Courage

Recently I had the privilege of being a judge in the JFK Profiles in Courage High School essay contest. It was both an inspirational and aspirational experience personally, as someone who has been in leadership positions over his career, and professionally.

For those unfamiliar with JFK’s book, Profiles in Courage, it was written some 70 years ago by then Senator John F. Kennedy. The stories he shared through the book were ones of the courage displayed by various political figures throughout our history. Some figures are well known, like John Quincy Adams. Others less so, like Edmund Ross, a Republican from Kansas, who voted to acquit Democrat Andrew Johnson at his impeachment trial, against the pressure from his party.

Kennedy described courage in politics, and life, as demonstrating a willingness to stand on principle even when it might be against your party and, in some cases, your own constituents. It was making a decision of conscience over political expediency. Kennedy believed that elected officials are given the honor to serve because the voters trust their judgement and integrity. In some cases, these acts of courage ended their political careers. But as another famed Boston legend once noted, “If you have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.” Acting out of principle can be a lonely game.

The essays I read were notable for two reasons. First, the research these students embarked on to find political figures with whom they had no familiarity (one of the criteria for essay consideration is that the person cannot be someone who is currently in the news or a historical figure whose story has been told many times before), meant they had to do the hard work of finding both a political figure and a compelling act of political courage they displayed.

Second, they needed to articulate the motivation of the politician in taking a principled stand, why it was courageous to do so, and how it impacted their political life post the decision. In that process, they learned what it means to be a principled leader and to risk one’s career to take a principled position. And their passionate telling of these stories demonstrated that learning.

For those reasons, it gave me hope in our future leaders.

The essays also inspired me. Although my work these days is more focused in the non-profit community development world, I still need to think about how I show up with integrity and support the principles under which I chose to do what I believe is important work. We are all leaders in some way.

They also reminded me that I need to do more work before casting my vote for any politician. Some of that starts with doing the same kind of research these young high school students did. Understanding the principles of the people asking for my vote, what they believe, where have they displayed the conviction of those beliefs, and whether I believe they will display integrity and courage in office. And then, once in office, holding them accountable through their term and at the next election cycle.

I also cannot act out of expediency. Voting is both a right and a privilege.

This and prior years winning essays are available to read here:

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/education/profile-in-courage-essay-contest/past-winning-essays

Let us both be inspired by those who are and aspire to be more courageous.

Debate the Big Decisions

Having learned important lessons from the Bay of Pigs invasion, President Kennedy approached the Cuban Missile Crisis differently. He had failed himself in deciding to pursue a plan conceived under the previous administration without a deeper understanding of the state of play and without challenging the planned approach with potential alternatives and adjustments to timing.

On its failure, Kennedy took accountability (see my previous post on Accountability on Day One). He placed no blame on the Eisenhower administration, nor the agencies involved. He also recognized that the disconnects in communication and assumptions of key stakeholders exposed failure points in a more robust and critical decision making process.

On determining strategy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, in addition to consciously seeking different perspectives on how to proceed, he internalized the gravity of a nuclear showdown for humanity. Decisions required open debate and direct communication. His objective was to avoid escalation and he sought more direct communication with Premier Khrushchev to appeal to their shared sense of accountability to future generations. 

Kennedy noted that learning is essential to leadership. Learning requires taking accountability for your actions and reflecting on needed changes in approach. No one can escape mistakes and errors in judgement. It is what you choose to take from those actions that defines you as a leader.

We live in a time where accountability, self-reflection, critical thinking, learning, and humility should be expected from all our leaders.

The Education of John F. Kennedy

Conscious Curiosity

“What I hate is ignorance, smallness of imagination, the eye that sees no farther than its own lashes.” Egyptian Book of the Dead

I recently returned from a trip to Egypt and, as many who visit likely observe, we owe much to the ancient Egyptians. What was most impressive to me was that they were a learning driven culture. Continually questioning the world around them, they invented tools and techniques to advance their society, to live in harmony with nature, and joyfully in the afterlife.

As leaders, we all recognize the importance of innovating to improve performance and business outcomes. Our challenge is in capturing the collective intellect and energy of our team’s to accelerate the speed and scale of innovation.

