PraiseforWhattoAskthePersonintheMirror

“Drawing on years of experience in business and academia, Rob Kaplan hasproducedavery readablebook thatprovidesuniqueandvaluable insights intomanagement,includingwhatmakesandsustainshighlysuccessfulleaders.Readthiswonderful book if youwant to understand howgreatmanagers grow andmature,navigatepitfalls,andbouncebackfromadversity.”

—Dr.MohamedA.El-Erian,CEO,PIMCO;author,WhenMarketsCollide

“Rob Kaplan’s book is my new leadership bible. His extensive experienceleading others and his time coaching great leaders has given him a uniqueunderstanding of what breeds success and failure. Leaders from any type ofbusinesscanbenefitfromKaplan’sguidance.”

—CarynSeidman-Becker,CEO,CLEARCorporation

“Forsomeonelikemewhoisbuildingabusinessandgrowinganentrepreneurialcompany,thisbookbecomestheroadmapandgo-toguideforaskingthereallytough questions that ultimately allow the truly successful business leader toemerge.”

—TyraBanks,supermodelturnedentrepreneur

WHAT

TOASK

THEPERSON

INTHE

MIRROR

WHAT

TOASK

THEPERSON

INTHE

MIRROR

CriticalQuestionsforBecomingaMoreEffectiveLeaderandReachingYourPotential

ROBERTSTEVENKAPLAN

HarvardBusinessReviewPress

Boston,Massachusetts

Copyright2011RobertStevenKaplanAllrightsreservedPrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica10987654321

No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in or introduced into aretrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the priorpermission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed topermissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to Permissions, Harvard BusinessSchoolPublishing,60HarvardWay,Boston,Massachusetts02163.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataKaplan,RobertS.Whattoaskthepersoninthemirror:criticalquestionsforbecomingamore

effectiveleaderandreachingyourpotential/RobertS.Kaplan.p.cm.

ISBN 978-1-4221-7001-4 (alk. paper) 1. Leadership. 2. Executive ability. I.Title.HD57.7.K36632011658.4'092—dc22

2011008441

The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the AmericanNationalStandardforPermanenceofPaperforPublicationsandDocuments inLibrariesandArchivesZ39.48-1992.

Tomyparents,whotaughtmetoneverstopaskingquestions,andtoallthosewhooverthegenerationshaveprotectedourrighttodoso.

Contents

IntroductionGreatLeadershipIsNotAboutHavingAlltheAnswers

1VisionandPrioritiesIfYouKnowWhereYou’reGoing,It’saLotEasiertoGetThere

2ManagingYourTimeHowYouSpendYourTimeShouldFlowDirectlyfromYourVisionandKeyPriorities

3GivingandGettingFeedbackEffectiveLeadersCoachTheirPeopleandActivelySeekCoachingThemselves

4SuccessionPlanningandDelegationOwningtheChallengeofDevelopingSuccessorsinYourOrganization

5EvaluationandAlignmentTheCouragetoAssessYourEnterprisewithaCleanSheetofPaper

6TheLeaderasRoleModelCommunicatingWhatYouTrulyBelieveandValue

7ReachingYourPotential

BeingTruetoYourself

8BringingItAllTogetherThePracticeofGainingPerspective

Appendix:CriticalQuestionsforBecomingaMoreEffectiveLeaderandReachingYourPotentialNotesandAdditionalReferencesAcknowledgmentsIndexAbouttheAuthor

Introduction

Greatleadershipisnotabouthavingalltheanswers—itis,moreoften,abouthavingthecouragetoaskthecriticalquestions

Howdoyougoaboutimprovingyourabilitytobeamoreoutstandingexecutiveandleader?

Isthissomethingyoucanlearn?

Canleadershipskillsbetaught?

Areexcellentleadersmadeorborn?

Howdothegreatonesdoit?

Manypeoplebelievethatgreatleadersarejustblessedwithaknackforhavingthe right answers. They believe that these people have a natural instinct forknowing what to do in any given situation—how to stay on track, inspireemployeestoworktowardacommongoal,organizeeffectively,anddrivetheirbusinesses. Superb leaders, they suspect, are bornwith certain talents, insight,and charisma that make them different from the rest of us. Of course, theseexcellentleadersareverysureofthemselves—becauseitcomessonaturally tothem!It isaprettycommonnotion: thereisararifiedspeciesofsuccessful leaders

who follow an orderly path upward during their careers, consistently avoidsignificantsetbacks,donotsufferperiodsofconfusion,seldomfeellikefailures,and have an uncanny knack for looking around corners and seeing into the

future.Soundsnice,butIdon’tthinkso.Over thepast twenty-fiveyears—first as abusiness executiveand thenas a

professor of management practice at Harvard Business School—I have ledseveralbusinessesandregularlyadvisedawidevarietyofseniorexecutivesandemergingleaders. Ihavecertainlymademyshareofmistakesand, fromthem,gainedgreaterinsightintoleadershipapproachesthattendtoenhanceexecutiveeffectivenessaswellasthosepracticesthatoftenundermineperformance.Inthecourseoftheseexperiences,Ihavefoundthatalmostwithoutexception,

successful leaders go through significant periods of time in which they feelconfused,discouraged,andunsureofthemselvesandtheirdecisions.Theyfeelas if theyshouldbesomewhereelse,doingsomethingelse.Theywonderwhyotherexecutivesseemtohaveaneasiertimedoingtheirjobs.Theygothroughwrenchingphasesinwhichtheygraspforanswersandfeelfundamentallyalone.Even as they project an air of confidence, they harbor deep feelings ofuncertaintyandapprehension.Manysuccessfulexecutivesfindithardtobelievethatothersuccessfulpeers

arefeelingthisway.“Ifthat’strue,”theyoftenaskmeskeptically,“thenwhat’sthedifferencebetweensuccessfulexecutivesandthosewhoarelesssuccessful?”My answer: a key difference between those who reach their potential and

those who don’t is how they deal with these periods of confusion anduncertainty. The trick lies not in avoiding these difficult periods; it lies inknowinghowtostepback,diagnose,regroup,andmoveforward.

LonelyattheTop

Of course, this is far easier to describe than to accomplish. As executivesbecome more senior—perhaps ultimately becoming chief executive of theirorganizations—it becomes far more difficult to get timely and constructivefeedback, maintain an accurate self-perception, and develop early warningsystemsforemergingproblems.Atthispointinyourcareer,youhavefewer(ifany)superiorscloselyobservingyourbehavior.Asaresult,thefirsttimeyou’relikelytohearacritiqueofyourperformanceisduringyouryear-endreviewwithyourboss—or, if you’reCEO,withyourboardofdirectors—orperhapswhenyourbusinessexperiencesavisiblesetback.Bythattime,unfortunately,itmaybetoolatetotakethekindsofcorrectiveactionsthatcouldpreventpermanentdamagetoyourbusiness,ortoyourcareer.

The phrase lonely at the top is overused. It’s a succinct and accurate way,though,tocapturethedilemmaIamdescribing.Ihavecertainlyexperiencedthisdifficultdilemmamyselfandalsoobservedit

inotherexecutivesoverthecourseofmycareerand,particularly,sincecomingtoHarvard.As a result of these experiences—Ihave come tobelieve that, formostleaders,90percentofthebattleisbeingabletostepbackandtakethetimeto ask the right questions—questions that help you figure out how to gaininsight,regroup,andmoveforward.

AskingtheCriticalQuestions

Let me stress, again, that successful business leaders seldom have all theanswers. Instead, they are very good at knowing how and when to ask thecriticalquestions thathelp themframe issues,diagnoseproblems,anddevelopaction plans—both for their companies and for themselves. In thisway, theseexecutives are able to work through adversity and get themselves and theircompaniesbackontrack.Inthisbook,Isharemyexperiencesinhelpingexecutivesstepback,diagnose

their situations, and successfully move ahead. I have worked with numerousexecutives todevelopand then internalize thismindset, so that theyultimately“own” a tailored approach to inquiry that they continue to practice into thefuture,longafterI’veleftthescene.Creating a menu of potential inquiry, and creating a process whereby key

questionscanbeframedanddebated,isabigpartofwhatthisbookisabout.Istrongly believe that executives need to pursue this approach inways that aretailoredtothemselvesandtheirstageofcareer,andalsofittheparticularneedsof their industriesandorganizations. In thechapters that follow, Iwillprovidenumerousexamplesofhowexecutivesinavarietyofcontextshavegoneaboutframing key questions, and creating a process to address those challengeseffectively.The central premise of this book is that by knowing how andwhen to ask

criticalquestions,ayoungprofessionalaswellasaseniorleadercantakegreaterownershipofhisorherorganizationandcareer.Asking the rightquestions, inways that framekey issuescogently, is farmore important thanhavingall theanswers. In fact, inmy experience, if a leader asks the right questions and isopentoapathoftrueinquiry,compellinginsightstendto“fallout”asamatterofcourse.Howmanytimeshassomeoneaskedyouawell-framedquestionthat

causes a lightbulb to go off in your head? Sometimes just hearing and thenthinkingabouttherightquestionopensyourmind,andsteersyouinanewandconstructivedirection.Thechallenge, therefore, is twofold:framingtherightquestions,andgetting

inthehabitofregularlysteppingbackandaskingthem.

WhattoAskthePersonintheMirror

Ihavedistilledthisapproachdowntosevenbasictypesofinquirythat—inmyexperience—resonatewith both business and nonprofit leaders. In each of thefollowing chapters, I present one of these sets of key questions, and discussdifferentapproachestoframingthemandthenansweringthem.Despite how firmly you may believe you know yourself and your

organization,youmaywellfindthatitrequiresasurprisingamountofadditionalinquiry and reflection to adequately address these issues. In addition, I thinkyou’ll find that these questions tend to build on one another—in otherwords,addressingthefirstsetsofquestionsshouldmakeitmucheasierforyoutoattacksubsequentquestions.Theareasoffocus,insequence,areasfollows:

Visionandpriorities.Thisisthefoundationofyourenterprise.Itiscriticaltohaveaclearlyarticulatedvisionandaccompanyingkeyprioritiesthatarewidelyunderstoodthroughoutyourorganizationandbykeyconstituencies.Whenabusinessisstruggling,theproblemoftengrowsoutofconfusionregardingthevisionandassociatedpriorities.Inthischapter,wewilldiscussvision—itsimportance,andhowyoumightformulateorreformulateyourvision.Inaddition,wewillbreakdownvariousaspectsofhowtoidentifyamanageablelistofpriorities,which,inturn,willhelpyouachieveyourgoalsandaspirations.

Managingyourtime.Doyouknowhowyouspendyourtime?Doesitmatchyourvisionandkeypriorities?Often,well-intentionedleadersarenotfullyawareoftheseverecostofamismatchbetweenhowtheyspendtheirtimeandtheirtoppriorities.Thischapterwilladdressthismismatchanditscosts,andsuggestspecificwaystoensurethatyouactuallyspendyourtime,withamorelaserlikefocus,onyourmostimportantpriorities.

Givingandgettingfeedback.Onceyou’veestablishedaclearvisionand

priorities,effectivecoachingisacriticaltoolforachievingtheseobjectives.Whilemostleadersunderstandthis,manystilldon’teffectivelycoachtheirsubordinatesinordertoensureoutstandingperformance.Inaddition,manyleadersfailtogetthecriticalcoachingthattheythemselvesneedinordertoexcel.Inthischapter,Iwilldiscussseveralpitfallsandmisconceptionsregardingtalentmanagement.Wewillalsoexploreothercriticalissuesandreviewseveralalternativeapproachesrelatingtocoachingandbeingcoached.

Successionplanninganddelegation.Doyouhaveanucleusoftalentthatyouarefocusedondeveloping?Areyoudeploying,coaching,andaddingtothattalentbaseinamannerthatbuildsyourenterprise?Areyouconsciouslydelegatingkeytaskstotheseprofessionals?Thispartofthebookwilladdressseveralcentralquestionsthatleadersshouldaskinordertobuildanddeveloptheirhumancapital.Wealsodiscussthecriticalimportanceofdelegatingcertaintaskssothatyouhavethebandwidthtofocusyourtimeonthemostcriticalprioritiesoftheenterprise.

Evaluationandalignment.Doesthedesignofyourenterpriseandyourapproachtoleadingstillfittheneedsofthebusiness?Areyoupursuingpracticesthatworkedatonetimebuturgentlyneedtobeupdated,revised,orscrapped?Howdoyoucreatetheprocesses,emotionaldistance,andbandwidthtoaddressthesequestions?Wewilladdressseveralofthetoughestissuesthatleadersmustface,andeffectivelydealwith,iftheyaretoachievesustainedsuccess.

Theleaderasrolemodel.Youractionsspeaklouderthanyourwords.Areyoufullyawareofthemessagesyouandyourdirectreportsaresendingwithyourbehaviors?Doyouandyoursubordinatessayonethingbutcontradictthosemessagesbydoinganother?Manyemergingleaders,andevensomeseniorexecutives,failtoappreciatetheimpactoftheiractionsontheirsubordinatesandkeyconstituencies.Wewillexplorewhatitreallymeanstobearolemodel,anddiscusstheimportantquestionsleadersmustaddressinordertobeeffectiverolemodelsintheirorganizations.

Reachingyourpotential.Doyouknowyourownstrengths,weaknesses,andpassions?Doyoufosteralearningenvironmentinwhichyoursubordinatescanreachtheirpotential?Doyouencouragecandiddebate,

andworktocreateacultureinwhichjusticeandfairnessprevailinyourorganization?Ifnot,howarethesedrawbacksnegativelyaffectingyourfirmanditsperformance?Thischapterwillexplorehowyoucantakeownershipofknowingyourself,manageyourselfinamannerthatbringsoutyourbest,andcreatethismindsetamongyoursubordinates.Iwillsuggestseveralspecifietechniquesformakingprogressontheseimportantmatters.

Asyou read each chapter, youwill see that this approach is intended, first, tohelpyougainrealinsightintoyourselfandyourorganization.Longerterm,andmoreimportant, it isintendedtogetyoustartedonthepathofregularinquiry:framing issues in productive ways, stepping back to gain insights, and thenactingonthoseinsightsinordertosuccessfullymoveforward.Thefinalchapterof thisbookwill talkaboutways tomake thisapproacha regularpartofyourleadershipactivities.

ThePracticeofInquiryandReflection

Severalofthequestionsandapproachesinthisbookarelikelytostrikeachordwithyou.Dependingonyoursituationandexperiences,othersmaynot.Onthebasisofyourpreferencesandleadershipstyle,youmightevendevelopanumberof questions that speak to you more deeply than the ones in this book. Theimportantthingisthatyougetintothehabitofidentifyingasetofquestionsthatfityourorganizationandindustry,suityourpersonalityandpersonalprofile,andsyncupwiththerealityofyoursituation.Asyoutrythisapproach,Ihopethatyou see it as a valuable tool—useful when you’re feeling uncertain, or as apreemptive course check as you build your skill set, your career, and yourcompany.Mygoalistogetyoustartedonthispath.Ihopethismindsetwillallowyou

to better navigate the challenging and rewarding journey of becoming amoreeffectivemanager,andatrulyoutstandingleader.

VisionandPriorities

IfYouKnowWhereYou’reGoing,It’saLotEasiertoGetThere

Haveyoudevelopedaclearvisionforyourenterprise?

Haveyouidentifiedthreetofivekeyprioritiestoachievethatvision?

Doyouactivelycommunicatethisvision,andassociatedkeypriorities,toyourorganization?

Inordertounderstandabusinessornonprofit—andassessthechallengesfacingits leader—it is critically important to begin with the question “What is yourvision for this enterprise?”What do you hope to achieve in the years ahead?Whatisspecialaboutthisorganization?Whydoyouspendyourprecioustimeworkingatthisfirm?Canyoucommunicatethevisionclearlyandeffectively,sothatitiswellunderstoodbyyouremployeesandkeystakeholders?In my experience, almost every sustained success enjoyed by an effective

leader and his or her organization derives from a clearly articulated vision.Aclear visionmobilizes your employees and communicates where you want totaketheenterprise.Itcancreatethemotivationthatyourpeopleneedtogetoutofbedinthemorning,cometowork,andgiveittheirbest!Takingthetimetocarefullydevelopyourvision—anaspiration foryourenterprise—iscritical tocreating the foundation for building an outstanding business or nonprofitorganization.AsYogiBerraisreputedtohavesaid,“Ifyouknowwhereyou’regoing,it’saloteasiertogetthere.”In business, where your time and other resources are scarce, you and your

peoplehadbetterknowwhereyou’regoingbeforemakingcriticaldecisions.Inthis chapter, we will explore the critical importance of vision, review severalspecificexamples,anddiscusshowavisioncanbeformulatedanddevelopedtoprovideacompellingbeaconforyourorganization.Visionaloneisnotenough—itmustbeaccompaniedbytheidentificationofa

manageablenumberofkeypriorities.Thesepriorities specify thecritical tasksthatmustbeaccomplishedinordertoachievethevision.Iwillsuggestvariousapproachestodefiningthesetoppriorities,makingnecessarytradeoffdecisions,andupdatingthosechoicesonaregularbasis.A vision and its associated priorities must be actively communicated. This

chapter will address the importance of effective communication—andovercommunication!—ofyourvisionandprioritiessothatyouremployeesandother important stakeholders clearly understand where you’re heading, andwhereyouwantthemtofocusinordertoachieveorganizationalobjectives.Yourvisionandprioritiesshouldbeadaptableanddynamic.Throughoutthis

chapter,wewilldiscusstheneedtoadapttheoverallvisionandprioritiestoyourspecificregionsandbusinessunits,aswellastheneedtoupdatethevisionandcrucialprioritiestofitthecontinuingchallengesofachangingworld.

