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Archive for the ‘Volunteerism’ Category

Do Good Leaders Know When to Step Aside?

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism on August 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

We explore a lot about leadership in this blog.  Most of the discussions revolve around `characteristics of great leaders’, or `values of great leaders’, even `behaviors’ of great leaders.  We haven’t talked yet about when a great leader decides to step down from his leadership role.

Frankly, I haven’t thought about it much.  Why would I?  After all, I think of great leaders as leading their organization until they decide to retire altogether.

Well, that’s not necessarily true.  I read an interesting article today titled, “CEO Resignations:  Is it Time to Climb Down the Ladder?“.

There are some very interesting thoughts explored in the article and I suspect in the book referenced, Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows.  I plan to read the book.

Bottom line is this:  this CEO (and probably many others) realized he was no longer happy leading his company as the CEO.  Instead, he found a replacement and helped the replacement by taking a step down from the CEO position but not out of the company altogether.  The concept intrigues me for several reasons.

First, as a hard charging leader, one can burn out.  This concept allows the leader to re-charge by stepping aside but not out of the picture altogether.

Second, it seems this can also be a great transition plan for organizations.  Have the current leader step aside but not out.  Then he can help train and advise the new leader.

Of course this might not work for everyone or every organization.  But the concept is intriguing.

Have any of you felt burn out and changed your leadership position within your company as a result?

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Travel Tips for Leaders

Posted in CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , on August 14, 2014| 1 Comment »

Leaders tend to travel frequently – I know I do.  If you are a road warrior, you probably have developed a routine of things you do to make your travel more convenient and as pleasurable as possible.

Here’s an article I recently came across about the rituals of a road warrior.

While I don’t think I’ll ever bring my own candles and light them in my hotel room, I do see a few good ideas:  keeping an extra key in my briefcase, removing the bedspread and taking a key with you when you checkout so you can get back in the room to retrieve what you forgot.

I have had to go back to the front desk on more than one occasion when chasing down a phone charger or toiletry bag.

A few things I routinely do include:

  • Roll my dirty clothes and put them straight into a plastic bag (they take up less room in my bag on the way home)
  • Whenever possible, don’t unpack my suitcase – drawers in hotel rooms can be very dirty
  • Always carry two keys to the room in case one loses its magnetism
  • Leave the TV on when leaving the room so people think someone is in the room

Do you have any ideas to add to the list?

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Good Leaders Know They Don’t Know Everything

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , on July 8, 2014| 1 Comment »

If you study leadership, read about great leaders throughout history, or even if you just think about what you should do (and not do) to be a good leader, you may come away with a very wrong conclusion – that good leaders are always the smartest people in their organization and therefore have all the answers.

If you look a little deeper in your examination of leadership and great leaders though, you will discover that the very best leaders, the ones who were able to sustain greatness for their organizations over long periods of time, were NOT the smartest people in their organization and did NOT have all the answers.

Read this article for more information about what great leaders don’t know.

I may not be a great leader – yet – but I do study leadership and try to apply what I learn to the leadership of my company, my family and myself.  This lesson is one that is very important to learn and one I try to practice daily.

First, good leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are.  At our company we try to find, hire and train people that are just that – smarter than me.  We know that if we have the smartest people on our team, together we can build something great.

Second, good leaders are regularly expected to make important decisions.  People on the team often look to their leaders with the expectation they must have the “answers” – that’s why they get the “big bucks” right?  The fact is, the decisions may be the leader’s to make but the input used to make the decision and the recommendations to be considered should come from the leader’s teammates.

When faced with a decision, I often (though I should always) ask my teammates for their input and recommendations.  I might say, “This is a challenging issue.  Are there any angles we haven’t explored?”  or “What do you recommend?  Why do you recommend that?”  or “If this decision were yours to make alone, what would you do?”.

My teammates feel more like teammates this way and not employees.  My teammates also may have different perspectives on the issue than me.  Getting their input makes the final decision a better one.

So remember – one of the marks of a good leader is knowing that you don’t know everything.  It’s okay not to.  It’s just not okay to act as if you do.

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What Do You See When You Look In the Mirror?

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , on June 23, 2014| 1 Comment »

Good leaders have many common traits and behaviors.  We’ve explored many of them through this blog.

For example, good leaders often surround themselves with good, smart, effective people; good leaders have a sense of purpose and are able to communicate that purpose with those around them; good leaders have certain values they live by and to which they hold themselves accountable.

I also believe good leaders try to make decisions and take actions that they can be proud of.  In other words, good leaders operate so they can “look themselves in the mirror” every day.

