executives – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

It’s Not About the Mission Statement

Posted June 9, 2016
by admin

mission

Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients. – Richard Branson

Writing for Talent Management and HR (http://bit.ly/1KWCe2t ), John Hollon cites a survey concerning the state of employee engagement. Among his finding that employers need to pay attention to include: More than 54 percent of employees have felt frustrated about work; only 38 percent of workers strongly agree that their manager has established a strong working relationship with them; some forty percent say they don’t get their company’s vision, or worse yet, have never seen it; nearly 67 percent of American workers can name at least one thing that would prevent them from taking any kind of risk at work.

Intuitively, many leaders know that employee engagement is critical to the success of their organization. Sadly, many employees feel that their leaders in management are out of touch. In fact, forty percent in the cited survey said they don’t get their company’s vision or haven’t even seen it. How is this possible?

Let’s be clear- a mission or vision statement hanging on a wall in some obscure place in the break room is not employee engagement. Yes, a mission statement is important. It’s important that your employees understand your vision and the role they play in seeing it fulfilled. But that alone will not suffice.

At times this is a concept lost on many leaders. Crystalizing a key point on this topic is the former president of Starbucks International, Howard Behar. In his book, It’s Not About The Coffee, he writes, “At Starbucks we’re in the human service business, not the customer service business.” That’s the distinction. Behar adds, “I’ve always said, we’re not in the coffee business serving people, we’re in the people business serving coffee.”

Employee engagement begins with leadership engagement. Employee engagement begins with leaders who are engaged in the lives of the people who make the mission of the work possible. It’s that simple and it’s that difficult. It takes work. It means that as a leader you have to come out from behind your desk and get connected to your people. So what does leadership engagement look like and what are some core characteristics? Here are three for your consideration.

Leadership engagement is proactive.

So long as your approach to employee engagement is a reactionary one – one that responds only during a crisis- it does not qualify as a model of employee engagement. Leadership engagement, for example, says that the health and well-being of your people is important and an investment in them and will include a wellness program because you know that when your employees are healthy they will be more productive.

There are many ways to be proactive and engage your employees but sitting back and waiting to put out the next fire is not one of them. Your mission statement means little to your people so long as your commitment to them is an afterthought.

Leadership engagement is personal

A smart leader understands that people are your most appreciable asset. You can have the best business plan in the world, and the best mission statement to go along with it, but without people you are going nowhere. Leaders who excel at employee engagement understand this principle and take to heart the importance of building meaningful relationships. Your connection to your customer/clients flows through your employees. It’s so much easier for your employee to advocate for your brand and your product when the relationship with its leadership is strong.

Make it a practice of your leadership to get to know your people and build relationships. At the end of the day your people want to know that you care about them and not just the bottom line.

Leadership engagement is a practical

Employee engagement works best when at the end of the day it’s practical. Your engagement with your people is critical but is it must be practical in its application. For example; if communication within your organization is lacking and information is not reaching the right people in a timely fashion; a workshop on retirement options on Monday at 9:00 a.m. may not be the most urgent event on the calendar.

Leadership engagement is all about knowing the pulse of your organization, understanding the needs of your people, and cutting through the layers of bureaucracy to get results. Never underestimate the power of being practical.

Employee engagement issues will continue to be front and center in most organizations. There is always room for improvement. A commitment to employee engagement begins when leaders are engaged with their people.

What do you say?

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3 Rules Leaders Should Not Implement

Posted August 2, 2014
by admin

Most of us have jobs that are too small for our spirits. – Studs Terkel

The late Erma Bombeck once put out a list of widely read “Rules” that was quite popular at the time. Some of them you might recall. Here are a few of my favorites: never have more children than you have car windows; seize the moment, remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart; never go to a class reunion pregnant, they will think that’s all you have been doing since you graduated.

While that list is rather light-hearted and humorous some rules can be stifling as it relates to the operation of your organization. Let’s be clear at the onset; policies and procedures are necessary and this is not about chunking your manuals out the window. Systems operate best when they follow a prescribed course of procedure.