WhatIsaVision?

Avision isacleararticulationofwhatyouwould likeyourenterprise tobe ifyousucceed.1Whenyoulookbackfiveyearsfromnow,whatwouldyouliketobe able to say that you’ve accomplished? What is your dream for thisorganization?Forstarters,avisionshouldbefundamentallybasedonacarefulanalysisand

identificationofyourdistinctivecompetencies.Whatareyoutrulygreatat?Howareyoudifferentiatedfromyourcompetitors?

The newly appointed CEO of a business that specialized in office productsdistributionwaslookingforwaystogetofftoagoodstartasshebeganhernewrole. The business had been in her family for three generations and was 100percentownedbyfamilymembers.Whenwefirstmet,Iaskedabouthervisionfor the business. “Well, the office products business is a bit bland,” sheexplained.“Itdoesn’treallylenditselftovisionsandaspirations.”“Well, itdoes sound like a commodity business,” I responded. “So how do

you differentiate yourself?Whywould I buy office products from you versussomeoneelse?Whatdoyouhopetoachieveinthisbusiness?”Shehadareadyresponse:“First,weonlysell tobusinessesandinstitutions,

not individuals.We have a number of long term relationships focused on thenortheasternUnitedStates.Weprideourselvesonofferingafullproductline,sothatourcustomerscanuse

us as their one-stop source. We’re not the lowest-price option, but we aredistinctive in terms of breadth of product offering, outstanding service, ourability to do rush orders—even if they’re uneconomic, at times—and ourwillingnesstosourceunusualorcustomrequests.Wetakealotofprideinbeinganindispensablebackbonesupplierofofficeproductstoourcustomers.”Whatdidheranswerdemonstrate?Overthedecades,companyleadershiphad

madefundamentalchoicesthatdefinedthisenterpriseinadistinctiveway.Thecompanywasdesignedtodeliveronawell-definedvalueproposition,and thisCEOandhercolleagueswereworkinghard toachieve thatvision today.Theytookenormousprideinajobwelldone.After additional discussion about the future direction of the business, she

concluded that itwould be valuable to reexamine, update, and rearticulate thevision.Thiswasparticularly timelygiven the fact thatmanyof thecompany’semployeeshadbeenwiththefirmforlessthanthreeyears.Inaddition,severalrecentchangesinthecompetitivelandscape, if leftunanswered,might threatenthe sustainability of several of the company’s distinctive competencies. Shewanted to make sure that her employees were on the “same page” regardingwheretheywereheadingandwhatshewantedthecompanytoachieve.

MoreThanJustMoney

Employees,partners,andotherconstituentsneedanaspirationiftheyaretodoandbetheirbest.Whileit’struethatmoneycanbeagreatmotivatorforawhile,I’ve observed that people eventually get burned out and lose their passion ifmoneyistheirprimarydriver.Thefactis,theyneedsomethingmore.Theyneedsomething bigger than themselves to strive for. This may be building a greatbusiness,making a positive impact on theworld, or simply contributing to anorganizationthatistheverybestatsomething.Humanbeingsaresocialanimals.Theywanttobelong.Theywanttobepart

ofanorganizationthathasmeaning—and,byextension,helpsgivetheir livesmeaning.Whydohighly talentedpeople,with amultitude of attractive careeroptions, become federal prosecutors for relatively lowcompensation?Whydootherschoosetoteachschool?Whydostillothersjointhemilitaryandputtheirlives on the line? The answer is compelling: they aspire to something that isbiggerandmoremeaningfulthanfinancialreward.Peoplewanttobeproudofwhattheydo.Yes,theywanttoberewarded,but

they typically need other reasons to “join up” and stay with an organization.

Otherwise, they’ll treat it as a convenient stopping point on the way tosomethingmoremeaningful.A clearly articulated aspiration gives you and your employees a reason to

springoutofbedinthemorningand—veryoften—gotheextramile.Achievingthat aspiration gives people a deep kind of satisfaction, which serves asreinforcementinanumberofimportantrealms.Whatroledoesmoneyplay?Moneyisaby-productofsuccessfullyachieving

thevision.Itcreatesincentivesforthetypeofbehaviorsyouwanttoencourage.Ifyoudoasuperbjob,moneywillfollow.Thisissometimesreferredtoaslong-termgreedy.Great organizations understand the pitfalls of taking the kinds ofactions that generatenear-termprofits but undermine the reputation, character,andaspirationoftheenterprise.Ontheotherhand,theyalsounderstandthat,insomecases, tradeoffsneedtobemadeinordertohelpbuildthefranchise.Forexample,making a concession to a key customerwho needs help is likely tosacrifice near-term profits, but it may very well help solidify a long-termrelationship that is critical to building the franchise—leading to greater long-termprofitsandhelpingtorealizethevision.

PuttingItintoPractice:ThePrism

Aclearvisionmakestradeoffdecisionsmuchclearer.Itconveysyourreasonforbeing. It shapes and influences every key decision that youmake. It outlineswhatyouwilldo,andwhatyouwon’tdo.Itistheessentialprismthroughwhichsignificantdecisionsshouldbemade.More specifically, it guides you (and your people) in determining which

customers youwill serve,what types of products/services to offer,whomyoushouldhire,howyoushouldorganizeandcompensate,whattypeofcultureyouneed to build, and what kinds of leadership styles you should embrace.Establishing this vision helps you make each of these critical decisions, andfocusesyouremployeesonstrivingtoaccomplishyourmajorgoals.Ifyoucarefullyobservegreatorganizations,largeandsmall,you’llnoticethat

they are organized around a clear vision. You’ll see the CEO and other keyleadersconfidentlyexplainingwhat theywilldoandwon’tdo—andwhy theymake certain critical decisions the way they do. You will see confidence andpassionintheseexplanations.Youwillseesimilarconfidence,passion,andprideamongtheirpeople.Their

actions are guided by this vision. Typically, their success—and, asmentioned

earlier,theprofitsthattheygenerate—areaby-productofstrivingtoachievethisvision.Conversely,inenterprisesthatareofftrack,youwilloftenseeconfusionand

uncertainty about the vision. Theymay have previously had a coherent set ofaspirations, but due to poor leadership, changes in the environment, or otherfactors, they are no longer confident about where they’re heading and whatthey’resupposedtodo.Theywrestlewithquestionslikethese:

•Areweinbusinesstoserveclientswithaparticularsetofhigh-value-addedproducts,orisourprimarygoaltogenerateprofits—evenifthatoutcomeisnotinthebestinterestsorourclients/customers?

•Dowestillbelieveininnovationandnewproductdevelopment,ordoquarterlyprofitpressuresmeanweneedtosuspendordeemphasizethiseffort?

•Hasthepressuretogenerateprofitsoverriddenapreviouslybroadlyunderstoodvisionaboutvaluesandservingourcustomersandcommunities?

It’s my experience that when organizations are off track, they will stayconfused until their leadership—sometimes spurred by an astute board ofdirectors—pushes for a rearticulation of a clear vision, based on distinctivecompetenciesandcorevalues.What’sneeded, inotherwords, is a compelling restatementof “whoweare

andwherewe’regoing.”

ExamplesofthePowerofaClearVision

Aclearvision ispowerful. Itmobilizes largegroupsofpeople. It inspires andmotivatesthem,anditgivesthemcleardirection.Let’slookatsomeexamples.

“IHaveaDream”:AdvancingCivilRights

MartinLutherKing,Jr.gavehismostfamousspeechonthestepsoftheLincolnMemorial on August 28, 1963. At Harvard, we often use this speech todemonstratethepowerofaclearlyarticulatedvision.King’smasterfulpieceoforatoryisrememberedtodayasthe“Ihaveadream”speech,becausehebegan

severalpowerfulparagraphswiththatfour-wordphrase:

IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgiathesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslaveownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratatableofbrotherhood.IhaveadreamthatonedayeventhestateofMississippi,adesertstate,

swelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.Ihaveadreamthatmyfourchildrenwillonedayliveinanationwhere

theywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.2

A brilliant vision, brilliantly delivered. Other parts of the vision are not sooften remembered but were nevertheless integral. “We must not allow ourcreativeprotest todegenerate intophysicalviolence,”Kingcautioned.Healsomade clear that the movement would need to develop alliances with whitepeople and other various key constituencies: “We cannot walk alone.” At thesametime,hestressedthatwhilesuchallianceswerecritical,theyhadtosupportthevision:“Wemustmakethepledgethatweshallmarchahead...Wecannotturnback.”This visionwas repeated countless times byKing in numerous speeches he

gave throughout the country. It alsowas translated by his key lieutenants andfollowers intospecific initiativesandpriorities:asubject thatwewillreturntoshortly.Theultimateresultwassomethingunthinkableat thetime:thepassageof the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and a fundamental change in the rights ofminoritiesintheUnitedStates.

CuringSpinalCordInjury:CreatingaCenterof

ExcellenceinSpinalCordInjuryResearch

TheMiamiProjecttoCureParalysiswasstartedin1984withavisionto“curespinal cord injury.”At that time,very little researchwasbeingdoneon spinalcordinjury,andthearticulationofsuchaboldvisionwasconsideredaudacious—even imprudent. The project’s founder, Nick Buoniconti, believed that heneeded to layoutanaudaciousvision inorder togalvanizepotential followersintotakingaction.Ineffect,hedaredthemtodreamaboutseeingpatientswalk

again.He repeated thevision in eachof his speeches and included it in everyMiamiProjectmailing.This vision did help mobilize families of victims and potential donors.

Twenty-fiveyears later,TheMiamiProjecthas raisedmore than$300million,haspioneeredcriticalbreakthroughs in treatingspinalcord injury,andtoday isactively working on a number of promising treatments. All of this progresswouldhaveseemedimpossibleadecadeortwoago.Itistruethatacureforspinalcordinjuriesstillremainsadream,and—given

theboldnessofthevision—thishascreatedsomeangstfortheorganization.Therelative infrequency of these kinds of injuries renders them “orphans,” in thesensethatacademicandpharmaceuticalresearchersaren’tasinclinedtoheavilyinvestingroundbreakingresearchbecausethemarketforeffectivetreatmentsislikelytoremainsmall.Nevertheless,TheMiamiProjectleadershipfoundthataclearandboldaspirationwasandisessential, tohelpmobilizethevariouskeyconstituentsinordertomakesubstantiveprogress.3

TotheWorldSeries:TheQuesttoBetheBest!

The founderof theKansasCityRoyals,EwingKauffman, articulated avisionfortheteamatitsinceptionin1969.Hepromisedthatwithinfiveyears,KansasCity would have such an outstanding team that it would compete in aWorldSeries. He repeated this vision in every speech he gave to fans, players,employees, and other constituents, as well as in his numerous radio andtelevisioninterviews.This vision seemedmore than a bit unrealistic tomost observers.After all,

thiswasabaseballtownthathadn’thadamajorleagueteamforseveralyears.Therewere fewnameplayers at the start, therewereonly thebeginningsof aminor league farmsystem,and—by thestandardsof thebiggerclubs inmajormetropolitancities—KansasCitywasarelativelysmallmarket.Despite this, Kauffman was undaunted in emphasizing his aspiration. He

repeated the vision frequently and consistently over several years. This visionguidedeveryactionheand theorganization took.He insistedonexcellence inevery key aspect of the organization. Critical decisions that he and hisorganizationmade always had to pass a demanding test: were they consistentwith achieving the vision of being the best? Player acquisitions, farm systemdesign, facilities, generalmanager selection, and coaching choices—all had topassthroughthisprism.

Whiletherewasn’taWorldSeriesinKansasCitywithinfiveyears,therewasonewithintenyears,and—in1985—theteamwontheWorldSeries.It’sfairtosaythatthiswouldneverhavebeenaccomplishedwithouttheclear,compellingvisionarticulatedbyEwingKauffman.

OneAmerica:UnifyingtheCountryto

AddressOurMajorChallenges

ArelativelyunknownpoliticianfromIllinoisdeliveredthekeynotespeechatthe2004 Democratic National Convention. In that speech, Barack Obamaarticulated a vision for the country: “There is not a liberal America and aconservative America—there is the United States of America. There is not aBlackAmericaandaWhiteAmericaandLatinoAmericaandAsianAmerica,there’stheUnitedStatesofAmerica.”4It was a vision of unification—a depiction of a nation coming together to

resolvethemajorissuesthatfacedit.ThepowerofObama’soratorytransformedhim into anational figure.He repeated thevisionon a regular basis.Between2006and2008,hebuiltonthesupportthathisvisionhadgeneratedtomobilizea huge campaign organization, assemble a senior policy team, and develop anenormous donor base. On the basis of this effort, he ultimately won theDemocratic nomination and then the presidency in 2008. His powerful visionwascentraltotheorganizationandmobilizationofthissuccessfulcampaign.

AVisionofAccess:CreatingOpportunityforOutstanding,butEconomicallyChallenged,Students

In 1997, the TEAK Fellowship was established, based on the vision thatoutstandingbuteconomicallydisadvantagedNewYorkCity juniorhighschoolstudentsshouldhavethesameaccesstosuperbhighschoolchoicesastheirmoreeconomicallyadvantagedpeers.5The organization then developed a detailed road map for how this vision

wouldbeaccomplished.Itworkedcloselywithparentsandpotentialfellowstodevelop effective admission and financial aid procedures. It accepted twentyfellowsperyear,basedonintensivescreeningandinterviewprocesses.Ithelpeddevelopintensivetutoringprogramsinmath,English,music,andothersubjectsthatitdeemedtobeessentialtostudentdevelopment.

Thanks to its clearly articulatedvision andplans,TEAKwas able to attractstaff,donors,astrongboardofdirectors,and—mostimportant—highlyqualifiedstudents.Thirteenyearslater, ithasproducedmorethan300fellowswhohavegraduatedfrommanyofthefinesthighschoolsandcollegesintheUnitedStates.

EvenattheCornerDiner,ThereIsaVision

I’vedeliberatelychosenarangeofcontextstoillustratetheconceptofvisioninthe fields of politics and nonprofits. It’s not different in the field of business.Greatenterprises,broadlydefined,arebasedonaclearvision.Infact,it’shardtothinkofanexampleofasuccessfulbusinessthatdoesn’thaveone.Thisvisionis likely to have evolved over time, but it is there, guiding the firm into thefuture.There is a diner on the corner of my street in New York City—a modest

establishment that hasbeenmy favorite place to eat for thepast fifteenyears.Theownerfoundedtherestaurantmorethanthirtyyearsago.Hisvisionwastobuildafriendlyneighborhoodrestaurant thatprovidedbasicfood(hamburgers,chicken, soups, salads, basic breakfasts, and good coffee) at a fair price,withprompt service and very modest decor in a convenient location. Every keydecision the owner and his colleaguesmake today is still consistentwith thisvision: minimal staff, no credit cards (to save on fees), a large counter forwalkins,andsoon.Again:thediner’ssuccessemanatesfromthevisionthatliesbehindit.They

maynotthinkconsciouslyintheseterms,buttheiroperationcertainlyembodiestheconceptofvision.

DevelopingaVision:SomeUsefulExercises

Ifyouagree that thearticulationofaclearvision is important,howdoyougoaboutdevelopingsuchavision?Ihaveworkedwithnumerousleadersandtheirseniormanagementteams,infor-profitaswellasnonprofitsettings,toachievethatimportantgoal.Usually,astrongaspirationislurkinginthebackgroundandminds ofmost leaders and their senior staff.The trick is to identify it, give itvoice,andultimately,writeitdown.Ifinditisoftenusefultodoafewexercisestohelppeopleloosenup,shake

offthecobwebs,andfocus.Forexample,Inormallyasksomeofthefollowingquestions(and,standingatablackboardorwhiteboard,IwritedownwhatIhear

inresponse):

•Whydoyouworkatthisorganization?Youcouldworkelsewhere;whydoyouworkhere?Whatdoyouloveaboutthisorganization?

•Whatwouldyouliketotellyourgrandchildrenaboutwhyyouworkedatthisplaceforthirtyyearsofyourlife?Again,youcouldhaveworkedelsewhere;howwillyouexplainwhyyouchosehere?Towhatgreatcause/accomplishmenthasthisorganizationcontributed?

•Whatwouldyoulikethisenterprisetolooklikeintenyears?Whatwouldyouhopetosaythatitaccomplished?

•Whatarethedistinctivecompetenciesofthisorganization?Whatwouldtheworldlose,orforgo,ifitdidn’texist?

When confronted with questions like these, people generally let theirimaginationsrunfreeandallowtheirdreamscometothefore.Thisexerciseisdonemost effectively ingroupsof senior executives (including theCEO) in arelaxed atmosphere, where each participant is expected to speak, and no onepersonisallowedtodominatetheconversation.

WhyDidWeWaitSoLongtoTalkAboutThis?