Check out this video clip and short blurb from a 2014 NBA Playoff game between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.

In the clip, a Pacers player is seen blowing into a Heat players’ face in an apparent attempt to distract the Heat player.  Of course we know ultimately this didn’t work as the Heat won the series and went on to play for the NBA title.  However, I can’t help but wonder how the Pacers player felt the morning after the game when he looked himself in the mirror.  Was he proud of his actions?  or Was he ashamed and embarrassed by his actions?

I guess we’ll never know for sure but I contend that good leaders typically don’t take actions they won’t be proud of and on the occasion they do make a mistake, (because everyone – even good leaders – make them) they address the mistake, apologize for it, take responsibility for it and then move on.  (check out my March 3, 2014 blog post “Hard to Say I’m Sorry and Other Leadership Anthems)

So, if you want to be a good leader – heck even if you just want to be a good person, start thinking about the consequences of your actions before you take them.  Think about what you will see in the mirror tomorrow morning.

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How do you Nurture Future Leaders?

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , on June 16, 2014| 24 Comments »

Interesting post recently from the Leadership Freak titled, “32 Things to say to Young Leaders“.  Read the list.  I’m sure you’ll agree with several and disagree with a few; you’ll also probably have more you could add to the list.  One thing should be clear from reading the list, though – Future Leaders are important to your organization and its your job as a current leader to develop them.

Several of the associations we partner with have created “Future Leaders” committees and other networking opportunities.  These give the future leaders of the industry an opportunity to network and learn from each other and to share the issues affecting their professional and sometimes personal lives.  Often the things keeping future leaders up at night are not the same as the things keeping current leaders up.  They definitely have their own needs, their own ways to communicate,  their own beliefs of what is important and what isn’t. We have found these Future Leader committees and other networking opportunities to be very valuable to the future leaders themselves and as a result, the association’s have become more important to the future leaders.

So, the list of things to say to “Young Leaders” was interesting to me.  A few highlights from the list for me are:

  • Tell me what you expect from yourself
  • What’s the next step?
  • What are you learning (from this situation)?
  • What will you do differently next time?
  • Which option feels good to you?  What feels good about it?
  • What did you do today to bring out the best in someone else?

Here are a few more I’ve thought of.  Let me know what you think and start adding to the list.

  • What would you recommend?  Why do you recommend that?
  • That’s a good idea.  Follow it through to its logical conclusion for me.
  • How do you see this situation playing out?
  • Why is this critical?
  • Where do you see this taking us in the next three years?
  • What can we do for you to help you grow in your role with the organization?
  • What three things could we implement to achieve success?
  • Great job.
  • How can we assure the results we expect?
  • If this were your decision to make, what would you do and why?  Then explain your decision and why you are making it.

Bottom line:  People want to feel they play a critical role in the success of their organization.  Future leaders want to learn leadership lessons from current bosses and mentors (the do’s and the don’ts).  Future leaders want to prove themselves and at the same time shape the future of their organization.

 

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Can a Company Survive Without a CEO?

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , on June 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Interesting article in Associations Now today.  The article asks the question, ‘Can a company or organization survive without a CEO’?

Read the article here.

I was confident I knew the answer without reading the article – “NO”!

But I read the article anyway.  I guess I was curious more than anything else.

Turns out my instincts were right.  It seems a few organizations have tried to be run without a leader (where the buck stops) but it doesn’t appear they have been resounding successes.  In fact, my impression from the article is that companies that have tried such a model have increased their middle management numbers, decreased their efficiency and created cultures where accountability is questionable.

That’s not to say that new models for leading businesses cannot be found.  In fact, one of the hallmarks of great leaders, in my opinion, is they are constantly thinking about ways to adjust or change their business model to make it better.  Great leaders are always thinking about the culture of their organization and how to make it better; the efficiency of their organization and how to make it even more efficient; the value their organization is delivering to its customers and how to become even more valuable.

Can a company survive without a CEO – probably on the short-term but for the long-haul organizations need a leader who is developing their culture, refining their vision and LEADING the employees to deliver value to their customers.

 

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How to be a World Changing Leader

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , on June 2, 2014| 2 Comments »

My brother-in-law graduated from the University of Texas.  I’ve often thought fondly of UT.  I remember watching great UT football teams in the 1970’s and again in the 2000’s.  My oldest son has been a HUGE UT fan since he was very young.  One wall of his room is painted burnt orange and the skull of a Texas Longhorn hangs on it.

Recently, my brother-in-law sent me a copy of the text of the University of Texas 2014 Commencement speech given by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, Ninth Commander of US Special Operations Command.  If you watch the entire video of his speech, it will be the most valuable 20 minutes you spend today, and likely this week.  Click here to watch the video.

