Category: Uncategorized

Conflation is the mingling or merging of two or more different concepts to come up with another idea altogether.

When you combine two ideas to come up with something that improves understanding, conflation is benign.

When used in the context of advocacy, however, conflation can be malignant because the intention is to sow confusion, discredit an individual or perpetrate a conspiracy.

We believe what we want to believe; what we are conditioned to believe. The words of the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan — “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts” — ring hollow today.

The challenge for anyone in leadership today is to challenge the veracity of what they hear by immersing themselves in a diversity of thought so they come to hear ideas other than their own.

In turn, they may come to conclusions that are based upon solid reasoning drawn from proven sources of information.

Big order, yes, but a challenge every leader can embrace. Our times demand it.

First posted on SmartBrief on 3/09/2018

As anyone who has read my columns over the years knows, I am deeply indebted to obituary writers.

I like drawing nuggets that illustrate aspects of the human condition and serve as role models — or sometimes caution lights — to the rest of us.

Our lives, if we are lucky, are a long string of hits and some misses that are woven across a lifetime of living, interacting with spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends and colleagues.

At a certain point, you feel you have lived awhile but when you read an obituary, you see that you can sum up a life pretty quickly in 500 to 1,000 words.

Even a long obituary cannot capture the entirety of a person’s life. Nor should it. What you are going for is the essence of a person. What did she do? How did she do it? How did she overcome obstacles? And what to people think of her then and now?

Such questions might serves as notes of reflection for all of us. Thinking about our end is really thinking about our legacy. We will be remembered by those whose lives we touched.

First posted on SmartBrief on 2/16/2018

Good CEOs surround themselves with straight talkers, it can be helpful to bring in a person who is completely outside the organization. We call them coaches.

While a good deal of coaching involves an exploration of the inner self, it is my experience that many CEOs pretty much know themselves. So coaching focuses on what the CEO can do to help his team succeed.

Toward that end, here are three good questions I like to use.

1. What are you doing today that will bring about a better future? We live in transactional times that demand transformational thinking. In other words, we act day to day but we must be thinking long-term.
2. What are you doing to develop your people? The CEO sits atop the organization. She’s made it, yes, but now comes the hard part. What is she doing to bring out the best in her people? Is she coaching them?
3. What makes you happy? Coaching does get personal. Being CEO is a 24/7 responsibility. It becomes a lifestyle where time is never your own. The pace can take a toll.

Coaching engagements, unlike marriages, are things of temporary convenience. Coaches help individuals think and act for the long term but do not expect to be there when the future arrives — for better or for worse.

First posted on SmartBrief on 2/02/2018

When you make a mistake, you take responsibility for it.

President John F. Kennedy assumed full responsibility for his role in authorizing at the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. The ill-fated invasion, which failed to overthrow Fidel Castro, was initially planned by the Eisenhower administration. Kennedy did not make excuses.

People respect a leader who assumes responsibility for their actions. Contrary to what those who deflect blame believe, showing responsibility for when things go wrong is actually a sign of strength.

How so?

A leader who stands up and takes blame for the actions of subordinates is a leader who knows him or herself.

An executive who exempts himself from blame when things go wrong is a person that cannot understand what it takes to lead because they lack one attribute essential to leadership: integrity!

First posted on 1/10/2018

If you want to get something done, put a powerful person on your team. If you want to ruin the team, in order to get more done, put one or two more powerful people on the team. Productivity will decrease.

This is the conclusion of a recent study by two academics — Angus Hildreth and Cameron Anderson — at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business and reported by Shankar Vedantam on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

Psychologists refer to this trait as dominance.

The supervisor must make it very clear that success will require total team effort. Each individual is responsible for results. Failure to achieve is a failure of team as well as a failure of individuals who will be held accountable.

Dominance is vital to leadership but, as with all power, it must be used appropriately in order to benefit others and not simply the individual.

Note: For more information on the research cited in this post, read “Failure at the Top: How Power Undermines Collaborative Performance,” by Hildreth and Anderson.

First posted on SmartBrief on 01/05/2018

Listening and kindness are two characteristics of human behavior that sometimes fall by the wayside in the workplace.

“Listen to what others say!” has morphed into a mantra in management. And so it is ignored. Here are some questions to help you become a better listener — and a better helpmate for your colleagues.

