Leadership

Leadership straddles the easy stuff. On one side, you can be the tough guy. You can tell your team to buck up, to deal with it. On the other side, you can give in and concede against your beliefs.

Leaders have to be the moral compass and do so in a way that inspires. It's not easy because it's not a black and white situation usually. It's quite lonely sometimes.

And the other thing about being a leader? You can't expect to get positive feedback for doing the right thing. Often, it takes a lot longer than you think. But that's why it's called leadership.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
Fort Wayne, IN
http://www.labov.com/

Leading by example

Leading by example ain't all it's cracked up to be. If people see a person who is tireless, determined and courageous, they may see someone who:

1. Has no personal life and has plenty of free time on their hands
2. Is strange
3. Will take care of stuff for them
4. Is happy carrying more than their "fair share" of the load

A true leader doesn't take advantage of a person like this, they celebrate them.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Founder's Syndrome

When you start a business from nothing and have success, you feel like you know what you're doing. And you probably do.

But what got you to where you are may not get you to where you want to go.

Founders of businesses, executives, and others in leadership positions can be their own biggest obstacle to success if they don't embrace the idea that other people just may have great ideas.

An entrepreneur buddy of mine hired a great guy with unique expertise to help his company. It was a brilliant hire. This guy was hired for that expertise, but guess what? He wasn't allowed to use it because the founder was uncomfortable with that guy's recommendations and ideas. Instead the founder went back to his old ideas and approach because it just felt right.

If you run a company or a team and everyone loves your ideas to the point that you think you're smarter than everyone else, you're probably deluding yourself. You've either got the wrong team surrounding you (they're a bunch of yes-men and yes-women) or you're not inspiring, and yes, allowing some of your brilliant hires to earn their salaries.

When it comes to breakthrough ideas:

If it feels uncomfortable, it just might be right.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter

Why Do Leaders Do Stupid Things?

We all read about stupid moves made by CEOs or presidents of countries daily. The average person has got to think that every business leader is both evil and incompetent. Which, once you think about it, is a tough combination (think of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies).

There are reasons for the stupid decisions being made by leaders, such as greed or arrogance. But, there is one reason overlooked:

Trust

Many of the leaders were given just enough info from their trusted subordinates for them to make that bold decision or to change course or policy. Most leaders live in a sound byte world and are easily manipulated. Add that to the fact that many of us pride ourselves in being courageous and bold and you get a lethal combination:

Inaccurate (or manipulative) info plus boldness equals buffoonery

Leaders are often initially supported for their bold decision-making and then after the dust settles are left isolated and criticized for their actions.

What's a leader to do? Force as much of the decision-making to the very people who know what is going on. Demand they take ownership. And...stop priding yourself in being a cowboy and realize that boldness is intoxicating and can blur your judgment.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter

It Starts with One Person

The business world is filled with many of us playing hardball. People are digging in their heels. Companies are refusing to listen to customers. Manufacturers are demanding their dealers conform or else. Employees are pointing fingers at other departments.

When that happens, nothing good will come of it. It's not about who is 100% right or whose responsibility something should be or whether or not the customer had any role in an issue. It's about taking responsibility, ownership, and initiative.

It starts with one person doing it. Then great things can happen, breakthroughs can become reality. It doesn't start as we wait for the other side to completely change their position.

It starts with one person. Be that person.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter

You can spot the most successful people

The rap on successful people is that they're egotistical, they're selfish, and they're brash. Of course, that's an understandable prejudice, since it's perpetrated by people who feel they aren't successful--how else can they rationalize their shortcomings?

In truth, the successful people I've known are generally pretty nice, fair and giving people. After all, they've been successful due to others wanting and helping them to succeed - who would want a lousy, selfish jerk to do well?

Those real successful people are also smart, but no smarter than most of us. They just somehow have that drive and focus to achieve, yet at the same time, have involved and engaged others in the journey.

Not all the great successes I've known are nice, but more often than not, they have plenty of good traits. Even the difficult ones usually are pretty decent once you get to understand them.

Our world is all about people and very few of us can succeed without their support and belief.

Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Statements You May Not Realize You're Making

Think about this:

One afternoon at 4:30 p.m., a corporate CEO announces tough decisions - he lays off 3,000 employees, cuts benefits, shutters factories and takes away things like company picnics and holiday parties.

The next morning at 7:55 a.m., he drives in to the office in his $120k luxury sports car to start the day.

There's something wrong with this picture if you happen to be the ex-employee, current employee or local citizen.