The leadership lessons provided by Adm. McRaven are among the best ever.  If you aren’t willing to invest the twenty minutes it takes to hear it first hand, at least read this excerpt from his speech.  The entire premise is that everyone has the ability to make impactful and positive changes to the world:

Start each day with a task completed.  Find someone to help you through life.  Respect everyone.  Know that life is not fair and you will fail often, but if you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up…

If you do these things, you will change the world.

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Do You Energize Your Team?

Posted in CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , , , on May 27, 2014| 160 Comments »

I read several business related blogs.  One of them is called Leadership Freak, written by Dan Rockwell.  Today Leadership Freak had an interesting post about what leaders do to energize (and sometimes de-energize) their teams.

Read the post here.

The theory behind the post is that everyone has energy inside them.  A leader’s job is to exploit that energy and build on it.  In other words, to quote REO Speedwagon, leaders need to “Keep the fire burnin'”.

Of course that’s easier said than done.  What kinds of things can leaders do to ignite fires in their team and keep those fires burning?  Also, what should leaders do to avoid putting out the fires in their team?

In his post today, Dan offers several answers to these questions.  Here are a few of my own:

  • Serve your teammates.  Nothing energizes people more than being served – especially by their leader
  • Use positive words and expressions to get your point across – ALWAYS
  • Smile
  • Ask your teammates about things they’re interested and invested in – their family, their hobbies, etc (Be interested)
  • Even when you don’t feel high energy – fake it until you make it – people you lead will follow your example
  • Find out what energizes (and de-energizes) your teammates

What do you do to “Keep the fire burnin'” among your team?

 

 

 

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Fact or Opinion?

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , , , on May 19, 2014| 2 Comments »

Great leaders seem to always have a set of values upon which they rely when making decisions.  These values are a barometer for them – If I make decision A, my company will be more profitable but we will violate one or more of our key values in doing so.  I believe great leaders don’t abandon their values, even when they require more work, less profit or more stress.

These values or guiding principles can also cause leaders to form opinions about certain issues or even people.  Sometimes, it becomes easy for leaders to confuse their opinions (which are based on observations masquerading as facts) with actual facts.  In other words, some leaders are so confident in themselves and their abilities that they may think (or give other people the perception) that they are always “right”.

As a leader and as a person, I suffer from this challenge.

I read an interesting article today about this very subject.

My takeaways –

  • I need to learn to distinguish between facts and opinions or assessments.
  • When communicating opinions or assessments, do more listening than talking.
  • Remember that opinions can’t be true or false, right or wrong.  They are just that, opinion.
  • People don’t like to be told they are wrong – avoid that when communicating opinions or assessments.

I really loved the last sentence of the article, “True humility is, at least in part, being able to see one’s own assessments as assessments, rather than believing them to be truths”.

I want to be a humble and compassionate leader.  Sometimes I am.  I’m going to try to remember these takeaways in my daily life – both personal and business.  Perhaps if I do, I can have better, clearer communications with my employees, customers, friends and family leading to a happier, more productive and successful lives for all.

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Healthy Leaders are Happy Leaders

Posted in Association Management Companies, CM Services, Leadership, Uncategorized, Volunteerism, tagged , on May 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Three months ago my wife came to me and said – ‘We aren’t healthy anymore.  We are overweight; our clothes don’t fit right; we are tired all the time; as a result, we aren’t happy’.  I of course reacted by acknowledging the truthfulness of her statements but took no accountability – ‘You’re right but what can we do about it?  We’re too busy with four kids, sports, music, other activities, school and of course running a business.’.

She suggested dieting.  I wasn’t keen on the idea but she said she was going to do it and would appreciate the support of doing it with a partner.  So, we started a five week diet.  In those five weeks, we lost a combined total of 55 pounds!

The diet was great!  Certainly it was great to lose all that weight.  But it also helped by providing us with the discipline to make good, healthy food choices and learn portion control.

Part way through the diet I started working out again.  I’m now exercising five or six days a week.  Sometimes its a quick thirty minute workout; other days I take my lunchtime and play basketball at the local gym.  The working out helps to keep the weight off but it also keeps the rest of my body healthy.

I recently read an article about a 43 year old, once healthy, man who had a heart attack.  He blamed his poor health on the work first, work always lifestyle.  Until three months ago that was my lifestyle.

Don’t get me wrong – work is still one of the most important things in my life but it’s number four now, not number two.  (God, Family and Friends, Me, Work)

Think about how you prioritize your health.  If you move it up on your list, you will be happier – I guarantee it.

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