Excerpted from The Essence of Leadership by Mac Anderson
On March 5, 2003, I turned on Good Morning, America while eating breakfast. Charles Gibson was interviewing General Earl Hailston, the commanding general of Marine Forces Central Command. The general was waiting with his troops just a few miles off the border of Iraq...waiting to go to war. General Hailston is the only general in the armed forces who had enlisted and came up through the ranks, and as he spoke, I was impressed by his humble and caring attitude.
Toward the end of the interview, his answer to a question touched me deeply. When Charles asked him if he had any hobbies outside his work, the general said, "Yes, I love photography, especially taking photos of my men." He shared that while he had been waiting for the past few days he would take photos of his men, and at night he would email the photos with a brief note to their mothers back in the USA. Charles asked if he could see a sample of a letter, and the general walked into his tent, turned on his computer, and read the last letter he had sent. It said:
Dear Mrs. Johnson,
I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture of your son. He is doing great. I also wanted you to know that you did a wonderful job of raising him. You must be very proud. I can certainly tell you that I'm honored to serve with him in the U.S. Marines.
General Earl Hailston
Wow! I had goose bumps as I watched. I then watched Charles randomly interview a few of General Hailston's men. You could feel the genuine love and respect that every one of them had for their leader. You may have heard the quote..."They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Well, here's a man who truly understood what caring and leadership is all about.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Simple truths of appreciation
Excerpted from The Simple Truths of Appreciation by Barbara Glanz
My friend, Bob Danzig, has an amazing story. Simple words of appreciation and encouragement changed his life. Bob was in five foster homes during his youth, and said he spent his childhood trying to find someone to love and appreciate him.
When he was nine years old, he had a new social worker. He said after she had done all the paperwork to move him to yet another foster home, she sat him down, looked him directly in the eyes, and said, "Bobby, I want you to always remember these words: YOU ARE WORTHWHILE!"
Bob says that no one had ever said anything like that to him, and each time they met, she repeated those words. They became an affirmation of appreciation that he heard over and over again in his head.
Bob graduated at sixteen, not because he was smart, he says, but because he got mixed up in the system! He soon took a job at the Albany New York Times as a copy boy, and his very first boss was a woman named Margaret.
After he had worked there about six months, Margaret called him into her office one day and asked him to sit down. He thought for sure he was going to be fired! She looked him right in the eyes and said to him, "I have been the office manager for 15 years - I have been observing you - and I believe YOU ARE FULL OF PROMISE."
Those words, on that day, gave him permission to aspire.
Those two positive messages of appreciation played over and over again in his head and ultimately gave him the courage to be the very best he could be. Sixteen years later he became the Publisher of the Albany New York Times, and seven years after that, he became CEO of Hearst Newspapers, one of the largest newspaper companies in the world - and he credits it all to those simple words of appreciation and love.
What a wonderful example of how little gifts of appreciation can make such a difference in a life!
My friend, Bob Danzig, has an amazing story. Simple words of appreciation and encouragement changed his life. Bob was in five foster homes during his youth, and said he spent his childhood trying to find someone to love and appreciate him.
When he was nine years old, he had a new social worker. He said after she had done all the paperwork to move him to yet another foster home, she sat him down, looked him directly in the eyes, and said, "Bobby, I want you to always remember these words: YOU ARE WORTHWHILE!"
Bob says that no one had ever said anything like that to him, and each time they met, she repeated those words. They became an affirmation of appreciation that he heard over and over again in his head.
Bob graduated at sixteen, not because he was smart, he says, but because he got mixed up in the system! He soon took a job at the Albany New York Times as a copy boy, and his very first boss was a woman named Margaret.
After he had worked there about six months, Margaret called him into her office one day and asked him to sit down. He thought for sure he was going to be fired! She looked him right in the eyes and said to him, "I have been the office manager for 15 years - I have been observing you - and I believe YOU ARE FULL OF PROMISE."
Those words, on that day, gave him permission to aspire.
Those two positive messages of appreciation played over and over again in his head and ultimately gave him the courage to be the very best he could be. Sixteen years later he became the Publisher of the Albany New York Times, and seven years after that, he became CEO of Hearst Newspapers, one of the largest newspaper companies in the world - and he credits it all to those simple words of appreciation and love.
What a wonderful example of how little gifts of appreciation can make such a difference in a life!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Working Together is a SUCCESS !