There's a statement being made that no longer works. It used to be if your CEO drove that $120k car, it implied that your company was on the rise, going somewhere. Now that statement could be interpreted as: there's a CEO looking out for himself (or herself) who doesn't care about the little guy.

I think corporate business jets, if properly utilized, can help grow business. But there's no real rationale for the $120k luxury car parked in the CEO's parking space.

By the way: I'm not in any way throwing stones at the CEO. The car is probably on lease or part of the employment package. But it will be judged nonetheless.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Leadership is not waiting for support

Carol Ann is a friend of mine. She loves golf and had a dream. She wanted her golf club to host a national event. Sounds good, but it means a lot of work for a lot of people. It means taking a chance that the event doesn't turn out well.

Well, her dream was realized and the event was a huge success, thanks to her hard work and the hard work of hundreds of others.

She told me at the closing celebration how happy she was and that only months ago people were not believing in the dream, but as time went on and the event took shape, they started to support it more and more.

This is what all leaders face, whether at a non-profit event or in a multi-national corporation with 800 dealers worldwide.

If you wait for enough support that your task is easy, then you'll probably never get started. A true leader has the vision, the passion, and is willing to stick her (or his) neck on the block to make it reality. With that commitment, along will come the support of those who start to see and feel that vision, too.

The question to each of us is, are we willing to stick our necks on the block to make our vision happen?


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond Marketing Communications
www.labov.com

Meet Don: Mr. Initiative

One of my favorite people is Don. Three years ago, I invested in a company that had numerous challenges. Don was recruited to come in and help us. And without him, I wouldn't have time to blog or do anything else; I'd be in over my head trying to deal with the stuff he does every day.

Don's a unique guy. His clients love him. To them, he's fun, easygoing, hard-working, humble - and he gets stuff done. To his employees, he's a great boss because, while he is demanding, he's also trusting. He loves to see his employees do well.

What I love about Don is that he has initiative. He's focused and as serious as a heart attack. He allows me to calm him down, to tell him everything is going to be OK. He's a pleasure to work with. I enjoy him as a friend and as an associate.

Our clients want us to be this way. We should be the ones that are more serious about their company's success then they are. We should be more exacting about our work than they are. A little bit of Don's approach can go a long way.


Barry LaBov
President, LaBov and Beyond Marketing Communications
www.labov.com

Our Companies' Natural resources

We all agree that we need to take care of and protect our natural resources. If we don't, they'll dry up, the planet will be damaged, and our survival will be threatened.

Why don't we do the same with our companies' natural resources, our people?

Company resources - people - are wasted daily, and it's done in numerous ways. Maybe you have a loose culture where anyone can put anyone to work on anything. Sounds crazy, but it happens all the time, and it actually feels exciting - the electricity of people running about, deadlines looming, etc. But, it's not only wasteful, it's detrimental to progress.

That's one of the reasons companies are cutting back on employees, benefits and perks - they're frequently wasted and often hurt the company. Why? A number of reasons.

Sometimes, we can't handle the responsibility. Sometimes, we not only hand off the project, we also hand off the ownership to someone who thinks he or she is helping out and certainly has no ownership. Sometimes, we mistake quantity (number of people on a project) with quality (of ideas, performance, etc.).

When a parent drives her kids and someone else's children to a soccer match, she is responsible for all the kids - she can't be careless; their lives are in her hands. When we put people to work or utilize other resources of our companies, we are responsible for them in the same way.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

It's What You Take Away, Not What You Add

I am associated with one of the best golf courses in the nation, Sycamore Hills Golf Club, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From about the mid-90s through the early 2000s, it had been in the Golf Digest Top 100 Golf Courses in America, but had fallen out of the rankings for the past four years. A group of us decided to acquire the course after the founder had passed away and it came up for sale.

The course, while still a masterpiece, had stumbled, and the general consensus was that it may never attain Top 100 status again due to all the new courses coming on to the scene.

I spoke with the course superintendent - a great, hard-working guy - and asked him to focus on the basics: making sure the weeds were pulled, that the greens were not burning out, and that there were no dead trees in the streams. He looked at me, clearly uncomfortable, and told me, "That all sounds good, but what about all the projects I have to tend to - building a wall over here or draining a lake over there?" He went on to list a dozen projects that he had been given to work on over the years. It was an overwhelming list, yet none of the projects were as important as taking care of the basics. So I told him that. He agreed to focus on the important stuff, but was not happy about it.

A week later he approached me and said, "At first what you told me was unsettling, but now I feel like I have the weight of the world off my shoulders. I can finally focus on what's most important and not be tempted to get lost in all those other jobs." And that's just what he did.

