Putting on a Human Face to Build Trust

In a great article that speaks to Human-Based Leadership™, the authors, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers Ph.D speak of how "Corporations Must “Put on a Human Face” to Build Customer Trust

We can never really know someone else's intention. Any person's motive is internal to the person. It's in the mind. All we can do is observe their behavior—what they do, how they look, what they say out loud."

Are these leaders paying attention and being mindful of those around them? Are they leading others through positive impact, inspiration, caring, and recognition of their people's unique talents and strengths? These attributes are evident and easy to identify. They also go a long way in growing and retaining talent. The characteristics of a human-based leader serves as a strong foundation for leadership which considers ethics, personal values, diversity, and social responsibility.

The more we identify and applaud these HB Leaders, the greater the shift from 'power-over others' style of leadership to 'power with others'.

Tell me about the Human-Based Leaders in your life. We'd love to feature them in a conversation.

The Journey and Birth of "Leaders"

Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words finally launched this past Wednesday. Through recent months we tossed around ideas for the launch, where it would be, and what we wanted to do. For those who come to book signings and launches, show up at a book store, stand in line to have your purchased book personalized, and perhaps have a few seconds with the author, it's a fleeting, impersonal experience that you might remember when you pick up the book to read it.

We wanted something more personal, a celebration of sorts. The launch was that and so much more...but I'll get back to that in a moment. Surprisingly, many of the people who attended asked me about the journey of writing this book, the around the edges story behind the book of stories. I wasn't expecting that.

Was it an easy journey? 
No.

Was it a memorable, lessons-learned one?
Definitely. So much so, that it almost warrants a book on its own to take you through the journey and birth of "Leaders". Bottom line is, I learned it's not only alright to ask for what you want rather than have to live with what you think you can get when you publish but it's mandatory. A book takes a lot of time, focus, energy and commitment. It might not be the most perfect book but it's an expression of you and what you want to bring to light to the rest of the world. It's your voice in print. I know I will do this differently the next time around.

It was a journey of twists and turns, roadblocks and delays, missed deadlines, commitments not honoured, celebrating milestones, and heated debates - the full spectrum of highs and lows. I had to stand firm with my first publisher on the language that was used as these were conversations in our words, not a series of crafted, perfectly constructed sentences which were always grammatically correct. Let's face it. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone and worried about sentence structure and punctuation?

I also stood firm on the spelling, which probably drove my copy-editor batty as I insisted if I were speaking, and speaking to a Canadian leader, the spelling had to be in Canadian English and when speaking to an American, my words had to be in Canadian spelling and theirs in US. The spell check on the computer lit up like fireworks. Honouring cultures is critical to me and in my work. This is a small fraction of how that manifests itself. There were many heated discussions about terminology. Where I grew up in Montreal, we often use words that are direct translations from French, although I'm an Anglophone. So you might hear me say "Open (or close) the lights" rather than turn them on or off and other terms such as "Go to the cash" to pay for something. I'm still not sure how others say it but I insisted I leave it in as that was what I said in the conversation. I constantly found myself telling my editor / publisher "These are our words, not yours." Too often I found the magic of the conversations compromised for the sake of ensuring perfect grammar or sentence structure. I had to fight to protect it.

Finally, due to delays and capacity issues my publisher was dealing with, it was time to sever that working relationship and move on. Was the book going to go to print? This labour of love was in jeopardy. I had to make some tough decisions not to mention do rewrites and design changes if this book would ever get out.

Well it did. After more than 2 actually closer to 3 years of delays and unmet commitments, many lessons learned, some, thanks to Seth Godin's reality check questions around delivering, shipping, commitments, what are we willing to put up with etc., it was ready to go. Now what? I called my son who pointed me in a direction of Copper Canary editing (they are a gift), another suggestion from a colleague to call CreateSpace (Amazon) to self-publish and within 48 hours turnaround time, this book, with its new cover, layout, and edits was being reviewed. Another 36 hours later, a proof arrived at my door. A few more edits and format changes and off it went to print.

