“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”

― Albert Einstein

The last chapter of my upcoming book, which will be published later this year, is entitled “Continuously learn the art of leadership”. While the chapter is brief, why would I devote an entire chapter to this topic? Why is this so important?

Each of the leadership behaviors discussed in my book, as well as in my leadership seminars, are simple concepts to understand. However, they are not always easy to implement.

Why is that?

Life gets stressful and discipling our behaviors is hard.

As leaders, monitoring our behaviors is exceedingly important. Team members are watching us. Our behaviors are emulated. Consequently, our behaviors create the team culture…the leader owns the culture…and team culture dictates team performance.

Here’s the good news – as leaders, while much of what we’re responsible for lies outside our direct span of control, our behaviors are exceptions. We control our behaviors 100% of the time.

…the leader owns the culture…and team culture dictates team performance.

Once I fully understood this truth, I put much more energy, effort and focus on monitoring my behaviors.

Did I make mistakes? Absolutely. While in command at Naval Hospital Bremerton, I recall losing my temper in a very public forum when doling out punishment to a staff member during a formal proceeding called Captain’s mast*.  I was very frustrated, and my growing frustration caused my explosion of anger during the proceedings.  I crossed the line and humiliated the staff member.

I regretted it immediately, but the damage was done.  As one of my great mentors liked to say, the toothpaste was out of the tube and there was no putting it back.

What helped me become more disciplined? I read books and articles, observed and talked with other leaders, as well as attended leadership development workshops when my schedule permitted.

Why did I devote a separate chapter of my book to the importance of learning/relearning the art of leadership? Why is this behavior so important?

…find a means to remind yourself of the profound impact your behaviors have on team culture and performance.

During my leadership journey, through either reading, observing, or studying, I was reminded of the importance of my behaviors. Consequently, when faced with a challenging situation, especially during a vulnerable time when life was a bit messy and my stress level peaking, I was better prepared to react appropriately.

Be a great leader and find a means, i.e. perpetuate ‘intellectual growth’ as Einstein put it, to remind yourself of the profound impact your behaviors have on team culture and performance. Be mindful that the only entity you control 100% of the time are your behaviors.

*Captain’s mast is a traditional Navy proceeding that permits Commanding Officers to adjudicate minor infractions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  An “open” mast permits any member of the command to witness the proceedings. A “closed” mast is witnessed only by a handful of selected command members. The Commanding Officer decides whether the Captain’s mast will be open or closed.

Coach Bill Belichick addressing the press after the Super Bowl

Of course, everyone knows that the Eagles defeated the Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl. What remains a mystery is why Bill Belichick, the legendary head coach of the New England Patriots, decided to bench one of his top defensive performers for the entire game.

Throughout the 2017/2018 season, Malcolm Butler was on the field 98% of the time when the Patriots defense was on the field. Despite being one of the team’s top defensive players, Butler saw zero playing time in a game where his skills were sorely missed. This was not just any game. Did I mention that this was the Super Bowl?

Butler had no injuries. He was healthy.

Up to the time of this posting, Belichick has not given an explanation for his decision. Belichick is known to be extremely tight lipped. The truth is this mystery may never be solved.

After the game, there was immediate speculation that Belichick’s decision may in fact hurt the team going forward. Many current players showed their support of Butler through social media.

Would the Patriots defense have fared better if Butler had played? Very few pundits say otherwise. Was Butler’s absence on the field the difference between winning and losing the Super Bowl? We’ll never know.

Butler holding back tears during the National Anthem. (He was just told that he would not be playing)

The bigger leadership question is:  Did Belichick make the right decision?

While we may never know the answer to that question, any seasoned leader recognizes that meting out punishment in an effort to either change an employee’s behavior, improve their or the team’s performance, or send a message to the organization, is one of the toughest and most gut-wrenching decisions they’ll have to make.

The circumstances surrounding “the issue” are usually murky. They’re rarely black and white. However, the consequences, both intended and unintended, are enormous. The action the leader takes can have momentous repercussions.  These are crucible moments, and lonely ones.

…meting out punishment…is one of the toughest and most gut-wrenching decisions a leader will have to make.