In his book, “It’s Not About the Coffee,” Howard Behar (past President, Starbucks International) pens a fascinating chapter about independent thinking. Behar writes, “We want people to take charge instead of blindly following a rigid set of rules from a book…unfortunately, in many cases the rule book goes too far- it tries to tell people how to be instead of explaining what we’re trying to do. Rules don’t empower, they dispower people. We need recipes, not rules.”

Operating policies and procedures need to be known and adhered to and should be subservient to the person performing them and not the other way around. Yet when rules go too far it can have unintended consequences that can do more harm than good. From the chapter I surmised three rules that leaders don’t need to implement if they want their people and organizations to be successful.

Rules that restrict creative thinking

Unleashing the best and brightest people in your organization begins when you free them from burdensome rules and regulations that hold them back. “Ideally, management should never tell someone how to do something or what to feel. If people’s every last action is dictated to them, they are robbed of their dignity, and the company is robbed of its soul,” writes Behar.

When you give your people the liberty to think, feel, grow and experiment they will surprise you with their ingenuity. When you have more recipes being developed than rules being followed then the possibilities for success are multiplied. Your organization can be incubator for growth and unlimited potential or it can be place where ideas go to die. Which do you want?

Rules that control behavior

Ideally, your rule book should operate more like a play book. It should contain plays you can call and be filled with options for any scenario that puts you in a position you to score. Behar’s analysis is a timely challenge for managers and executives. He writes, “Instead of writing manuals that lock people into dehumanizing behavior, we should focus on outcomes we want and the reasons behind them…creating tool books instead of rule books grows people’s spirits.” Consider the difference; if your leadership style is to simply be the “keeper of the rulebook” then it will be difficult for your people to grow and reach their full potential and your leadership will be diminished.

When you place your focus on where you are going and why (your vision and purpose) and the growth and development of the people who will take you there, then the rule book must become your play book. When you grow your people’s spirits you won’t have time to worry much about their behavior.

Rules that hinder personal growth

“There’s no better feeling than being encouraged to fully use your abilities,” writes Behar. “You will find your work far more satisfying, and you’ll encourage that same satisfaction in others. Everybody wins. The more we know ourselves and our goals, the fewer rules are needed.” This point is simple yet profound. Your people need more encouragement not more rules.

Fostering a culture of personal growth and development comes when a leader makes it a priority by removing unnecessary rules, by empowering his people, and caring enough to get out of their way. When leaders place more value in rules than relationships then victories are harder to come by and are fewer in number.

The challenge for you as a leader as it relates to rules is to find the right balance between what’s needed and what’s not, if they help your organization or if they hurt it, and ultimately, do your people need the rule to succeed? Your task as a leader is to know the difference.

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Leadership Minute: Everyone’s Important

Posted November 1, 2013
by admin

Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘Make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people. – Mary Kay Ash

This is perhaps one of the cardinal rules of leadership. When you understand that people want to feel important and that leadership is about people then you are on your way to understanding how leadership works. So often we focus on the mechanics of leadership that we fail to understand this most important point. Without people leadership does not exist. Make every person you come in contact with feel like the most important person in the world. Once you do, you are on your way to becoming a great leader.

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If you enjoy reading the Leadership Minute, you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s books, Leaders Without Borders & Great Leaders Wanted! Visit Doug’s website to order your copies today.

Website: www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com

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Doug is available to speak for your business, civic, or church group for leadership development and keynotes. For more information email Doug at [email protected]

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Above and Beyond Leadership

Posted June 3, 2012
by dougdickerson

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others – Mahatma Gandhi

Perhaps you never heard of him and chances are you never saw him play ball. Last week at the age of 78, he passed away. Jack Twyman enjoyed an 11 year career in the NBA and saw action in six trips to the All Star game and two Eastern Conference finals.

According to a story by Yahoo sports writer Kelly Dwyer, when Twyman retired from the game at the age of 31, with his final year per-minute numbers nearly as stout as they were in his prime, he was the NBA’s second-leading scorer behind Wilt Chamberlin.