A mere week later it was out on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and this book was born.

Like many births, this one wasn't easy but oh, was it worth it!

We celebrated. The location was perfect...even its name "Play" reflected the atmosphere we wanted to create for the event. We talked, ate, reminisced, shared....clients met other clients, and family and friends got a taste of what it is I do through the words of a short reading and through the others who spoke.

So what's next? I'll continue having these conversations. Everyone has a story all their own which shapes who they are today. I'll be using the book to work with high school students in leadership programs to help them see their leadership through the eyes of these incredible stories. I'll be speaking at Catalyst University in Michigan in January on sustainable leadership, how to pay your success forward,and group coaching some of the community's identified rising stars. I'll be guest lecturing at the post graduate level and speaking at conferences and workshops to bring Human-Based Leadership perspectives to the business, government and technology worlds...arenas which often struggle with the human or soft skills aspect of leadership. And I am pondering over what to write next.

What form that writing will take is yet to be determined. I prefer conversations with people rather than lecturing or speaking at them. So let's talk. Tell me your stories and through them, let's see your Human-Based Leadership emerge.

A Book Launch With a Twist

Maybe in some ways I'm old school. Yes, I know digital book sales are going through the roof while print sales continue to decline and yet there is something so perfect about the feel of a real, live physical book.

There's also something deeply gratifying about sharing a book with someone I respect and care about. We all buy books for ourselves and yet when someone says "I chose this for you" and gives it to you, well… that has a whole other level of meaning.

So I decided, with my new book Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, I wanted to be able to reclaim that experience for you. Not just the giving part, but the gathering part. It's my hope that in sharing this book with others, you'll get people talking about Human-Based Leadership so they act on a radically different level. Bring people together and who knows what will emerge? So I spent a lot of time brainstorming ways to inspire people to order not one but two copies of the book. One to keep, one to share.

I wanted to do something different for you...

To that end, we decided to hold the launch in my home town and not in a mega-urban centre (as was requested). We also decided to hold it at the locally-owned Play, food & wine and not a book store, so it can be a gathering and celebration of Human-Based Leaders; both you and those you've identified as HB Leaders.

I decided that I needed to be giving away more than I was getting. Not only did I want to share these amazing stories with you but wanted you to be able to share them with someone you greatly respect. Which is why, when you buy 2 books, you're getting them at our cost. Add edgy conversations you can sink your teeth into and delicious food for you to do the same at one of Ottawa's most highly-rated spots, and we have a recipe for an evening to remember.

Click here to check it all out in detail and register and feel free to share this with anyone you feel would enjoy not only the book, but the experience.  

For those of you who can't attend the live event, we'd love to hear your stories about Human-Based Leaders. Share a story with us along with your name and email address and we'll not only send you a discount code for the book but possibly choose your story for publishing on the web.

Reality = Real People Doing Real Things

A great post by Max Mckeown about Strategy for the Real World. Ties in beautifully with the perspectives of a Human-Based Leader™. Real issues, real people, real impact and so on. Max says "Organizations are (often) incapable of carrying out the sophisticated strategies they have developed. Strategy planning takes place in a fantasy world. Action takes place in the real world. Strategy planning (too often) happens on away days and in board rooms. Strategy is the thing that senior managers do. It’s the thing that huge consultancies do behind closed doors. Reality is about real people doing real things."

Read on... 

The real world is about growing people or demolishing them, supporting them or using them as your ladder to get to the top. It's about choice and how you decide you're going to treat people and hold yourself when it comes to your leadership.

Digital Leadership

Recently, as Dean of the International Consortium for Coaching in Organization's Symposium in Chicago, Illinois, we explored what it meant to "Grow (and strengthen) Leaders in an Increasingly Virtual Work Environment." 