Promoting curiosity and accountability for outcomes over adherence to process are two factors needed to build that culture of innovation. 

One of the challenges leaders face today are the headwinds that, in the interest of efficiency, seem to stifle curiosity. When under pressure to get things done, technology platforms that accelerate research and confirm biases, replace critical thinking and diverse perspectives. We can lose the power of imagination.

To counter those headwinds, we must all become more “consciously” curious. For leaders in particular that often means refraining from the desire to direct decisions and actions. Instead, when your team is faced with a problem or decision or a desire to try something new, promote curiosity by demonstrating curiosity. 

Here are five questions to engage your team and promote greater curiosity:

  1. Ask to be educated: Can you help me understand how this problem (or decision or new ideas) arose and why we need to address it at this time? 
  2. Ask to demonstrate clarity of objective: What are we hoping to achieve and how will we measure it? 
  3. Ask to understand assumptions: What needs to go right for the objective to be met and do we control those things?
  4. Ask about risks: Can we validate or test the assumptions we’ve made?
  5. Ask to validate action: What would happen if we chose to do nothing?

These questions are not designed for simple answers, but rather they are intended to foster a dialogue. The objective is to challenge the why of doing something, the how’s behind addressing the problem, the size of the risks and means of adjusting and addressing them, and the willingness of the team to be held accountable for action.

The other objective is to foster critical thinking within the team. Role modeling a degree of ignorance and a desire to learn and debate demonstrates that its ok to question and its important to learn from other people’s perspectives.

Curiosity is a powerful tool of growth and progress. It captures the opportunity for “the eye” to see “farther than its owns lashes”.

In today’s tech-enabled, AI-focused world, try leading with conscious curiosity.

Leading by Example

We live in a time of great political division in our country. That division naturally flows into the workplace as so much of our time is spent there. And, when sharing ideas or working through problems, our lens can often be colored by our politics.

How does one lead people in these challenging times? We all know the importance of diversity of thought in the workplace in order to drive innovation and collaborate to build on others ideas. But diversity also brings the challenge of competing views that, unfortunately for many, has become personal.

There is no easy answer here. There is no course to take or 5-step plan to execute. These are the challenges that separate managers from leaders. These are the challenges that require a mindset shift from directing people to complete tasks, to self-reflection and ongoing personal development to be able to lead by example.

When RFK chose to share with a largely black audience at a campaign stop in Indianapolis that MLK, Jr. had been assassinated, he was advised against it. The concern for rioting and violence and fear for RFK’s own safety were likely very real. But RFK chose to speak. Still haunted by the death of his brother, he had spent time after JFK’s death to reflect and adjust the lens through which he saw the world and his place in it.

Gone was the arrogant, brash former Attorney General known for being the bad cop to his brother’s good cop. RFK had embraced empathy and compassion as he travelled across the country and spoke to people in poverty-stricken areas and those less fortunate who had no chance of realizing the American Dream. He internalized their feelings and their sense of hopelessness and committed himself to make change.

As important as that empathy for others was RFK’s ability to translate that understanding into a vision and passion and agenda for ALL Americans to embrace. He was able to speak from his heart and lead by example. He now saw both sides and was able to work to bridge the divides. It took him years to develop that deeper understanding.

Leadership is a continual work in progress. There is no end to the leadership project. It requires the same level of focus and energy as defining a strategy or executing the operational plan. But it can be harder as it is a more personal effort.

Leadership is an aspirational journey. In today’s divisive times, take time for self-reflection. Look at things through a different lens. Listen to other views. Find ways to bridge the divides.

After MLK’s death there were riots across almost all the major cities in the US…except Indianapolis.

Integrity is Tough

An insightful observation from the great Bill Russell about Integrity In order to have it, you need to define the principles by which you choose to live and lead. And by following those principles, you can expect that you will gain the respect of some and the disdain of others.

I guess that’s what makes having Integrity such a challenge.

What core principles of leading teams have been the foundation of your leadership? As the pace of change accelerates with the expansion of AI leaders will be challenged to capture its benefits while guarding against its risks.

Will your leadership principles need to change? Or should they be reinforced?