Inmyexperience,puttinglongtimecolleaguesinapositionwheretheycanlistento each other is surprisingly illuminating to those in the room. It often helpsthem understand, in many cases for the first time, why they have been atloggerheadsformonthsoryearsovercertainkeydecisions:theywereunawarethattheyeachhadvisionsfortheorganizationthatweresomewhatatoddswiththose of their colleagues. Typically, they make comments along the lines of,“NowIunderstandwhyyou’vebeensostubborninpushingforinitiativeXoractionY! Now I get it. If I had understood yourmotivation earlier, I think Iprobablywouldhaveagreedwithyou,ratherthandisagreeingwithyouallthistime.”In many cases, these visioning sessions help colleagues gain a new

understanding of, and a new respect for, each other. It also forces theseexecutivestochallengeeachotherandrefocusontruecorecompetencies.Someof thosecorecompetenciesmayhaveevolvedover time.Theworldmayhave

changed,sothatcertaincompetitiveadvantageshaveeroded,whileothershavebeen built. Does the vision still reflect their core competencies today? Thisdiscussion often requires quite a bit of homework (in preparation), soul-searching,andupdatedmacroandcompetitiveanalysis.Iencourageorganizationstodothisexerciseatleastonceayear.Inperiodsof

changeandincreaseduncertainty(particularlybroughtaboutbychanges in theexternalenvironment), it iseasy togetoff track inpursuingacoherentvision.Thisisthetimeyoumostneedtodothisexercise.Whyaresomeexecutivesreluctanttodothis?Duringperiodsofadversityand

change, some leaders may have a tendency to feel defensive—they want toprojectthatthey“havetheanswers”anddon’twanttoappeartobetentativeoruncertain. Maybe there is an element of “denial” that creeps in, or fear ofconfrontingthefactthatcertain“mistakes”mighthavebeenmade.Leadersneedtobeawareofthesetendenciesandpushthemselvestoovercomethem.Very often, as a result of this exercise, leaders realize how critical a shared

vision among their senior leadership group is to decision making, strategyformulation,andkeytradeoffs.AtypicalreactionthatIhearfromtheexecutivesassembled in those rooms is, “Iwishwe had done this exercise years ago! Itcouldhavesavedushundredsofhoursofdebate,disagreement,andconfusion.”They tell me that it could have helped save money, stop the erosion of theircompetitiveposition,andfocusthemonthekeyinitiativesnecessaryforthemtosucceed.

ABiotechImpasse

TheCEOofamidsizebiotechcompanywasverypleasedthathiscompanywasmakinggreatprogressontwokeydrugsithadbeendeveloping,butatthesametime, was frustrated by— and quite worried about—ongoing disagreementsamonghisseniorleadershipteam.Firstandforemost,theteamcouldn’tagreeonwhatadditionalcompoundstheyshouldbedeveloping.Factionshaddevelopedwithinthecompanybasedonthisdisagreement,andtheCEOdidn’tknowhowtobreaktheimpasse.Meanwhile,healsofeltstronglythat,giventhecompany’scashburnrateand

forward research agenda, they needed to raise additional capital over the nextyear.While this could take the form of a joint venture, private placement, orIPO, hewas quite convinced that the company needed to take some action tobolsteritsfinancialresources.Onthisissue,therewasseveredisagreementand

tension within the company’s senior leadership ranks. Many were suspiciousabouttheCEO’smotivesinwantingtoraisecapitalsosoonaftertheirlastroundof venture financing. Here, too, the CEO was becoming alarmed about hisinability tomobilize his senior leadership, resolve these issues, andmove thegroupforward.Afterlisteningtohimexplainthesituation,Iaskedhimtoarticulatethevision

for the company.He looked atmewith obvious skepticism and then dutifullyrecited a few boilerplate platitudes having to do with values, ethics, and keypractices.Itoldhimthat,despitehisclearrecitation,Ididn’thearavisioninhislaundry

listofplatitudes.Somewhat annoyed, he tried again to explain. This time, as he avoided the

boilerplate lingo, he struggled even more. That struggle, and our subsequentdiscussion, helped him realize that he had not developed a clearly articulatedaspirationforthecompany.Yes,theywantedtodevelopacommerciallyviabledrug.Yes,theywantedtobuildastrongcompanyandmakemoney.But,whydidtheywanttodevelopadrugandbuildastrongcompany?Frustrated and exasperated, he asked me why this mattered. He wanted to

discuss the problems he was having at the company. Why did I insist ondiverting him to this discussion? I reiterated some of the arguments outlinedabove. Gradually, he began to realize that the lack of a clear and compellingvision might well be at the core of his problems. If he couldn’t explain thevision,maybehisseniorleaderscouldn’texplainiteither.Ifthatwastrue,howcouldtheybeexpectedtoagreeonkeydecisionscriticaltothefuturedirectionof the company?He realized he needed to reexamine his efforts to develop aclearaspirationforhiscompany.Wedecidedtotryanexperiment.Imetinahotelconferenceroomwithhim

and his top fifteen leaders. I had several largewhiteboards at the front of theroom.Iaskedseveralofthekeyquestionslistedabove:Whatdoyouwanttobeable to tellyourchildren fifteenyears fromnowaboutwhyyouworkedhere?What would you like the company to look like ten years from now? I askedseveraladditionalquestionsthatwerespecifictothiscompany’scircumstances,andpaidcloseattentionaseachmemberofthegroupgavehisorherviewsandlistenedtoeachother.Itwas an enlightening exercise for everyone in the room.Even though this

grouphadbeentogetherfortenyears,theyrealizedtheydidn’tknoweachotheraswellastheyhadthought—andthattheyhadstoppedreallylisteningtoeach

otherseveralyearsago.Fromtheircomments,Iwroteavisionstatementontheboard.Theessenceof

theirvisionwastobuildacompanyofsuperbresearchersdedicatedtofindingtreatments for disease. That’s why they were working so hard to developcompounds andbuild the company.Thisvisionwasbasedon their dreams, aswell as on their realistic assessment of their key distinctive competencies. Iasked them to critique and reshapewhat I hadwritten until therewas a basicagreementwithinthegroup.This exercise took approximately two hours. Then, on the basis of that

discussion, we discussed and debated the key priorities that were critical toachievingthisvision.Overthenextsixtyminutes, theydebatedandeventuallyagreedonwhichcompoundstopursueandwhichnottopursue.Itwascleartothem that certain compoundsweremore likely tobe translated into treatmentsthan others, and they concluded only those that could be translated should bepursued.Theyalsoagreedonhowandwhentoraisecapital.Theyrealizedthetight connection between achieving their shared vision and raising sufficientcapitaltoachieveit.TheydramaticallyimprovedtheirunderstandingofwhytheCEO had been pushing for additional financing. Their shared vision ofdevelopingactualtreatmentswouldrequirefinancialstayingpower—hence,theissuewasn’twhethertodoit,buthowtodoit.Itwassurprisinglyeasytoresolvethesecoreissues,oncetheyhadagreedona

vision.TheCEOwasamazed.Henowunderstoodthat theyhadn’treallybeenfighting over the specific issues at hand. Instead, they had been using thoseissuesasproxiesformorebasicissues.Really,theywerefightingbecauseeachhad adifferent conceptionofwhat the aspirationof the companyought tobe.Oncetheyreachedconsensusonthatissue,themicroissueswererelativelyeasytoresolve.Sincethattime,thecompanyhaspursuedaverysuccessfulstrategy.In addition, I hear from the senior executives that the leadership group nowfunctions farmore effectively as a team,which has allowed it to improve itsabilitytoconfrontissuesandmakecourseadjustmentsasneeded.

I have seen this same scene play out time and time again, with leaders ofbusinesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. In each case, Ihavebeenstruckbythepowerofaclearvisionthatissharedbyleadershipandwhole organizations. It clarifies disputes, informs various levels of theorganizationaboutwhat is trulyimportant,andisapowerfulmotivator.Asthepriorexampleillustrates,itsetsthestageforthenextstep:theidentificationof

keypriorities.

DefiningtheKeyPriorities

Vision is critical, but alone, it is not sufficient.You also need a specific roadmap.Avisionmustalsobeaccompaniedbyamanageablenumberoftoppriorities

that, if adhered to, will enable you and your organization to achieve youraspirations. Key priorities tell you and your colleagues what tasks they mustperform superbly in order to make your vision come to life. A short list ofessentialprioritiesidentifiesthosekeytasksthatdeserveadisproportionateshareofyourtimeandfocus.

YouHavetoConsciouslyMakeChoices

Prioritiesinherentlyinvolvechoices.Youhaveonlytwenty-fourhoursinaday,andyouhaveonlya finiteamountofhumanandfinancialcapital.Asa result,the development of key priorities takes a meaningful amount of thought andreflection.Itiseasytodevelopalistoffifteentotwentypriorities,butIwouldargue that this is thesameashavingnopriorities.Humanbeings typicallycanperform at a high level only if they focus their efforts, and the greater thenumberofprioritiesyouhave,theharderitbecomestofocus.Alonglistmeansthatyou’reavoidingthetoughchoices.Itisoftenquitedifficulttoidentifythemostcriticalthreetofiveprioritiesand

make the commitment to allocate your time and resources to achieving them.Theseprioritiesbecomethetasksthatyouintensivelydriveagainst.Atthesametime,you’reimplicitlydefiningwhatislessimportant,andevenunimportant.Ifinditusefultocategorizekeytasksinto1s,2s,and3s.The1saretasksyou

mustdosuperblytosucceed.The2sneedtobedone,butnotnecessarilyatanoptimallevel.The3smightbenicetodo,butyou’llliveiftheysliporarenotevendoneatall.Ioftenusethetermoptimalversussufficient.Which tasksdoyouneedtodoatanoptimallevel(i.e.,yourverybest)andwhichsimplyneedtobedoneatasufficientlevel(i.e.,theyshouldbedone,butthelevelofqualityisnotsocritical)?Inorder tonarrow the list down to three to fivepriorities, youmight try to

categorizethemintothesethreebucketsandultimatelyzeroinonthequestion“Whatarethecriticaltaskswemustdosuperblyifwearetoachieveourvision

?”

LeadingaSalesForce:PrioritiesMatter

Thenationalsalesforcemanagerofaverylargeconsumergoodscompanywasfrustrated thathis regional leaderswerenotachieving their respective regionalsalesgoals.Hefeltunderagooddealofpressuretoimprovesalesperformanceand had been communicating that anxiety to his managers. I asked him toenumeratethethreetofivetopprioritiesthatwerecriticalforhissalesmanagerstopursueinordertoimprovesales.Heresponded,“Well,it’snotrealistictoboilthejobdowntothreetofivepriorities.Thereareatleastfifteenpriorities,anditwouldn’tbeappropriatetonarrowthelistdownto,say,five.”Wow, you can’t even narrow it down to five?Out loud, I observed that if I

workedforhim,Ihonestlywouldnotknowwheretofocusmytime.Hemadeitclear that hedidn’t agree.On theotherhand,he letme interview someofhissalesmanagers, and—as I had anticipated—they didn’t knowwhat hewantedthemtodo.Hehadn’tpushedhimselftoprioritizewhichtasksweremostcriticalinordertodrivesales,and—withoutanimpetusfromhim—theyhadn’tpickedaconsistentsetofpriorities,either.Ialsoobservedthattherewerecertaintasksthatseemedminorbuttookasubstantialamountoftheirtime.No,theytoldme;theycouldn’texplainhowthesetasksconnectedtoincreasedsales,buttheywerepartofthecompany’scustomarypractices.The national sales manager decided to take some time to think about this

issue. It required several weeks of thought, consultation with his best salesmanagers, and reflection on his own sales career. He finally identified fourprioritiesthatwerecritical,iftheyweregoingtomeettheirsalesgrowthtargets.Themostimportantofthesewasalargecustomer-targetingexercise,through

whichtheywouldidentifythoseaccountswheretheywereunderpenetrated,andthendevelopa specificcoveragestrategy/actionplan to“attack”eachaccount.This plan was clear and actionable. The sales force did an excellent job ofexecutingit,anditultimatelyledtoaclearimprovementinsalesperformance.Itturnedoutthat,inthisbusiness,80percentofthesales(andprofits)camefromlarge customers. Theywere harder to crack than smaller accounts, and so thesales force tended togive equal focus to largeand small accounts. Inorder toovercomethistendency,thesalesmanagerneededtomakelargeaccountsaclearpriority. In addition, he deemphasized a number of time-consuming practicesthatwerenotcriticaltoachievingthecompany’scurrentsalesgoals.

MakingTradeoffDecisionsBasedonYourVision

Toreiterate,havingfifteenprioritiesisthesameashavingnone.Howmanydoyou and your team have?Howmany of these priorities are holdovers from apreviousera?Asamanager,youhave the responsibility to translate thevisionintoamanageablenumberofactionablepriorities.Examplesofkeyprioritiesmightinclude:

•Innovation/newproductdevelopment.Wewanttobesuperbatdevelopingnewproductsandservices.Wearewillingtoallocatefunds,aswellasamaterialamountofhumancapital,toenhanceourabilitytoinnovate.TheCEOandseniorleadershiparewillingtomakesacrifices,contributepeopleresourcesasappropriate,andcommunicatethatthisisacriticalfunctionwithinthecompany.Metricswillbedevelopedthatmeasure“success”inthisarea.Thisprioritywillaffectdecisionsregardingkeyhires,howinnovationwillbeorganized(i.e.,separatedfrom,orintegratedwith,otherfunctions),andhowinnovationwillberewarded.Inaddition,leadershipwillhavetodeterminewhatkindofculturewillbestfosterdevelopmentofinnovation.Also,leadershipwillneedtodeterminetheroleofallcompanyemployeesinthispriority.

•Customerrelationshipsandservice.Toachieveourgoals,howstrongmustwebeatproductdevelopmentaswellasbuildingclientrelationships?Howcriticalarerelationshipstothissell?Howcriticalisunderstandingandprovidingsolutionstocustomerneeds?Areweaproductcompanyoraclientsolutionscompany—orboth?Whatisourdistinctivecompetence—combiningvariousproductstosolveproblemsorcreatingasingleproductlinethatfillsaspecificneedaspartofabroadersetofsolutions?Prioritiesheremightincludeinitiativesforrecruitingacertaincaliberofsalesperson,organizingthesalesforce,andrealigningcompensation.Aswe’lldiscussinthenextchapter,theseprioritieswillalsodictatehowmuchtimetheCEOspendswithclients.

•Pricing.Arewethelow-pricedorpremium-pricedentry?Thishassubstantialimplicationsforourchannelsofdistribution,productquality,degreeofinnovation,andsoforth.Ifweintendtobelowpriced,prioritiesneedtobedevelopedtodrivedownproductcost.Ifweintend

tobepremiumpriced,initiativesmightincludetakingstepstodevelopourownchannelofdistributioninordertobettercontrolthecustomerexperience—justasAppledidin2001bycreatingitsownchainofretailstores.6

•Attracting,retaining,anddevelopingthebestpeople.HowmuchtimeshouldtheCEOspendonrecruitingandcoaching?Thispriorityalsoinvolvesinitiativestotargetandhirethelevelofqualityandtypeofpersonnecessarytostaffthekeybusinessunitsofthefirm,giventheaspirationsofthosebusinessunits.Thismightalsoinvolveaninitiativetotrainentry-levelpeople,aswellaskeymanagementprofessionals.(Startingseveraldecadesago,GeneralElectrichasmadethisacriticalpriority,establishingandnurturingitsCrotonvilletrainingcentertohelpaccomplishthisgoal.7)Finally,aninitiativetocoachandmentorkeystaffmightbeatoppriorityforacompanyhighlydependentonkeytalent.

OneSizeDoesNotFitAll

Every function, business unit, and geographic region has its own uniquecharacteristics. While a company should have a core vision and shared keypriorities,eachunitshouldadaptthevisionandprioritiestofititsparticularroleinthecompany’ssuccess.For example, the sales department is likely to have priorities that focus on

customer penetration, sales performance, service, and its staff. The ITdepartmentmightfocusonhowtodevelopthekeytechnologysupportthatwillallow each of the company’s divisions to achieve its key objectives.Manufacturing might have key priorities involving process improvements,productquality,andsimilarissues.Typically, a company establishes its overarching priorities, and then those

prioritiesaretranslatedintokeyprioritiesbyeachunit.Inmostcompanies,thesepriorities are set through an annual business planning process that cascadesthroughtheorganization.

Globalization:PrioritiesMustBeAdaptedRegionally

TheCEOofaglobalprofessionalservicesfirmwasparticularlyconcernedabout

hiscompany’slackofprogressinbuildingitsbusinessintheAsiaPacificregion.Inprioryears,ithadbeenquitesuccessfulintheUnitedStates,soithaddecidedthatitsstrategywouldbetobringtoAsiathosequalitiesthathadmadethefirmsosuccessfulintheUnitedStates.

The company first tried hiring locals to lead the business, but found that itcouldn’tbuildastrongleadership teamwith thatapproach.It thensentseveralleadersfromtheUnitedStatestoAsiaandputtheminchargeofthebusiness.Ithadbeenadifficultprocess, inpartbecause theexpatriateswhohadbeensentovertoAsiaoftendidnotwanttostayforlongerthanfiveyears,attheendofwhichnewexpatriateshadtobetransferredtotaketheirplace.Thenetresultofthis andother problemswas that the firm’smarket penetrationhadbeenpoor,relativetoitsotherU.S.andglobalcompetitors.Whenwesatdowntodiscussthesechallenges,IaskedtheCEOtodetailthe

visionandkeypriorities for theAsiaPacificbusiness. In response,he showedmethefirm’sglobalprioritiesandsaidthateachregionhadbeenhandeddownits marching orders from headquarters. I asked how much he adapted thesepriorities to fit the local culture, business environment, competitive dynamics,customerneeds,and the like.Hesaid that in lightof thecompany’ssuccess intheUnitedStates,itsapproachwastotakewhatworkedthereandexportthosepracticestoAsia.Hearguedstronglythatthiswastherightapproach.Wetookatriptotheregiontogetherandthentalkedagainoverthecourseof

several days. Partly as a result of our trip, he came to appreciate that eachcountry in theAsiaPacific regionwasdifferent from theothers, and certainlydifferent from the United States. Clearly, from country to country, culturesdiffered, customer needs differed, hiring practices differed, and so on.Unfortunately, thecompanywas ignoring thesedifferencesandasa resultwasfailingtoeffectivelyadapttothem.We worked on this for several months. Gradually, the company’s leaders

concludedthattheyneededtotailortheirplansmuchmoretightlytotheregion.They also realized that they needed to immediately establish a priority ofrecruiting indigenous talent and grooming these local professionals to becomeseniorleadersintheregion.Akeyingredientinthisgroomingwouldbeaone-totwo-yearassignmentinoneoftheU.S.businesses,followedbyatransferbacktoakeyleadershippost in theregion.Thiswouldallowthe indigenoushire tolearn deeply about the company and its culture. It would, in turn, help thecompanybetterunderstandeachlocalcountry,betterpenetrateclients,andtailor

itsbusinessstrategiestofitthelocalneeds,ratherthanpushingitsU.S.strategyonAsia.Theseprioritieswouldtakeyearstoachieve.Butthecompany’sleadershada

newfoundconfidencethattheywerenowonapaththatwouldgivethemamuchhigherchanceofsuccess—andwhichwouldallowthemtobetterachievetheiroverallcompanyvisionofgloballeadership.