As we continuously explore the proficiencies and styles of effective leadership from an organizational perspective, we now have the added dimension of having to help evolve the leaders of the future in a disbursed, de-centralized work environment. When face-to-face interaction brings so much depth to connection and relationship, what do we need to look at when it comes to growing the human-based leaders of the future, especially if we may not ever meet them in person and work with them in real time? Ralph Mercer, charged with the Modernization of Non-Commisioned Member Professional Development System and Professional Military Education Program for the Canadian Military, highlights some of the key points we have to pay attention to, a point of view we considered and used in our contextual framework at the symposium.

Digital leadership - Ralph Mercer

Early in my career I was taught 10 basic principles of leadership.. while the words have changed over the years to reflect contemporary language and changing culture.. these below still hold true.

●    Know your job
●    Know your strengths and limitations
●    Always seek self-improvement
●    Lead by example and be consistent
●    Make sure your team knows your intent and then lead them to accomplishment
●    Know your people and take care of them before yourself
●    Develop the leadership potential in your people
●    Make sound and timely decisions
●    Train your people as a team and challenge them to their fullest potential
●    Keep your people informed,
●    Provide clear vision and make your orders understood

We practiced Social Networking in a way, back then, in the form of "O" groups, gathering everyone into a circle, sharing issues and the days directions, accepting feedback and re-explaining the mission until everyone understood the intent and goal.  Leadership then, as is now was about people and communication and that is why I’m a SM advocate. It too is about people and communication. No matter where you are or who you are with, if you practice these simple tenets you will be the leader... online or face to face it’s that simple (and that hard).

So is there a difference in leading virtually? Yes.  You are not present, so the cues that come with physical presence are missing… the ability to look into their eyes and read fear, confusion and clarity of purpose, read their body language, to have that quiet word to motivate when needed, and to just shake their hand. But before we run off and design whole new leadership paradigms to compensate, we need to provide a little context. This is not new, we have provided leadership via, messenger, telegraph, radio and telephone and have been successful.

The virtual environment is the latest evolution of communication and we are adapting to it. It is a lot more work to lead from a distance or virtually; clarity is key in everything you post or send, it must be clear in intent and message. There is the lack of context you provide by your presence, so it must be compensated for in the virtual environment. But that's not to say there aren't some ways to ensure that virtual and digital leadership is executed and used properly: When I talk about digital leadership I promote these principles;

New-ish leadership principles for the digital age
●    Empower your team
●    Connect them socially (wired and organic)
●    Establish a credible feedback loop, (you must answer promptly)
●    Own the culture (build a network of trust)
●    Articulate a Clear vision (build common purpose)
●    Be transparent but be THE leader
●    Create your vision.. Always move towards it
●    Focus on what matters
●    Know your people, take care of them first, challenge them
●    Listen and set the example
●    Always learn from your team

One thing I have noticed (not to my surprise), is that leaders who are poor in person are still lousy leaders in the digital environment.

Virtual leadership is more collaborative and therefore relies more on trust while in the physical, your presence and confidence can balance the trust requirement. There is also a danger in the connected world for leaders to want too much information and not make timely decisions. Instead, we wait for that next piece of information, (I call it information blindness, like a snow storm where each flake is small but enough of them will stop you from seeing the path). We only need about 50-70% of the required information to make informed decisions, the connected world gets that info to us faster.

I also think we forget that leadership is about people and communications, not technology. Even virtually, it must remain a human experience, even if it is not physical. One of the cool things about digital leadership, is the reach of your vision. In the physical room I can effect only those that can hear me and see me; online that distance become irrelevant.

Follow Ralph on Twitter @ralphmercer

Calling an End to Youth Homelessness

When I first met Rick some years ago at a conference in California, he spoke about his passion, StandUp For Kids, a program committed to the rescue of homeless and street kids. The first thing that struck me was "Why didn't I know any of this?" and the second was "I have to get to know this man better…talk to him and find out how I could support him, even from Canada." He touched me in a deeply profound way. One way was, I could spread the word to my blog readers, my colleagues and friends. Another way was to publish a subsequent conversation we had years later so readers everywhere could truly understand what Rick and StandUp For Kids was all about. Now, I ask you to join me in supporting Rick through all the connections we have on social media and beyond.

