Quote of the Month

"The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you."

~ Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation

Rules For Leaders

In the March 2001 issue of Fast Company, Tom Peters writes about 50 rules for leaders. This month I’ll write about: rule # 9 – “Leaders Win Through Logistics”

How do you develop a roadmap to identify and develop the next generation of leaders?  It’s a real challenge for organizations to groom high potential people into the best pool of leaders for the future.

Let’s look at how one organization, the American Cancer Society, is facing the challenge.

For nearly 90 years, it has led the war against cancer. Now the Society faces another do-or-die challenge: to identify the next generation of leaders who will continue the battle.

Slash the cancer mortality rate by 50%. Reduce the incidence of cancer by 25%. Make a clear impact on the quality of life of cancer survivors. These are the three ultra-ambitious goals that the American Cancer Society has set for itself -- and hopes to achieve by 2015.

The American Cancer Society won’t meet the challenges without developing a team of the best and the brightest to lead the organization into the future. 

Here’s a glimpse of their game plan. 

1.                   The top leadership team realized that more than half of their senior executives were nearing retirement age, with few people in line to replace them.

2.                   The call went out to all 6500 employees to apply for jobs as division CEOs and COOs.

3.                   48 people responded.  They completed a detailed application in which they were asked to assess their leadership skills using 15 separate criteria and to demonstrate how they exceeded the criteria. 

4.                   A roundtable of division managers scrutinized the application, gave 360 reviews and ranked each applicant on a talent grid alongside the rest of the top performers. 

5.                   19 people made it through to the national pool of potential CEOs and COOs. Each person was given a rating ranging from "promotable within 24 months" to "immediately promotable."

6.                   All 19 finalists were assigned an executive coach and charged with developing a personal action plan that will take them to the next level.

The goal for the candidates is straightforward: Learn to lead by leading. Of course, not everyone will make it to the top jobs. But they will all be more effective leaders when they complete the program. They will be the kind of talent that the ACS wants to reward and nurture.

What can other organizations learn from the American Cancer Society's bid to build better leaders? "Most companies plan from quarter to quarter -- or, at best, year to year," says Sellers. "We've set goals that are 15 years out. If we don't build a new generation of leaders, we won't get there. That's what decades of fighting cancer has taught us: Think long-term -- starting now."

To learn what happens when the applicant doesn’t make the cut or when they do and move to another organization, read the entire article by clicking here

Some questions for you to consider and journal about this month:

• How do you identify high potential people?

• What resources do you provide them to help them meet their potential?

• How do you use resources other than training, such as assessments and coaching, to build your pool of leaders?

I’ll be highlighting one rule each month. Want to read all 50 rules right now? Click here: Rules for Leaders. Read the latest leadership articles or sign up for e-mails at www.fastcompany.com

Featured Article

“Story of a “Self-Directed” Work Team” 

Some time ago I worked in a self-directed work team. Our manager had accepted a position at another company, and our company was not ready to replace him. As a group we thrived under our own "leadership." We were all very mature in our positions and required very little guidance or assistance in doing what we did. We became one of the benchmarks for our industry and launched several innovative processes within the industry that are now benchmarked internationally.

With that being said, even though we had no "leader," we did have someone who kept us on track and made any final decisions if the group could not come to a consensus. The great thing was that this position rotated almost effortlessly through the group as well! Depending on the circumstances, the person with the least vested interest in the project became the leader/facilitator of the project without even having to be assigned. The more objective person always seemed to step up and take the reigns without having to be asked. This was the major reason for our successes. We knew almost intuitively who should lead the project and who should be the "worker."

We have split up since then and the group now doing what we did is struggling under the leadership that eventually replaced our manager. With one person specifically in charge, the creativity of the work group has greatly decreased. They will never recapture the chemistry that our group had for leading/facilitating ourselves.

I believe groups like ours are unique and rarely found. Once found they must be used to their fullest extent.

What does it take to build and run a team like this? Below, Tim shares some of the operating standards they used to develop and maintain this successful self-directed team.

Operating Standards for a Self-Directed work team

1. We didn't do anything that doesn't hold up under public scrutiny.

2. We vowed to not withhold bad news from upper management. Bad news is generally filtered out as information travels upward in an organization and leads to communication barriers and resultant problems down the road.

3. We defined "Ineffectiveness" as fatal timidity to act when an opportunity presented itself. We strove to overcome our ineffectiveness.

4. We did our best to speak our truth as gently as possible. If you always tell the truth you never have to remember what you said.

5. We overcame our need for individual approval and accolades, doing our best to see everyone of equal value and importance. One person, a first among equals, was usually assigned the power to make a final decision. This role changed easily as dictated by the situation and was based on passion, interest, and expertise. There is no end to what we can achieve if we are not concerned with who gets the credit.

6. We developed a culture that made sharing anything OK. So we often shared and acted on our gut feelings. These were seldom wrong.

7. .We never blind sided anyone. We always had a thorough pre brief before briefings so that management always knew what was going to be shared, which developed their trust in us.

8. We developed means to entertain healthy conflict and differing points of view using three-point communication. This meant allowing or encouraging a devil's advocate point of view and a neutral third party to keep the debate healthy.

9. We practiced what we preached and coached each other do operate out of integrity and to be accountable to the standards we espoused.

10. We performed team building activities within our group to maintain and grow our team. We would also debrief each other to validate senses and perceptions about what went on in the group.

Steve Davis, M.A., M.S., is a Facilitator's Coach, Infoprenuer, and free-lance human, helping facilitators, organizational leaders, educators, trainers, coaches and consultants present themselves confidently, access their creativity, empower their under-performing groups, enhance their facilitation skills, and build their business online and offline. Does leading or participating in groups frustrate you? Subscribe to his free weekly ezine at www.MasterFacilitatorJournal.com. Contact him at steve@MasterFacilitatorJournal.com or 760-375-7384 to schedule a free exploratory coaching session.

©2003. Steve Davis, www.MasterFacilitatorJournal.com. All rights reserved.