NinaSimosko.com

Brick walls are not there to keep us out. They let us show our dedication.

– Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was an extraordinary leader. This is his “last lecture” on achieving childhood dreams. The idea for this lecture is based on a series of lectures by recognized academics where they are asked to consider personally important topics and to prepare a presentation as if it was their last public lecture. Learn more about his life and work here.

This exuberant presentation covers many important aspects of leadership. Not only does he cover the importance of leaders recognizing and acting upon their past, present and future; he walks through some of the opportunities and challenges that he faced throughout his career. From his desire to become part of Disney’s Imagineering team through his work at Carnegie-Mellon. But one of the key messages is that leaders succeed when they provide opportunities for others to succeed.

You may know, that Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008.

Nina Nets It Out: “To the extent that you can live on in something, I will live on in this”. Randy Pausch created a lasting legacy not only in his achievements, but in the number of talented leaders that he inspired. Be sure to heed his advice and do all that you can to foster opportunities for those around you. This will prove to be very valuable and rewarding to both you and those around you.

Recently, I posted a piece on the tremendously important pursuit of consistent, effective communication. To take my point a step further, I subsequently added a piece regarding a concept called background-foreground communication, wherein I described a method that I learned long ago to aid in facilitating clear, undistracted communication. I’d like to take this communication series a bit further by talking about communication from another perspective — the ever-important practice of listening.
A common misnomer about listening is that people fundamentally believe that they listen with their ears. Now, I am surely not arguing that biologically people don’t listen with their ears, mind you. But rather, that listening is a crucial competency that leaders ought to possess that involves far more than just one’s ears. Listening, when done correctly, involves all of the senses. Proof of the matter is that deaf people can listen and in many ways are actually better listeners for not having the ability to hear. So, in short, hearing is NOT listening. True “active listening” involves watching with attentiveness, reflecting without judgment, and appropriately reacting with consideration, and doing all of the above without distraction.

Just as hearing is not listening, looking is not watching. For sure, looking at someone does not indicate a measure of attentiveness to that someone, but rather merely that your gaze is focused in their general direction. Watching someone with attentiveness, on the other hand, involves looking at them, making eye contact, exhibiting appropriate body language and other non-verbal cues that demonstrate attention to and consideration of what is being spoken.

Reflecting upon what someone has said to you prior to responding is also critically important in achieving effective communication. This requires suspending judgment, not to mention, fully listening to what is being spoken without simultaneously attempting to formulate a response in your head … at least until the speaker has concluded any statements. This is not to suggest that you must agree with what has been stated, but at least give the speaker the courtesy of hearing them out fully before jumping to a reply.

Finally, be sure that the response given or reaction (which is completely within our own control) is one that is respectful and considerate, despite whether or not you agree with the statements being offered. To be clear, a response is far more than just what you might say verbally in reply…it also includes facial gestures, body language and other non-verbal gestures. We’ve surely all been there … something is said and we simply roll our eyes, cringe or throw our arms up. And just so I’m up front about things, these gestures, as much as they are funny to think about sometimes and even funnier to witness on occasion, are most definitely not “respectful and considerate” as true, active listening would recommend.

To be a great communicator, one must master both speaking and listening. Don’t ever become complacent with your communication skills, as I can guarantee that each and every one of us will forever be able to improve our respective skills and thereby enhance the effectiveness of how we communicate. And without a doubt, success is strongly correlated to effective communication.

Nina Nets It Out: Communication is a two-sided activity –- the speaker and the listener. To be an effective communicator, it is necessary to master the skills required on both sides. Be sure to review the tips on “10 Tips to Effective & Active Listening Skills” to master the listening side and use the communication approaches I previously wrote about to help out on the speaking side. I know I was amazed at the results when I began using these approaches. Climbing the corporate ladder will undoubtedly demand a solid command of communication skills and make the journey that much easier and faster.

If you are wanting to find information on “leadership”, there are plenty of sites you can visit. Take a look at my Links and you will see the websites that I read regularly — Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership, Anna Farmery’s The Engaging Brand, Dan McCarthy’s Great Leadership and Jim Stroup’s Managing Leadership. There are many more sites that provide useful leadership advice, written from a variety of angles.