"This isn't about money; it’s about caring! What we've accomplished has no price tag. We know we've made a difference in the lives of thousands of kids. I would have paid that price for one! What we do really helps. You see kids get off the streets, and this work provides me with meaning and purpose.” - Rick Koca (from Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words)

In Rick's words, "Alex Petrou, from Australia, is Riding Across America to raise awareness about homeless and street youth in our country. Alex is making the 3,000 journey from Los Angeles to Washington, DC to help us raise funds to support our programs.

Alex has challenged me to raise more funds for our homeless youth than he can for Australia's homeless youth. So, you up for helping me win this challenge? Ask your friends and co-workers to match your donation."
 
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rick-koca/ridingacrossamerica

"Each week our programs reach out to more than 1,000 kids to help feed, clothe, provide hygiene products, and assist in any way we can. That means that there are still more than 1.2 million kids that we're not helping.

We're 99% volunteers, and have in the past 22 years, became the largest organization in the USA to help homeless and street youth. We know, these past few years have been difficult on us all, and as we head into 2012, we need your help more than ever. Shamefully, with the economy the way it is, more kids are ending up on the streets.
We have several wonderful things happening through the end of the year; LeAnn Rimes with her new single "Give", the band Switchfoot, who has been supporting us for many years, with their new single "Dark Horses", and a national event called "The Big Purple Couch". All of this to raise awareness and support for America's more than 1.3 million homeless and street youth. Visit our web site, get involved, make a difference, check it out.  www.standupforkids.org "

Thank you!
 
Rick Koca
Founder, StandUp For Kids

Blog it, Tweet it, and Facebook it....share it with everyone you know and say "Enough! We're going to call an end to youth homelessness!"  

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rick-koca/ridingacrossamerica

Other's Views of Human-Based Leadership

Recently, Will Lukang wrote about Authentic Leaders and stated "Authentic leaders have integrity and lead with compassion for their people.  Like all other leaders they have the vision, insight, influence and followers.  But the difference between a regular and authentic leader is that the authentic leaders care.  They truly care about their constituents"....."The world is changing and competition is all around us.  The need for authentic leaders is more important than ever.  If you’re in position of authority, ask yourself the question: Is doing the right thing your way of doing things?  Are you there to serve or be served?  Hopefully your answers are doing the right thing and to serve your constituents." Read on...

And Dan Rockwell writes:"How do you want others to feel when they are around you?

• Like you are smart or like they are smart?
• Like they have great ideas or like you have great ideas?
• Like they are stars or like you are a star?"

Be intentional is his overall theme. Read on...

The bottom line is people take jobs because of people and they leave jobs because of people and that applies right across the board.

In Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, John Spence speaks to just that when he says "When I was hired, my first boss was mean and aggressive and paranoid. I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with. I was absolutely enthralled with the work I was doing. But I would get up every morning, shaking as I put my clothes on, and drive home from work crying every day because my boss, my “leader,” was so tyrannical that it was just painful. 

I learned a huge lesson about the impact leaders have on other people’s lives. Whether you lead two people or 20,000 people, you have a huge obligation, responsibility, and incredible impact on the joy, the balance, the love, and the fun in people’s lives. You can either make their work exciting and fun or make their lives a living hell."

It's all about choice; Human-Based Leader or Power-Based, command and obey leader.

Seth's Blog: That buzzing in my ear didn't mean I was about to die

Today is End Malaria Day. 

Right this minute, right now, please do three things:

1. Buy two copies of End Malaria, an astonishing new book by more than sixty of your favorite authors. In a minute, I will explain why this might be the most important book you buy this year (not the best book, of course, just the most important one). You should buy one in paperback too so you can evangelize a copy to a colleague.
2. Tweet or like this post, or email it to ten friends (It only takes a second.)
3. And, visit the End Malaria Day website and share it as well.

What would happen if you did that? What would happen if you stepped up and spent a few dollars?