Communication,andOvercommunication,IsCritical

Onceyouhavedevelopedavisionwithspecific importantpriorities,youmustcommunicate,andthenovercommunicate,thesemessages.Employeesandotherconstituentsareacutelyawareofthecontextualchanges

thatarehappeningeverydayinandaroundthebusiness.Thesemaybechangesintheeconomy,actionsofcompetitors,fundamentalbehavioralchangesamongcustomersorclients,changes in the leadershipof theorganization,oroneofamyriadofothervariables.As a result, theywant to know, “Is our vision still the same?Are our key

prioritiesstillthesame?ShouldIbechangingwhatI’mdoing?HowcanIhelp?HowwillIbeevaluated?IfIhavetomakeaspotdecisionundertimepressure,andIcan’tcheckwithaseniorperson,whatshouldIdo?DoIknowenoughtomakecriticaldecisionsifIneedto?”My strong advice for leaders is, as often as you think you communicate a

visionwithpriorities,itisalmostcertainlynotenoughtomeettheneedsofyourpeople.Theseniorleadersofalarge,well-managedprofessionalservicesfirmprided

themselves on having a clear vision and a short list of specifically articulatedpriorities for each of their business units. Employee surveys reflected highemployeesatisfaction,and thecompany ratedhighlyonmostquestions.Therewas one clear exception: “Do you think you understand the strategy andpriorities for your unit, and for the overall company?” On this question, thescoresweresurprisinglylow.I have seen this phenomenon repeatedly at companies I haveworkedwith.

Typically,theleadersexpressconfusionandfrustrationinresponsetotheselowratings. They believe in their hearts that they have been communicating thevisionandprioritiesregularly,thoroughly,andeffectively.What’s the truth? Inmostcases, it turnsout that leadersdon’tcommunicate

frequentlyenough,ordeeplyenough,fortheiremployeesto“getit.”Inthepress

of day-to-day activities, they don’t adequately communicate the vision in amannerthathelpstheirpeopleunderstandwhatthey’resupposedtodotodrivethe business. Quarterly or biannual town hall meetings, a blurb in the annualreport,orastaticpageonthecompanyWebsitearesimplynotsufficient.

InTimesofSevereChange,MultiplyYourFrequencyofCommunication

This deficiency has become all the more troublesome in recent years, wheneconomicconditionshavebeenchangingbytheweek,theday,oreventhehour.Human nature causes leaders to communicate less in periods of uncertainty:“I’m not sure what to say!” But the truth is, it’s exactly then—during thesestressful periods—that the leader really needs to overcommunicate the visionandkeypriorities. If thereare troublinguncertainties, fine;acknowledgethem.But always come back towhat youwant your people to be doing during thisdifficultperiod.Could your employees recite the vision and priorities for your company or

business unit? Try this test with your people. If they seem unsure, I wouldencourage you tomultiply by five the number of times you communicate thevision and priorities. In otherwords, take advantage of every opportunity thatyou have to meet with your people to rearticulate the vision and priorities.Ideally,youshouldalsobeclear(andcommunicatethroughyourbodylanguage)thatyouarereadytoansweranyquestionsthattheymayhave,andthatyou’reavailabletohelpclearupanyconfusion,uncertainties,ormisunderstandings.Howmuch is enough?When Iwas in the hot seat, I used to say tomyself

(onlyhalf-jokingly)thattheacidtestwas,“Repeatitenoughthatemployeesstartto anticipate andmimic you.” In otherwords, articulate thismessage so oftenthat employeesbegin to say, “HerecomesMr./Ms.X;get ready for thevisionandkeyprioritiesA,B,andC!”

Inadditiontocommunicatingthesemessagesyourself,youshouldmakesurethat your senior leaders are also doing the samewith their direct reports andemployees. Inmycareer, Isometimesfound ituseful toboildownmy“stumpspeech”intoanumberofbulletpointsthatcouldbeprintedonalaminatedcardthat fit in awallet (or could be pinnedon thewall). In thisway, I could helpensurethattheorganizationwasmobilizingaroundaspecificvisionandrelatedpriorities.

DynamismandChange

One final observation: vision and priorities are not static. Priorities changefrequentlyinresponsetospecificchallengesandopportunities.Visionsshouldn’tchange with every shifting wind—they should provide continuity in difficulttimes—buteventually, they tooare likely tobe rethought.Theworldchangesandyoumustadapttothatchange.TheCysticFibrosisFoundation(CFF)wasfoundedmorethanfiftyyearsago

tohelpfindtreatmentsforcysticfibrosis,arelativelyrarehereditarydiseasethatinitially afflicts infants. At the time of CFF’s founding, its vision to findtreatmentsledthefoundationtofocuson(1)raisingmoneyand(2)establishingresearchcentersatvariousacademic institutions in theUnitedStates thatwerealreadyconductingCFresearch.AsCFFmade progress in research and treatments, patient life expectancies

increasedfromonlyoneyeartomorethanthirtyyears.Asaresult,thevisionforthe organization evolved.Henceforth, the foundationwould not only focus ontreatments,butalsoattempttoimprovethequalityoflifeforpatientslivingwiththedisease.Raisingmoneyandfundingpromisingresearchremainedapriority,but a new critical priority now emerged: creating a pharmacy service thatensuredthatpatientswerecounseledandtreatedwiththepropermedicines.Astheorganizationbecamemorecomplex,italsoestablishedaprioritytocreateamoreprofessionalexecutiveteamandorganization—meaningtherecruitmentofextremelyhigh-qualitystaffandthecentralizationofkeybusinessfunctions.At every stage of its development, the foundation’s board of directors and

CEOhavebeenwillingtodebateandre-debatetheirvision.Onthebasisofthatvision, they’vemade the tough tradeoffdecisions, identifying three to fivekeypriorities at which they needed to excel in order to achieve their goals. Thisprocess of establishing and reestablishing the vision, and establishing andreestablishing key priorities, is a key reason why this nonprofit has been sosuccessfulinraisingmoney,developingtreatments,andimprovingthequalityoflife(andlongevity)ofcysticfibrosispatients.8

Thelargerpointischange:whatworkedwellinthepastmaynotworksowellin the future. The world is changing at a faster pace than ever before.Globalization, technological innovation, and economic cycles require leaders(andtheirorganizations)toadapt.Inaddition,unforeseencrisesoccur,andwhentheydo,theprioritiesoftheleadermustchange.

CrisesCanReshapeandReorderPriorities

The terrible BP oil spill of 2010 required a change in priorities for severalleadersinvolved.TheCEOandseniorleadershipofBPhadtoreorientmuchoftheirenergyandfocusonstoppingtheleak,cleaningupthespill,compensatingvictims, and communicating the company’s priorities and plans. Almostovernight,nosingleprioritywasmorecriticaltothefutureofthecompanythandealingwith thisspill.Thecompany’s leadershiphad to reprioritize—andhowwell it succeeded (or didn’t succeed) will have a profound impact on thereputationandfutureofthiscompany.Concurrently, the governors in the region had to completely reallocate key

resourcestomeettheprioritiesof(1)cleanupand(2)advocacyfortheirstatesinWashington.At the same time, they had to communicate to their constituentsthattheywere“ontopof”thesituation.Forhispart,PresidentObamahadjustfinishedabruisinghealth-carereform

battleandwaspreoccupiedwithahostofconcerns,includingpassingfinancialreform,fightingwarsinAfghanistanandIraq,andtryingtodealwithafragileeconomy.Outoftheblue,hisadministrationandtheDepartmentoftheInteriorhad tomake this spill a toppriority, and itbecamecritical that they forcefullycommunicate to the country that this spill had become a top priority. Somecritics argued that the Obama team was slow to reprioritize—and slow tocommunicate the reprioritization—and therefore lost valuable time andcredibility.Duringtherecenteconomiccrisis,countlessbusinessmanagersandnonprofit

leadershadtorepositiontheirorganizationstoadapttochangingconditions.AtHarvard, I taught a substantial number of owner-managers of small andmediumsize companies during this period. In 2008 and early 2009, a steadystreamcametomyofficeaskingvariationsofthesamequestion.

“Weneedtocutbackexpensesduetoa30percentreductioninourrevenues,”theywouldsay.“I’veidentifiedseveraldifferentoptions,butI’mnotsurewhichwaytogo.”In each case, we started with discussing and defining their distinctive

competencies and their vision for the business. We debated whether thosecompetenciesstillprevailed.Insomecases,thebusinessleaderrealizedthathisor her company realistically had one or two key competencies, yet during theprevious boom economic times, theymigrated to actively pursuing businesses

thatwerebasedon threeor four.Theyunderstood that theyhad to facerealityregardingwhattheyweretrulygreatat,cutbackinthoseareaswheretheywereunlikely to have a sustainable competitive advantage, alter their vision ifnecessary,andreordertheprioritiestheyweredrivingtopursue.Across various industries and geographic regions, this type of reorientation

exercise occurred frequently. Those companies that were able to face reality,restructure, and refocus around core competencies dramatically increased theirchancesofsurvivingandemergingevenstronger.Thosethatdidn’tlostacriticalopportunityandfurtherturnedtheoddsagainstthemselves.Downturns force you to do this exercise. You shouldn’t wait for a crisis,

though, to perform this analysis and take the necessary steps to update yourvision and priorities. I often use the analogy of the middle-agedman who iswalkingaroundknowingthatheis50poundsoverweight.Shouldhewaitforaheart attack to address his condition? Of course not!While a crisis providesvaluable motivation, it can be too late to take action to save the patient.Similarly, an organization should not wait for a severe crisis before it takesaction.

Crisesnormallytakerootduringperiodsthatseemsafe,stable,andprofitable.Inotherwords,whilecrisesappeartocomeoutofnowhere,theytypicallytakeyearstodevelop,andmostoftenstemfromafailuretofacerealityandupdatevisionsandkeypriorities.Youwanttoproactivelyanddeliberatelyrevisittheseissueswhentimesaregood,sothatyoucancalmlyandcarefullythinkthroughtheseissueswithouthavingtoactunderseverepressure.

AKeyBuildingBlock—FirstThingsFirst

Thedevelopmentofavisionandassociatedprioritiesisafundamentalbuildingblock in subsequent chapters of this book— and far more important, for thesuccess of your business.With this foundation in place, itwill bemuchmoreobvioushowyoushouldexecutetheconceptsandideasyouareabouttoreadinthe next chapters. In otherwords, you need to first knowwhere you’re goingbeforeyoucananswermostoftheotherkeyquestionsposedinthisbook.Executivessometimesunderestimatetheimportanceofcarefullybuildingthis

foundation.Alternatively,theymakethemistakeofthinkingthataquick“once-over” is sufficient. “I’ve got this covered,” they tend to say early in ourdiscussions.“Let’smoveonandtalkaboutthemorepressingissuesI’mfacing.”

My response inmany such cases is, “I don’t think you’re going to be able toaddress thoseotherpressingissues ifyoudon’tdealwith thisonefirst. Idon’tthinkIknowwhereyouwanttotakethisorganization,andI’mgettingthestrongimpression thatyourpeopledon’t,either.There isnomorepressing issue thanthis,andaquickpassthroughisn’tgoingtocutit.”Why? Because a clearly articulated vision, translated into specific and

compellingpriorities,isakeyingredientinrallyingagrouptoaccomplishgreatthings.Conversely, the lack of such a foundation can limit the potential of anextraordinary group of people and undermine the accomplishments of anotherwisesuperbcompany.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Writedown,inthreetofoursentences,aclearvisionforyourenterpriseorbusinessunit.(Ifit’shelpful,usetheexercisesdescribedearlierinthischapter.)

2.Listthethreetofivekeyprioritiesthataremostcriticaltoachievingthisvision.Theseshouldbetasksthatyoumustdoextraordinarilywellinorderforyoutosucceedbasedonwhereyouarepositionedtoday.(Ifyouarehavingtroublenarrowingthemdowntothreetofive,usethe“1s,2s,3s”exercisedescribedinthischapter.)

3.Askyourselfwhetherthevision(withpriorities)issufficientlyclearandunderstandable.Inaddition,askyourselfwhetheryoucommunicatethevisionandprioritiesfrequentlyenoughthatyourkeystakeholders(e.g.,directreportsandemployees)couldrepeatthembacktoyou.Interviewkeyemployeestoseewhethertheyunderstandandcanclearlyrearticulatethevisionandpriorities.

4.Identifyvenuesandoccasionsfortheregularcommunication,reiteration,anddiscussionofthevisionandpriorities.Createopportunitiesforquestionsandanswers.

5.Assembleyourexecutiveteamoffsitetodebatethevisionandpriorities.Inparticular,considerwhetherthevisionandprioritiesstillfitthecompetitiveenvironment,changesintheworld,andtheneedsofthebusiness.Usetheoffsitetoupdateyourvisionandprioritiesandto

ensurebuy-inonthepartofyourseniorleadershipteam.

ManagingYourTime

HowYouSpendYourTimeShouldFlowDirectlyfromYourVisionandKeyPriorities

Doyouknowhowyouspendyourtime?

Doesitmatchyourkeypriorities?

Whenleadersarestruggling, there isveryoftenamismatchbetweenhowtheyarespendingtheirtimeandthemostpressingneedsoftheirbusiness.Acommonconsequenceofthismismatchisthatcriticalinitiativesarenotbeingsufficientlyemphasized,andasaresult,thefirmisdriftingoffcourse.Thesymptomsofthissituationareoftenquiteevident,eveniftheleaderisnotyetawarethatthewayhe is spending his time is a key contributor to the problem. For you to be aneffective leader, your vision and key priorities must directly shape how youallocateyourtime.There are a number of reasonswhy leaders fail to recognizewhen they are

misallocatingtheirtime.First,amidthechaosofdailyeventsandcrises,it’seasyforthemtolosetrackofhowthey’reactuallyspendingtheirtime.Second,manyleaders have not explicitly identified their top three to five priorities, asrecommended in the previous chapter, and therefore don’t work to match uptheir effortswith these priorities. These executivesmay sense that they’re notusing their time effectively, but they’re often not sure how to think aboutspendingitmorewisely.Inaddition,foranumberofreasons,manyexecutivessimplyhavetroublesayingnotorequestsfortheirtime.Asaresult,theyallowpeople and events to pull or push them into poor choices regarding how theyexpendtheirenergies.Thepurposeof thischapter is, first, toemphasizeand remindyou thatyour

timeistypicallyyourmostscarceandvaluableasset—andyouneedtoallocateitwithakeenawarenessofthisfact.Thisstartswithdevisingwaystomeasurehowyou’reactuallyspendingyourtime.Onceyou’vedonethis,thenextstepis

to comparehowyouare allocatingyour effortswith anupdateddistillationofyourkeypriorities.We’llexplorevariousapproachesthatmayhelpyoubemoreeffective at this, and help you do a better job of organizing your schedule todrivekeyinitiatives.Thesecondpartofthischapterwilldiscusstheleader’stimeallocationasan

importantsignaltoemployeesandotherconstituenciesregardingwhatactivitiesare truly valued in the overall organization as well as in individual businessunits. In addition, we will examine the importance of developing ongoingprocesses to make sure that your subordinates are effectively managing theirtime in order to achieve key priorities. Finally, Iwill ask you to consider theimportanceoffacingandovercomingimpedimentstothisoveralleffort.

NothingIsMoreValuableThanYourTime

Yourtime—andthatofyourpeople—isthemostimportantassetyouhave.Itisa finite asset and, once spent, cannot be replenished. Of course, many otherassets are critical to the success of your organization: financial resources,franchise assets, real estate, and others. Your ability to deploy those assetseffectivelyandcreatevalue,however,dependsinlargepartonhowwiselyyouspendyourtimeandthatofyourpeople.Despite their strong agreement with this concept, many business leaders—

ranging from young professionals to senior executives—don’t actually knowhow they spend their time. Try to recollect how you spent your time this lastweek.IfIaskedyoutobreakdownthetimebycategoriesoftasks,wouldyoubeabletoproducearelativelyaccurateaccounting?Now imagine that I asked you to detail how you spent several thousand

dollars of your own money this past month. Could you answer with someprecision?Ibetthat,nomatterwhatyourincomebracket,youranswerwouldbea resounding yes! Most likely, you would have considered this expenditurecarefullybeforeyoumadeit.Youcertainlywouldnothaveallowedyourselftoget pulled or pushed into it just because you were having a busy week. Youwouldlikelyhavekeptrecordsofthatspendingandprobablyeventrackedhowsatisfiedyouwerewiththeimpactorresults.It would have been important to you, and your actions would have

underscored that fact. The fact is, your time is every bit as important as yourmoney—probably more so. As a result, you need to adjust your mind-set toensurethatyoubehaveaccordingly.

