DMS Blog

Plugging the phrase “leadership bubble” into the search engine of your choice will return numerous hits.  Few of these hits will have anything positive to say about organizations in which a “leadership bubble” exists.  Indeed, in a 2009 interview with CNBC, President Obama revealed that, in an effort to stay grounded, he kept a personal Blackberry as a means to communicate with people outside the White House.  This was widely interpreted as the President’s way of seeking to puncture the leadership bubble around him in the West Wing.

The term leadership bubble describes a leader or leadership team disconnected from reality and provided only with information that reinforces that leader’s/team’s biases and preferences.  This type of leadership bubble depresses morale as employees are whipsawed between a desire to please management and the reality they confront every day.  Moreover, such a situation may destroy an organization faced with unexpected or unorthodox challenges because employees are unwilling to or are prevented from bringing such challenges to the attention of management in a timely fashion.

Other types of leadership bubbles, however, can be a significant benefit to modern leaders who are electronically tethered to their organizations.  For example, Royal Navy tradition reserved the starboard side of the quarterdeck of a ship for use by the Captain, and prohibited approaching the Captain without permission or to report an emergency.

In the exhaustively researched and historically accurate novel Master and Commander, author Patrick O’Brian forcefully dramatized the benefits of this convention.  In describing main character Jack Aubrey’s management of a sea chase, O’Brian writes:

 What was he to do now?  He wanted to think: he wanted to think there on deck, in the closest possible touch with the situation – the shifting wind on his face, the glow of the binnacles just at hand and not the least interruption.  And this the conventions and the discipline of the service allowed him to do.  The blessed inviolability of a captain (so ludicrous at times, and such a temptation to silly pomp) wrapped about, and his mind could run free.

 Crafting a similar leadership bubble in a business can grant leaders and leadership teams such freedom to carefully consider strategic decisions in the absence of the steady drip of everyday issues.  This space can be invaluable for assembling a coherent and beneficial strategy.

To effectively carve out your own leadership bubble here are a few tips:

1.  Define your leadership bubble, whether it is a tangible place such as your office or simply a block of time during which you are unreachable barring an emergency;
2. Clearly state your expectations regarding communicating with you while in your bubble;
3. Firmly reject attempts to breach the bubble to instill the discipline of respecting the space;
4. Take care that your bubble does not become a traditional “leadership bubble.”

The benefits of having a leadership bubble in your organization are many. If you are ready to create your own bubble, Dame Management Strategies is fully equipped to assist with both planning and executing this effort.

Pitt’s recently hired football coach, Mike Haywood, was arrested over the weekend. Coach Haywood was charged with felony battery of the mother of his young son and then released on bail. His current relationship with this woman is a bit hazy. Pitt immediately dismissed Haywood and began to search for a new coach of its football program.

The good news is that Pitt has its values positioned front and center. Although the course of action seemed apparent for Pitt, most organizations have less clarity with respect to what they stand for. Recently, I dealt with an organization whose purchasing manager couldn’t work because his wife turned him over to the police for domestic abuse. Another project manager exhibited bursts of anger that cost the company a major client. Finally, a seasoned manager neglected the core functions of his position causing turmoil and petty politics to grow within his division. In all instances, management wrestled with what to do. These employees did 90% of their jobs correctly. However, they were not connecting with each organization’s published values. What do you do with good people who don’t “live” your values?

Values are the DNA at the heart of every organization. They give us the ability to develop a culture that reflects what we hold to be non-negotiable. In a world where values seem to be unknown or in question, think what your actions say to your colleagues and employees. I guarantee they take cues from how you act more than they listen to your words. Values can and should drive our behaviors as leaders.

