Associations, Volunteerism and More

If you read my blog regularly you know I read (and write) a lot about leadership. I believe good leaders make organizations (their companies or associations) successful.

I also know that no one is perfect. It is impossible for good leaders to be good all the time.

I have been bothered by something I have noticed in some organizations for some time. I haven’t been sure how to describe it. I have also been a little embarrassed to discuss it – frankly I wasn’t sure if my leadership was faltering and creating the opportunities for these bothersome situations to occur.

Here is the situation: I have witnessed leaders in organizations repeatedly put their own personal interests above the interests of the organization. There are many challenges with this behavior. The most concerning however, is that the organization cannot reach its potential unless its leadership puts the interests of the organization ahead of their own interests.

I recently saw a poll conducted in the SmartBrief on Leadership I subscribe to. The poll question was this: “How well do leaders in your organization compromise with each other to achieve the best result?”

I was shocked at the results.

• 50% of respondents said they often put their organization first but sometimes personal interests prevail
• 27% of respondents said they always negotiate and compromise, and put the business first.
• 15% of respondents said they often put personal interests ahead of their organizations’
• 7% of respondents said they always put personal interests ahead of their organizations’

My shock is that so many people always or often put their own personal interests ahead of their organizations’.  It is my belief that when people put their own interests above those of the organization, it is the beginning of the end for the organization.

How can an organization survive, let alone be a successful, “best in class” organization if its constituents are not as interested in achieving the mission of the organization and delivering value to the organization’s customers as they are in whatever personal agenda they may have?

Even good leaders cannot keep people from putting their personal interests ahead of their organizations’.  So, what can good leaders do to help their organization succeed in spite of their self serving peers?

My answer – always do what’s right regardless of how unpopular that choice may be.

What’s your answer?

We talk a lot about leadership and good or even great leaders in this blog.

I have been thinking a lot about how leaders handle adversity recently. A few recent occurrences have led me to these thoughts.

First, last night was the Super Bowl. There are always winners and losers in sporting events. On a big stage like the Super Bowl, these winners and losers often seem larger than life. Last night the big winner was the New York Giants and their quarterback – Eli Manning. They may have faced adversity much of the season – I think they are the team with the most losses to ever win the Super Bowl. But last night, they overcame any and all adversity and won the biggest game on the biggest stage.

The New England Patriots on the other hand were the losers. A few years ago they seemed like they might be the best football team of all time. They had won multiple Super Bowls. They were led by their defensive minded coach and their confident quarterback, Tom Brady. In fact, many football experts were saying Tom Brady would go down as the greatest quarterback of all time because of the way he led his team through adversity to victory. It seemed the Patriots always believed they would win because that was the confidence Tom Brady, their leader, gave them.

Last night, and the last time the Patriots played in the Super Bowl against the Giants, Tom Brady couldn’t overcome the adversity, he couldn’t lead his team to victory. I certainly wasn’t in the huddle with the team. But I am guessing Mr. Brady is calm, cool and collected in the huddle, even when the game is on the line.

I am guessing, his blood pressure doesn’t spike, his voice doesn’t crack, his volume doesn’t increase (except maybe to overcome the noise made by ravenous football fans). I think the confidence he exudes to his teammates is one of the reasons the Patriots come up on top so often.

As leaders, we sometimes face other kinds of adversity than the adversity a football team faces. Last night, my three year old son was bitten in the face by a dog belonging to our good friends.

We were (and are) very concerned about our son. It would have been easy to yell, scream and cry when this happened. I certainly felt all those emotions.

But as the leader of my family, I needed to be the anchor, the true north. I needed all my children and my wife to see that I was confident everything would be okay – even if at times I wasn’t so sure.

In business we face challenges every day. Our employees face these same challenges and need to be confident that our companies will overcome the challenges we face and succeed.  As leaders it is our job to make sure our employees have that confidence.  It is our job to lead our employees to victory even when they think it is unattainable.

How do you present a calming influence over your employees during stressful times?

You would have to be living under a rock over the last few months if you hadn’t heard something about a professional football player named Tim Tebow.

Tebow is the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. The reason he’s been much talked about over the last few months is he is not the traditional NFL quarterback. He is left handed, doesn’t have a strong arm, is considered more of a running quarterback than a “pocket passer”, and some would say he wears his faith on his sleeve. Oh yeah, and since he became the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, they have won so much they made the playoffs – even though they were only playing him originally because the playoffs seemed out of reach.

Well last night Tebow and the Broncos did it again. They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Clearly, Tebow is special.

I have been listening to all the sports pundits talk about what makes Tebow special. Even some traditional news outlets have picked up the story. While he is certainly a skilled athlete, most agree his skills are not superior to many other quarterbacks in the NFL.

Some may say it’s his religious faith. I commend his beliefs but I suspect there are many other professional football players with similar beliefs.  So what is it that makes him special?

I can tell you what it is and I’ve never even met Tebow. It’s LEADERSHIP.

Tebow’s teammates believe in him. They are willing to follow him anywhere. They are willing to give everything they have in pursuit of the common goal (winning the game) as they see him doing the same thing. And guess what. Here’s the part you haven’t heard before.

He believes in them.

Too often we talk about great leaders as these strong personalities that people are drawn to and for whom they are willing to give their all. I believe many great leaders have those strong personalities. I believe one of the characteristics of a great leader is one who has committed followers. People who believe strongly in the leader.

However, if the leader doesn’t share that commitment, belief and faith in his followers, he will not be a leader for long. Think about the people you lead every day. Do they believe in you? Of course they do. Do you believe equally in them? If not, think about why not and what needs to happen for you to share the belief.

Great, winning organizations have great leaders and great followers who believe equally in each other and the goals they are trying to reach together.