.

The name of the game has always been and continues to be about efficiencies, and a fine balance between what we want and what we can afford. Are you still running the same studies in your industry that yield the same old results with little insight? Here comes that word CHANGE again. Change the way you ask the question, collect the data, or assess the outcomes. The bottom line goal is the same: Bring the voice of the customer to life. The ability to understand what the customer is doing, thinking and feeling are the only way to drive him or her to a decision and action.

You can't Lead Where you won't Go

Congratulations! You have just been promoted to manager in your organization, and even better, you are now the leader of everyone that you use to work with in your company. Wow! What a challenge!

But, how do you go from being peer-partner to partner-leader? Much of how this transition will play out will be driven by the kind of leader that you were BEFORE you were promoted. No matter where you are in an organization, you are in fact a leader. You may be the Consensus Builder, or you may be the Keeper of the Trust of the team. You may be the Quiet Leader that everyone feels comfortable around. You may be the Status Quo Breaker or the Question all the Logic kind of leader. You may be the “Why do we it that way?” kind of leader. At the end of the day, all are important to a team, but only one person can be the true out front, buck stops here leader when a promotion opportunity comes around. Company management does have a choice to go outside and avoid all of the political infighting that may come from promoting from within, but often you will see a true promotion up from the ranks as a highly motivating experience. In military terms, this “Field Grade Promotion” comes with recognition of leadership and character in adverse situations. Or it may mean that someone got a great offer, and just moved on, leaving a vacuum of leadership. Either way, what a great opportunity for the right person, so let’s take a moment to reflect on what it takes to navigate this challenging transition.

Keeping your team productive and hopeful during a new boss transition can be complex. Forging a workplace partnership is key to developing a loyal and engaged group. No pressure here, but trust in leadership is critical. According to a Gallup survey, people don’t just quit companies or leave because of compensation, they quit people. Getting on the employees bad side may be as simple as not asking for their opinions, not offering good feedback, or putting someone in a role that they are just not prepared to do and for which they are ill suited. People want fact-based praise and recognition for their work. And by the way, NOT scolding is not the same as offering lots of praise.

How do you keep employees from slowly disengaging and turning off? How do you keep them from becoming disillusioned and resigning inwardly? This does not happen immediately, but over the course of time during the routine work week. It is clearly important to keep motivation high.
The motivation level of employees has tangible economic ramifications for the company. In the group of engaged employees, there are lower rates of theft, fewer defective products, fewer work accidents, less employee turnover and lower levels of absenteeism. And those are only the direct costs. Motivated employees also work more productively, are more innovative and more responsive to customers. All these factors serve to increase the company's profitability. Highly engaged and motivated employees are also the ones with an elevated sense of emotional connection to their jobs. They feel valued and empowered.
Make no mistake, people like to work. According to a Gallup survey in Germany began in 2001, people were asked the following question, “If you were to inherit enough money to no longer need to work, would you continue with your job or would you quit?" As many as seven out of ten employees in Germany would not resign despite an inheritance that would provide them a financially carefree life. This indicates the fundamentally positive relationship between people and their work. Even two-thirds of those about to retire would continue working despite a large inheritance.
As you assume greater management responsibility, realize that these skills may not be that teachable. Just like social skills, and how we present our self as leaders, much is learned at the feet of our parents. Like it or not, we are taught how to treat others, and those early lessons may be a wonderful source to pull experience and insight. For others, they may be not so great to pull from in the work place. This is a primary driver behind the “Peter Principle” where a person is likely to be promoted to their highest level of inefficiency. In this respect, the best sales person can also be the worst manager. Selling skills and management skills are two distinct skills indeed.
Bottom-line, congratulations on your new responsibility. Keep your head up and your ethics higher. Seek out a mentor, and train yourself on the skills of leading others. Surround your self with a diverse and experienced team, praise them often, and get out of their way. Some of best leaders, both past and present, were only as good as the team that they were surrounded by in their office.

Leadership for the Rest of Us

I again had the opportunity to hear US Senator Jeff Sessions discuss current affairs and take questions at an event held at Samford University this past week. As before, his insight and clarity of thought have made me seek out additional information as to the drivers behind our economy and what it can mean for small business. As Senator Sessions opined, “We need and welcome healthy, lively debate. What we do not need now is apathy.” He is so right, and as this writer has offered the challenge here on more than one occasion to please take ownership of where you collect your information. Please seek your information out in multiple sources, and preferably in person.

Gathering information in person is invaluable to understanding what someone truly means as you observe their body language with your own eyes, and listen with your own ears. Seeking out your own information to draw your own conclusions can be just the apple to keep the spin doctor away. For example, when it was suggested to Senator Sessions that we are in the middle of a healthcare debate with extreme opinions getting all the attention, and that perhaps the answer to our fiscal crisis and concerns on health care costs will be found in the middle, this is what happened. Senator Sessions stated, “Well we are at a 900 Billion deficit, now. Would you be pleased if we were at 450 Billion?” The clear point made that even the middle was not something that we can afford. More importantly, the statement was made with a small, but confident smile, sharpened with a small lean forward and to the left. No crossed legs. No pause. No looking up into the air. His message was clear. When is comes to United States debt, there is no middle ground at that level.

This message resonates as very important as the impact of the health care legislation sinks into the collective consciousness of small business owners. A level of dissatisfaction is bubbling to the surface as business owners recheck their balance sheet to see what line item needs to be juggled to pay for any potential financial obligations that the health care legislation will impart. The several companies that are now being called on the carpet to justify their dissatisfaction with a personal meeting in Washington will be watched with great expectation by this writer.

Dissatisfaction is a motivator for change, and this is true for not only changing someone’s behavior, but also changing the targets of change. People are more responsive to learning when they are moderately dissatisfied; too little, and they don’t want to bother; too much is paralyzing. Therefore, if you want to increase a group’s readiness to change, you need to manage their dissatisfaction. In Managing People: the R Factor, Allan Cohen writes that often this requires finding ways to increase dissatisfaction and can be accomplished in several ways which are often very intentional. The R factor examines roles, relationships, rewards, and rites and is the strategic and tactical method of cultivating dissatisfaction as a motivator to organizations. The status quo is a killer, and the art of managing dissatisfaction is key to driving our markets today on both the political and domestic front. Open the papers, read your online news, or listen to the TV or radio, and you can see examples of dissatisfaction everywhere. I see it as the primary driver behind the Tea Party movement and the rising expectation of transparency in business and in government. Organizational stress bubbles up when people no longer feel that they have control over their life at work. Pushing through this and leading through the change needed is critical for not just management and but all leadership. This ongoing challenge for management in business and government should be driven by educating to the growth and change needed, not testing the amount of power held or proving the level of correctness.

The answer may be found quite simply in asking yourself, “What are you measuring?” In Total Quality Management (TQM) lingo, don’t just look at your internal yardstick; look at your external yardstick too. For example, if your sales team only measures itself by improving over its own best performance, you may get passed up really quickly. Take a look at how others in your industry are performing too. This goes for government as well. How do we measure up to other states and even countries? This type of self reflection and line of thoughtful questioning may just help keep you ahead of the pack, and out in front of the herd too.

So remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.

Talladega 21000 - Half Marathon | Talladega, Alabama 35160 | Sunday, April 11, 2010 @ 8:00 AM

http://www.active.com/running/talladega-al/talladega-0-half-marathon-2010

Supporting the efforts for Prostate Cancer Prevention, Awareness and Treatment