Lessons from The Donald.

US politics are being shaken to its core.  The establishment is losing its control over the process as Donald Trump runs disruptively against traditional thinking in the Republican party.  His success, to date, is scaring mainstream voters across the US and indeed, around the world.  But it is foolish to think that he cannot win the nomination and perhaps even the Presidency.

That said, polls suggest that it is really a vocal and disenfranchised group that provides provides the basis for his strong showing.  This group is fed up with the status quo and they are looking for a leader to offer an alternative.  In Trump they have found a voice.

We can learn some important lessons from this scenario that have direct application in our business environment.  Here are a few for your consideration.

1.  People look for leadership.  Every survey that I have read over the past 10 years shows a substantial level of disengagement in the workplace.  Some statistics put the figure as high as 60%.  During the early part of the economic crisis the number of management personnel reporting dissatisfaction reached levels in the 40-50%.  As the leader you must fulfill your responsibility to actually LEAD.  If you do not, then the people will find someone else to follow.  It is human nature.
2. Control the narrative or you will be controlled by it.  Trump has said very little of substance but he has controlled the narrative.  People are no longer listening to the policies of his competitors because they have been relegated to a defensive position.  It has ceased to be a case of which candidate is the best.  By controlling the narrative Trump has positioned himself as the lessor of the evils.  He seldom runs on the basis of his experience or expertise but rather he compares himself to the competition with the attitude that implies '...I have my faults but I am better than them...'.  Your leadership position requires you to establish the priorities and the strategies.  When you don't - when you lose the narrative - someone else will fill the void...and likely not according to your agenda.
3. Might does not make right!   For the most part, Trump has acted like a school yard bully.  He wants to build walls and keep out the undesirables.  He belittles others; speaks condescendingly, he has a clear superiority attitude about him.  While this bravado appeals to some within the Republican party, it clearly does not resonate with the majority of the total population.  In contrast, authentic leaders have self confidence that is a reflection of the esteem that others have for them.  It does not come at the expense of others.  In your work place you must lead on the basis of your authenticity; your integrity and your competence.  There is nothing about bullying, threatening, cajoling or coercing that has anything to do with leadership.  
4. Organizations are organic and must change or die.  This is something most western governments, including the US and Canada, are not recognizing. Perhaps the single most important lesson we are learning from Trump is that the political status quo is simply not working.  A populace that is better educated and better connected is legitimately expecting more from government.  The middle class especially is a group forged by the fire of the economic malaise of the past decade.  It has grown tired of the lies and self serving interests of many politicians and their backers.  But these politicians continue to resist change.  In your leadership position you know that change is inevitable and it is usually a positive sign.  Your adaptability is critical in keeping pace with changes in technology; employee participation; and customer expectations.  Leaders change or are left behind and the message I hear coming from Trump supporters is just that.  The truly unfortunate thing is that Trump is the only one giving voice to this matter.  Others are simply defending the indefensible.

Trump is not leading.  He is simply providing an alternative.  Likewise, if you do not lead with authenticity others will find an alternative. 

Employees will find alternative employment or an alternative leader.  Customers will find alternative sources.  Suppliers will find alternative markets.

I doubt that Trump appreciates or cares about the lessons he is imparting.  Win or lose, he will still have a soft landing.  The same cannot be said for your failure to lead.  

Remember...reputation is what others think of you; character is what you really are...

Choose character! Lead well.

Survival Guide

As I have noted here, several times, we are uncharted territory.  So I thought that this primer might serve as a helpful reminder of how to cope until things improve.  Feel free to add to the list, and send along your thoughts for all the share.

1. Hire people who will work for minimum wage.  After all, in these times no one expects superior service, value for money, or a pleasant disposition from the people who represent you.  Why pay more when it does not really matter?
2. Hold off on any investments that will make people more productive.  Keep old computers, cell phones and internal systems.  No one is spending money these days so it would be a waste of resources to make it easy to deal with you.
3. Refrain from using any social media.  Facebook is a fad; the internet is insecure; and all the other options are only being used by kids in high school...and that is not your target market.  Until they come up with something better than a fax machine, trust word of mouth to promote your business.
4. Lower your prices.  Being the cheapest has always been a tried and true marketing approach. Look at Apple.  Their cell phones and computers cost way more than competitors and where has that got them?
5. When you sell at a lower cost you can justify lowering your quality too.  So see how you can cut corners.  Should people not get what they pay for.
6. Rule by fear; its a proven motivational approach.  And it will ensure that no one troubles you with recommendations for improvements that you will ignore anyway.
7. Resist external advice.  What the hell does anybody else know about how to run a business. Besides, most of that advice will cost you something and why pay for another opinion.  You already have lots of opinions of your own!
8. Wait it out.  Things will eventually return to normal.  The last decade or so has simply been an aberration (look it up).  Then let the good times roll again.
9. If things really get tough, the government will know what to do.  You can count on a bail out because they are simply flush with cash and they are in the rescue business.
10. When all else fails, cheat.  You have a second lifetime to rebuild your reputation.

