I am honored to have partnered with the Maryland Chamber of Commerce to produce a four part series entitled “A Call to Leadership”   You will find the introduction to this series below.  This first video zeros in on:

Why it is so critical that we more proactively develop leadership during today’s times.
Recent research that proves the tremendous return on investment for organizations who have outstanding leadership cultures.
What is the best approach for developing leadership today – for individuals and organizations.

The other 3 segments will be added over the next couple weeks and will focus on specific aspects of leadership.

“We need to learn to do more with less.”   We have  heard this phrase for so long that it has become part of our business culture.   I am here to tell you -that this is a terrible belief and one that does not serve our long term success – especially given the tremendous challenges we face in business, our country and the world.  Now for a short period during the late 1990s this may have been useful during a time of transition.  Yet, this frame is not only outdated – if we continue to embrace it we will become less effective and overthrown by overwhelm!

There are a number of approaches we can take in business to recapture time lost in our day.  Yet incorporating these approaches will require a major shift in habits – as individuals and in our organizational cultures.  One of the areas to transform is our entire approach to achievement and how we get things done.  One antidote for overwhelm will come from tapping into the creative power that goes largely unused in the day to day business world.  One of my favorite quotes about our innate creative powers comes from the famous line spoken by Napoleon Hill in his seminal book Think & Grow Rich: “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” (more…)

We know leadership is important and that effective leaders generate high level results and ineffective leaders do not.  We know what leadership is and that EVERY organization has a gap in leadership effectiveness.  If you asked any CEO if he could have a team of exceptional business people with extraordinary leadership skills dropped into his or her organization – it would be a “no brainer!”

The question then becomes, If leadership is so critical to an organization’s success (and research is bearing this out through a number of studies) then the question becomes why are not more organizations taking the bull by the horn?   Bottom line, it is the legacy experience most organizations have had with leadership development “programs.”   They have far from lived up to their promise.

The reason for the failure of the “Leadership Development Program Model” is because such programs are not linked to the business.  After all exceptional leaders always have better results than nominal leaders because they are leading the business!  Given that why do we separate development from moving forward business objectives?   We have done this for years and then when you need to cut costs – we cut development.  Why because there is no clear connection between leadership development programs and important outcomes of a business.

So how do we fix this?   In short we fix it by starting by looking at the state of the business and examine the gaps between where we are are and where we want to be.  Then we look at leadership as one of the parameters for closing that gap.  The top team must then look at who it has to be individually and collectively in order to close the gap and then we must fuse the desired business outcomes with the leadership development process we engage.  If that is done we don’t have a “program” but rather an initiative to support greater business success.

The reason why executive coaching has been so successful and has seen such a strong return on investment is that most executive coaches worth their weight engage the leader at the level of desired results and design their executive coaching around improving those results.  Along the way guess what?  Developmental gaps show up through the coaching experience that must be addressed in order to achieve the desired outcomes.  The outcome -  you get better business results as well as a leader who has greater impact.  It has a multiplying effect.  Yet, as much as executive coaching is a useful process – it works at the individual level – rarely at the collective level.   We need to take this understanding to a strategic level for an organization and build approaches that focus on the business results first while also supporting transforming leadership.

Therefore, if someone comes to your organization promoting “programs” be leery!  Ask them how is this going to improve my outcomes?  If they can’t show you how that will occur do not consider hiring them!

In an earlier entry “The Rising Power of the Feminine in Executive Leadership” – I highlighted solid research showing that companies with women in top leadership positions have stronger relationships with customers and shareholders and a more diverse and profitable business ¹.

A recent article in Forbes shows that most US Corporations are still not realizing the power that women bring.  The article highlights some sobering statistics as follows:

• Research done between 2004-2010 indicates that over 33% of women are leaving the workforce each year for various reasons.  For example in 2009 74% left for child care reasons, 16% left because their careers were stalled and a whopping 89% left because no executive in the organization was sponsoring their journey to success ².
• While 89% planned to resume their careers after a hiatus – only 40% of the women looking to reenter the work force after only 2 years found full time employment ³.
• Women who return to full-time work face a lower job title, a decrease in management and overall responsibilities and a striking financial penalty. Women who off-ramped for two years faced a 14% salary gap. The penalty tripled to 46% for those that left for three or more years ⁴.