PlanIt,TrackIt,andAssessIt

If you suspect that you are squandering your valuable time, a good next stepwouldbe tocreateanalyticalprocesses tosystematically track it. Ibelieve thisapproach can be extraordinarily useful to young professionals and emergingleaders, as well as to very senior executives. Here’s a simple but effectiveexercise I haveusedmyself and recommended tonumerousprofessionals.Fortwoweeks, use a spreadsheet todocumenthowyou spendeveryhourofyouron-the-jobtime.Breakitintocategoriesthatarerelevanttoyourdailyworklife.You might want to use a “trial run” day to come up with the right actioncategories,suchas:

Strategicplanning

Clientcontact(includingwritten,face-to-face,andphone)Othersalesandmarketing

InteractionswithinvestorsandboardmembersInteractionswithmedia

Supervisionofdirectreports(includingcoaching,mentoring,andreviews)

Managementbywalkingaround(theofficeorthemanufacturingfloor)

Competitiveanalysis

Recruitment

Innovation(product,process,orother)

Communications/interactionswithemployees(meetings,speeches,etc.)

Budgeting

Reviewingexpenses,includinglookingattravelandexpensereports

Schedulingyourself

Otheradministrativematters

Don’t double-count hours; assign them to one category or another. (You’re

aimingforacoherentpictureofhowyou’respendingyourtime;it’sfinetoerronthesideofsimplicity.)Attheendofthetwoweeks—tenworkingdays—addup the hours in each of your categories. If it helps, break them down intopercentagesofyourtotaltime.When I go through this exercise myself—and certainly, when I ask other

executivestodoit—thereactionistypicallythesame:surprise,andevenshock,at the results. Why?Most often, people realize to their dismay that they arespendingagreatdealoftheirtimeonmattersthat,byanyreasonablemeasure,arenotcriticaltotheperformanceoftheirjobandthesuccessoftheirenterprise.

DiagnosingtheMismatch—TheCostofSayingYes

Onceyou’vecreatedaneffectiveassessmentofyourcurrent timeallocation, itmakes sense to considerwhy someof your timemaybepoorly spent.This islikelytorequiresomeintrospectionanddeconstructionoftheeventsandchaosoftheworkweek.Weallknowthatlifeasaleaderischaotic.Eventshappenontheirownschedule,andyouareforcedtorespond.Someonecomesunannouncedintoyourofficewithaproblemandwantsyoutogetinvolved;youmaybereluctanttoturnthatpersonaway.Youseeasituationdeveloping that worries you and—even though you’ve delegated theresponsibility—you decide to get directly involved and begin to nose aroundandaskquestions.Evenasyou’reundertakingthisunscheduledassignment,thephonerings,andacolleagueinanotherdivisionisseekingyourviewsonagivensituation.Hedoesn’tknowwhoelsetocall,andhe’shopingyou’llgetinvolved.In these moments, there are lots of seemingly compelling reasons to get

involved,startingwith thefact that it feelsgood tobewanted.It feelsgoodtohaveyouropinion sought.Youbelieve inyourself, andyou’repretty sure thatthesesituationswillgobetterifyoudealwiththemdirectly.You’reafraidthatifyousayno,thenfolkswon’tcomeandseekyououtasfrequentlyandwillthinkyou’re not very helpful.Maybe you’ll be perceived as less important, or lesscapable,orlessrelevant.Unfortunately,thereisacosttosayingyestocallsonyourtime.Ifthetaskat

hand is something thatanynumberofother folkscouldhavedone,and if thattasktakesyouawayfromthingsthatyouneedtobespendingtimeonandthatonlyyoucando,thecostisprobablyveryhigh.Itcomesattheexpenseofthingstheorganizationreallyneedsyoutodo.

For example: The CEO of a midsize manufacturing company was frustratedbecausehewasworkingseventyhoursaweekandwasfeelingoverwhelmed.Hefelt as if he were suffocating. He just couldn’t catch up. His family life wasdeteriorating, and at work he was constantly unavailable for key criticalinitiativesinvolvinghispeopleandhismajorcustomers.Asaresult,itseemedthateveryonewasannoyedandfrustratedwithhim:his

wife, his family, and his colleagues. “Where did I go wrong?” he asked me,genuinelybaffled.“Iworkedmyentirecareertobuildthecompanytothislevelof size andmarketpresence. I thought successwould feel a lotmore fun thanthis!”Doesanyofthissoundfamiliartoyou?Ifso,you’renotalone.Infact,it’sa

surprisinglytypicalscenario.Afterdiscussinghisvisionandprioritiesforthebusiness,Iaskedhimtobreak

downhowhespenthistimeinatypicalweek.Hethoughtaboutitforaminuteortwoandthenadmittedthathewasn’tsure.Weagreedthatwe’dspeakagainafterhehadtakenthetimeneededtothinkaboutit.Hethendidtheexerciseofwritingdownthehour-by-hourbreakdownofhowhespenthistimeduringtheweek.Whenwe next spoke, he tookme through his analysis.As he reviewed the

categories of his time, we both noticed that he was spending a substantialnumber of hours—approximately twelve hours a week—on something called“expensemanagement.” I askedhimwhat thatwas, assuming that itmight behoursdevotedtocostreductionsorprocessimprovements.Heexplainedthatheapprovedallcompanyexpendituresinexcessof$1,000.Iaskedhimtodiscusswhyhedidthis,giventhefactthatthebusinesshadapproximately$500millioninsalesrevenue.“Well,inourfirstcoupleyearsinbusiness,”hereplied,“saleswerelessthan$5millionayear,andwewerelosingmoney.Wewatchedeverydollarlikeahawk,andImadesuretoapprovetheseexpenses.Aswegotlarger,wefeltitwasimportanttomaintainthisstrongexpensemanagementdiscipline.”Iaskedhimwhethertherewasn’tsomeothersolution.Forexample,couldn’t

he delegate most of this responsibility to one of his direct reports, perhapsretaining responsibility for approval of expenditures over $50,000, or perhapseven$100,000?Hestruggledtoexplainwhyhehadnotdelegatedatleastsomeportionofthis

responsibility.Aswe talked about it, he realized that therewasno compellingreason;itwasjustthewaytheyhadalwaysdonethings.Heacknowledgedthatby delegating the authority to approve recurring operating expenses below

$50,000,hecouldreallocateasmuchastenhoursaweek:anenormoussavingsofhistime.Withachuckle,hecommented,“Idon’tthinkit’sunreasonableforme to learn todelegate theseexpenseapprovalsso that IcanfocusonbeingamoreeffectiveCEO,husband,andfather.”Hereorientedhisscheduleandmadethecommitmenttotrackhistimegoing

forward,sothathecouldachieveabetteralignmentbetweenhistimeandhistoppriorities.Hecheckedbackwithmeseveralmonthslaterandreportedsignificantprogress—andnot just in the expense-approval realm.He foundhimselfmorefrequentlyrunningtowardsignificantchallengesandatthesametimesayingnotorequestsforhisattentionthatcouldbehandledbysomeoneelse.Hefeltthathewasbecomingmoreproductiveandthereforemorevitaltothebusiness.Justasimportant,hewasonceagaingettinghomeatareasonablehour.

MatchingTimewithPriorities

Onceyouhaveimprovedyourabilitytotrackandassessyourtime,thenextstepis to more explicitly match it to the key priorities of the organization.Whenexecutives are using their time poorly, it is very often because they haven’tthought sufficiently about identifying the most important priorities for theirparticular company or business unit. In order to allocate their efforts morewisely,theyhavetofirststepbackandpicktheirmostimportantinitiatives,andthencirclebacktomatchtheirtimetothesepriorities.In other cases, executivesmay have done an excellent job thinking through

their priorities, but are not spending their time in a way that is aligned withsuccessfullyachievingtheirwell-thought-outplans.

Thinkingin1s,2s,and3s

TheCEOofamidsizemanufacturingfirmwasfeelingdeeplyfrustrated.Hefeltoverwhelmedbythetaskofbuildinghisbusiness,whichseemedtobeslippingversus its key competitors. In coping with this situation, he was increasinglyexperiencing feelings of severe anxiety. Looking for answers, he came toHarvard to attend a one-week executive program. One afternoon early in thecourse, he came tomy office in hopes of getting some insight intowhatwaswrong.Whenwesatdown,heexplainedhiscompany’scompetitivepositioningand

thoughtaloudaboutseveralpossibleexplanationsfortheerosionofitsbusiness.

Washis staff not up to the job?Maybehehadpicked thewrongpeople.Wasthereaproblemwiththecompany’sstrategicplan?Ashewentthroughvarioushypotheses,hearticulatedhisreal fear:hewasn’tacapable leader.Heworriedthathereallywasn’tuptothejob.“Do you think leaders are born, or made?” he finally asked me. “And if

they’remade,doyouthinkIcanlearntobealeader?”Afterwehadthevisionandprioritiesdiscussion—whichtohiscredithehad

thoughtthroughverycarefullyovertheyears—Iaskedhimtodescribehowhespenthistime.Ashespoke,Ididn’treallyneedtosayverymuchatall.Prettyearly in his accounting, he explained that he personally did some two dozenpersonnel reviews each year.He had retained the job of salesmanager in thecompany, in part because he enjoyed traveling to pitches for large and smalltargets. He had also retained responsibility for the assistants and alladministrativestaff,whichnowincludedmorethanthreehundredpeople.Whilehefeltquitecomfortabledoingthesetasks,healsofelthardpressedto

spend enough time on strategy and competitive analysis. Thiswas critical, hebelieved, because two key competitors had recentlymerged, and this industrychange most likely would create significant strategic challenges for hiscompany’s value proposition to their customers. His direct reports had beenpressinghimtofocusonthis,buthejustcouldn’tfindthetime.Iaskedhimtodoanexercise.Isuggestedhelistthewayshespenttime,and

thenallocatehoursperweektoeachofthosebuckets.Ialsochallengedhimtoput each hours-per-week number in one of three columns: column 1 beingimportant tasks that only he could do and were essential to achieving thecompany’s most critical priorities; column 2 being important tasks (based oncritical priorities) but ones that could be accomplished, at least in part, bysomeoneelse;andcolumn3representingtasksthatwerenotcriticallyimportantandshouldbedonebysomeoneelseintheorganization.He came upwith the chart in real time, andwe then discussed each of the

tasks he was spending time on. For example, he wrote down “dealing withadministrativestaff”andnotedthiswasa3,whichtooksevenhoursperweek.“Going on small-account sales calls” consumed ten hours a week and alsobelongedinthe3column.(Hereallywasn’tneededonthosecalls.)“Doingtwodozenperformancereviews”consumedforty-fivehoursinthefall;halfwere1sor2s,andtheotherhalfwere3s.Wecontinuedthroughvariousothertasksuntilweaccountedfor100percentofhistime.Asaresultofseeingthisanalysisinblackandwhite,heimmediatelyresolved

toactivelydelegatethe3sandcloselyexaminewhichofthe2shadtobedonebyhim.Healsorecognizedthatheshouldincreasehisallocationtosomeofthe1s.With thehelpof thisverysimplematrix,heconcluded thathehadn’tbeensufficientlystrategicordisciplinedaboutusinghistime.Hehadwastedalotofhistimeandenergyonlessimportanttasksandwasfailingtofaceuptothebigcompetitive challenges that only he could spearhead! He also realized that,whateverhisnativeskills,many leadershiphabitsare“learned,”andhehad tolearntofocusonthebiggerissuesanddelegatetherest.Six months later, he called me to report that he had very effectively

reallocated his time. He had immersed himself more fully in assessing thecompany’scompetitivepositioningandhadconcludedthatitshouldmergewithakeycompetitor.Thiswasadifficultdecision,butonehebelievedwasessentialto the company’s future well-being—and one that couldn’t have been madewithouthisintensefocus.

GettingoutofOurGrooves

Overtime,allofuscangetsloppy.Wedriftintopoortimemanagementhabits.This iswhywehave to stepbackand scrutinizeour timeallocationson someregularbasis.Iamasguiltyofthisasthenextperson.WhenIfirstdidthistimeallocation

exercisemyself,backinmyearlythirties,IdiscoveredthatIwasspendingfivehours a week on scheduling. This was before today’s scheduling softwareexisted,soI’dspendalotoftimeonthephonetryingtofindadayintheweek,andanhourinthatday,whereaparticulargroupofcolleaguescouldgettogetherfor a meeting: “How aboutWednesday? How about 2 p.m.? No? How aboutThursdayat3?OK;holdthatslot;I’llcheckwithJoan,Tom,andSamandgetbacktoyou.”Itwasfrustrating,distracting,andapooruseoffivehoursaweek.Worse,my

assistant could do all thiswithoutme, and she could do itmuch better than Iwould.Finally,andbelatedly,Iwenttoherandsaid,“Sandy,fromnowon,youkeep my calendar. Anyone who wants to schedule me, I will send to you,whenever possible.”What a relief, andwhat a time savings!Overnight, I hadmoretime,andmyheadwasclearertofocusonotherpriorities.Asmanagers,leaders—andindeed,ashumans—wegetstuckinourgrooves.

Wejoinasmallcompanyinwhicheverytaskseemscriticallyimportant—andofcourse,everytaskisdonebetterifwedoitourselves.Thecompanyprospersand

grows,wemoveupthroughtheranks,ourtimebecomesevermorescarceandvaluable—andyet,wedon’tfocusenoughonwhichtasksarecriticalforustodoandwhichtasksshouldbedelegatedtoothers(seefurtherdiscussioninchapter4).Weclingtoourestablishedhabitsandprocedureslongaftertheystopmaking

sense—either for us or for the company. Those habits might once have beenuseful but are nowcounterproductive.Wehave to recognize that and strive tocreatenewhabits.

TimeManagementandItsImpactontheLeaderasRoleModel

IfrequentlyaskleaderswithwhomIworktodothistimetrackingexercise.ThenIaskthemtocomparehowtheirtimeisbeingspentinrelationtotheprioritiesthey have identified for the business. (See the previous chapter.) Again,mostleaderswhofeelthattheyarestruggling—youngandoldalike—findthatthereisasignificantmismatch.Whatisthecostofthismismatch?Firstandmostobvious,theleaderisnotas

effectiveasheor she shouldbe indrivingcriticalpriorities.Timespentgoingsouthwest is timenot spentdrivingnorth (orwhateveryour intendeddirectionis).Worse,asexplainedinasubsequentchapter,leadersaresupposedtoserveasa role model for the organization. If they don’t spend time on the overridingpriorities,itsendsastrongsignalthattheyreallydon’tbelieveinthosepriorities.Inanorganizationalsetting,thiscanbepoison.How you spend your time speaks volumes about what you believe in, and

what you want the organization to do. For example, if you have identifieddevelopingtopclientrelationshipsasacriticalpriority,youneedtodemonstratethrough your actions that you’re serious about it. If you are consistentlyunavailableforcriticalclientrelationshipcalls,youstronglycommunicatetotheorganizationthatthisreallyisn’tsuchahighpriority—ormaybethatyoubelieveit’simportantforemployeestodo,butnotsufficientlyimportantforsomeoneonyour level to worry about. You communicate the notion that, on the margin,employeescangetawaywithskippingasignificantclienttrip,orit’snotthatbigadealtomissapieceofbusiness,orthatit’sOKforpeopleatthiscompanytobereactivewithclients.Thiscanhaveahugeimpactonthecultureandontheintensityregardingthis

priority.Itcanmakethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.Thinkbacktothelasttimethatabossaskedyoutodosomethingthatheor

sheobviouslywasunwillingtodohimorherself.Howseriouslydidyoutakeit?Howseriouslydidtheorganizationtakeit?Igrewup inaprofessionalservices firm.We identifiedattracting, retaining,

and developing superb talent as a critical priority. As a junior person, I wasenormously impressed that very senior leaders of the firm were willing tointerview candidates and attend recruiting events on a regular basis. I learnedfrom their example that there wasn’t anythingmore important than recruitinganddevelopingtalent.WhenIbecameaseniorleader,Imadesuretoallocateamaterialamountof

mytimetothispursuit.ItspokelouderthananyspeechIcouldhaveevergiven,and helped build our firm into a powerhouse operation. I learned that, up anddowntheorganization,peoplearecloselyobservingyourbehaviorandlookingforclearandpositivesignalsaboutwhat is trulyvalued.Howyou,asa leader,spendyourtimesendsanenormouslypowerfulsignal.

DoasISay,NotasIDo:MixedMessagesfromtheCEO

The CEO of a rapidly growing industrial products firm was struggling toaccomplishoneofhiskeypriorities.Bywayofbackground,hisfatherwasthefounderofthebusiness,andthisCEOwasthesecondgenerationofhisfamilytoleadthecompany.Thebusinesshadstartedwithaspecificmachinetoolthatwascriticaltoitscustomers’manufacturingprocesses.Overtheyears,thecompanyhad branched out into various product adjacencies, and in recent years, it hadbegun toprovidemorecustom-tailoredmachine tool solutions to itscustomersasawaytofurtherdifferentiateitselffromitscompetitors.Asaresultofthisinitiative,onesignificantandrelativelynewprioritywasto

better understand customer needs. This involved developing a more in-depthunderstanding of customers’ overall business strategy, and how each of theirmanufacturing processes was evolving to meet their own end-user customerneeds.This, inturn,meantupgradingthesophisticationofthecompany’ssalesforce and providing substantially more technical support for the sales force.(They had to become consultants as well as salespeople.) But there was aproblem: the people in the business were extremely skeptical about theleadership’scommitmenttopursuingthisinitiative.TheCEOgaveanumberofspeechesabouttheimportanceofthiseffortand

wasfrustratedbytheskepticismthatkeptcomingbackathim.Whenhecametoseemetodiscussthissituation,Iaskedhimhowhewasspendinghisowntime.