So there you have it.  This is by no means a comprehensive list but it will give that jump start you have been looking for.  Oh, I forgot, you already knew all these things.  You are just glad to have to have someone else confirm it for you...

Fool's Gold.

It is perhaps an understatement to suggest that we are in difficult or uncertain economic times.  We are forging a new normal and events around the world impact us in ways that they never did before. 

To be certain, we have experienced crises before.  Oil has had dramatic changes several times in the past.  Recessions or depressions have come and gone. The impact of a new rising economy such as that in China has happened before. Central banks have intervened at various points in history. But what has not occurred is the perfect storm of all these things happening at once.  Economists, politicians, financial analysts and business leaders are all grappling to determine the impact in their regions, countries or companies.

What is the reality?  Lily Tomlin, in her brilliant one woman performance "In search of intelligent life in the universe" posed this question to her character.  She opined that reality was '...nothing more than a collective hunch...'  She may have been on to something!

As a leader, how are you to respond?  I submit that these are times when common sense must prevail.  There is no value in assuming that somehow your company can swim against the current and be unscathed by current events.  While that may be true in hindsight, setting goals and objectives that are unachievable is both foolish and disheartening for your employees. 

They read; they listen; they know the problems that we are facing.  If your strategy is one which ignores reality, then a bunker mentality is going to set in.  And when you call  'charge', not many will be willing to leave the fold in search of fools gold.

We are running a marathon right now and we need to prepare and respond accordingly. It might be true that you miss an opportunity in the short term, but if that presents a serious issue, then you have bigger problems that you need to address!

Pollyanna was a fictitious character.  But your responsibilities are real.  For the benefit of all, plan accordingly.

I'm just saying...

Recently I was listening to an analyst discuss the conduct of one of the companies that he was following.  The company had been in the news for the wrong reasons and the stock was being punished by the market...but not as much as had been expected.

The analyst, who noted that he was also a stockholder in the company, opined that the conduct of the company was unethical but then quickly added "...at least it was not illegal..."

WOW!  How's that for rationalization?

How does one determine that the law trumps ethics.  Aren't ethics really 'laws' that are simply not codified in the criminal code?  Most professions in Canada, indeed around the world, have a Code of Ethics to which their members are held.  A breech of this code often carries far more serious consequences than those provided under the laws of the land because it can lead to the expulsion from the profession. 

Where the law may have imposed a fine or even a jail sentence, losing one's profession means starting all over again, but with the stigma of prior misconduct attached to it.  I submit that the latter has a more far-reaching impact than the former.

And what of the employees of this company. How would you like to be introduced as a member of an unethical company.  I may be splitting hairs but an illegal act can be redeemed by contrition and better corporate governance. The offence may have been a one time act and not typical or representative of the company's normal business practices.

A lack of ethics though generally indicates a systemic situation that has likely permeated the organization over time.  Frequently starting small but then infecting the whole of the company, the matter requires far more remedial intervention than a `mea culpa` and pledge to behave better.  To change the ethics likely requires a change in leadership and a re-orientation throughout the company as to what constitutes acceptable behavior. This realignment takes time because it requires repetition in order from it to become habit.

The recent example of Volkswagen speaks to this issue. The fact that engineers thought that it would be acceptable to tamper with emission results stemmed from a failure of ethics in the first place.  It was this cultural malaise that led to the crime being committed, not vice versa.

As the leader, you have a duty of care to set the bar as high as possible.  Your example is the standard that others will see as acceptable in your company.  Have you set it high and are you communicating this expectation to others.  This must be a case of '...do as I say...and do as I do...'

The public has choices with regards to whom they will support.  Increasingly they shun those who put financial results ahead of ethics.  Work hard to ensure that your company is among those whose ethics make the news for all the right reasons.

A brief 'tip of the hat'.

The Baby Boom generation is gradually giving up the reins of leadership.  Today in the USA about 10,000 people will turn age 65.  As this is the historical age for retirement it is fair to assume that a significant percentage of these people are leaving positions of responsibility.  This phenomenon began about 5 years ago.  And it will continue unabated for the next 15 years!  Full disclosure; I am a Baby Boomer FIFO (first in, first out)

If you are a return reader of my blogs you will know that I am somewhat critical of the level of leadership sophistication that exists in most organizations.  By extension it is fair to say that I am critical of my generational peers.

Today I want to give a brief respite to the criticisms in favour of a brief explanation.

When boomers entered the workforce, most of our supervisors, and virtually all of our managers and executives had two important experiences in common.  The first was that most had lived through the Great Depression. And secondly, all had survived the Second World War.  These two seminal events in our collective history forged rather hardened personalities.

On the one hand these men (yes, men) were glad to have a job, any job.  They had seen millions who were not so fortunate lining up at soup kitchens or travelling the trains looking for any employment that could feed them.  And on the other hand they were happy to be alive.  Everyone of them would have been touched by the loss of a friend or relative during WWII.  These events shaped their 'world view' and created demons that few of us have to deal with.