Early in my Navy career I’d shy away from taking action when an issue popped up. Hoping it would resolve on its own, I’d ignore it. In retrospect, I don’t recall any of them resolving on their own.

Take tardiness. An employee would start coming in late once a week. Then twice a week. Then another employee would catch on – heck, if he can make his own hours, I can too!

When I finally come around to addressing the issue, I usually overreacted. Out of anger and frustration, my thoughts were, “They know the rules, why are they testing me!”

Later in my Navy career, a good mentor gave me some sage advice that I’ve never forgotten. I relied on her wise counsel often during my tour as Commanding Officer, a position that grants an unusually wide latitude of disciplinary power.

Her advice:

• If your gut is telling you that the status quo regarding someone’s behavior and/or performance is unacceptable, the dynamic has to change. You need to change the dynamic.
• Ask the advice of a trusted friend or colleague before taking any action [The key is to choose wisely – ask someone you trust]. Often times you are simply too close to the situation. In the pressure cooker of the leadership cauldron, pride, impulse to control or overzealousness can insidiously rear their ugly heads and cloud sound judgment.
• Don’t overreact or underreact.
• Be measured in your action. Minimize energy and drama. The objective is to change behavior while positively impacting team performance.

The consequences of your actions almost always have momentous repercussions. 

Did Bill Belichick make the right decision to bench Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl? Did it positively impact the team during the Super Bowl…or will it in future seasons?

These are questions that New England sports pundits will argue for many years.

What’s the lesson for us leaders?  Meting out punishment is inescapable – it comes with the territory.  At the same time, it is one of the toughest leadership challenges. These are crucible moments. The consequences of your actions almost always have momentous repercussions.

Be a great leader and be deliberate when dishing out punishment. Keep the objective at the forefront of your thoughts: to change behavior while positively impacting team performance. Seek counsel from a wise colleague. Be open to other ideas and be measured in your action.

Last month’s blog discussed the importance of getting out of your office and visiting with your employees. While time consuming, it’s absolutely time well spent – these interactions can be golden opportunities to build trust. Yes…they can be. However, besides the obvious ones of avoiding discussions on politics, religion and sex, are there other pitfalls that leaders need to remain mindful of?

One of the more arduous tours of duty I had in the Navy was a job that required 60+ hours per week. I knew going in that it would require that level of effort – it simply came with the territory. I girded myself for a demanding tour. Despite the long hours, I knew this would help me grow as a leader and I was very excited about the opportunity.

A quick and respectful conversation with a direct report can make you more approachable. A long harangue will not.

At that time, my wife (Kris) and I still had children in school and living at home. I’ve always been mindful of my work-life balance. However, I knew this tour was going to be a challenge and vowed to be wary of neglecting my family.

What I did not factor into my time management equation was a boss who would enter my work space at the end of every day and talk for an extended period of time about mostly non-worked related topics. It was certainly productive at first as it strengthened our relationship and I knew his heart was in the right place. However, after a month or so, I started to resent these conversations. I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour and be with my family.

It’s important to know that I love a quick banter with colleagues around the water cooler on any number of topics – family, hobbies, sports, news, etc. The important word here is “quick”. The challenge that I faced with my boss is that these conversations were not quick. They would extend for lengthy periods – 15, 20, 30 minutes at a clip.

I know what you’re thinking, “You should have dropped subtle hints”. You know, the obvious ones – start cleaning up the desk area, tactfully mention a family event that evening, or the ever-popular ploy of leaving your briefcase in the only other chair in your office. None worked.

Leaders need to be mindful that no one is going to tell them to stop talking.

In retrospect, it’s obvious that I should have simply approached my boss in a respectful and calm manner.  I did consider this. However, he was my boss. He held my future in his hands. The challenge was that I was not sure how such a conversation would go…and, ultimately, how it would affect our relationship. I weighed my options and, as painful as it was, I decided to ride it out.

Here’s the vitally important lesson that I learned from this experience:  no one is going to tell the boss to stop talking. 

It’s easy to end a conversation with a colleague with a quick, “Great talking to you but I’ve got to go…let’s catch up later!”