Join a discussion on Integrity as part of the  I CARE Leadership Network https://lnkd.in/efYtRvEq

Accountability on Day One

You are less than six months into a new role at your company. You are preparing your first full quarterly update for the executive team. Results have fallen short of targets and have been trending down. As you outline the narrative of your story to the executive team, you have a decision to make. How do you explain the why behind the deterioration in performance.

Here are some options:

1- Blame the issue on prior management: after all, you’ve been in the job less than six months. How can these issues be your fault? Further to your narrative, share that your team is assessing the issues and will report back on a game plan to address them in the coming quarter. So, zero accountability for the current results, but demonstrating accountability for identifying the fix.

2- Acknowledge prior awareness of the issue, but avoid ownership of the results: in this case, you knew the issue existed and have been working to fix it, but the fix will take some time. This narrative demonstrates a quick understanding of the issues with an accountability for a fix that will positively impact future results. But again, no accountability for the current results.

3- Own the current results and the plan to improve: although your short tenure might not have allowed for a quick turnaround in deteriorating performance, you still accept full accountability from Day One. And you share an understanding of the drivers of the results and the plan to turn them around.

Which option would you choose?

Role Modeling Accountability

All three options demonstrate an accountability to fix the deteriorating performance issues. But only the third option suggests a new leader willing to take accountability on Day One. And it is that leader who is most likely to turn results around most quickly with the help of their team.

Why?

It’s all about role modeling shared accountability and building trust.

By accepting Day One accountability, that new leader has caste their lot with the team. Not as a savior to fix the screw-ups of prior leadership and by extension, the team, but as someone committed with the team to improve results. It sets the stage for aligning as a team to reset goals and engage collectively in needed action. And that helps build trust.

It also demonstrates to the team what accountability means. There are no excuses or finger pointing, but rather, an acknowledgement of results, analysis of drivers, and commitment to improve. That step alone begins to create culture of accountability down through the team.

Finally, it also creates the right environment for learning. There certainly is an argument that, depending on the breadth and depth of issues, it can be challenging to turn around deteriorating results in just a few months.

But as a new leader, the job on Day One is to engage with the team, be curious, be humble, and seek to understand what is working and what is not. In those first days and weeks, if those actions are followed, issues will be uncovered early…and early detection allows for early action to address the negative performance trends.

How else can a new leader quickly engage the team to build a culture of accountability?

Here are some ideas:

Being Humble

Alway, but especially as a new leader, be consciously curious…by asking questions and by creating an environment of openness and trust. In turn, you can more quickly identify blind spots, and, importantly, the places where a good push may be needed or where a more gentle nudge will do the trick.

Setting expectations

When assigning action items, be clear on both individual responsibility and authority to act when obstacles arise. Ask team members to verbally ask questions and verbally acknowledge understanding. Lack of clarity on shared efforts often allows for finger pointing.

Acknowledging great results

When providing feedback on great results, try being specific about the actions and behaviors that drove the results. Move beyond “great job” to “great job identifying potential obstacles early and working to avoid them.” Being specific supports individual and team ownership.

Providing feedback when results go sideways

People make mistakes. Acknowledging the mistake is important as well as discussing how it might have been avoided. Avoid what might be initial anger and instead ask questions that lead to both ownership of the result and understanding of what could have been done differently. Take the time for the learning process.

Promoting collective ownership

Ownership often best arises when individuals define their own plan and path of actions. Try being less directive about what to do and allow individuals and the team to develop their plans. Shift to questioning and committing to support the agreed path to demonstrate shared accountability.

Accountability is one of the most important characteristics of an effective leader. Without demonstrating accountability, the root cause of shortfalls in performance or actions that create unintended, negative consequences are never addressed. And the drivers of great performance are never really challenged.

Taking accountability means demonstrating to your team that you own the results…good or bad…and understanding why things happened is the only path to learning and improving.

Day One Accountability…it will accelerate team trust and create a culture to drive continual improvement.

Choices

Management guru Peter Drucker defined the difference between management and leadership. He noted: “Management is doing things right. Leading is doing the right things.”

Leadership is about choices.

