Month: September 2017

In yesterday’s post, I talked about how some of us fail to recognize when we’ve stopped being productive and need to either change or move on. Today’s post is a short take on that same theme.

A colleague of mine describes life as having three phases. The first is learning how to become an adult. The second is actually acting like an adult. And the third is having fun. There isn’t a prescriptive timeframe for each of these phases, but according to my colleague they always happen in this order. It’s a nice clean, simple way to look at things. But the exit and entrance phases of each stage aren’t so clear and simple.

They can be marked by different things: college, marriage, kids, jobs, grandkids, retirement, deaths, etc.  The key, I think, is to be proactive about the transitions. For me, the first transition came when our oldest daughter was born. I knew then that I had to acknowledge my responsibilities as a provider for my wife and our children. It didn’t mean I couldn’t have fun anymore, but I had to choose work that allowed me to prioritize providing over passion. Notice I said “allowed.” Nobody forced me to make that decision. It was my call based on what I deemed as the character of a man. We all make our own calls. We just have to be careful not to subject those who rely on us to the whims of our dreams and passion.

Growing up, I always enjoyed my uncle’s perspective on things. I’ve written about him before. In my eyes, he was a world traveler because he’d gone as far as the Badlands, Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone and other western netherlands that seemed like the ends of the earth compared to our travels. He valued the experience, the adventure, the time with his family so he prioritized his time in accordance with the things he valued the most. I respected him for that and it influenced me more than he probably ever knew.

On the other hand, I was often frustrated in conversations with him. He was worldly to me yet as I grew older we would have debates that demonstrated just how narrow minded he was about come things. Specifically, we completely disagreed on the topic of labor unions. Growing up in a blue collar town where factories provided the great majority of the economic force behind our city, citizens of my birthplace could not help but proclaim the advantages brought to average employees by the powerful labor unions specifically the United Auto Workers. I saw the benefits of their work in every facet of my life. My dad, and my uncles, worked very hard always taking overtime opportunities in order to get double or triple time thanks to the contracts their union negotiated. We lived for over ten years in factory subsidized housing that got us out of a shrew infested duplex and into a brand new home that we otherwise couldn’t afford. One thing I vividly remember is going to the factory sponsored, family Christmas party each year where they had tables covered in wrapped gifts for each age group and gender that provided toys or games that most families could never have purchased on their own. All of these examples, and things that mattered far more to employees such as environmental conditions in the plant, work hours, etc, reflect the positive reasons unions sprung up over time and enjoyed such strong support from the working men and women of this great country.

As I grew older and followed my uncle’s example of becoming more worldly through travel in the military and on my own, I learned that the unions had evolved, but my family’s thinking hadn’t. Ironically, my worldly-wise uncle maintained a local perspective when it came to the value of his union and the national union under which it aligned. The union had done so much to support labor (the working class) over the years, that the labor stopped questioning the actions, and more importantly, the motives of union leadership. My position was that most unions had been so successful in negotiations with industry over time that they essentially outlived their purpose. While I considered this a good thing, my uncle and labor leadership considered this a threat. They had to come up with some rationale to maintain the purpose that had always justified the union’s existence. Unfortunately, this caused them to evolve from a service-oriented organization to a self-serving organization who’s members followed through blind loyalty. All of these factors alone are generally positive characteristics that we want human beings to espouse. But under the wrong circumstances and for the wrong motives even a collection of positive character traits can result in negative influences.

Sadly, unions didn’t have to evolve this way. It’s a tremendous challenge for any of us or any organization to identify, acknowledge and submit to the fact that we have outlived our purpose. However, we don’t have to let this submission result in a lack of purpose. We can celebrate the fact that our objectives were achieved and then resolve to move on to the next challenge, reinvent ourselves and recommit ourselves to another noble objective. Here’s one perspective on Labor Day: our work is done when it’s done, but our purpose, and the effort it requires, never ends.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech on Work and Passion

The quote above by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my favorites, not simply because it portrays his passion for doing things well, but should serve as an inspiration to anyone looking to complete a task well. The one area where I believe that a good leader is necessarily born and cannot be made, is the passion that he or she brings to leading people. This is by far one of the most difficult things to teach and is evident when someone is trying to fake it. There is no doubting the passion when watching speeches or interviews with: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, General Stanley McChrystal, or any other passionate leader, that they truly believed in what they do or did, their vision, and the people they lead.

Passion for a vision, a job, or to lead is something that almost always comes naturally for a select group, and is difficult to create for those without the knack for it. One of the last senior leaders I worked for desperately tried to foster their vision, but it was obvious to all that the passion for this vision was forced and not genuine. This strategic leader knew all the right books, terms, and models but lacked the genuine spirit and passion to implement them. Where this senior leader excelled, was their desire to mentor and use their rank for good. This strategic leader knew all the right books, terms, and models but lacked the genuine spirit and passion to implement them. Where this senior leader excelled, was their desire to mentor and use their rank for good. While that is a positive – it doesn’t make up for the inherent passion a great leader carries to everything they do.

