Leadership - Learning from a Maestro

I recently listened to an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) with conductor Lorin Maazel. This child prodigy, now 79 years old, imparted some remarkable insights on leadership. Take a minute to learn from the maestro.

It shouldn’t be surprising that a conductor would have keen insight on leadership. The definition of a conductor is “a leader of a musical ensemble.” Maazel likens a conductor to a stage director: “Actors know their parts, but the director is responsible for the overall picture.” A conductor has 100 players spread out over a stage, and each knows how to play his instrument. But an oboist does not know what a violinist is playing. The conductor brings it all together by knowing the extent each instrument can be pushed to achieve an interpretive goal.

Likewise, a leader has employees, most likely not even all on the same stage. Virtual teams use the instruments of the mobile workforce (cell phones, laptops, Web conferencing, Wikis, etc.). Leaders develop collaborative relationships that benefit from boundaries and structures generated by a manager’s positional power to achieve success.

Command is about respect and firmly establishing credibility. But a leader cannot command respect. The way a conductor earns respect is by knowing the musical score and understanding the problems the players will encounter playing it – just as a leader earns respect by knowing the business and understanding the problems the employees will face. With respect comes the willingness and eagerness to be guided or led. According to Maazel, earning respect is not the same as earning friendship. A leader won’t last long if she takes the people out drinking at the local bar. Maazel says, “You don’t have to curry favor by being nice; you’re just nice because you are nice. If you’re affectionate and have friendly feeling towards people trying so hard to do their best, then you will win their affection, too.”

There is a debate among leadership experts about whether corporate leaders are born or made. Maazel, who possesses absolute (perfect) pitch and a photographic memory, believes that one is born with potential – be it playing chess, tennis or writing: “In theater, there are actors who walk on stage and don’t do anything and have a commanding presence. Others walk out screaming and tearing their hair, and you want to yawn because it is so boring.” Your full potential can be achieved only with discipline. You have to have both to be successful.

On the topic of making a difference, Maazel’s sage advice is, “If you want to make a difference, never say anything that’s not going to make a difference. I want to improve things. I don’t just stop the orchestra to hear myself talk. If I say something that will not make it sound different, I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting their time.” In the rapidly changing business world of today, time is critical and is not to be wasted.

When you began reading this post, you may have conjured up the mental model of a conductor who is a long-haired eccentric, flaying his arms, madly waving a baton and yelling at the players. Maazel agrees that there have been abusive conductors who did a disservice to the reputation of the profession. Losing your temper is a non-energizer. Likewise with a business leader, the best approach is to carry authority with honor, maximizing each employee’s potential with caring words and positive reinforcement. If an employee is not reaching his full potential, a constructive conversation should ensue, affirming the employee (I know you are a good employee) and then probing for collaborative next steps (I know this is not the impression that you want to give. How can we work this out together?).

Before taking his final bow, Maazel’s concluded the interview with six tips:
- Earn respect. Remember how difficult it is to follow someone you don’t respect.
- Strike a balance between confidence and humility.
- Don’t be nice to curry favor. Be nice just to be nice.
- Speak when you have something valuable to say. Otherwise, shut up.
- To lead, energize.
- Don’t demand perfection. Demand passion.

Thank you maestro.

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Productivity...What We Can Learn From the Olympics

Are you watching the Olympics? The accomplishments of these young athletes are always impressive. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." These three Latin words mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger." Just when you think you have seen the best, someone breaks a record. You hear words such as amazing, incredible, and astounding. So what can we learn about productivity from the Olympics? Here are a few things we can consider:

Training: A person doesn't just wake up one morning and decide "I think I will compete in the Olympics." It takes training. It is estimated that world class athletics train an average of 23 hours a week. It takes constant updating of skills to improve your personal best. How many hours a year do your employees attend training? Is the training targeted specifically to improve skills? When you create your training plan each year, consider how you can assist each of your employees to be the best they can be. Training is critical to continuous improvement.

Feedback: Every sport has feedback and every sport is different. It may be how high you jump or how fast you skate but every athlete has a method to measure how well they are doing. They can compare their personal best and try to beat it or they can compare their results with other athletes. Do your employees know how well they are doing? Do they have a measurement method that gives them feedback on their personal best as well as how others are doing in similar positions? Do they learn how they are performing in time to correct problems or do they have to wait for their regularly scheduled review? I have a saying I use in my training classes, "nothing new on the performance review."

Reward and Recognition: At the end of every Olympic event, athletes are immediately recognized in a medal ceremony. They climb to the top of either the gold, silver, or bronze podiums and are rewarded in front of their peers. They don't have to wait six months or a year to learn how their performance is related to a bonus or a raise in salary or a higher performance review. How do you reward your employees? It may be unrealistic to provide daily monetary rewards or construct a three stage podium in your office but verbal and written recognition is certainly doable. It feels good to be recognized and they say that "success breeds success." Having been recognized once, it encourages people to try to achieve success again.