Not so with a boss.  Employees will appear simply riveted as the boss provides a detailed play by play description of his 12-year-old daughter’s latest soccer game. While they appear captivated, the unlucky employee is desperately scrambling for some way…any way…to escape…of course, without harming the relationship. Not a fun position to be in.

Be genuinely interested in other people and encourage others to talk about themselves.

I was recently introduced to an acronym that fits this theme perfectly. It’s “WAIT”, which stand for “Why Am I Talking”. It’s an excellent reminder that bantering with direct reports is a two-edge sword.

While friendly banter with direct reports is an excellent way to build trust, drive out fear, and make you more approachable, leaders need to be mindful that no one is going to tell them to stop talking.

Be respectful of others time. This is an excellent opportunity to employ a couple of lessons from Dale Carnegies classic book “How to win friends and influence people”. Specifically, be genuinely interested in other people and encourage others to talk about themselves.

Like all interactions, conversations with direct reports will either build or erode trust. A quick and respectful conversation with a direct report can make you more approachable. A long harangue will not.

Remember the acronym “WAIT”, encourage others to talk about themselves, and be respectful of their time. With that in mind, be a great leader and get out there and banter with your employees!

Great leaders that I worked for during my Navy career all had one thing in common. They also reminded me often of the importance of this behavior – they mentored me well!

During my 3 years in command (I was Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital Bremerton, WA from 2008 to 2011), I would routinely spend a portion of the day walking around the hospital complex.

After the morning Board of Directors meeting, I’d head out and wander the command interacting with employees. I loved it! I loved it for many reasons: it gave me the opportunity to thank employees, ask them how I could help, and banter with them about topics I knew were of interest to them (sports, hobbies, family). I was also able to get an excellent sense of morale within the command.

However, my ‘wanderings’ were not always random. They often had a purpose.

I don’t recall a time when these conversations didn’t produce at least one enormously valuable nugget of information.

During our daily morning Board of Directors meetings, I found it valuable to carefully watch the reactions of the different members as issues were deliberated. The members had healthy disagreements over issues and respectfully voiced their concerns during our meetings. However, despite working diligently to drive out fear, and build trust, among this important body, I understood that not everyone was always going to speak their minds.

This was generally more prevalent with newer members of the board – they were less inclined to risk opening their mouths for fear of alienating themselves from the group. Once in a while I sensed that even seasoned board members would sometimes elect to keep their thoughts to themselves. Perhaps they weren’t convinced their point was important, or maybe the meeting was simply running late!

Regardless, I would watch member’s body language. If I sensed that they had something to contribute but weren’t speaking up, I’d either ask them for their thoughts during the meeting, or make a mental note to visit them some time during the day.

I found the latter to be extremely valuable.

During my visit, we’d of course start by casually exchanging pleasantries. I’d then pivot and ask them of their thoughts on the issue. I don’t recall a time when these conversations didn’t produce at least one enormously valuable nugget of information. Each conversation helped me move from ambiguity to certainty on any number of issues.

Why were these visits so valuable?

They were valuable because of my hundreds of other visits I had with board members over the weeks, months and years. These visits were indeed random visits – with no agenda other than to continue to nurture the relationship. During these visits – the ‘social’ visits – I’d exchange pleasantries, thank them for their work, and ask if there was anything they needed.

Getting out of your office and visiting with your employees is time consuming…but it’s absolutely time well spent. It helps drive out fear and build trust.

While the social visits were certainly time consuming, the time invested was critically important in creating a culture of trust. Because of that trust, on those visits when I did have a specific issue I wanted to discuss, the employee would give me his/her valuable thoughts. I was able to move from ambiguity to certainty.

Think about this honestly for a moment. If you hadn’t seen your boss since your annual review in January, and all of the sudden in July he stops by your office out of the blue to casually mentioning that he wants to “talk to you about an issue,” your initial thoughts are not pleasant ones! There’s no trust. You’ll be on guard. The conversation probably will not be productive. It may in fact cause more fear.

Recall from my March 2017 blog that all interactions between the leader and the follower impacts culture. A leader has numerous interactions with members of the team each day…on a minute-by-minute basis…each of which incrementally changes the team culture.