As is often the case, he wasn’t immediately able to answer. Subsequently, hetrackedhistimeforaweek.Hereportedthathewassurprisedtofindhowmuchofhistimewasspentonadministrativeactivitiesandalsoononemoney-losingproductlinethatwasacorepartofthecompany’soriginallegacy.Whatwastheproblem,here?TheCEOwaspayingagreatdealofattentionto

thingsthatdidn’treflectthebusiness’spriorities.Worsethanthat,hisexcessivefocuson the legacybusiness—eventhoughitwasnowamoneyloserandwasunlikelytoregainprofitability—suggestedthathewasmoredrivenbyemotionandsentimentality thanbybusiness logic.Upon reflection,hebegan to realizethatheneededtobefarmoredisciplinedasaleaderandasarolemodel.He immediatelybeganpushinghimself todelegate anumberofhis second-

and third-tier administrative tasks. He asked a trusted lieutenant to beginthinking about what to do about the legacy business—up to and includingclosingitdown—andsubstantiallyincreasedtheamountoftimehespentontheroad talkingwith importantcustomers.Thesechanges setapowerfulandveryencouragingexampleforhispeople.Aftermaking thesechanges, theCEOreportednotable improvements in the

company’seffortstobetterunderstanditsowncustomers.Histimeontheroadinspiredandhelpedyoungsalespeopleandhelpedpersuadethemtoimplementthe new account-management initiative.As a result, he felt dramaticallymorecomfortable with the strategic positioning of his business and his owneffectivenessasCEO.

TheTimeMatchExercise

Matching time allocation with major priorities should be an ongoingmanagementexerciseforyou.Ithelpsyoufigureoutwhatyoushoulddelegateand what you really need to do yourself. In many cases, it gives you thebackbone to say no to requests for your time that don’t fit—and, at the sametime, figure out which situations you really do need to involve yourself in(whetherinvitedornot!).Itmayalsohavetheaddedbenefitofempoweringyouremployeestodoanumberoftasksthemselves—ratherthancomingtoyouwithproblemstheycanreallyresolvethemselves—freeingyouuptospendyourtimeonthosetaskswhereyou’remostneeded.Again:thebesttestistoaskyourself,“Couldotherpeopleintheorganization

do thissame task?” If theanswer isyes, thenyoushouldnotbedoing it.Youshouldbelookingtospendtimeonthoseactivitiesthatfityourkeyprioritiesand

requireyourpersonalinvolvement—whetherit’sidentifyingandmakingcriticaldecisions,buildingmajorclientrelationships,coachingseniorstaff,orrethinkingthestrategy.

WhatDoIEnjoy?AmIintheRightJob?

Onefinalthoughtforthissection:thistimeallocationexerciseonlymakessenseif you’rehonestwith yourself.You have to be honest,maybe even a bit coldblooded,inassessingtheresults.SomepeopleI’veworkedwithhaveultimatelyconfessedthattheyhaveacertainactivitythatthey’vealwaysdone,andthattheyreallyenjoy,butthatnolongerfitswith the needs of their current job or the needs of the organization. They“protect”thatactivitybecausetheyenjoyit.This is, of course, understandable. If you can’t square your organization’s

prioritieswith your professional interests, however, youmay be in thewrongjob. If you’re in the wrong job, deal with that challenge. Rewrite the jobdescription. Sometimes, this may involve looking inside or even outside thecompanyforanewjob.Bythesametoken,whenyouarelookingforanewjoborareoffereda job

withinyourcompany,you shouldaskwhat are the three to fivekey tasks thatyou’llneed to focuson tobeoutstanding in thatposition.Doyouenjoy thoseactivities?Lookedatfromtheothersideofthetable,successfulcompaniesfindawayto

match employee skills and passions with critical leadership jobs in theorganization.Thisfithelpsindividualssucceedandhelpscompaniesreachtheirpotential.

AManagementExerciseforYourPeople

IrecentlyspenttimewiththeCEOofaverywell-runhealthcareservicesfirm.Afteryearsofpractice,helearnedtodoanoutstandingjobmatchinghistimetotheorganization’stoppriorities.Healsotookthenextlogicalstep,directingeachofhisseniormanagerstodo

a similar time allocation exercise to ensure they were matching their time tomajorpriorities.Largelyasaresultofthisdiscipline,thecompanyisveryadeptataligningandthenrealigningagainstkeypriorities,asthoseprioritiesevolvetoachievethevisionofthefirm.

Thisisanexcellentpractice.Askyourpeopletodotheexerciseofmatchingtheir timewithyourorganization’stoppriorities.Itdriveshomewhattasksarecritical and how they should spend their time. It helps make the distinctionbetweenwhat timeallocation iscritical,what issimply“nice todo,”andwhatmayactuallybecounterproductive.Itmaysuggestwheretheycanaffordtocutor—conversely—wheretheymayneedtoaddtotheirresourcesandstaff.Beyondresourceallocation,thisexercisegivesyouasolidbasisforcoaching

yourpeoplethroughouttheyearandalsoforevaluatingthematyear-end.Theywon’t have towonderwhat you’re looking for, in termsof priorities and timeallocation,becauseyou’vebeenclearaboutthatallalong.

TimeAllocationNeedstoBeDynamic

We often get into trouble (and encounter new opportunities) because thingschange. You almost certainly will encounter changes in the externalenvironment.Most industries go through cycles; youmay be subject to thosecycles. Most product lines ultimately mature; your products may becommoditized,orperhapsyourpatentsareexpiring.Over the previous decades, we have watched airlines, pharmaceutical

companies, financial services firms, insurance companies, automanufacturers,and countlessother industries being forced to come togripswith fundamentalchanges in the regulatory environment, emergence of global competitors,changesinconsumerpreferences,andthelike.Inthesecases,seniorleadershipteams were compelled to adapt their company’s visions, reestablish newpriorities,andreorienthowtheyspenttheirtime.Inadditiontothis,dependingonyourbusiness,youmayexperienceseasonal

changesthatrequireyouto“makehaywhilethesunshines”andhunkerdownduring the slower months. Many segments of the retail industry are classicexamplesof this typeof seasonality.For example, the jewelry industryhas itsbusyseasonsinthemonthsleadinguptoValentine’sDayandChristmas.Duringthose months, the emphasis is on serving customers, hiring peak store help,merchandising,andgettingdeliveryonspecialtyinventoryitems.Intheoff-peakmonths,theleadershipoftenfocusesmoreoncollectingoncustomerreceivables,initiatingnewproductdesignsforthefollowingyear,andrunningsalestoclearslow-movingmerchandise.In short, it is the story of business: companies and industries change, and

either adapt or ultimately fail. Similarly, their leaders also must reassess and

changethewaytheyspendtheirtimeiftheyaretosurviveandprosper.Thekeypointhere is that timeallocationneeds tobedoneona continuing

basis.It’simportanttoaskyourselfthisquestionperiodically.Justasyouwouldstepbackandreviewamajorinvestmentdecisionatsomeregularinterval,youneedtodispassionatelyreviewthemannerinwhichyouinvestyourtime.

FacingandOvercomingtheDisconnect

Doesthischapterresonatewithyou?Youmayalreadyhaveanexcellenthandleontimemanagement.Perhapsyou

doafinejobofmatchinghowyouspendyourtimewithkeypriorities,andwiththestageandseasonofyourbusiness.Alternatively,youmaybelieve thatyou justdon’thave the time to focuson

thiseffort. Ifso, Iwouldsuggest thatyoureexamine thisview. Ihave listenedpolitely tomore than a few executiveswho have toldme, in somanywords,“Listen,Idon’thavethetimetospendontheseexercisesbecauseIamjusttoobusy!”Tothem,thiseffortseemedseparatefromormarginaltotheexecutionoftheir job responsibilities. They didn’t see that much of the chaos they wereexperiencing was a direct result of their failure to analyze, prioritize, andallocatetheirtimetokeytasks.Atthesametime,manyof theseindividualswerecomplainingabouthaving

enormous difficulty living up to their past successes or finding a path towardnewsuccesses—individuallyororganizationally.When faced with this kind of disconnect—between what someone so

obviouslyneedstodoandwhatheorsheiswillingtodo—Ioftensuggestthatthe strugglingmanager revisit the kinds of issues raised in this chapter. I alsosuggest they take a vacation or find some other way to get away and getperspective on their lives. Some people balk at this suggestion, claiming thatthey simply lack the time. I persist: “Isn’t it true that you are constantly andunsuccessfully fighting thechaosof theworkplace?Whyareyousounhappy?Whydoyou thinkyou’reso frustratedwithwhatyou’reable toaccomplishatwork—particularlywhen, as the boss, you have the ability tomake just aboutanychangeyouwishtomake?”Manyyearsago,IreadabookbyauthorStephenCovey—TheSevenHabits

ofHighlyEffectivePeople—which introducedasimple two-by-twomatrix thatcaptures the essence of this dilemma.1One axis ofCovey’s grid is “urgency”(goingfromhighurgencytolowurgency)andtheotheris“importance”(going

from important to unimportant). The sweet spots in Covey’s grid areurgent/important and important/not urgent; everything else is at best adistraction,andatworst,awasteoftime.Why do smart and skilled people insist on hanging out in the “wrong”

quadrantsofthatgrid—zonesthatarefullofdistractionsandtimewasters?Afterthinking about this issue for several years, I would make two generalobservations:

•Wehavetroublesayingnoforadmirablereasons.Wehaveahardtimeturningawaythekindsofinquiries,requests,andtinyopportunitiesthatpopupinthecourseofalmosteveryworkday.Why?Inpartbecausewe’retaughtfromchildhoodtobehelpful.(ThinkofthefirstsixcharacteristicsthataBoyScoutisaskedtoswearto:trustworthy,loyal,helpful,friendly,courteous,andkind—aprescriptionforgettingoverextended!)Andfrankly,mostpeople—myselfincluded—enjoybeingaskedtogetinvolvedinsomething.That’sasignalthatsomeoneadmiressomethingaboutyouandthattheythinktheirproblemwillbenefitfromyourattention.Again,theseareallthingsthatmakeithardertosayno—evenwhenweshould.

•Wehavetroublesayingnoforlessadmirablereasons.Maybewearecontrolfreaks:unabletotakeorkeepourhandsoffofthings.Maybewearen’tgoodatdelegatingbecausewedon’ttrustourpeople,orwedon’ttrustourselves.Ihadmanycolleaguesduringmybankingcareerwhowereconvincedthattheyhadtobepersonallyinvolvedforaparticularjobtobedoneproperly.

Onetechnique that Ihavefoundvaluableformostofmycareerhasbeen towritedownonapieceofpapermythreetofivemostcriticalpriorities.Theseareusuallyacombinationofmajorbusinessprioritiesandalsooneormorepersonaldevelopment priorities (e.g., spendmore time being a better listener or spendmoretimecoachingsubordinates).IkeepthissheetpinnedtomyofficewallsothatIcanseeiteveryday.Whensomeonearrivesatmydoorstepandasksmetotakesomethingon,IlookatthatsheetonthewallbeforeImakeadecision.Try this, and before you respond to the request, ask yourself whether you

should:

•Getinvolved,knowingthatthiswillrepresenttimeawayfromyour

prioritiesandmayresultinyourgettingspreadtoothin.

•Declinetogetinvolved,andsuggestthatyourvisitortryagaintosolveitonhisorherown.Hecanalwayscomebacktoyouforhelpifhe’sunabletoresolveithimself.

•Declinetogetinvolved,butrecommendthatyourvisitorinvolveathirdcolleaguewhomightbeanotherresourceforgettingthisproblemresolved.(Ifthisthirdcolleaguereportstoyou,thismightbeagoodchancetoworkonyourdelegationskills,thesubjectofasubsequentchapter.)

There’sno“right”answer,but—asthelistabovesuggests—youareprobablywisetoleantowardsayingnomoreoftenthannot.Itwon’tfeelgoodatfirst,anditmayneverfeelgoodtoyou,butthisispartofdevelopingleadershipdiscipline.Youshouldtreatyourcalendarinasimilarfashion.Lookateachentry,lookat

thesheetonthewall,andthenaskyourself,Whyisthishere?DoIneedtobedoing this? Where in this schedule will I carve out time to focus on my bigpriorities?Likemostofthetopicscoveredinthisbook,timemanagementmaybemore

orlessimportanttoyourightnowthanitwastenyearsagoorwillbetenyearsfrom now. If you are convinced that you aremanaging your time effectively,yourpeoplearedoingthesame,andyouandtheyareallocatingtimewiselytoyour organization’smost important priorities, and thereby serving as effectiverolemodels foryour employees, thenyou shouldmoveonwith confidence tochapter3.Ontheotherhand,ifthisissueresonateswithyou,thentakeadditionaltimeto

think about it. Spend more time doing one or more of the various exercisessuggestedinthischapter.Thesubsequentchaptersofthisbookintroduceissuesandresponsibilitiesthat

will require conscious commitmentsof your time.Therefore, youwill need tohaveagriponthisareainordertomakeavailablethetimerequiredtoundertaketheseresponsibilitiesandbecomeamoreeffectiveleader.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Trackyourtimefortwoweeksandbreakdowntheresultsintomajorcategories.

2.Comparehowthisbreakdownmatchesorismismatchedversusyourthreetofivekeypriorities.Makealistofthematchesandmismatches.Regardingthemismatches,writedownthosetimeallocationsthatare2sand3sandcouldthereforebeperformedbyothers—orshouldnotbeperformedatall.

3.Createanactionplanfordealingwiththemismatches.Forexample,committodelegatingthosetasksthatcouldjustaseasilybeperformedbysomeoneelse.Decide,inadvance,tosaynotocertaintimerequeststhatdonotfityourkeypriorities.

4.Afterafewmonths,repeattheprecedingthreesteps.Assesswhetheryouaredoingabetterjobofspendingyourtimeoncriticalpriorities.

5.Encourageyoursubordinatestoperformthesesamesteps.

GivingandGettingFeedback

EffectiveLeadersCoachTheirPeopleandActivelySeekCoachingThemselves

Doyoucoachandactivelydevelopyourkeypeople?

Isyourfeedbackspecific,timely,andactionable?

Doyousolicitactionablefeedbackfromyourkeysubordinates?

Doyoucultivateadviserswhoareabletoconfrontyouwithcriticismsthatyoumaynotwanttohear?

Mostexecutivesassertthattalentdevelopmentiscriticaltothesuccessoftheirorganization.While this is certainly true, in realitymany companies and theirleadersoftenperformpoorlyonthiscrucialtask.Thefailureusuallyboilsdowntoafewkeyissues.Firstofall,coachingandevaluationfrequentlygetconfused.Many executives use the year-end evaluation process as the first occasion to“coach”theirsubordinates.Atthesametime,theevaluationprocessistypicallysotime-consumingthattruecoaching—whichshouldhavebeendoneearlierinthe year—gets put off and/or pushed out, and the recipientmay consequentlyarriveatyear-endfeelingsurprised,confused,andfrustrated.Anotherchallengeisthatdespiteall thediscussionoftheneedtogivefeedback,manyexecutivesaren’t verygoodat it and are, as a result, uncomfortablegiving it in a timely,constructive,andactionablefashion.Tocompound thisproblem,asanexecutivebecomesmoresenior,heorshe

mayfeelthattherearenolongerviablepotentialcoachesfromwhomtosolicitadvice. Their superiors (if any) are no longer closely observing theirperformance. As a result, these leadersmay in fact be evenmore starved forfeedbackthantheirownsubordinates.

TakeOwnershipoftheCoachingChallenge

Effective feedback and talent evaluation are critical parts of performancemanagement—andultimately,ofachievingyourvision.This topic isdiscussedextensively in business schools, executive training programs, and the popularbusiness press. There’s good reason for all this focus: the success of mostbusinessesdependson attracting, retaining, anddeveloping talentedpeople, aswell as managing them to achieve key organizational objectives. In order toaccomplish this,youneed toput inplaceeffectiveprocesses forcoachingandevaluatingyourpeople.Companiesunderstandthattheyhavetoevaluatetheirpeople,andmosthave

created systems to do this. Many fewer companies, however, have placedsufficient emphasisoncoaching their people—intensively focusing on helpingthemgetbetterandacceleratingtheirdevelopment.Aportionofthischapterwillfocusontacklingthatkeyissue.Laterinthischapter,we’llconsiderhowanexecutiveshouldgoaboutgetting

feedback. While most executives know they are supposed to give theiremployees coaching,many fewer realize that they also need to take proactivestepstoreceiveit.Inotherwords,I’marguingthattheyneedto“own”thetaskofgoingoutandgettingfeedbackregardingtheirperformance.Manyexecutivesareuncertainandpassiveaboutdoingthis.In addition to the above topics, we will discuss what constitutes effective

feedback.Wewillexplorehowtospotandovercometheobstaclestobeinganeffectivecoach.Wewilladdresshowcriticalit isforexecutivesatalllevelstodevelop effective junior coaches—and how to go about doing this. Last, thischapterwill reviewspecificapproaches tocreatingacultureofownershipandlearning,sothateveryone(atjunioraswellasseniorlevels)understandsthatit’stheir job to get feedback, and their responsibility to overcome the kinds ofobstaclesthatpreventeffectivefeedbackfromtakingplace.