Ethical Conduct: The Olympics have a code of conduct. Although this is a competition and athletes all want to win, the code ensures that cheating to win does not occur. In the business environment where for-profit businesses compete for market share, ethics still should matter. It has become necessary to enact laws to require business to report accurate financial data but truly ethical businesses have always known that winning at business unethically is really a false sense of achievement.

The spirit of the Olympics can also occur in the workplace. We can take lessons this week and apply them in our daily lives. Your employees can consistently reach for their personal best and their performance can also be described as amazing, incredible, and astounding.

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What's on Your List?

Beginning the New Year you probably had a list. Resolutions, goals, dreams and other names adorn the tops of those lists but most are clearly future focused on business or self improvement.

So, what about you? How have you determined and declared your new pace and direction for this year? What are the top of mind issues that are driving your actions and reactions on a daily or weekly basis?

If relationships, specifically those that help you and help you help others are near or at the top of your list, bravo. Over time the right balance and types of relationship priorities will move you in a positive direction for your personal and professional achievement.

And what type of relationships will really give you the right balance of knowledge, accomplishment, influence and service? Being both a protégé and a mentor offers the best on both sides of the coin. Here’s why.

You’ve probably heard the old adage, ‘when the student is ready the teacher will appear’. Truly that sage advice has merit and numerous stories that can back up the premise. But, just for the sake of grins, let’s look at the reversal with a slight twist for another truth. When the mentor is ready the protégés will appear. Got it?

A great life principle is built on the truth that you are never given a challenge that is too big for you to handle. Whatever challenges or obstacles that confront you will always be within your abilities (or the abilities of those you know and call on) to be conquered. You’ve seen that happen on numerous occasions, haven’t you?

If you believe that truth then you’ll be proactively responding to any and all challenges or opportunities. That includes those in the relationship development arena.

You have faced some major challenges in your life, perhaps especially over the past two years. If you have incorporated the assistance of another (like a wise mentor) you have most assuredly met those challenges with greater confidence, more competence and with a stronger probability of overcoming.

Likewise, if you have been there for others (as a wise mentor) you have made the difficult or impossible task easier, less scary and more doable. Plus, you’ve walked away feeling better about yourself too. What a nice ‘extra’ you received that you weren’t counting on.

So, before you do anything else take a moment to reflect and act on this prompting. If relationship building isn’t on or near the top of your list add it right now. Next, find your first (or second or third) mentor who will become a wise listener, teacher, advisor, connector, encourager for your specific needs. He or she is ‘ready’ and waiting for you to appear and may be closer than you think.

Then, make yourself ‘ready’ as a mentor for someone else. It is easier than you might think and could be the most rewarding relationship you build this year.

Are you ready to become both a mentor and a protégé? Perhaps it’s time to add that to your list.

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Are you doing organizational remodeling?

We recently underwent some remodeling to our home. When we decided what we needed done, it seemed like it was the right thing to do at the best time and that would be done quickly and easily. We are 2 weeks into the 3 week project and there have been some great ideas added to the work and some unplanned events that took away from the time needed to pack and move stuff. Plus we didn’t think of all the dust and debris that would add a necessary clean-up phase to the overall project which was running through our holiday season with expected guests arriving soon after. Our estimated timeline got an extra few days added to the front-end for obtaining boxes and packing. Then clean-up will be added at the end for sometime after completion. You may be wondering what has our remodel to do with your leadership issues.

If you are planning your own company remodel (location, product, or service related) or other type of reorganization, then perhaps you should take some time to think things out? When it comes to reorganization or remodeling, you need to remember that change is hard and sometimes messy. You should consider if this is the right time to make a change and if not now then when? You must plan for all phases of the change and everything you may need in order to accomplish your goal with the least problems. Determine where your project may get derailed or additional work will be required. What materials are necessary and where will additional help be needed. Consider your crisis management plan. Don’t be afraid to suggest new ideas that result in a better remodel and stay open to others suggestions as well. Get everyone involved as soon as you can to make sure nothing has been overlooked.

Most people don’t like change, even if it is for a good reason. Before, during, and after the change, you must keep communication lines open so everyone knows what is happening and when. An informed group of employees, vendors, and customers is less likely to complain or sabotage your change plan if they understand the what, when, why, who, where, and how.

• What changes are being planned? What will the final result should look like?
• When will the changes begin? When is the expected project completion date?
• Why is this change necessary for the company?
• Where will the organization be (good or bad) after the change process is complete?
• How will the change benefit the organization? How will it benefit the company’s stakeholders (customer, employees, vendors, stockholders, etc.)?

Are you doing organizational remodeling now or planning it for next year? If you are, consider reading other informative posts in the blog archives on change and leadership. If you have completed a successful remodel or reorganization, please share your lessons learned with others with comments on this post.

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