The great leaders fully appreciate this dynamic. They are mindful that these interactions are golden opportunities to build trust. Not only do they take advantage of the interactions when they naturally occur, but they take it step further and proactively create more of them. The great leaders schedule time to get out of their office to increase their visibility, and take maximal advantage to leverage this powerful behavior.

Be a great leader and be visible…spend time with your team…and don’t forget to enjoy the journey!

Mark

My October blog mentioned that I had recently given a leadership workshop to a group of about 250 leaders that evaluated specific leadership behaviors which have been proven to build a culture of trust and improve team performance.  At the end of the workshop I was asked a question that I did not answer well.

This bothered me. That evening, as well as on my plane ride home to San Diego the next day, I wrestled with the question.

While paraphrased, the essence of the question was the following:

“I understand the importance of a leader’s behavior on creating culture…and intuitively understand that culture drives performance, i.e. a culture of trust leads to peak performance while a culture of fear leads to poor performance. Your personal stories and study data further my appreciation and understanding of this tight correlation between the behaviors of the leader, team culture and team performance. My question is this: Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?

While I was excited that this participant clearly took something of value from my workshop, I was stumped by the query.

        “Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?”

I’ve had some time to grapple with the question.  My October blog talked about how there was room for improvement in how we choose our leaders.

This month I’d like to talk about another piece of the answer – how organizations are educating and training their leaders and, more importantly, the crucial piece that is missing from this training. Given that a recent Center for Creative Leadership study found 38% of new chief executives fail in their first 18 months on the job, there is clearly room for improvement.

Research referenced in the Harvard Business Review  showed that one very common barrier that companies consistently struggle with when trying to change culture is that senior executives don’t commit to necessary changes in their own behavior.

I’ve certainly witnessed this in my career. A leader gets angry when given bad news at a meeting, and later apologizes for the outburst upon realizing its negative impact…only to repeat the behavior at another meeting. They don’t commit to the necessary changes in their behavior.

       “…senior executives don’t commit to necessary changes in their own behavior.”

Why is this the case? I believe a big piece of the answer is that leaders are not fully aware of the power of their behaviors. More specifically, due to lack of training, leaders do not appreciate the dramatic impact that their behaviors have on culture, and ultimately performance. Leaders are neither trained nor educated to understand that all interactions with staff impact culture, and that their behaviors directly drive that culture toward either one of either trust or one of fear.

A leader has hundreds of interactions with members of the team each day…on a minute by minute basis…each of which incrementally changes the team culture.  The team members observe, and sometimes quietly discuss among themselves, the leader’s behaviors during these interactions, and subconsciously analyze them.  One of two conclusions is drawn – either trust has been gained or trust has been lost. Undeniably some interactions will impact trust more than others…but all will change the level of trust…and all are golden opportunities!

“…due to lack of training, leaders do not appreciate the dramatic impact that their behaviors have on culture, and ultimately performance.”

A few years ago, I worked as a sales manager where I led a handful of employees at a mid-size company. The entire team had about 30 employees and Max (fictitious name) was our boss. Max was highly educated and had many years of leadership experience. About 20 employees worked remotely throughout the United States and about 10 worked on site, including myself and Max.

Each week the team would meet. The 20 remote employees would teleconference into the meeting. During my first week on the job I came to understand that the entire team was behind on our sales targets, and this topic was appropriately the primary discussion point at our weekly meetings.

I very well remember my first such meeting. There were many unhappy faces around the table. Pessimism and fear permeated the room.

“Not a lot of joy among these folks!” I remember thinking.

The meeting started with a remote employee who proudly and enthusiastically mentioned that he had secured a new client.

My immediate thought was, “Wow…some good news! The boss can recognize this and get folks fired up!”

Instead of celebrating, the boss dryly and glumly stated something to the effect, “We’ll need a lot more success than that to reach our sales goals.”

I looked around the table at the other members of the team. Any remaining energy in the room…and there wasn’t much to begin with…was gone. All heads went down, some shaking back and forth. I couldn’t imagine what our remote employees, who were listening in via phone, must have been thinking.

“Get away from the ledge…it’ll be OK!” is what I instinctively wanted to yell to them.