1. What is my role? Knowing what you do, as well as what you are expected to do, is critical to understanding your role in the company.
2. What is my colleague’s role? Knowing what others do is equally important because, if you don’t understand their roles, you cannot assist them.
3. What can I do to help? Consider action steps you can take. It may be as simple as being timely or courteous. It may be as time-consuming as actually helping them complete a task.
4. What’s stopping you from helping out? Some people resist help. None of us like meddlers. Being “of service” is not interfering; it’s offering assistance.
5. How do you know when you are succeeding? Serving others works when it facilitates work. People work more efficiently and more cooperatively.

And all of this taken together makes for a happier and more productive workplace.

First posted on SmartBrief 12/08/2017

Why do you need confidence?

Here’s what Katty Kay and Claire Shipman write in their book, “The Confidence Code for Girls”: “Confidence is what you use to help you do anything that seems hard, scary, or impossible. … Confidence is what gives you a boost for everyday challenges as well.”

While that advice may be intended for girls age 8 to 14, it’s equally applicable to all of us, no matter our gender or our age.

If you want to improve your confidence, says Kay, you need to push yourself. Such an approach could be useful to managers. While overconfidence is an issue for some people in authority, getting into a position of authority requires that you manifest a sense of confidence.

Confidence comes from a sense of accomplishment — all that you have accomplished in your life and career.  If you want to succeed further you will need to learn to accept new challenges.

Here are three questions you can ask yourself about confidence.

1. What do I want to achieve next? Focus on a goal that you want to accomplish. Consider what you will do to achieve it. Analyze the steps you will take to achieving your goal.
2. What will I do if I encounter resistance? Plan ahead for challenges. Consider how you will face them. Do not underestimate your ability. Know in advance where to find help.
3. What do I expect to learn about myself? Achieving a goal will be worthwhile, but so too, will be what you learn from the effort.

Confidence is rooted in accomplishment, but it grows through risk and failure, and the will to persevere.

First posted on SmartBrief on 9/12/2019

Purpose is essential to living and leading with fulfillment. But how do you find your purpose?

Purpose emerges from doing what you want to do in ways that deliver fulfillment.

For a leader, fulfillment comes from the process and joy of leading others. Learn more in this video.

First posted on SmartBrief 9/06/2019

I am sucker for the Great American Songbook — the great songs written from the ’20s through World War II.

While I enjoy the melodies mostly, sometimes the lyrics of a song will grab me.

Such is the case with “Pick Yourself Up,” with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and music by Jerome Kern.

Perky and upbeat as the melody is, the lyrics challenge us to take charge of ourselves when we are feeling down and out, or up against a big challenge.

Now nothing’s impossible, I’ve found for when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

The message of this song is resilience. All of us get knocked down from time to time. The question is: what will we do about it? The song has a right response.

Don’t lose your confidence if you slip, be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up, dust off, start over again.

Resilience is a theme that echoes throughout history. Every successful person has overcome his or her share of adversity and become stronger and often wiser because of this.

Resilience is something we need to employ in real time. It’s the spark that challenges us to get back up again and face the challenges of the day.

Focus on what you have accomplished thus far in your life. Think about your strengths. How have you survived previous challenges? What have you learned from them? Take pride in what you have achieved. It will steel your soul.

First posted on SmartBrief on 4/26/19

Some bosses like to be in charge. Totally.

We call them autocrats.

“Companies used to be able to function with autocratic bosses,” wrote Harvard professor and author Rosabeth Moss Kanter. “We don’t live in that world anymore.”

The fallacy of autocracy is that it is efficient. In reality, it is not. Oh, it may work for a time, but only when the boss is fully engaged and fully in charge. People around the boss derive their authority by their proximity to the boss, not necessarily their ability to get things done. When the boss is away, the organization shuts down.

Worse, autocracy is not sustainable, not merely because of the lifespan of the boss but also because all power is centralized.

Leadership is nurtured by inclusion — not because it’s a nice to do but because it’s a must-do. Autocratic bosses bear the weight of the enterprise on their shoulders. While they may entertain outside counsel, the operative word is “entertain.”

Autocracy by nature is exclusionary. It chokes off the life force that comes from working with other people.

Down with autocrats. Up with leaders who share their power.

First posted on SmartBrief on 11/25/2017