Here's what would happen: someone wouldn't die. Read on...  Seth's Blog: That buzzing in my ear didn't mean I was about to die

To quote Michael Bungay Stanier, "What if a book didn’t just talk about saving lives – but did it?"

This book does just that.

Jack Layton: Human-Based Leader to the End

Just a mere two days before Jack Layton passed away, he wrote this letter to share with Canadians. The full letter can be found here. For now, I share this snippet which says so much. You might not have agreed with his politics but in his letter there can be no doubt how much he loved Canada and Canadians. 

...."As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future."

Jack, your legacy lives on. You will be missed.

Worrying is Way Too Over-Rated

The other day while I was working with one of my clients, something was telling me I should ask him how everything was - life, living, vacation planning - all the non-work-related things. He shared something that was going on in his personal life that was weighing on him greatly. After he shared what was happening, he ended it by saying "Don't worry about me".

My answer was "I'm not going to worry about you. Worrying won't help you. What will change if I worried? No. I am here to support you through this." 

There are people in our lives who will worry about us, give us unsolicited advice and, although they mean well, give advice which stems from emotion, not necessarily common sense. People in our lives want us to feel better so might tell us what they think we want to hear. Instead, how about just listening and asking the non-judgmental questions that will help give them clarity? And how about trusting that they know what is right for them? Even if they don't, they'll know you're there to support them throughout.

Coaches (or as Ruth Ann Harnisch says, GREAT coaches) understand that it's OK to let clients live in the questions. We're not there to give them answers. We're there to help them think differently, clarify, and simplify.

GREAT leaders understand they can lead from a sense of humanness without being pushovers. They don't hand you anything on a silver platter; they support you to grow into your level of excellence. They understand that everyone has different talents and strengths and different ways of doing things and create an environment within which you find out just what that is.

The Power of Peers

I'm thinking about the lessons Barry Libert shares as I reread Chapter 10 of Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words. It makes me wonder,"How can I utilize the power of my networks to give me the information, insights and perspectives I need to support my clients?"

Barry says "We'd really like to talk to our peers [leaders of other companies] to learn what the best are doing and how we can do something similar.

The question that has stuck with me is, "How can I learn from my peers to improve my performance and make better decisions?" Even today, I have friends who work at large management consulting firms and they still say the same thing: that their clients want to talk to their peers. Large companies and their leaders are not unique:

• Kids want to talk to their peers before they talk to their parents.
• Customers want to talk to their peers before they talk to the company.
• Sick people want to talk to their peers before they talk to doctors.
• Employees want to talk to their peers before they talk to their bosses.
• People want to download music from their peers before they buy a song."

Who do you talk to before making a decision?

The Courage To Lead from a Human-Based Perspective

This morning in John Spence's blog he says "Although I am a great fan of heroic courage and know that in many situations that is exactly what is called for, what I believe we need from our leaders right now is the ability to show an even more powerful level of courage… the courage of vulnerability."  (Click here to read on).

In Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, Chapter 1, John and I discuss the virtues of a Human-Based Leader and how it has nothing whatsoever to do with circumstances. It's who they are and how they live by their values. 

He says "High-achieving self-actualizers are not a slave to the good or bad opinions of other people. They’ve got a deeply held set of values. They have a clear vision of the life they want to lead, the legacy they want to leave, are really clear about the kind of person they want to be. They’re open to feedback and input, but not really swayed by what other people think about them."

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

— Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn By Living (1960)

I Will Never...

This morning Seth Godin writes about "Delivering on Never" such as I will never miss a deadline, I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall.

Human-Based Leaders add a few more to the equation...

HB Leaders will never treat you as a second class citizen. They recognize they have power with people, not over them.
HB Leaders will never lead by fear. They lead by humanness.
HB Leaders will never demolish you. They'll evolve you.

Seth continues to say "There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer." I'd like to add there are all sorts of nevers you can deliver to people at home, at work, to strangers, to everyone. They can become your mantra, your way of being. That will definitely set you above the rest.