Mountain State University LeaderTalk

Everyday Leadership

We are pleased to announce that our new white paper, Everyday Leadership,is now available for free download. This white paper is designed to inspire and encourage you to lead others and make a difference, wherever you are - every day.

Here are a few ideas about how to use this new white paper:

• Print it out! Read one section each day and reflect on the questions we provided.
• Share it! Link to the white paper from your blog. Tweet it, or email it to others in your organization.
• Do both - print it and share it! Offer it as a gift to someone to help them develop and grow as a leader. Leave a stack where you work.
• Tell me about everyday leaders in your organization. In the coming months, we want to celebrate and expose everyday leaders by telling their stories here at the LeaderTalk blog. We may write profiles or we may create podcasts to showcase our interviews of everyday leaders, people leading and making a difference within their organizations or communities. Email me at brobinson@mountainstate.edu to recommend your favorite everyday leaders.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing your feedback and receiving your ideas about everyday leaders.

Lists of Best Leadership Blogs

Thanks for your input about best leadership blogs.

Several readers recommended this list from Noop.nl. It's a good list, with several - but not all - of my favorite leadership blogs listed. There are also some that I have never read. So, this is a list I will have to revisit on a rainy afternoon.

Bret Simmons pointed me to his list, compiled for his MBA students. Bonus here: a list of recommended books. Both Bret's blog list and his book list contain fantastic resources.

A couple of readers recommended their own blogs, and I'm glad, because I invited you to. Be sure to check out Dan Collins' A Simple Guy and Tim Morris' Intentional Influence.

Thanks for your input, and be sure to come back tomorrow, when we will unveil the latest free white paper from LeaderTalk. We are excited to share this compilation of many of the best posts from the last 15 months, designed to help you be a better leader every day.

Best Leadership Blogs

Yesterday morning, my friend Penny Gladwell, asked me to recommend some leadership blogs for a group of high school students she is working with this fall.

Penny, who is the lead leadership faculty for Mountain State University's Martinsburg Campus, is teaching local high school students about leadership with an exciting approach. Somewhat new to the social media scene, Penny hopes to introduce her students to social media by encouraging them to read-and write- blogs and to connect with others on Twitter.

I find this approach exciting for several reasons:

• Penny is choosing relevant media and learning tools for her students. Even if her students have not previously read or written blogs, they likely spend much of their day online. Chances are, many of them have already embraced social networking through Facebook.
• Social media offers people the chance to connect with others and make a difference through sharing their thoughts and ideas. As Penny helps these students explore the topic of leadership, she is also giving them an outlet for their leadership learning by introducing them to a limitless online audience for their work.
• Penny is valuing her students, showing them great respect by sharing her knowledge and expertise with them and making this course less about fulfilling academic requirements than it is about living out their lives as leaders. They are young men and women who can and will make a great impact with their lives and she is helping them immensely to make leadership practical.

So, would you help me as I give direction to Penny and her students? There are so many great blogs about leadership. I have my favorites, but I want to make sure I don't miss any. Please share your favorites in the comments to this post and I will compile them in a list here and post it as my next post. Feel free to include your own blog, as well.

Thanks for your input!

Seconds

In the first months of my marriage, I worked to perfect a homemade pizza crust. The first one turned out doughy. The second, overdone. The third, slightly better. Eventually, I found the right recipe and figured out both how to roll it out and what temperature worked best.

Now we enjoy homemade pizza every Friday night with a nearly perfect crust every time.

It takes time to get it right. Everything is always easier the second time around.

Firsts: fear of the unknown, discovery, new experiences, creating a system that works, questions, mistakes, uncertainty, solutions, joy: firsts.

Do you remember your first day of school? your first job? bringing home your first baby? buying your first home? your first supervisory experience? your first major speaking engagement?

It takes time to get it right. Everything is always easier the second time around.

I recently wrapped up my first semester teaching online in Mountain State University's Bachelor of Science/Organizational Leadership program.

I talked on the phone with a more seasoned instructor, one who has been teaching in the program for many years. She told me about some wisdom someone shared with her after her first semester in the classroom. Her mentor at the time told her that it would take as long as FIVE years for her to develop her teaching style and to feel at ease in her new role.

I am glad to have moved past this first semester teaching, which was great, but in many ways all that you would expect from a "first." Although I am not currently teaching, I look forward to the next opportunity.

Seconds: making improvements, creating a better system, discovery, questions, uncertainty, solutions, mistakes, joy: seconds.

As we lead ourselves  – and others  – it is important to remember that the first time is always the most challenging. 

It takes time to get it right. Everything is always easier the second time around.

Join the conversation!

What significant firsts do you remember?

What can you do to encourage others who are experiencing significant "firsts" in their lives or careers?

Risks

Leadership is risky.

When you lead others, you take relational risks. Because anytime you lead others, the context for your leadership is relationships. Relationships equal potential. In relationships with others, you can find support, encouragement, collaboration, and friendship. With others, it is possible that you will accomplish great things, celebrate amazing success. But in relationships with others, you may also experience disappointment, hurt, and frustration. 