Bob had tons of experience. He worked with large organizations and had always risen quickly. He was the “Alpha Dog.” That’s why it was so surprising when two years into a new position as VP of a regional firm, he spoke tentatively about his performance.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” said Bob. “I do everything I believe the CEO is looking for. I keep him updated, feed him all the spreadsheets and monthly reports that he requests. We focus on profits, and I handle all the staffing issues. I just can’t seem to get any traction—you know—that feeling you get when an organization has some momentum. Most of the time I feel more like a “lap dog” than an “alpha dog.”

“According to your job description, what is your primary responsibility?” I asked.

He thought for a minute and said, “Growing the top and bottom lines of the company by developing and bringing to market new product lines, improving efficiencies, and developing those individuals that report directly and indirectly to me.”

“So, what’s with spending your time on reports and spreadsheets?” I asked

Bob stopped to gather his thoughts before he spoke. He had a faraway look in his eye when he finally responded. “I think I lost my way. I’ve replaced results with pleasing my CEO. It’s just not me.”

What is it about you that caused your CEO to hire you?

“I guess my track record and attitude.”

“Sounds as if you have to go find that person again. How can we search for your true north?”

By: Linda Galindo

How much of your success would you say is up to you-your choices, your actions, your behaviors-versus outside conditions?

If your mind-set is that you’re at least 85% responsible for your success-and that just 15% depends on the way the wind blows-you’ll likely be successful. If you blame your problems and failures-big or small, personal or professional-on other people, circumstances beyond your control, or just plain bad luck, you may be doomed to fail.
The good news? Accountability is not just a mind-set-it’s also a skill-set that everyone can learn. It may not be as easy as one-two-three, but it is a three-step process:

1. Responsibility
Responsibility is not something you do-it’s a way of thinking and being. When you’re truly responsible, you believe that success or failure is up to you, even if you work within a team or are blind-sided by unforeseen circumstances. You own your commitment to a result before the fact, before you even take action.

Getting started:

-Be responsible ‘either way.’ It’s easy to claim responsibility when things go well, but it’s hard when they don’t. A truly responsible person, however, accepts responsibility either way. So next time you take on a project, be 100% responsible for the outcome. Not a little. Not somewhat. Not pretty much. Own it 100%-good or bad-with no wiggle room.

-Recognize your power. You already have the ability to be 100% responsible; everybody does. Yet most of us don’t realize-or at least don’t admit-that we alone have the power to manage our lives and careers. Sure, you can give that power away, but that is a conscious choice; it doesn’t happen without your permission.
-Deal with what is. Think about it: when was the last time you were able to change the past? It doesn’t matter what should have happened-it matters what is. That saves you the trouble of figuring out who’s to blame or worrying about how things ‘coulda woulda shoulda’ been if only something had gone differently. It didn’t-and that makes your choice a cinch: ‘How do I want to react to the situation that is?’

2. Self-empowerment
There is only one kind of empowerment, and that is self-empowerment. Unlike granting authority, empowerment comes from within. By empowering yourself, you take the actions-and the risks-to achieve a result and get what you want. Rather than waiting for someone to declare you empowered or give you that one lucky break, you step outside your comfort zone, make things happen, and answer for the outcomes.

Getting started:

-Manage expectations. The most direct route to self-empowerment is to be clear about expectations-not only what you expect, but also what’s expected of you. To do that, you need to ask questions, make agreements, and clarify everything in writing. Otherwise, you risk suffering the source of all upset: missed expectations.

-Take back your time. ‘No’ is an empowering word. So every time you utter, ‘I can’t say no,’ ask yourself if you can’t-or if you’re unwilling to. Take back your time in other ways, too: get rid of your to-do list (track projects and deadlines on a calendar instead); resist over-scheduling (you can’t cram 12 hours of work into eight hours, so stop trying); and estimate times realistically (let’s face it, most tasks take longer than we think they will).

-Sing your own praises. It’s an all-too-common workplace mantra: ‘One day they’ll notice how much I do around here and give me the recognition I deserve.’ NOT! Take stock of your personal talents and triumphs and let the higher-ups know who you are and how you contribute.