The course quickly began to regain its beautiful look and, miraculously, attained Golf Digest Top 100 status within months.

Sometimes it's not what you add, it's the stuff you get out of the way that makes a difference. Forget about what else you need or want - what is in your way?


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Allow for a little graciousness

In my business, I get to listen to execs and managers discuss the big issues - and the small issues - that drive them crazy. I just conducted an assessment of a company, and several execs shared the same "small issue." These good people were frustrated because they are robbed of being gracious too often because their employees or suppliers are presumptuous. I think this is a problem that many companies share.

Most of us like to be gracious, to say, "Sure, no problem" when asked for a day-off or for time to run to your kid's school to see them perform "The Wizard of Oz."

But what too often happens is an email is or a voicemail left by the employee saying, "I'm not coming in until after noon because my dog is sick," or "There's a school delay; I'm working from home," or "There's a delay from the supplier so I'm not going to be able to ship the product until I hear from them."

All of this would probably be OK, but it feels bad if you're the boss or a co-worker depending on those people. You wonder if you can count on them, what else isn't getting done, what's the next promise to be dropped? You also feel that your time is devalued - their time is more important. I don't believe that this is the intent, but it is the reality of how people feel.

All this can be solved if that person actually asks and confirms if it's OK to come in late, to see the play, to not send the shipment, etc. 99 percent of the time the exec will be gracious, and the fellow employee will understand.

We all love to be able to be gracious. Don't rob your boss or co-workers of that.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

You don't know what you don't know

One of the most unique clients I ever had was a guy named Al Swenson. He was a polarizing guy. He was dashing, articulate. He also simply didn't care what you thought because he knew better. He had a crazy past of numerous jobs, wives and creative ideas. If you try to locate him, he's just as likely working at a dude ranch as he is in Corporate America.

He loved to perform, to present in front of people - no matter what the message, he wanted to get up there and speak. He had disciples - I remember one of them watching mesmerized as Al presented. The disciple turned to me and said, "I just love listening to Al. I'm not even sure what he's saying, but I love hearing him. I want to be like Al some day."

One day, during a business brainstorming session, we were struggling to solve an issue for his company. Al turned to me and proclaimed, "You don't know what you don't know." If he was merely a friend of mine, I would've given him some grief - but he was my client and so I kept my mouth shut. Secretly, I thought that was the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Now, a decade or so later, I realize Al was brilliant. His point of "You don't know what you don't know" was genius. Apply it, for example, to an employee. Let's say you're disappointed in the way he/she handled a situation because it hurt your company. Well, did he know that before he did it? Probably not. Maybe our time is better spent teaching an employee stuff so he or she knows - it's a lot more positive than getting angry with them.

I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't realize I needed to educate and inform before I should judge.

Thanks, Al.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Allocation of Unique Resources

In business, we have to use of our resources wisely, otherwise they can be abused, wasted or under-utilized.

I know we have a challenging economy, but I'd like to focus on one massive resource that's being wasted: our leaders' focus.

I meet with business people daily and I have to tell you, some of us are crying in our soup for a living. I am not making light of the situation at all.

As leaders, we are resources, too. We have to lead, we have to try something to make a difference to help our company. A little complaining here or there is understandable, but can't we spend the bulk of our time trying to get out of this mess instead of describing it?

Apologizing for apologizing

I recently wrote a post where I bragged about a great leader of a company I know. He took the "fall" for a particular issue at his company and in so doing, showed leadership and inspired his people.

He later let me know that one of his execs saw the post and felt it was not a good reflection of their company because it implied that they had a problem. Without being asked, I deleted the post.

Sad.

How do we show great leadership if we try to hide how we dealt with our challenges?

I still think that great leader is a fine person. I just wish that his company would allow his leadership to shine.

Sad.


Barry LaBov, CEO
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Want to Show Leadership in a Tough Economy? Don’t take a raise.

It doesn't matter if you’re doing a good job or if you try hard—I assume that. If your company is in trouble and contemplating a lay-off or cutbacks, why give raises to the highest paid people in the company? Do the math. If the top 20% of a company do not get a raise, that may equate to “saving” numerous employee jobs.

Few corporations take a position like this. They usually continue rewarding the top people (and everyone else) as if nothing has changed in the economy. Or they end up laying-off white collar and blue collar workers in droves. Quite often, they end up doing both, in that order.

Again, this has nothing to do with the executives’ performance, just as laying off workers usually has nothing to do with their performance. It’s an opportunity to show leadership and save jobs.