Increasingly, I am beginning to see “group” websites starting to bring together like-minded authors around a topic. Slow Leadership is one such site which I have just added to my reading list. Slow Leadership aims:

… to provide interesting and challenging articles to help you think through the issues and find ways to enjoy your life and work to the full. This is a blog about ideas, not quick tips.

I am pleased to let you know that I will, from time to time, be contributing articles to the Leadership section of the Slow Leadership site.

In other news, I have also been asked to contribute to the Leadership & People section of the UK-based ChangeBoard.com.

Both of these sites have some excellent leadership writers onboard. Do yourself a favor and spend some time there. After all, leaders never stop learning!

Nina Nets It Out: I am often asked for reading recommendations. One of the best sources of current leadership thinking and learning is right at your fingertips — check the list of the blogs available here on my blog, and then follow through to the blogs that these writers recommend.

Almost 30 years ago, Michael Porter identified the five competitive forces that shape business strategy. This ground-breaking work was a holistic way of looking at industry/business. Porter focuses on the need to step back from the details of running your business so that you can identify the strategic objectives that will deliver value across your organization.

This is a particularly important skill for leaders — after all, it is easy to be caught up in the detail of running a business. Some even find it enjoyable. But leading a business also means being able to operate, like Richard Branson, at 30,000 feet.

To recap, Porter’s five forces are:

1. Rivalry among existing competitors
2. Bargaining power of buyers
3. Bargaining power of suppliers
4. Threat of new entrants
5. Threat of substitute products or services

The Harvard Business Review have published a reaffirmation and extension of Porter’s five forces. In this 12 minute video from HBR you can hear Porter speak about the five forces, or, you can see an edited, 5 minute version, on YouTube.

Nina Nets It Out: Despite being written 30 years ago, Porter’s five forces still provides a solid framework for thinking through business strategy. No matter where you are in your career, understanding this framework can provide you with a way of understanding the trends, opportunities and challenges faced by your company and your industry.

Earlier today I was interviewed by Eric Pennington on his Epic Living Podcast. You can listen to the recorded podcast directly by clicking on the play button here on the left. My interview commences at 11 minutes into the podcast.

In the podcast I discuss my current role and experience (11:00), the importance of education for a leader (13:30), importance of communication (17:00), the role of the leader in a group (18:00), the corporate environment for women and the importance of mentoring (20:00), how to reach out to mentors (22:15), how to improve employee engagement (24:00), the importance of “going for it” (31:30), the practicalities of leadership (38:00), the importance of clarity in leadership — and how to use technology in communication (41:00). I hope you enjoy it.

This recent Time interview with Nelson Mandela provides a great, open and insightful view of leadership from someone who has known great power and also been bereft of its influence in his 90 years. His advice for leaders is practical, outcome-oriented and courageous. Be sure to take the time to read the article in full as it provides an excellent primer for aspiring leaders and a unique vision for the way leadership can transform lives (and whole countries). Mandela’s eight lessons are:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it. Most leaders have faced down fear, but it is during times of stress that the mettle of leadership is tested. This means maintaining the momentum in tough times, or as Mandela explains, sometimes you “must put up a front.”
2. Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind. Mandela focused on a principle objective and employed any and all tactics required to achieve it, however, he always ensured that he brought his support base along with him — to achieve great things, it takes a village.
3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front. Be sure to read Mandela’s analogy on this point. And while it appears contradictory, you will smile at the wisdom. Remember also, that leaders can actively assist in the growth of their supporters/teams.
4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport. Whether you are fighting against or negotiating with an opponent, your destiny is entwined. Finding a common ground for conversation, like sport, allows you a step inside another’s worldview — and if you have to focus on one thing, make sure it is communication. It is the door to opportunity.
5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer. Mandela understood that “people act in their own interest,” and his approach to dealing with those he did not trust was to bring them into his confidence and neutralize them with charm. But should a crisis ensue, remember the STOP technique to help guide your decisions.
6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile. Our personal iconographies are important — the way that we carry ourselves, the way we walk into a room, the manner with which we greet people and, of course, the clothes that we wear all tell a story. And Mandela’s smile symbolized an inclusive, patient yet determined leader. Great things can be achieved with a little grace.
7. Nothing is black or white. As leaders we are often presented with two options — to decide one way or another. Mandela often asked “why not both?” Again, the focus must remain on the outcome, not the tactics — and if a choice has to be made, choose the most urgent of issues.
8. Quitting is leading too. Not all of our decisions or initiatives will be successful. Leaders must make the difficult decision to cancel or back away from poorly performing projects. Mandela also clearly retired as a way to establish a precedent across Africa — staying long enough to set the course, but not staying on to “steer the ship.” Sometimes leaders must concede to win.