FeedbackasOneofYourPowerfulManagementLevers

Let’s say you’ve done a good job articulating a clear vision with associatedpriorities. Next, you’ve allocated your time so that you can focus on thesecrucialpriorities,andyou’veencouragedyourpeopletodothesame.Howdoesgivingfeedbackfitintothissequenceofactivities?Feedbackisoneofyourmostpowerful levers inmanaging people to execute those priorities. Feedback is a

criticalvehicleforreinforcingprioritiesandcreatingalignmenttohelpachievetheorganization’smission.Coaching, as I define it, is the process of identifying two or three specific

strengths and two or three specific weaknesses in the recipient, and thenidentifying exercises, action steps, and follow-up activities that will help therecipient address the weaknesses and build on the strengths. The weaknessesneedtobespecificandactionable,asopposedtovagueoramorphous.Further,the actionable advice shouldbe focused,whenever possible, on the recipient’saddressable (and objectively observable) skills, versus personal characteristicsthattherecipientmightnotpracticallybeabletoalter.Effectivecoachingtypicallyrequireseitherdirectobservationoftherecipient

(intheworkplace)ordetailedquestioningoftheircolleagues,inordertogathersufficientinformationregardingtherecipient.Itisbestdeliveredinasettingandat a time (i.e., early enough in the year) inwhich the receiver is receptive tohearingitandhastimetoactonit.

CoachingVersusMentoring

When I discuss this subjectwith executives, I often discover that there is realconfusion about the difference between coaching andmentoring. As I see it,mentoring involves giving counseling and, sometimes, career advice to therecipient. It doesn’t necessarily require direct observation or questioning ofcolleagueson thepartof thementor.Mentorscanoftendo their jobbyaskingtherecipientkeyquestionsandthenreactingtowhattheyhear.Is mentoring highly critical and important? It absolutely is. It can help the

recipientgetabettergriponhisorherpassionsandcareeraspirations,andhelpidentify appropriate tactics for reaching his or her goals. Mentors tend to beolder and more experienced, and are therefore in a good position to offerguidancetoyoungerpeople.Mentoring, though, is not the same as coaching and cannot take its place.

Mentoring, done well, takes time. Coaching, done well, often requiressubstantiallymoretime:morework,firsthandobservation,andmoreinsight.Itisalsolikelytoinvolvesomegreaterdegreeofconfrontationandaccountabilityonthepartofbothparties.Typically,itisaniterativeprocessthatrequiresfollow-up by the coach and the recipient. It requires very specific, constructive, andactionablecommunication,versusmorevaguegeneralitiesandobservations.

Letme illustrate with a specific case. The CEO of a large, global diversifiedconglomerate organized an off-site for his senior leadership team in order todiscussanumberofstrategicchallengestheirfirmwasfacing.Hisgoalforthesessionwas tosystematicallydiscuss these issuesand thenagreeonanoverallgameplanforaddressingthem.Heaskedmetoattendandfacilitatethissession.Inthecourseofthemorningsession,thegroupdiscusseditsmostsignificant

frustrations.Severalmentionedthatthecompanyhadasurprisinglyhighfailurerateamongitsyoungandmiddlelevelexecutives.Theycouldn’tfigureoutwhythis was the case. They pointed out that they had a very extensive and“sophisticated”year-endreviewprocess.Inaddition,theyhadabuddysysteminthe company, whereby junior professionals were paired with senior people,usuallyfromanotherbusinessunit.Theywereconvincedthatthisbuddysystemwasagreatmechanismforgivingcareeradviceandothermentoring toyoungexecutives.Iaskedthegroupformoredetailsabouthowyoungandmidlevelexecutives

weregettingcoached.Theyrepeatedthesummaryofthecompany’sevaluationprocess and buddy system. I probed further: “How does someone learn whatthey’redoingright,whattheyneedtoimproveon,andwhatstepstheyneedtotaketomakethoseimprovements?”“Well,” one executive replied, “that naturally happens, informally. I had

several coaches myself when I was growing up in the company. They wereextremelyhelpfultome.”I persisted: “Are executives rewarded for their coaching prowess? Is it a

question on the annual performance review form? How do you know thatcoachingisactuallytakingplace?”On this point, no onewas quite sure.They each thought itwas valued, but

admitted that they might want to do some homework on this question. Theydecidedtoasksomefollow-upquestionsofmid-andjunior-levelleadersaroundthecompanytogetmoreinsightonthisissue.AsubgroupagreedtoreportbacktotheCEOwiththeirfindings.I circled back to the company a couple of weeks later. After investigating

thesequestions,thesubgroupfoundthatactualcoaching(versusmentoringandyear-endevaluation)wasatbestsporadic.Ifyouwereluckyenoughtoworkforabosswhotookaninterestincoachingyou—ascertainseniorleadershadbeen,earlierintheircareers—thenyougotcoached.Theyalsoobservedthatsomeexecutiveswereexcellentcoaches,withatrack

record of producing disproportionately high numbers of subordinates who

eventuallybecamesuccessfulmidlevelandseniorexecutives.Conversely, theyalso found thatmanyof their executiveswerenotgoodcoaches, and that spotsurveysofyoungeremployeessuggestedmanyofthemfelttheywerenotgettingactively coached. In addition, while there was training for many tasks in thecompany,therewasnoformaltrainingonhowtocoachpeople.Uponreflection,thesubgrouprecommendedtotheCEOthatcoachingbeupgradedasapriorityinthecompany.How, specifically, did they accomplish this? First, they added an explicit

question about coaching in the annual performance review process forexecutives. Inaddition, theystartedacompany-sponsored“coachingnetwork,”whereby successful coaches could meet, blog, and otherwise share theircoachingmethodswithcolleagues.Inhisspeechesandemployeemeetings,theCEO began talking frequently and forcefully about the importance of goodcoaching, therebyraisingawarenessof the issue.Finally,hemadesure thatheandhisseniorleadershipteamwerespendingmoreoftheirowntimecoachingsubordinates. TheCEOwas an excellent coach, and his active involvement—whichwaswidely noticed—served as another signal of the importance of theactivity.Icheckbackwithhimonaperiodicbasis,andhetellsmethat,thanksinlarge

parttotheemphasisonimprovedcoachingprocesses,theyaredoingafarbetterjob at cultivating and retaining their promising young executives.He stronglybelieves,moreover,thatthiseffortisimprovingcompanyperformance.

TypicalImpedimentstoGivingFeedback

Allofthismaysoundfairlystraightforward.Coachingisimportant.Identifyingweaknesses, and working on overcoming them, is how individuals andorganizationsgetbetter.Seemsobvious, yes? If that’s true,whydon’t up-and-coming managers, as well as senior leaders, coach more, and coach moreeffectively?Why,eveninthebestofcompanies,doesthefrequencyandqualityofcoachingtypicallyrateverylowinemployeesurveys?One reason is that leaders at many of those companies fail to distinguish

betweencoachingandyear-endevaluation. I think this isanunanticipatedandunfortunateoutcomeofaheightened interest inevaluation in recentyears.Forexample,manycompanieshaveadoptedsomeversionofa360-degreefeedbackreviewprocess,whereby an individual gets feedback frommultipledirections:subordinates, peers, supervisors, even customers and vendors. Most

organizations use this tool primarily for year-end review purposes and otherindividualappraisals.Yes, 360-degree reviews and similar tools have their place in a bigger

developmentalsystem.Manyleaders, though,mistakenlybelieve that theyear-end review is themost appropriate time to also coach the recipient. After all(they reason), thedatahasbeengathered, the reviewer iswellprepared,andaspecifictimehasbeenscheduled.Inaddition,somanyhourshavebeenspentbyseniorprofessionalsfillingoutreviewsonnumerousrecipientsthattheseseniorpeopleareoftenwornoutbytheprocess.Theyfeel that if they’respendingsomuchtimeinlatesummerandfallfillingoutreviews,theycan’tseeallocatinganyadditional timeduring theyear togiving feedback.So—theyreason—let’sjustdothefeedbackatthesametimewedotheyear-endreview!Inmost cases, this is amistake. The year-end review typically represents a

sort of “verdict” for the recipient. It happens far too late in the year for thesesubordinates to take actions that will influence their compensation, reviewrating,and/orpromotionprospects.Theyknowthis,andtheyareinapoorframeofmindtoreceiveandprocessconstructivefeedback,ortodevelopactionstepsthat would help them make improvements. They are often nervous anddefensive.Inmanycases, they’reawarethat theirfamiliesareathomewaitingforaphonecallwithafullreportassoonasit’s“over.”Again,it’sasifthejuryhascomeinwithitsdecision,atwhichpointitisfar

too late for constructive criticism or doovers. If in that year-end review theemployee hears feedback that comes as a surprise, he or she is likely to feelupset, angry, and even betrayedby the reviewer—who, typically, is his or herboss. Inmy experience, subordinateswho get blindsided in a year-end reviewtake that turn of events very, very seriously. The relationship of trust andcommunicationthatneedstoexistinanyeffectiveworkingrelationshipmaybeirreparably damaged. The blindsided subordinate may lose faith in theorganization, get demotivated, and become more open to taking a phone callfrom a headhunter. The ultimate and unwelcome result is sometimes the“surprise”departureofthatsubordinatefromtheorganization.The upshot: coaching is something thatmust occur during the year,well in

advanceoftheyear-endreview.Itshouldbedoneearlyenoughintheyearthattherecipienthastimetoactontheinformationandworktomakeimprovements,sothatheorshecanpositivelyaffecthisorheryear-endperformanceevaluationreview.

NoSurprises

AgoodruleI’vealwaystriedtofollowis“nosurprises”inyear-endperformancereviews.Inotherwords,ifthefirsttimeIhavepresentedaconstructivecriticismto a subordinate is in his or her year-end review, then I have screwed up.Observing this rule helps remind me to stay on top of subordinates’performances during the year and then proactively coach those subordinatesbased on those assessments. In turn, it also helps subordinates feel moreconfidentthattheyworkinanenvironmentthatisfair—andwhiletheymaynotalwayslikethefeedbacktheyget,theycanbeconfidentthatit’sintendedtohelpthemlearnandgrow.Manybestpracticesaredevelopedfromstressfulexperiences.Certainly,many

ofmymoststressfulexperiencesatGoldmanSachsoccurredinconnectionwiththebiannualroundofpartnerpromotions.Ihadmanysuperbsubordinateswhodesperatelywantedtobepromotedtopartnership.TheprocessatGoldmanwashighlycompetitive,withanabundanceoftalentedcandidates.Manycandidateshadattractiveoffersfromotherfirms,butdecidedtostayonatGoldmanbecauseofthefirm’sculture,itscommitmenttoexcellence,and—veryimportantly—theprospectthattheywouldbepromoted.ProbablythemostdifficultthingIhadtodoasamanageratGoldmanwastotellasuperbcandidatethatheorshewasnotgoing to be promoted that year andwould have towait until sometime in thefuture. This was often met with anger, and sometimes even expressions ofbetrayal,dependingonthespecificsofthesituation.Because of the searing nature of these discussions, I learned that it was

absolutelycriticalthatprofessionalsbecoachedearlyintheyear,wellbeforetheyear-endreviewprocess.Thiscoachinghappenedseveraltimesduringtheyearand took the form of a very candid assessment in which we discussed theirstrengths,weaknesses,andpotentialactionsforremediation.Themorebluntandfrequent these discussions, the better. As a result, if a candidate wasdisappointed, I could refer back to coaching discussions we’d been havingduring theyear,whichhadhelped inform the current promotiondecision.Thecoaching history also helped retain the candidate at the firm by laying thefoundationforwhatheorsheneededtodotogetpromotedinthefuture.These promotion experiences, tough as they were, taught me that you are

unlikely tobeable togiveeachofyoursubordinatesall that theymightwant.Youcan,however,helpeachofthemimproveandbetheirbest.Ilearnedthatifyou have aggressively and transparently worked to coach them, you have a

dramatically better chanceof seeing them improve their performance, keepingtheirrespectandtrustinthefaceofbadnews,andhavingthemstayatthefirm.

ItTakesTimetoPrepare

A second reason why managers fail to engage in successful coaching is thatcoaching, done right, takes a lot of preparation—which takes a meaningfulamountoftime.Oneofthemostimportantleadershiplessonsforyoung,newlymintedmanagersisunderstandingtheamountoftimethatisrequiredtoproperlyprepareinordertoeffectivelycoachkeysubordinates.Ioftenhearfromexecutivesthatthey“don’thavetimetocoachpeople.”But

canthatreallybetrue?Presumably,oneofyourmostimportantjobsasaleaderis attracting, retaining, and developing talent. If so, you need to carve out thetimeneeded to focuson thispriority.Thinkabout the timemanagement issuesraisedinthelastchapter.Whatareyoudoinginsteadofcoachingthatisfarlessimportantthancoaching?(Getthatlessimportantactivityoffyourplate.)Ifyouare unable to coach your direct reports, you probably have too many directreports.It’shardtooverstressthispoint:coachingiscentral toyour jobasa leader.

Manyorganizationsfail toholdontokeytalentbecausetheir leaderscomeupshortascoaches.As noted, coaching requires direct observation and/or interviewing key

colleagues to gather information about the coaching recipient.A leader has tomaketimefor this.Whileboardsofdirectorsmayfinditnecessarytocontractout the information-gatheringpartofCEOcoaching—asubject towhichwe’llreturn shortly—amanager should really do this process himself for his directreports. Contributions from outside coaches may go part of the way towardgettingthejobdone,buttheyreallydon’tdischargeyourobligationsasaleader.Your subordinates want to get your feedback. They want to know what youthink, based on your personal observations and conversations with theircolleagues.Afterall:yousettheircompensation,andyoudecidewhetherornottheywillbepromoted.Theyneed,anddeserve,yourfeedback.Manyothertaskscanbedelegated,butnotthisone.Makethetime.

FearofConfrontation

Anotherreasonwhycoachingintheorganizationalsettingissoofteninadequate

is that coaching requires a willingness to confront. Some leaders perform thenecessaryobservations,collecttherelevantdata,anddevelopaclearpictureofthe weaknesses of key subordinates. Yet they can’t bring themselves tocommunicate those weaknesses and suggest corrective action untilcircumstancesforcetheirhand—mostoften,whentheyhavetoexplainwhytheemployee isn’t being promoted, or is receiving an unwelcome compensationsurprise, or (in the most extreme case) is getting fired. Right up until thatmoment, the subordinatemaywellhave likedand respected the seniorperson.After thatpoint,most likely,heor she is furious andhas stopped trustingandrespectingthemoreseniorcolleague.Areyoufearfulthatgivingconstructivefeedbackwillcauseasubordinateto

dislike you? Would you rather be loved right up to the moment that theemployeegetsthebadnews,andthendespised—orconsistentlyrespected?Areyousomehowafraidthatgivingfeedbackwilldemoralizethesubordinate?Whatisholdingyouback?I can honestly say that I have seldom seen a subordinate leave a company

becauseheorshewascoachedtoomuch—aslongasthecoachingwasdoneinaconstructivemanner.On the other hand, I have seenmany subordinates leavebecause they felt theydidn’tgethonest feedbackduring theyear, and stoppedtrustingthefirm’sseniorpeople.Wheredidtheygo?Forthemostpart,theysoughtoutanewplacewherethey

could learn andbe coached.Theydidn’t go looking for aplace thatwouldbeeasier or less confrontational. They sought out an organization whose leaderswouldactinastraightforwardandchallengingway,ratherthantiptoeingaroundkey issues. In these organizations, senior people earned their subordinates’respectandtrustbyhelpingthemfacereality.AyoungexecutivewhowasattendingHarvardforanexecutiveleadershipclasshadrecentlytakenoverthereinsofamidsizebusinessunitatalargeindustrialcompany.Havingheardmegive a talk regarding the importanceof direct andbluntcoaching,shesoughtmeout.“Idon’tthinkIcangivepeoplebadnews,”shebegan.“Ican’ttellthemthat

theyneedtoimproveincertainareas.”“Whynot?”Iasked.“I don’t really know,” she replied, obviously troubled. “Maybe I just fear

confrontation.MaybeIdon’thaveenoughexperience in this job.Also, Idon’tliketoupsetpeople.MaybeIwant toomuchtobeliked?”Shewentontosaythat her relationships with several of her key subordinates had already been

damagedbecauseshecouldn’tbeartoconfrontthemwithcoaching,andinsteadhadsurprisedthematyear-endwithanegativecompensationmessage.Severalaccusedherofbeing“passive-aggressive.”Truthfully—sheadmitted—shewasscared,andconfusedabouthowtodelivereffectivefeedback.Igaveher severalkindsof advice.First, I suggested thatheroverwhelming

desiretobelikedandherfearofconfrontationmighthavedeep-seatedroots.Iencouragedhertoreflectonherlifeexperiencesandtrytothinkaboutwhyshefeared confrontation. If she had a “support team” of close friends and familymembers,thismightbeafruitfulsubjecttodiscusswiththem.Ialsosuggestedthatifshethoughtitwouldbehelpful,consultingapsychologistorpsychiatristmightbeaverypositivemove,andmighthelphertobetterunderstandherselfinthisarea.Perhapsyou’resurprisedtolearnofabusinessschoolprofessorencouraginga

practicingmanagertoconsultamentalhealthprofessional.Don’tbe.Thefactis,many of the biggest impediments to effective leadership lie within.Whateveryoucandotoconfrontanddealwithyourowninnerfearsanddemonsislikelytomakeyoumoreeffective.Ifthere’shelpouttheretobehad,availyourselfofit.Second,Iunderscoredthepointthatnooneenjoysgivingnegativefeedback.