Be passionate in what you do – and carry that passion to do everything to perfection. Do what you do with passion just as Martin Luther King Jr. extolled.

“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.”

– Simon Sinek,  Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Words matter. A good leader must be able to effectively transmit not only the vision for the organization’s future, but to do it in such a way that everyone understands and enthusiastically implements that vision. People can also be manipulated by a leader (hard to say good) who is a good communicator as well. Two examples of communicators who influenced and manipulated are Ronald Reagan and Adolf Hitler.

President Ronald Reagan who was known for his “shining city on the hill” speeches, how that inspired others, and how those who are familiar with his vision still speak about it today. His vision of what America could be still resonates in the Republican Party and with those who think that America’s best days are not behind her. Adolf Hitler is an example of how someone with a can use their powers of persuasion to do evil. Adolf Hitler was able to articulate his vision of a National Socialist Germany effectively, but to a ruinous end for the German people. Both of these men, positive and negative examples, were able to communicate a vision or idea.

Both men were effective, and the point is the communicated and idea (good or bad) that was understood and followed.  Admiral Thad Allen, US Coast Guard (retired) emphasized the need for an effective communication when he discussed strategic leadership during a speech to Washington policy makers 5 years ago He spoke of the need to communicate early and often during a crisis to ensure that the message that the leader wanted to convey gets ahead of any other possibly conflicting messages. This is the same principle an effective leader needs to understand when furthering his or her vision. A good leader will find a message that resonates with those around him, and he will repeat that message in an effective and interesting way. Good leaders must be skillful in seeking common ground with followers who have who have contrasting views or conflicting agendas. To accomplish this, a leader must reach out and effectively communicate why their vision must succeed. A leader must be able to communicate that changes are being done for the organization, and not to the organization. This will depend on proactive engagement, a sense of trust, and frequent communication.

A personal example of this was the message transmitted during the first Gulf War by the U.S. National Strategy team – President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – to the lowest ranking Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines deployed during Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield. The message that I heard while deployed was the same message heard by every single deployed serviceman in theater; the military was there to liberate Kuwait and destroy the Iraqi army in the field. That message was repeated over and over to ensure that every serviceman knew what he was fighting for, and why he was there. No one was more passionate in this message than U.S. Central Command Commander, General Norman Schwarzkopf. It was his communication example that left a lasting impression on how to be passionate about a vision or message. It is passion for an idea that has driven the greatest innovators, inventors, and leaders to achieve their vision.

So why is this titled communication failure?  I played an active part in having a senior government official (on detail to our agency) removed this week and sent back to their home agency. His biggest failure was communication – both upward and downward.  It was not a pleasant episode, and I believe the person was totally blind as to why he had failed. In my opinion, the fault was evenly spread among his peers, supervisors, and subordinates. He had been allowed to progress despite this critical leadership fault, failing forward and upward as he went. The sad part about this gentlemen was he couldn’t inspire or manipulate; he simply couldn’t communicate, except in buzzwords at meetings.  That fooled enough people to get him this far – but it didn’t last when performance was monitored and closely watched.

To watch Admiral Allen’s speech click the link below – its a fascinating look into how to communicate in a crisis.

Admiral Thad Allen, Speech about “Leadership in Times of National Crisis” June 21, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qX3nPBF7nY

I apologize, but this post is a little melancholy and not really insightful or deep.  Maybe the next one will be better.  Since the explosion of cable television, on-demand video and personal entertainment systems, events like the annual Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy have become less and less of a draw.  When we were growing up, though, the Telethon was like a snow day in early fall.  Generally, school had already been in session for a week and Labor Day gave us an early 3-day weekend.  I remember realizing on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend that the Telethon would be starting and would get excited because it would mean that there was something entertaining to watch for a full 24 hours.

This was a time when there were only three main television channels and most of them did not do 24-hour programming.  Additionally, Jerry Lewis was the host.  He was a remarkable comedian and was very fun to watch.  I remember watching some of his earlier shows on television reruns and always enjoyed his humor and physical comedy.  His ties to the Rat Pack and connections with so many Hollywood stars ensured that each Telethon was star-studded and filled with humor, song, dance numbers and so on.  It was kind of like “America’s Got Talent”, but with stars and for 24 hours.

The past several years, Jerry Lewis has not been able to host, but has still been a presence in the Telethon.  Even when he wasn’t hosting, I still looked forward to the weekend and tuning in for a little bit, if just for the nostalgia.  This year, however, will be the first year without him, as he passed away just a couple of weeks ago at age 91.  Maybe it is just getting older, or, as stated above, the plethora of round-the-clock entertainment options, but, for the first time, I really am not that excited about the Labor Day weekend.  Sure, the Telethon will go on, but it just feels different now.  I know that is irrational, but that is how I am feeling about it.  The weekend will still be fun and I am still glad to have a 3-day weekend, but it won’t be the same now…but that’s probably good too.

Have a great weekend and next post will be better, I promise.