3. Personal accountability
Unlike responsibility (the ‘before’) and self-empowerment (the ‘during’), personal accountability is the ‘after’. It’s a willingness to answer for the outcomes of your choices, actions, and behaviors. When you’re personally accountable, you stop assigning blame, ‘should-ing’ on people, and making excuses. Instead, you take the fall when your choices cause problems.

Getting started:

-Tell the truth. Everybody messes up sometimes. Lying about it or trying to cover it up always makes it worse-no exceptions. (Just ask former President Bill Clinton, who paid a steep price-impeachment-for lying to a grand jury.) Save yourself some time: Don’t tell untruths. Nobody believes them anyway-not even you.

-Police yourself. Are you accountable for your actions even if nobody holds you accountable-or nobody catches you? You bet you are. So be your own ‘accountability cop’ and police yourself. On the long and winding road of life, choose accountability at every turn.

-Look to yourself-first. When trouble arises, look first to yourself. Ask four specific questions: ‘What is the problem?’ ‘What am I doing-or not doing-to contribute to the problem?’ “What will I do differently to help solve the problem?’ and ‘How will I be accountable for the result?’
Personal accountability is sorely lacking-and urgently needed-in business and across society as a whole. Wait no longer-do it now. Choose accountability and own your success at work and in life.

About the Author(s)
Linda Galindo
Linda Galindo is a consultant specializing in individual and leadership accountability. She is the author of The 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability Guarantees Success-No Nonsense, No Excuses (Jossey-Bass). For more information, visit lindagalindo.com

By Richard S. Gallagher

Here’s a conundrum: how do we ever successfully raise difficult subjects with people, when we are all so uniquely programmed to not like hearing them? In other words, how do you tell someone that they are doing something stupid, without ever using the word “stupid” in the sentence?

The answer is simple, but not necessarily easy. We must somehow remove the threat stimulus that causes people to resist us, while still getting our message heard and acted on. But instead of doing this, most of us operate under the misconception that we have just two stark choices in this situation:

1. To simply let it all hang out and criticize someone

2. To avoid directly mentioning the situation at hand, either by letting it slide entirely, sugarcoating it, or resorting to euphemisms

Both of these approaches spring from the classic deficit-based approach to communications-in other words, you see something wrong and try to correct it. This comes so naturally to most of us that we often don’t think to use a strength-based approach, which focuses on creating benefits for both parties in the transaction.

Instead, why not try an approach that allows you to say exactly what you want to say, in a way that helps motivate and influence the other person? It consists of a formal, structured process that takes the same message you intended to deliver and phrases it using techniques that help the other person accept your message head-on without getting defensive. Because it makes it easier to be candid with people, we will call it the CANDID approach. Its letters break down into specific steps that you can take, in order, to create a productive dialogue:

* Compartmentalize the message to create a neutral opening
* Ask questions based on the other person’s response
* Normalize the situation
* Discuss the details-factually and neutrally
* Incentivize the outcome
* Disengage from the discussion

This technique breaks a difficult conversation into manageable stages, each of which uses a specific approach. This process helps take the emotional sting out of your messages, so that the conversation will be more cooperative instead of confrontational. Above all, it creates a framework for truly painless dialogues that help both you and the other person get what you want.

Compartmentalize
Use neutral opening statements. For example:

. Have the other person describe what happened, particularly when something has gone wrong.

. Ask the other person how he is doing, particularly when you notice a change in behavior.

. Make a neutral observation, particularly when you notice negative dynamics between people.

. Use the “I” technique, where you relate things to your own behavior or observations (e.g., “I have done this too” or “I have seen lots of people do this”), particularly when someone has made a mistake.

Ask Questions
Now that you have successfully started a feedback dialogue, acknowledge the other person’s response, and then keep asking questions, based on what the person tells you. The goal here is to be “curious, not furious.” Good questions show interest
in the other person, and provide a face-saving way for the other person to
acknowledge his behavior in his own words. More important, they often get
the other person focused on solving the problem himself, without getting
upset or defensive.