As leaders, we take relational risks because we are convinced that the potential for great things from relationships far outweighs the risks. We don't focus on our fear of rejection or disappointment. We risk again and again because we are convinced that the only way to accomplish our goals is by partnering with others to get things done.

This afternoon, I called my friend Lisa on the phone to check in with her. Lisa is one of the leaders in the homeschool co-op that I started, then left behind, in Chicago. They are gearing up for a new school year: adding new families, clarifying their vision for the group, and deepening working relationships.

While talking to Lisa, who is now one of my closest friends despite our geographical distance, a picture entered my mind of the day we first met, in the locker room at our local YMCA. 

I had started several cooperative learning groups for my kids while living in Chicago. On the cold November day that I met Lisa, I happened to be on the lookout for new families to invite to our group. Several families had moved to the suburbs. Lisa seemed like the perfect fit - her kids ages matched my kids' ages closely enough - and we seemed to share common values about parenting and educating our kids.

Inviting Lisa to join our co-op was risky. I had to take the initiative relationally as I sought to form a new friendship. I also had to communicate the vision of our group in a clear and compelling way. So, I risked rejection of myself, and I risked rejection of my idea, my vision, of joining with other families for fun and learning.

If not for that cold November day in the YMCA locker room, Lisa would not be leading the co-op this year, and I would not have the joy of her friendship.

Leadership is risky. But the risks are worthwhile.

I needed this reminder tonight, as I invite a group of near-strangers to join with me in starting a new learning cooperative for preschoolers. It's not easy or comfortable to take the initiative to start something new, but I am excited about the potential and possibility that these new relationships possess.

Join the conversation!

What relational risks do you take as a leader?

Guest Post | Teachers as Leaders

Today’s guest post comes from Jenni Canterbury, marketing coordinator for Mountain State University’s Charles H. Polk School of Leadership and Professional Development. Prior to joining MSU in May 2010, she taught public speaking, public relations, and persuasion courses at a liberal arts university.

“Leadership is essential to instruction…But what does this mean?” he asked. 

Though I hadn’t written the original text, I agreed with the statement. Having spent over 17 years as a student and eight as a teacher, I didn’t feel that the phrase needed explanation. In my mind, the statement was true - standing alone without explanation - because the people I have learned the most from were leaders.

Like leaders, good teachers have a vision that they share with their students. They see the importance of the subject that they teach. They prepare their students for the next phase of their life and inspire them beyond the classroom.

Good teachers work to motivate their students through their actions and words. They set an example for the class. My college speech teacher was strict, but he set an example for us. He gave specific guidelines that we were to follow, such as requiring us to speak from note cards and limiting us to three cards per speech no matter the time limit. In return, he gave his lectures from note cards. He never asked us to do something that he didn’t do. He led by example.

Good teachers value students as people. They respect their students. I remember my fourth grade teacher taking me aside and talking to me as though I were an adult even though I was only nine. She believed in me and my abilities, and because she had faith in me, she inspired me to try new things.

Good teachers demonstrate honesty and integrity as they identify each student’s strengths and work to help them address their weaknesses. I remember struggling with research papers for an advanced English course. It seemed that every paper that I submitted was returned covered in red ink. My work appeared to be bleeding. When I went to the professor to ask for help, he told me that I was a good writer, but he expected more out of me than he was seeing in my writing. He explained what I was doing right and the areas that I needed to improve upon. After our conversation, I tried harder.I applied myself more, and I finally earned an “A” on my last assignment.

With a new school year approaching, I find myself thinking about the teachers who motivated and inspired me, and I hope that other students– in elementary school, middle school, high school, and at colleges and universities– are fortunate enough to have leaders as teachers, too. 

Empty Seats

It's not enough to fill the seats on the bus.

But if you've ever worked in an organization in which key positions remained unfilled, you know the strain those empty seats can cause.

When seats are empty, it is very difficult to maintain your organization's previous level of service, quality, or output. 

We might make excuses: We're shorthanded here. I'm doing two jobs right now, so... This is a time of transition for our department. We're catching up to our growth.

When positions are open or leaders make plans for expansion, they make sure they have talented people in place before they start new initiatives or move forward. 

Leaving those important seats empty can be costly to the health of the organization. Of course, hiring and training new employees is also a time-consuming and expensive process, so it is important to fill positions thoughtfully, ensuring a proper fit between the person and the position. 

Here are some questions to consider during personnel transitions:

How will you reorganize your department to ensure that critical tasks are completed?

How will this transition effect other team members? Your customers?

What can you do to minimize negative consequences for your team? For your customers?

What effect do those empty seats have on your organization's ability to fulfill your mission? To the bottom line?

Leaders cultivate talent within their organizations with a plan of succession for key positions so to ease the strain of personnel transitions. Also, leaders communicate with their team about how responsibilities will be shared during transitions.

Join the conversation!

How does your organization handle personnel transitions?

What other factors are important for leaders with organizations in transition?

The People on the Bus

I am hoping to start a preschool co-op in my new hometown. Right now, my key challenge with this start-up is finding the right people.