But as Dwyer goes on the reveal, the story behind Twyman’s life and career goes much deeper. His actions and skill on the basketball court earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame; but it’s his exploits off the court that are worth a second look. Twyman acted as the former teammate Maurice Stokes’ caretaker for the last 12 years of Stokes’ life, after the former player suffered significant brain damage during an injury sustained in the final game of the 1957-58 season.

Stokes’ family was too far away to care for him and workers compensation failed to cover his medical costs. Stokes was left to his own devices and grew more and more destitute. It was during this time that Twyman organized fundraisers for his former teammate, visiting him weekly and essentially acting as his caretaker until Stokes’ passing in 1970.

Dwyer relates that Twyman sometimes worried that his wife and family might become upset because of the amount of time he devoted to Stokes over the 12 years, but his daughter said in an interview that they had come to look forward to Stokes’ Sunday visits from the hospital. Twyman and his wife became co-trustees of the Maurice Stokes Foundation which was set up to defray Stokes’ hospital costs but grew to help other needy NBA veterans as well.

Harry Truman said, “Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” And that is exactly what Jack Twyman did. The measure of leadership is not found in how many accolades you receive, the position you hold, or how many awards you have won. Jack Twyman teaches us this much. So what does leadership look like that goes above and beyond the call of duty? Here are a few thoughts for consideration.

Above and beyond leaders take initiative. It was not enough to care that his teammate had suffered this tragic injury; Twyman took it upon himself to do more. With the success of his fundraising efforts many others would be recipients of his great generosity.

Leaders who take uncommon initiative will achieve uncommon results not known by those who settle for a life of mediocrity. It’s the leader who takes initiative and steps out of the security of personal comforts who will change the world.

Above and beyond leaders inspire others. Twyman’s work was not a one-man show. He organized basketball tournaments that drew the likes of Bill Russell, Oscar Robinson and Wilt Chamberlin. And this is the influence that above and beyond leaders has—inspiring others to causes greater than self.

When you step up and take initiative in your office or organization by going above and beyond the call of duty you will begin to notice a change in attitudes and perspectives. Others will not be content to simply watch you, but will be inspired to join you. When you embrace the challenge to live a life of above and beyond leadership you can be the spark that causes others to step up in new ways.

Above and beyond leaders live different. Leaders who go above and beyond the call of duty do so because they live differently. By that I mean their mindset is different, their heart is different, and there is a sense of knowing and living out life’s greater purpose. When asked by a reporter about his care for his former teammate, Twyman said, “I did what anyone would have done for a friend.”

It was said that years after his accident, when Stokes had recovered enough flexibility to type, his first message was: “Dear Jack, How can I ever thank you?” What a powerful expression of gratitude by the man who would live out his last years in the care of a leader who went above and beyond the call of duty.

Have you found your calling?

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Doug’s new book, Great Leaders Wanted! is now available. Visit www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com to order your copy today.

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Applauding Teamwork

Posted May 23, 2012
by dougdickerson

I read an inspiring story about Jimmy Durante, one of the great entertainers of a generation ago. He was asked to be a part of a show for World War II veterans. He told them his schedule was very busy and he could afford only a few minutes, but if they wouldn’t mind his doing one short monologue and immediately leaving for his next appointment, he would come. Of course, the show’s director agreed happily. But when Jimmy got on stage, something interesting happened. He went through the short monologue and then stayed. The applause grew louder and louder and he kept staying. Pretty soon, he had been on fifteen, twenty, then thirty minutes. Finally he took a last bow and left the stage. Backstage someone stopped him and said, “I thought you had to go after a few minutes. What happened?”

Jimmy answered, “I did have to go, but I can show you the reason I stayed. You can see for yourself if you’ll look down on the front row.” In the front row were two men, each of whom had lost an arm in the war. One had lost his right arm and the other had lost his left. Together, they were able to clap, and that’s exactly what they were doing, loudly and cheerfully.

When it comes to the operation of your office or organization, teamwork is one of the fundamental ingredients to your success. As you applaud teamwork and make it a part of your organizational culture you will begin to understand its power. Mother Teresa was right when she said, “You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together, we can do great things.” Are you ready to do great things?

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