Normalize
Many difficult conversations revolve around a common theme of wanting someone to stop doing a Bad Thing. So guess what the most effective way is to get the other person to talk about it? By making it not seem like such a Bad Thing. Letting people know that their behavior happens to other people, or even to you-even when their behavior is wrong-moves you and the other person closer to a solution. We call this step “normalizing,” because we are relating their behavior to the norms of others. Normalizing a behavior doesn’t mean that you approve of it; it just means that you understand it and that it is safe to talk about it-which paradoxically is more likely to lead to behavioral change.

Discuss
Here, we get to the fun part: finally mentioning the behavior that we aren’t happy about. It is important to discuss problem behaviors frankly, but note that this is the fourth and not the first step of the process.

Bring up the issue at hand, as neutrally and factually as possible.

. Make the other person part of the process of solving the issue, using phrases such as “What do you think?”

. Empathize with every response-because feelings are never wrong.

This step speaks to the essence of the CANDID process. You are being candid, and yet at the same time very productive. It is here, when you have laid the proper groundwork, that you can truly tell anyone anything.

This is not the same as agreeing with the other person. You are talking about facts and only facts at this point. Additionally, you are not telling the other person what to do. You are asking them what to do. You are taking a difficult situation, gift-wrapping it, and handing it to them to solve.

Incentivize
Here, we get to the most important part of the process: giving the other person a benefit for changing, by putting into words his interest and expressing confidence in him. This simple but critical step ultimately determines how successful you will be in reaching the goals of your discussion. Remember: no one ever changes their behavior unless it benefits them in some tangible way. People respond much better when they have an incentive for doing so, whether it is a direct benefit or the avoidance of negative consequences. Either way, by finding and selling these benefits, you provide the means to bring a feedback discussion to a productive and
successful close.

Disengage
An important but often overlooked part of the conversation process is to reinforce a positive working relationship-at the close of a sensitive dialogue-by disengaging from the discussion and shifting back into the normal workday. This step, simply put, is a matter of changing the subject toward other areas-preferably strengths-that are part of the relationship you have with this person. It can be about other work issues, or even last night’s football game, so long as it represents a positive, supportive transition away from the coaching discussion.

By using the CANDID approach, you accomplish three important goals:

1. You turn difficult conversations into a painless process that is more comfortable for you to deliver.

2. You transform your relationships with other people into positive and constructive ones.

3. Most important, you gain the power to create real changes in other people by turning your focus from challenging people to helping them.

Copyright 2009 Richard S. Gallagher. All rights reserved.

This article was adapted from How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work, by Richard S. Gallagher, published by AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 2009.

http://www.amacombooks.org/book.cfm?isbn=9780814410158

About the Author:

Richard S. Gallagher is a corporate trainer and public speaker who specializes in workplace culture and communication. He is the author of Great Customer Connections, What to Say to a Porcupine, and, most recently, How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work (AMACOM, 2009), from which this article was adapted.

Most managers believe that if they set different expectations and compensation for their team members, it is terribly unfair. “How can I hold my team members accountable if they find out that their goals and incentives are different?”

The fact is that assigning the same responsibilities and goals to each team member is not only unfair to them, but will produce the wrong results. As a manager your function is to understand your team; their strengths, abilities, attitudes, and how they execute. Just like a baseball manager does not bat their pitcher clean-up, you need to expect and demand the best performance from your best employees. High performance should be recognized and rewarded…unequally. No blue ribbons just for showing up. I work with executives every day as they face real world issues like this. Add clarity and define your leadership agenda. Call me today.

John Dame
Managing Partner
Dame Management Strategies
Harrisburg, PA
Vistage CE 3362, TA 1183, SB 2170
Direct Phone 717-651-9674
Cell 717-497-4323