To me, it doesn't really matter WHAT we do exactly. It's about finding a group of people that we like, who like us, who we can spend some regular time with each week.

Once we gather a group of people, we can work out the details: activities, curriculum, location, day, time.

Whenever you start something new, it's important to have the right people.

Or, whenever you want to expand that good thing you're already doing, you have to have great people in place.

Ideas aren't enough. When my husband and I started a new church, people would come to us with a lot of great ideas for new programs. But we had decided in advance that we would not start anything else unless we had the people in place to carry out the ideas. So, our first question when someone came to us with a new idea was always "Who can do this?"

At the time, I had never heard of Packard's law. Maybe you've never heard of it either. Here it is, simply: in order for an organization to grow and thrive, it needs to have personnel in place to support the growth. Jim Collins explains it well in How the Mighty Fall.

No company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company. [And] If a company consistently grows revenue faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth, it will not simply stagnate; it will fall.

In an interview with Fast Company in 2001, Jim Collins said "If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could." It's timeless advice, really. You can't do anything within your organization if you don't have people in place to do it.

Whether you're planning a preschool co-op, with a half dozen families, like I am, or starting a multinational corporation, the same law applies. Get the right people on the bus first.

Join the conversation!

What do you do to ensure that you have the people in place in your organization before you expand or start new initiatives?

What happens when organizations don't follow Packard's law? Have you experienced this first-hand?

Trees Redux

Good news on our old oak tree: our tree expert, Michael, thinks it's strong enough to survive.

Next week, his company will trim back a few dead branches. They'll also remove several live ones from directly above our roof and deck, to prevent any major damage from a storm. He recommended that we treat the tree trunk with an insect spray.

We are choosing a proactive approach but it is not without risks.

It's still possible that the tree could fall hard, and cause damage. But with this choice, we retain the best parts of the tree (its beauty and shade) while minimizing our risk.

When you work in a dysfunctional organization, you face a similar set of choices.

Staying in the organization and choosing to make a difference is not without risks, as several people mentioned in the comments.

The organization may never change

When we choose to stay in an unhealthy organization, working for change, one possibility is that our attempts to bring about that change may be unsuccessful.

Dale wrote: "I have seen where sometimes the roots are too entrenched in their diseases of control, ego, and fear that they refuse to change to the eventual detriment of the organization."

And, we may lose our place in the organization

Usually, organizations survive despite their dysfunctions. But, if you are a person choosing to work in more functional ways, your choices may threaten your survival in the organization.

As Kathleen Jackson said, "In fact, when the employee acts in a healthy way, that often threatens the insecure (or just plain sick) leader and the branch is lopped off."

You may considering leaving the organization

Early in my career, I faced some struggles while working for a non-profit organization. The volunteer board that directed my work chose to communicate in ways that were less than productive.

Discouraged and disillusioned, I sought the advice of one of my grad school professors, who helped me realize that it may be best for me to move on. After a lot of soul searching, and some honest talks with the board, I was able to salvage both my relationships with the board and my position in the organization. Still, the lesson that sometimes it's best to move on stayed with me.

How to know when it's time to move on

When the dysfunction of the organization begins to infect you personally, it's time to go.

I agree with Kathleen Jackson, who said that "You.. have to refuse to tolerate personal abuse, dysfunctional, and unethical behavior that threatens you personally. Unfortunately, if the culture is too sick, all you can do is walk away."

I walked away once. The summer after my sophomore year in college, I worked for a small dry cleaning company. The owner was a mean drunk, and after suffering through his tirades for weeks on end, I quit without looking back.

Walking away from a professional career is far more difficult than walking away from a summer job, I'm sure, but sometimes it is the only sane choice.

You may find a reason to stay

Despite the frustrations and dysfunctions or your organization, you still believe you can accomplish something there. Who you are aligns closely with the stated mission and values of the organization. You find something beautiful there.

It's a salvage mission, like the one we are embarking on with our tree; you want to hold on to the beautiful parts.

David Weale wrote: "If you're in the place... for the right reasons, and the fundamental core values align with yours, you can bring change. Believe it."

Join the conversation!

What difficult choices have you faced in your career?

Have you stayed or walked away?

How do you know when it's time to move on?

Remembering Dr. Frank Hitt

Yesterday at Mountain State, we lost an important member of our university family.  Dr. Frank Hitt died of cancer, 18 months after his diagnosis. Dr. Hitt served as the Director of our Bachelor of Science Organizational Leadership program until his retirement in early April 2010.

Dr. Hitt’s passion and energy for leadership and developing others enriched our school’s leadership programs; his colleagues appreciated close camaraderie as they worked with him to shape our Doctor of Executive Leadership program.

We miss him already, for the many ways in which he influenced our lives and our programs.

Today and in the days ahead, our prayers and thoughts are with his family: his wife, Kathy; his children, Rachel and Adam. As great as our loss is, we know that theirs is far greater. For that reason, we will hold them, and our memories of Dr. Hitt, close in our hearts and minds in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

Last fall, Dr. Hitt shared these words about perseverance in light of his illness. May his words be a comfort and inspiration as we persevere through these sad days.