Max had a golden opportunity to give someone a well-deserved accolade, generate some much-needed pride and energy for the entire team, and move the culture away from one of pessimism and fear.  Unfortunately, Max missed the opportunity. His behavior at that moment only reinforced the gloomy status quo.

“The great leaders understand, respect and fully embrace the staggering power of their behaviors.”

Opportunities to build trust occur hundreds of times each day – they are in abundance!  The great leaders fully appreciate the strong correlation between their behavior during interactions, the well-being of employees, team culture and team performance. The great leaders understand, respect and fully embrace the staggering power of their behaviors.

Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?

Leaders do not appreciate the dramatic impact their behaviors have on team culture and team performance because they haven’t been trained to appreciate it.  Organizations that include this vital piece – the incredible power of a leader’s daily behaviors… into their leadership development curriculum will have a major competitive advantage over their competition.

The question that needs to be answered is:

What specific behaviors should a leader employ to create a culture of trust?

My blogs in 2018 will answer this important question.

Until then…enjoy the journey!

Mark

I recently gave a leadership workshop to a group of about 250 leaders that evaluated specific leadership behaviors that have been proven to build a culture of trust and improve team performance.  At the end of the workshop I was asked a question that I did not answer well.

This bothered me. That evening, as well as on my plane ride home to San Diego the next day, I wrestled with the question.

While paraphrased, the essence of the question was the following:

“I understand the importance of a leader’s behavior on creating culture…and intuitively understand that culture drives performance, i.e. a culture of trust leads to peak performance while a culture of fear leads to poor performance. Your personal stories and study data further my appreciation and understanding of this tight correlation between the behaviors of the leader, team culture and team performance. My question is this: Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?

There’s room for improvement in how we choose leaders.

While I was excited that this participant clearly took something of value from my workshop, I was stumped by the query. Sorry…swing and a miss!

Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?

Now that I’ve had some time to grapple with the question, I’ll take another swipe at it. Don’t you love second chances?

Here’s one thought: There’s room for improvement in how we choose leaders.

Here’s a simple question for you. Who’s in a better position to know whether a leader is effective or not – the leader’s boss or the leader’s subordinate? Be honest. How many times have you worked for a leader who made you want to quit – and some A-team players did – but inexplicitly this leader went on to earn another promotion?

Who’s in a better position to know whether a leader is effective or not – the leader’s boss or the leader’s subordinate?

While many ineffective leaders can get key performance indicators going in the right direction in the short term, most cannot sustain similar results over the long term. Morale sinks. Top performers move on – because they can! The death spiral begins. However, the leader has impressed the boss with quick results and is promoted accordingly.

At one point during my command tour we were interviewing a handful of candidates for a C-suite position. I was a member of the small committee of senior leaders who had interviewed the candidates. The committee was deadlocked on two well-qualified candidates. It would be up to me to decide between candidate A and B.

One of my talented mentors suggested that I talk to subordinates who worked for each candidate. Great idea! I informally asked senior middle managers who worked for each candidate (in Navy parlance, the Leading Chief Petty Officer from each unit) about the leadership ability of their boss.

Since that experience I have always solicited input from subordinates before choosing a leader…and have never been burned.

While both managers gave accolades to their respective bosses, the manager who worked for candidate A went out of his way to explain why everyone loved working for her. Even though this conversation took place years ago, I distinctly remember him emphatically telling me that they all worked hard for her because they knew she genuinely cared for them.

That was all I needed to hear. She was selected and did an absolutely tremendous job! She is now in an extremely high leadership position in the Navy. Since that experience I have always solicited input from subordinates before choosing a leader…and have never been burned.

When choosing a leader, take the extra step to solicit information from those individuals who either work for, or work with, each candidate. It can be done formally or informally. Conduct a 360-degree feedback review, or simply ask a person who was led by them. Either way, the information you’ll get will be invaluable.

Why don’t more leaders practice behaviors that create a culture of trust?

A part of the answer is that we’re not using all the tools at our disposal to make one of the most important decisions an organization can make: selecting their leaders.

My next blog will answer this important question from a different perspective.

Until then…enjoy the journey!

Mark