In the post war workplace jobs became as plentiful as apples on trees.  Those filling positions of leadership often lacked education and perspective. So they did their best, managing by seat of their pants and deploying the techniques that they had learned; street smarts and a 'commander-in-chief' model. (Both of the presidents of my first two employers were high school graduates.) 

Under the circumstances, who can blame them?  Yet these were the role models for the Baby Boomer generation.  The formal study of leadership only took hold in the 70's and most of that was looking at how leadership differed from managing.  It really did not provide clues to teach effective, authentic leadership. Even most MBA programs still deploy a 'case study' approach that focuses on processes and strategies while giving only passing thought to the subject of leadership.

Fast forward to 2015.  We have a mobile, well educated collection of potential employees.  They are 'connected' and socially aware with different priorities such as care for the planet. We have an explosion of knowledge and live, quite literally, in a global village.  It is little wonder that the old leadership models don't work. They were fashioned from a bygone era...and they really were barely suitable even then.

Leadership today demands a level of authenticity and transparency that Boomer's bosses could not conceive.  Damaged as they were they from their experiences, being macho and hard-assed were more common character traits.

Today I give thanks to the many bosses that I had in my career.  Most gave it their best.  It is just that their best was not all that good.

What I will not excuse is the void in leadership today.  I can forgive the uninformed and ill equipped of yesteryear.  But we know better now and rightly expect more from those running the show who steadfastly refuse to change.  It is these dinosaurs that need to escorted to the door, age 65 or not!

I'm done talking...

Get the oars in the water!

Again and again, in survey after survey and poll after poll we are reminded that there is a low level of employee 'engagement'.  A 'low level of engagement' is a euphemism for 'employees don't give a ----!'

At its worst about 7 years ago the results suggested that as many as 68% of employees were in this category.  By 'employees' we are not talking just about the unwashed masses but a significant number of supervisory/managerial types as well.  Is it any wonder that so many organizations are simply spinning their wheels and consistently under-performing their best in class competitors?

If you do not count yourself amongst this group then you are exceptional...or exceptionally naïve.

To be certain, the reasons that create this environment vary from company to company. But the root of the problems can generally be traced back to a fundamental lack of leadership. We train individuals in the skill sets necessary to perform a function but there is a decided lack of training in how to motivate others.  Often times our leaders do not even know what motivates others and thus have nowhere to even begin.

Leadership is not for the weak of heart any more than it is for the courageous.

It has been said `…it is not that leadership has been tried and found wanting.  Rather it has been found difficult and left untried…`

The consequences of a disengaged workforce are difficult to fully quantify.  However, let me use this analogy.

Assume that you have a boat with 10 people and 10 oars.  If our statistics are even close to accurate then a maximum of 6 individuals - perhaps as few as 3 or 4 - have their oars in the water and are pulling towards the desired destination.  The others are mostly dead weight.  Or worse...their oars are in the water pulling in the opposite direction.  How's that for productivity??????

If you do not make it a priority to have advanced leadership qualities at ALL levels of your organization, even the best strategies will fail. 

People drive success!  It`s not objectives, not key indicators; not strategic plans, not even good intentions.  Failure is almost always linked to underperforming leadership. Improvement will not happen overnight.  We need to move the needle so that we grow from management to 'manageship' to 'leaderment' to leadership.

 If this problem resonates with you, do something.  If you feel lost, get professional advice or find a mentor. It’s time to get all the oars in the water and pulling together! Remember, effective leadership must become a habit, not an act but the dividends are worth the effort.

Leading in times of crisis.

Recent events in Paris and many other locations around the world remind us that we are living in unusual times.  Unusual for those of us in Western democracies; not so much for those in different regions.  Residents of the Middle East, parts of Africa and elsewhere deal with this climate of unrest on a daily basis.  But for most of us, these are uncertain times.

As a leader, what should your response be?  How do you instill some measure of sanity to events that seem insane?  How do you bring sense out of chaos?  How do you bring calm in the midst of the storm?

To begin you must acknowledge that the perceptions that are held, are legitimate.  It is true that 'perception is reality''; at least in the eye of the beholder.  You cannot simply dismiss the feelings that these events stir in people.

But acknowledging is not the same as standing in agreement with another.  In fact, as leader it is your responsibility to ensure that individual perceptions actually align with reality.  The fear which is paralyzing another person may, in fact, be a vicarious fear which has little or no likelihood of being played out in your circumstances. 

The truth dispels fear.  And in so doing the root of the crisis is crippled.  With a healthy and appropriate view of the situation, most people will be able to process the risks and consequences by themselves.  It is your responsibility to create an environment in which individuals are able to feel safe, trusted and valued.  In this they will find strength to face their fears.

I have frequently mentioned the need for a leader to be a person of integrity; honestly; and reliability.  While these characteristics are important on a daily basis they carry heightened importance when unanticipated crises enter our lives and the lives of those with whom we work.

Your staff may not be looking to you for this kind of leadership.  But they will be grateful if they find it!