A few years ago, during the Para-Olympics help in Seattle, nine participants, all mentally retarded or physically challenged, had aligned themselves for the 100 meter hurdles. Although at the given signal they didn't start exactly at that moment, nor orderly, they were determined to finish the race and thus win. All they had to do in order to win the race was to finish it.
All managed to finish it, except for a young athlete that fell over the runway passage of the first hedge. Because of the pain and of the sorrow, he began to cry. The others hearing his cry came back for him. They slowed down and eventually they stopped.
In that day an unprecedented situation occurred, eight out of the nine athletes returned in order to help the ninth athlete, which was in need of assistance. A girl with the down syndrome came up to the wounded to give him a kiss and to encourage him: "Do not worry, the pain will go away."
Although that day the world record was not beaten from any point of view, but the race was finished by all nice athletes which past the finish line together, holding each other with their arms.
The whole stadium stood up and cheered them for several minutes. They were even more enthusiastic in the presence of such a wonderful gesture then when a record was beaten.
Why was this possible?
Because we all know well, that basically, the most important thing in this life is not so much winning by yourself, but helping others to win as well, even if you have to slow down and maybe turn back to help others.
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"Getting together is a beginning; staying together is a step forward; working together is a success." Henry Ford
All managed to finish it, except for a young athlete that fell over the runway passage of the first hedge. Because of the pain and of the sorrow, he began to cry. The others hearing his cry came back for him. They slowed down and eventually they stopped.
In that day an unprecedented situation occurred, eight out of the nine athletes returned in order to help the ninth athlete, which was in need of assistance. A girl with the down syndrome came up to the wounded to give him a kiss and to encourage him: "Do not worry, the pain will go away."
Although that day the world record was not beaten from any point of view, but the race was finished by all nice athletes which past the finish line together, holding each other with their arms.
The whole stadium stood up and cheered them for several minutes. They were even more enthusiastic in the presence of such a wonderful gesture then when a record was beaten.
Why was this possible?
Because we all know well, that basically, the most important thing in this life is not so much winning by yourself, but helping others to win as well, even if you have to slow down and maybe turn back to help others.
-----------------------------------------------
"Getting together is a beginning; staying together is a step forward; working together is a success." Henry Ford
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Apollo Syndrome
Apollo Syndrome', a phenomenon discovered by Dr Meredith Belbin where teams of highly capable individuals can collectively, perform badly. In his book ‘Management Teams – Why they Succeed or Fail’ he reported that teams which were formed of highly intelligent people, surprisingly produced unexpectedly poor results as compared to other teams with ‘less talented’ individuals and he called this the ‘Apollo Syndrome’.
THE APOLLO SYNDROME
When he was carrying out his research, his perception was that if he put highly intelligent people in one team, it would give them an advantage and they would be sure to win in the team competitions. Surprisingly, the results were the reverse, and the Apollo teams often finished near the bottom of the eight teams which were competing.
This failure seemed to be due to certain flaws in the way the team operated:
· They apparently spent a lot of time in unnecessary debate and arguments in trying to persuade other team members to adopt their own point of view, to the extent that whilst other teams were already working on their tasks, the ‘Apollo’ teams were still in the midst of ‘discussion’.
· They had difficulty in reaching consensus and whatever decision was arrived at did not get the whole hearted support of the whole team.
· Team members tended to act independently without taking account of what fellow members were doing.
· Everyone wanted to be the informal leader of the team and as such, even when formal leaders were appointed, the team proved very difficult to manage.
A key lesson from Belbin’s work is that putting together a team of the most talented or best individuals may not necessarily produce the best results. A good example is Chelsea football club in the English Premier League. Even after winning the English league championship in season 2005/2006, they went and bought three of the most sought after players in the world, Andriy Shevchenko from Ukraine, Michael Ballack from Germany and Ashley Cole from England. Their objective was to win the Champion’s trophy (champion club of Europe). The results the next season however did not meet their objectives: they came out second in the English league championship and were out of the Champions trophy in Europe in the quarter finals. Interestingly, they had four national captains in the team, the English captain (John Terry), The Ivory Coast captain (Didier Drogba), the Ukraine captain (Shevchenko) and the German captain (Ballack). This is a classic example of the Apollo Syndrome.
A key lesson we can take in the corporate world from all the above is that we have to find the ‘right’ balance and chemistry when recruiting and selecting staff, as new members of the team. A highly talented individual, who is not a team player, may be of less value that a not so talented individual who is a good team player. This ‘right balance’ may not be easy to find though.