It’s about what to do versus what not to do. Defining goals and priorities. Assembling and empowering teams. Intervening and adjusting as needed.

The first choice a leader should make is choosing to lead. The most effective leaders are able to subordinate personal goals to the broader organization’s and team’s goals. They recognize their individual success is a function of the team’s success.

Leaders who put themselves before the mission and team are likely to build any near term success on weak and shifting sands, imperiling longer term goals. To be an effective leader is to make that choice of prioritizing mission and team success over personal gain.

That choice comes at a price. The most effective leaders recognize that success begins with the team. Failures or setbacks begin with the person who leads the team. Share the success. Own the failure. It’s the price leaders pay.

So, before taking on the challenges of a leadership role, it’s worth doing a little self-reflection and articulation of your why and how.

Three questions can help frame your why:

1- What is my personal commitment to this organization and its mission?

2- Are my values and principles aligned with those of this organization?

3- Do I bring a mindset and capabilities to deal with the challenges of leading?

And three questions to ask about how you will lead:

1- Do I have clarity of the principles by which I will lead?

2- Am I committed to my continued development as a leader and willing to reflect and learn?

3- Do I understand and value the power that diversity of thought and ideas can bring to improve team performance?

The conflicts and obstacles in leading any team towards a goal are inevitable. Every leadership effort is subject to outside forces. Some controllable. Some not. In many cases the conflicts and obstacles are driven by changes in policy or priorities or team dynamics or individual behaviors.

Without commitment to the goal, clarity of principles, and a willingness to consider all views, these conflicts and obstacles become more challenging to confront and overcome.

Why?

Because the power that comes with an engaged and aligned team is lost. When a team doesn’t see a leader’s commitment to the goal, or behaviors consistent with defined values and principles, or an interest in other views and voices, the outcome is inertia not progress.

Ray Kroc, who turned a small California restaurant called McDonald’s into a global franchise, noted that, “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”

Leadership is a choice.

Take the time to make it the right one.

A New Mindset of Leadership

“The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” ― Epicurus, Greek philosopher

The environment in which leaders operate today is increasingly challenging. Beyond the pressures of meeting ever more aggressive business goals, we live in a state of continual disruption and instability. There are the pressures of accelerating technological advancements that hold out both opportunities and threats, a new generation of workers challenging existing organizational norms, and the changing expectations of consumers who desire greater personalization while upholding personal privacy. Within the broader environment, divisiveness is on the rise. And our social environment has seen an increase in pressure on businesses to address climate challenges, embrace diversity, and exercise greater social responsibility.

Leaders today must balance these competing demands and expanding complexities to be successful. Whether overseeing the day to day operations of their teams or debating the strategic priorities of the broader organization, to lead in today’s world requires the ability to seamlessly move from the tactical to the strategic, from the micro to the macro, from the individual to the team.  know that values driven leadership is a critical component to driving innovation and continuous improvement in business performance.


What values are foundational to success?


Think “I CARE”: Integrity, Curiosity, Accountability, Resilience, and Empathy.
Living the values of I CARE starts with a passion for the mission and the people who will be a part of helping realize and sustain it.
Integrity is about operating with a clear set of principles consistently applied and creating an environment, in particular decision making, practices, and expectations consistent with those principles.
Curiosity means knowing you don’t have all the answers but asking the questions that challenge, engage, and drive your team to capture the power of their collective knowledge and capabilities. It fuels innovation.
Accountability is your ownership of actions and outcomes. That’s Job #1. Job #2 is making that Job #1 for your entire team.
Resilience is the willingness to take risks, the ability to listen to feedback, learn and apply, and the courage to continue forward when you’ve experienced failure. And a resilient team can be a super power.
Empathy is critical to building trust-based relationships. Displaying empathy supports an environment where individuals can show up and be their best, where all ideas are considered, where people feel respected and supported. Through a culture of empathy, the power of collective ideas, energy, and action can be fully realized.
Leadership is about inspiring and empowering others to reset their limitations. At their best, leaders help define and deliver new levels of performance through their teams as a collective and as individuals.
Leading with a mindset and the values of I CARE can help good leaders become great leaders.