This is just another symptom of organizations cutting their nose of despite their face.  Then there is the other side of the coin where an organization takes a talented woman leader and instead of leveraging her strengths and interests – they try to force her into a leadership position that does not fit because they want to show the world they are supporting the promotion of women.  While this shows some thoughtfulness – it is also misguided.

Those organizations who continue down this path just might find that this decision comes back to haunt them.  Why do I say this? Because another statistic shows that the majority of small businesses rising today are lead by women.  If your organization takes no action to change its trajectory – you might just find a fierce yet compassionate competitor lead by a woman eating your lunch.

Whether everyone sees it or not we are facing a major transformation in the way business is conducted worldwide.  If we do not take advantage of the lessons this difficult time has taught us – we will miss a huge opportunity.  To fully leverage this opportunity we need leadership and true leadership integrates a results focus along with a collaborative orientation (among other things).  We do not have enough male leaders who embody both sides of this equation and thus this is why there is a deep need for strong women leaders who for the most part have the capacity to embody both.   Men reading this might react negatively yet this is not about male bashing.  It is about finding balance and having leaders who can model the full power of leadership for everyone.  The question is will enough large organizations recognize the importance of such balance?  If not, there will be a revolution and for those who do not join – you will miss huge opportunities now and the pain of not joining will be greater down the road for you and your organization.

As I have said before, the essential purpose of leadership is to create.   The fundamental tool of creation for a leader is their vision for the market place as well as the vision they hold for their organizational culture.  As a creator the leader takes 100% accountability for the outcome of the vision and for everything that happens around them.  Now please allow me to distinguish between taking 100% accountability with 100% responsibility.  They are quite different.

Taking 100% responsibility or placing everything on your shoulders and taking on all the stress around the success or failure of the business is not the point.   The point owning the vision and holding the expectancy it will unfold.  If a leader has developed a compelling vision and has done a great job of instilling this vision into their people – while mistakes will happen – in the end the vision will become reality.  Yet, if the leader begins to complain about how the market place is behaving, the problems with the economy, or begins to blame low performers for all the woos in the business – they are missing the point of being a leader as well as the power of vision.

If the market is not responding – a true leader does not blame the market.  They collect the best minds and ask what do we have to do to engage the market more effectively so people get who we are and want to do business with us?   If the economy is tanking and business is off – the true leader takes responsibility by examining with his top people the model they are using to develop business and will shift their approach to succeed or do better than they have in the tough economy.  If there is an issue with low performance – a true leader coaches the boss of that direct report to get to the bottom of it or they themselves explore what the issue is.   If there is not a fit – they let the person go.  If it is a coaching issue they work towards a new commitment with that employee to engage at a higher level and make sure that there will be rewards if they do and consequences if they do not.

The fundamental key here is making sure your people are enrolled in the vision and know their part in fulfilling it.  If the vision has come alive – the true leader knows with certainty it is only a matter of time before things line up.  They embrace the responsibility for creating an environment that is brutally honest about what the challenges are while also inspiring others to reach further to fulfill the mission and key priorities.

True leaders also expect their best people to take on their responsibility for their part of the vision and to be accountable for their results.  If they can not do this and not aligned with the organization’s mission and vision then they are in the wrong place and it is best to move on.  Yet, if the leader begins to complain about their performance with out proper feedback and coaching – then it is as much or more the leader’s limitations that are the reason for less than acceptable outcomes. Ultimately, the leader declares the destination, sets the course and is very clear about their expectations.  They want their people to take risks and failure is an option as long as everyone is learning and leveraging lessons learned to achieve the results and improve performance.