A possible solution would be through psychometric profiling as it could ensure that there is a blend between the personalities of the individuals in the team. Another key factor I would suggest that we look out for during the selection process would the attitude of the potential employee. I would rather employ a not so talented individual with a positive attitude rather than a highly talented individual with a poor attitude.
Please remember that skills and knowledge, you can impart and teach; attitude on the other hand is very difficult to change.
THE APOLLO SYNDROME
When he was carrying out his research, his perception was that if he put highly intelligent people in one team, it would give them an advantage and they would be sure to win in the team competitions. Surprisingly, the results were the reverse, and the Apollo teams often finished near the bottom of the eight teams which were competing.
This failure seemed to be due to certain flaws in the way the team operated:
· They apparently spent a lot of time in unnecessary debate and arguments in trying to persuade other team members to adopt their own point of view, to the extent that whilst other teams were already working on their tasks, the ‘Apollo’ teams were still in the midst of ‘discussion’.
· They had difficulty in reaching consensus and whatever decision was arrived at did not get the whole hearted support of the whole team.
· Team members tended to act independently without taking account of what fellow members were doing.
· Everyone wanted to be the informal leader of the team and as such, even when formal leaders were appointed, the team proved very difficult to manage.
A key lesson from Belbin’s work is that putting together a team of the most talented or best individuals may not necessarily produce the best results. A good example is Chelsea football club in the English Premier League. Even after winning the English league championship in season 2005/2006, they went and bought three of the most sought after players in the world, Andriy Shevchenko from Ukraine, Michael Ballack from Germany and Ashley Cole from England. Their objective was to win the Champion’s trophy (champion club of Europe). The results the next season however did not meet their objectives: they came out second in the English league championship and were out of the Champions trophy in Europe in the quarter finals. Interestingly, they had four national captains in the team, the English captain (John Terry), The Ivory Coast captain (Didier Drogba), the Ukraine captain (Shevchenko) and the German captain (Ballack). This is a classic example of the Apollo Syndrome.
A key lesson we can take in the corporate world from all the above is that we have to find the ‘right’ balance and chemistry when recruiting and selecting staff, as new members of the team. A highly talented individual, who is not a team player, may be of less value that a not so talented individual who is a good team player. This ‘right balance’ may not be easy to find though.
A possible solution would be through psychometric profiling as it could ensure that there is a blend between the personalities of the individuals in the team. Another key factor I would suggest that we look out for during the selection process would the attitude of the potential employee. I would rather employ a not so talented individual with a positive attitude rather than a highly talented individual with a poor attitude.
Please remember that skills and knowledge, you can impart and teach; attitude on the other hand is very difficult to change.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Making your move
"Being at the right place at the right time can only happen when you keep moving toward the next opportunity."Arthur Pine
In order to enjoy the success you fervently desire, you’ve got to be ready, willing and able to make your move — when the move needs to be made. Not a second too soon; not a moment too late. Racking up one remarkable day after another doesn’t occur by chance or circumstance. No, that type of success requires a commitment of time, a commitment of energy and most importantly, a commitment to keep moving NO MATTER WHAT.
Hey, can there be anything more richly rewarding than the jubilant feeling of exhilaration you experience each time you stretch out and achieve what was once thought beyond your reach?
Have you ever noticed how what seems impossible suddenly becomes possible when you start moving and then keep moving towards your goals? And if you haven’t experienced that magic for yourself, you’re missing out on one of life’s greatest treasures.
By reaching down and giving it everything that you’ve got, whenever and wherever it’s needed, you can make your move… and move mountains in the process.
In order to enjoy the success you fervently desire, you’ve got to be ready, willing and able to make your move — when the move needs to be made. Not a second too soon; not a moment too late. Racking up one remarkable day after another doesn’t occur by chance or circumstance. No, that type of success requires a commitment of time, a commitment of energy and most importantly, a commitment to keep moving NO MATTER WHAT.
Hey, can there be anything more richly rewarding than the jubilant feeling of exhilaration you experience each time you stretch out and achieve what was once thought beyond your reach?
Have you ever noticed how what seems impossible suddenly becomes possible when you start moving and then keep moving towards your goals? And if you haven’t experienced that magic for yourself, you’re missing out on one of life’s greatest treasures.
By reaching down and giving it everything that you’ve got, whenever and wherever it’s needed, you can make your move… and move mountains in the process.
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