Nina Nets It Out: Each leader must chart her own course, but as we can see from Mandela’s example, a determined focus on a clear outcome helps guide all decisions and tactics along the way.

Eric Pennington, author of Waking Up in Corporate America, has a popular show, Epic Living Hour, on BlogTalkRadio each Friday. BlogTalkRadio takes the radio show format and brings it online — so you can listen live or download the show to play back on your computer or on your iPod. But one of the best aspects of BlogTalkRadio is that listeners can dial-in to discuss topics from each show.

In the past, Eric has interviewed Wayne Turmel of the Cranky Middle Manager Show and Harvey Hook, author of The Power of an Ordinary Life. This Friday, July 25, I will have the honor of speaking with Eric on the Epic Living Hour. We will be discussing the role of education in the life of a leader and the particular challenges that women face in growing their careers.

I hope you will listen in!

Recently, I wrote a piece on the critical importance of communication. In my opinion, the one core skill that any person needs, be it in business or life in general, is the ability to clearly communicate their thoughts and views. After all, without clear communication, how can anything involving more than one individual progress?

In an effort to take this point to the next level, I want to share a concept that I learned years ago from some organizational behavior consultants working with my organization at the time on large-scale change initiatives. The concept, called “Background-Foreground Communication”, is intended to enable groups to accelerate their integration and, ultimately, their performance so as to achieve faster results.

The concept is rather simple in its description, but amazingly interesting in its execution. In a nutshell, “background communication” is non-verbal communication comprised mostly of thoughts in one’s head that exist during an interaction with another individual or group of people. For example, if you walk into a meeting with a work colleague and you just hung up from a phone call wherein you learned that a loved one had been injured, most likely what will be running through your head is your thoughts and concerns for your loved one and, understandably, not the topic at hand. “Foreground communication” is verbal communication, or simply, what we speak aloud and share with those around us. As I said, so far, conceptually simple.

The beauty of this concept is in the understanding that while background communication exists, productive dialog is impossible. In order to achieve productive discussion, it is imperative that background communication be brought into the foreground where it can be dealt with and properly set aside. Doing so enables effective communication to occur and, hopefully, objectives to be met.  To be clear, it is not necessary to disclose the specific details of your background thoughts, but merely the existence of them which will preclude fertile discourse.

By way of another rudimentary example, imagine you are making a sales call to a prospect at Heinz and prior to going into the meeting, you unfortunately sat on a piece of chewing gum leaving an obvious stain on your pants. Now, when you begin to make your pitch, the prospective client is busy thinking in their head, “gee, I wonder if she knows that she has a stain on her pants?” Meanwhile, you are thinking in your head, “I hope they don’t see the stain on my pants” – the one that you so diligently tried to hide with your jacket. How well do you think this sales call is going to go?

Now imagine that you bring this “background” to the “foreground” right away. Perhaps some self-deprecating comment about how clumsy you are or how you purposely got a gum stain on your shirt to show them how their white vinegar product has alternative uses and can be marketed as a great chewing gum stain remover. Now, not only will this approach bring the background thoughts to the foreground allowing for a productive discussion, but it also opens up another viable discussion about a Heinz product that would likely not have happened otherwise.

Regardless how you choose to go about clearing the path for fruitful dialog, make sure you give yourself the best chances possible for a positive or productive outcome during each interaction by doing so. In fact, I have found that this approach can work rather well in personal relationships as well by creating a platform for a discussion with just the simple phrase to a colleague or loved one, “Can we chat? I have some ‘background’ that I’d like to discuss.”

Nina Nets It Out: When you really stop and think about it, clear communication is absolutely critical to achieving just about anything in business or in life. Be sure to not allow yourself to be distracted by “background” when having discussions. Pave the way for fruitful dialog by moving the background to the foreground.

Late last year, Marshall Goldsmith reported on a study that found a majority of employees spend 10 or more hours each month complaining — or listening to others complain. Furthermore, the study finds that almost 30% of your employees will engage in the practice of complaining for around 20 hours per month. That’s half a week each month.

So, say your company has 1000 employees, then at the rates described in the study, your business will have absorbed around 72,000 hours of unproductive time each year. Even at a conservative rate of $100 per hour, that leaves your business with a $7 million deficit each and every year. What can you do about this?

Marshall Goldsmith suggests working with your direct reports, colleagues and peers and encouraging them to ask four simple questions before publicly making comment:

1. Will this comment help our company?
2. Will this comment help our customers?
3. Will this comment help the person that I am talking to?
4. Will this comment help the person that I am talking about?

And while this is a great starting point, I would go further. I would suggest that the person who is making the complaint needs to make a mental pivot and begin to redefine the problem that is at the heart of the situation. After all, no-one wants to live in comfortable misery.

However, leaders can also address this situation and have a clear impact on the productivity (and the bottom line) of their business unit. The secret (which is no secret), is to encourage a combination of listening and action. Complaints, when not addressed, tend to fester in your organization — sometimes even a simple acknowledgment of a problem can see it disappear altogether. Take hold of the issue by the horns — run through the four questions above; if warranted ask the hard questions, deal with the answers and move on. Encourage your executives to do the same.  But if you take no action, you certainly will have something to complain about!

Nina Nets It Out: Most organizations mask a culture of complaint that has a real cost to your business. Leaders need to set an agenda that can focus their teams, colleagues and peers around delivering value. Start with a “mental pivot.”

After reading the Wall Street Journal’s Top 50 Business Gurus some time ago, I asked the question Where Are the Women Gurus?

The insightful Wally Bock provided a very interesting, two part answer. Firstly, he checked his personal bookcase and noted that of the 50 or so business books he has/is in the process of reading, very few of the authors were women (which is one of the main methods of building a profile). Now, a leading business blogger like Wally is bound to be high on the list of publicists wanting to raise the profiles of business authors, so while this is a personal view, it really is a telling situation. As Wally says:

In all of those fifty books, there were only three woman authors. Lisa Haneberg had two books on my shelf. Elizabeth Craig of Accenture was co-author of The Talent-Powered Organization. And Erika Anderson wrote the book I’ll be reviewing next, an excellent one called Growing Great Employees.

But it was the second part of Wally’s answer that intrigued me most. Wally pointed out that part of Tom Davenport’s assessment method included a ranking based on hits on Google and Lexis/Nexis. However, before a “potential leadership guru” could even be assessed, they needed to be on the short list of candidates:

… We don’t know who makes up the initial list of names to try on Google and Lexis/Nexis. I didn’t see it in the Journal article or in Davenport’s 2003 book. Your name won’t even get run against the indices if you’re not on the list to start with. So who picks the initial list of names? Using what criteria?

Before we start to see more women on the Top 50 list (of anything), we need to see more women represented on the unpublished short lists of those responsible for compiling the lists. We need to see more women being recognized for their outstanding contributions to business, governance and politics. In fact, we need to see more women being recognized, period.

With this in mind, I would like to enlist your help.

The team behind the Thinkers 50, the bi-annual listing of the world’s most important and influential business thinkers allow you to vote on their site. You can vote for someone who is already on the list, or you can nominate someone new. Take a few moments to think of the women leaders you find inspiring, review the list, and add the leader you most admire (there are only four women on the list as I write).

Nina Nets It Out: The next Thinkers 50 list is announced in 2009 — and I hope to see more than four women in the top 50. Make your vote count!