Toreducethestressandovercomeherfears,Irecommended“overpreparing”forthecoachingsession.Thismightinclude,forexample,extensiveinterviewswithcolleaguesoftherecipient.Itmightincludethinkingaboutherdelivery,perhapsevenpracticing in frontofamirror. Itmight include role-playing thecoachingsessionwithatrustedcolleague—arehearsal,ineffect.Finally,Iencouragedhertokeep askingherself the toughquestions that hadbeen impliedby the angryreactions of her subordinates: Do I really want to be thought of as passive-aggressive?Am I really being “nice” bywithholding the kinds of informationthatpeopleneedtoimprovetheirperformance?She reported back to me several weeks later. She took very seriously my

preparation and rehearsal advice. She had just had what she described as aproductivecoachingsessionwithoneofherkeypeople.Atitscompletion,shebegantorealize,tohersurprise,thatshemighthavethepotentialtoeventually“getgoodatcoaching.”Shealsobegantounderstand,moreover, thatveryfewpeoplearebornnaturalcoaches,and thatdevelopmentofgoodcoachingskillsrequireshardwork,preparation,andpractice.

HowDoYouDevelopaLearning/CoachingEnvironment?

Ifyou’reconvincedthatcoachingisacriticallyimportantfunction—atleastasimportant as sales skills, financial skills, communication skills, strategy skills,and the like—thenthenextquestion is,howcanyourcompanytrain itsseniorleaderstobecomemoreeffectivecoaches?Icanpointtofourkeyelements.

PreparationandIncentives

Coaching takes time. Your managers need to know that you believe it isimportant that they take the time during the year to be up to speed on thestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirdirectreports,discusswiththeirsubordinateswhattheycandobetterandactionstoaddressthoseissues,andfollowuponaregularbasistomonitorprogressandgiveadditionaladvice.Excellentcompaniesviewbeingagreatcoachasacriterionforpromotionto

highermanageriallevels,aswellasanimportantdeterminantofcompensation.Think about the feedback you’re giving your key managers regarding theimportanceof theirbeingagoodcoach inyouroverallassessmentof their jobperformance.

Specific,ActionableFeedbackandProposedRemedies

Effective feedback should be very specific and focused on skills. It should beactionable.Itshouldavoidveeringoffintotheadhominem(thatis,apersonalattack),anditshouldsteerawayfrombeingamorphousandvague.Similarly,thefollow-upremediationadviceneedstobespecificandactionable.Toillustratewithabadexample:onepieceofadvicethatprofessionalsoften

hearisthattheyneedto“raisetheirprofile”inthecompany.Honestly,Ihavenoideawhatthismeans.Thistypeofvagueadviceoftencomesfromacoachwhohas “impressions”of the recipient but hasn’t done thehomeworknecessary togive the subordinate actionable feedback. This kind of amorphous advice isconfusing.Worse,itmayactuallydistracttherecipientfromconfrontingthetwoorthreeskillbasedweaknessesheorshereallydoesneedtoaddress.Similarly, telling someone that they acted “stupidly” is not very helpful

feedbackifthey’retryingtodissectwhattheyshouldhavedone,anddeterminewhat they might need to do differently in the future. It risks insulting andupsetting them, without giving them enough specifics to chart a clear pathforward.

Again—specific,clear,andactionable!

UpdatingandFollow-up

Nocompanywould adopt an organizational strategy and then fail to update itovertheyears.Thesameholdstrueforcoaching.Inaveryrealsense,coachingis an effort to help drive the specifics of an individual strategy—it demandsupdatingandfollow-up.Theneedsoftheorganizationchange.Thedreamsofemployeesalsochange.

Subordinatesnotonlywanttobecoachedonhowtosucceedintheircurrentjob,but also want to develop skills that will help them step up to their nextassignment. In order for you to coach effectively, therefore, it helps to have aview onwhat that next assignmentmight be so you can help the subordinatedevelopaccordingly.For example, a great salespersonmaywant to become a salesmanager. To

reach this aspiration, he or she will want to be challenged enough today todevelop the skills necessary to be ready when the sales manager opportunityarises.What’sthevisionforthesubordinate’sfuture,andhowwillwegetthereandonwhatschedule?Whatcoachingandjobassignmentsmightmakesensetohelp thatpersonget there?Howandwhencanwecheck in togaugeprogressagainstthatplan?

CreatingaCultureofOwnership

As a leader, you want it to be everyone’s job to give feedback and seek outfeedback.Whoisresponsibleinanorganizationforfeedback?Iusedtotelleverynew

classofGoldmanSachsassociatesthatitwas100percentthesubordinates’jobto seek out feedback—to know their key strengths and weaknesses, anddetermineactionstepstoaddressthoseweaknesses.Atthesametime,Iregularlytoldeverygroupofmanagersthatitwas100percenttheirjobtogivefeedbacktosubordinates.Was I trying tobe funny?Was I trying tohave itbothways?No.Mypoint

was,andis,thatjuniorpeoplehaveto“own”thechallengeofseekingfeedback,andseniorpeoplehavetoownthechallengeofgivingit.Onlyifbothsideshavethis attitude are you going to create a true learning environment in whicheffective coachingwill occur. In this type of environment, every employee is

investedindevelopment,therearenovictims,andpeoplecanbeconfidentthattheywillhavetheopportunitytogrow,learn,anddevelop.The ultimate goal can’t be that everyone gets promoted or reaches the top

level of compensation. Instead, the goal should be that each professional isafforded the opportunity to reach his or her potential. It is worth striving tocreate the kind of culture in which this can happen. This might include, forexample,celebratinggreatcoaches, telling“warstories”abouthowpeoplegotdeveloped in thecompany, andapplauding someonewhohasmade significantprogresstowardaself-improvementgoalasaresultofseekingoutandreceivingeffectivecoaching.Becausethesetypesofleadership“shout-outs”andanecdotestendtogetcirculatedalloverthecompanyandtakeonalifeoftheirown,theycanhelpyoumakethedesiredpointinapowerfulandfar-reachingway.Whenacompanyisfailingtoachieveitsgoals,thatfailurecanoftenbetraced

to having inadequate people in one ormore key positions.That deficiency, inturn,canoftenbetracedbacktotheinabilityoftheenterprisetoattract,retain,anddevelopkeypeople.Digdeeper, andyoumay find a lackof emphasis oncoachingandcreatinga learningatmosphere in thecompany. It isnoaccidentthat greatcoaching cultures tend to be amagnet for outstanding people.Giveyourselfthatgreatcompetitiveadvantage.

GettingFeedback

It’slonelyatthetop.

We’veallheardtheexpression—sooften,infact,thatithardlyevenregistersinourmindsanymore.RandyNewmanwrotea songabout it.Sooneror later,mostU.S.presidentstalkaboutit.Speakingpersonally, Inever reallyunderstoodwhat lonelyat the topmeant

until I ran a big business. As I became more senior and took on greaterresponsibilities,Ifoundthatpeoplestartedtotreatmeabitnicer,complimentedmemoreeffusively,andbecamemuchmorecarefulaboutwhattheysaidwhentheycameintomyoffice.Atfirst,Ifeltalittleflattered.Overtime,Irealizedtheyweretiptoeingaround

meinawaytheyhadn’tdonebefore.IlearnedthatIhadtomakeamuchgreaterefforttoavoidgettingoutoftouch.Duringmylastthreeyearsatthefirm,whenI sat on the chief executive office floor, I noticed that there was less peopletraffic,itwasalotquieterthanIwasaccustomedto,andwhenpeoplecameto

ourfloor,theywereabitintimidatedandontheirbestbehavior.Irealizedthatithadsuddenlygottenmuch,mucheasierformetogetoutoftouchwithreality.The phrase gained additional resonance forme over the years as I advised

leaders who ran large organizations. A real phenomenon of isolation tends tobeset the leader,withpotentially serious consequences for both the leader andtheorganization.Bythetimeyougetto“thetop,”younodoubthavehonedasetofskillsthat

enable you to be effective at a number of key elements of your job.Unfortunately, unless you take specific corrective actions, you are likely tobecome ever more isolated from bad news. You are likely to hear far lessconstructive feedbackaboutyourownperformance (at leastuntil itbecomesamajorproblem).Youmayunintentionallygiveoff avibe that you reallydon’twanttohearbadnews—particularly,badnewsaboutyou.Asyoubecomemoreseniorand“important,”yourpeoplemaybecomelessandlesslikelytowanttogiveyounewsthatyoumaynotwanttohear.Ifyousitonanexecutivefloorthatisisolatedfromyouroperatingdivisions,

thisproblemislikelytobeexacerbated.ThisphenomenonhappensfrequentlytopeoplewhovisittheWhiteHouse.Eveniftheydisagreevehementlywithoneormore of the current president’s policies, once they step into that OvalOffice,theytendtobepositiveandavoidprovokinganunpleasantexchange.Theyareunderstandablyintimidatedbytherarifiedsurroundingsandthegrandeuroftheoffice.Theyareeagertohaveapositiveexchangeandleavethepresidentwithagoodimpression,asopposedtopressingkeypointsthatmightbeunwelcome.An analogous circumstance arises in business.Lots of people arewilling to

complain to their colleagues about the CEO, and talk aboutwhat the CEO isdoing wrong and should be doing differently. Ironically, many of those samepeopleturntomushwhengiventheopportunitytospeakupdirectlytotheCEO.Why? They want the CEO to have a positive impression of them, and notmakingwaves seems like the safe “default” approach. As a consequence, theleader is often the last to hear constructive criticisms that may be circulatingwidelythroughouttheorganization.Iargue,therefore,thattheleaderhastotakespecificsteps,gotheextramile—

and sometimes, to extraordinary lengths—to get the feedback that he or sheneeds.

ReceivingDownwardFeedback

By the time you are the head of an organization or a major unit within anorganization, you probably are spending very little time with folks who aresenior to you. Your superiors are certainly not observing you firsthand on aregularbasis.Ifyouarespendingtimewiththem,itistypicallynotinthekindsofsettingswheretheycanobserveyouperformingvariousaspectsofyourjob.Instead,it’smorelikelyacaseofyoulisteningtothem,orofyoupresentingtothem in some type ofmeeting.The setting,most often, is a conference room.Most often, there’s an agenda to be followed.Very little occurs in theway ofunscriptedexchange.Theydon’twatchyouconductbusinessand interactwithyoursubordinatesorcustomers.Yoursuperiors,therefore,arenotlikelytolearnmuchaboutyouinthatcontext.Worse,ifyou’reaveryarticulateandpolishedpresenter—asyouprobablyareat thispoint inyourcareer—yourseniorsmaymakeassumptionsaboutyourotherskillsthatarequiteinaccurate.The result?Most likely, the limited feedback that theygiveyou isbasedon

informationfromyourcolleagues,youryearendevaluation,andtheimpressionstheygetofyouinthekindsofstructuredsettingsdescribedabove.Informationtheyhearinthegossipandrumormillsmayalsocomeintoplay.YouarenowinmoreorlessthesamesituationthatIdescribedearlierinthe

chapter, inwhichthesubordinatedoesn’tgetthefeedbackthatheorsheneedsuntil it’s too late. By the time your superior or your board “discovers” issuesaboutyourperformance,itisprobablyaftertheseissueshavemetastasizedintomajor problems.As a result, theremaybe less chance for you to address thatproblem, and a correctableweakness that could have been easily rectified canhaverealandnegativerepercussionsforyouandyourcareer.Manyboardsdon’thaveafirmgriponthestrengthsandweaknessesoftheir

CEOs. The CEOmay be a terrific presenter andmay be very persuasive andcharminginrelationtoboardmembers.Butthesepoliticalskillsmayonlymasksomeofthekindsofperformanceissuesthatoftencomewithbeing“theleader.”Thoseboards thatdon’t haveaneffectiveprocess for trulyunderstanding theirCEOmayfindthattheyhavefewoptionswhenthecompanyrunsintooperatingtrouble,hascomplianceissues,orbeginstolosekeyexecutives.For this reason,many boards insist on a 360-degree review process so that

they become better informed about their CEO’s relative strengths andweaknesses. Sometimes CEOs confide in me that they find this processthreatening;Itellthemtogetoverit.Thiskindofprocess,doneright,canhelpboardmembers realize theCEOneedscoachingandspecifichelp.Rather thanshorteningthecareerofaCEO,itcanprolongit.

ABoardCanTakeGreaterOwnershipofCoachingItsCEO

TheCEOofa large industrialcompanyhad just led theenterprise through thetoughestmonthsoftheeconomiccrisis,andhadmadeanumberofkeystrategicchoicesthatservedasthebasisforadramaticrestructuringofthebusiness.TheboardwasquitepleasedwiththeCEOandverysupportiveofhisactions.At the same time, several of the boardmemberswere hearing (directly and

indirectly)significantnegativefeedbackregarding the“leadershipstyle”of theCEO.Forexample,akeycustomerof thefirmreachedout toaspecificboardmembertosaythattheiraccountcoveragepersonhadcomplainedaboutaseveredeteriorationinthecultureofthecompany.TheywentontosaythatthewordonthestreetwasthattheCEOwasdomineering,haddevelopeda“crony”systemamong senior leaders, andwasaverypoor listener.Otherboardmembershadheardsimilarfeedbackoutsidethecompany.Afewothershadbeenapproachedby senior company executives who also wanted to complain (off the record)abouttheleadershipstyleoftheCEO.Theboarddidnothaveinplacea360-degreefeedbackprocessfortheCEO.

They did conduct an annual review of his performance,which focused on hissuccess at achieving certain key operating and strategic metrics—return onequity,stockpriceperformance,marketsharedata,andseveralothers.TheCEOdid not have a coach and instead had identified two board members as his“mentors.”TheseboardmemberstriedtoactasasoundingboardfortheCEOand,towardthatend,haddinnerwithhimonceeveryquarter.Thissituationposedarealdilemmafortheboard.Theboardaskedmetogive

themadviceattheirnextregularlyscheduledmeeting.Atthisboardmeeting,wediscussedthelimitationsof“mentoring”andthefactthattheCEOreallyneededacoach.Thiswouldnotbeeasy,because theboardcouldn’tobservehimonadailybasisandtherewasnotasysteminplacethatcollectedfeedbackonhim.Theydidn’twanttodoanythingtounderminetheCEO,andyettheyalsowerekeenlyawareoftheirobligationtocoachhim,aswellastoultimatelyevaluatehisoverallperformance.For starters, in the very near term, they agreed that theywanted him to get

coaching. After all, he was a first-time chief executive, and it wasunderstandable thatheneeded togetmore feedback regardinghow todevelophis leadership style.Heneeded tohear this feedback inanorganizedwayandthentakestepstoworkontherelevantissuesthatcametolight.After themeeting, the board raised the issuewith theCEO.Theymutually

agreedtohireanoutsidecoachwhowouldworkwithhim.TheywiselydecidedtoseparatethecoachingprocessfromtheCEOevaluationprocess.Itwasagreedthat, for this first year, the feedback from the coach would be strictly fordevelopmental purposes rather than for performance evaluation. They alsoagreed that, in the subsequent year, they would install a 360-degree reviewsystem that would give the board information they could incorporate into theexecutive’syear-endevaluation/review.Twoweekslater,theyselectedanexcellentoutsidecoach,andheproceededto

havehisfirstmeetingwiththeCEO.Afterthismeeting, thecoachinterviewedtwentyorsokeyemployeeswhointeractedfrequentlywiththeexecutive.Eachparticipant was assured that his or her feedback would be taken on aconfidential,“nonames”basis.Aftergatheringthefeedback,theoutsidecoachthen reviewed itwith theCEO and then, separately,with the chairman of theboardplus twootherboardmemberswhohadbeen selected tobepart of thisprocess.ThefeedbackhighlightedanumberofmanagementstyleissuesthattheCEO

agreedheneededtoworkon.(Heappearednottoresentthecomments,althoughheadmittedthathewassurprisedbyanumberofthem.)Thecoachworkedwithhimonaction steps to address these issues, and the threeboardmembers alsogavetheiradviceonactionstheCEOmighttaketoaddresstheseissues.Allinall, it proved to be a very constructive process, and the CEO was highlymotivatedtoimproveinthehighlightedareas.Herealizedthatheneededtodoabetter job being in touch with his people in order to solicit feedback moreproactively.Theboard,too,changeditsways.Inretrospect,theyrealizedthattheyhadnot

focused enough on coaching and that the relatively unstructured mentoringprocess that had been set up with the CEO was insufficient. In light of thisexperience, they realized the vital importance putting a coaching process inplace.

ProactivelyTakingStepstoReceiveUpwardFeedback

As described earlier, it’s difficult to get top-down feedback at senior levels,mainlybecauseyoursuperiorsgetsolittleexposuretoyou.Ontheotherhand,unless you are truly isolated, a number of your key subordinates get theopportunitytoseeyouinactiononaregularbasis.Iftheyareadiversegroup,they are likely to have a wide range of opinions regarding your weaknesses.

Most likely, they also have ideas about the kinds of remedial actions that youshouldtaketoaddressthoseweaknesses.Some people find this notion threatening—the idea that there is a group of

subordinates out there with a bead on their shortcomings as leaders—but Iencourageyoutothinkofthisgroupasoneofyourgreatestresources.The problem, of course, is that while these folks represent an enormous

reservoirofpotentiallyvaluablefeedback,youhavetotakeproactivestepstogetthat feedback early and often.Otherwise, the first time you hear itmay be inyouryearendreview,whichisbasedontheir360-degreefeedback.(Toolate!)Unlessyoursubordinateshaveaprofessionaldeathwish,theyarequiteunlikelyto want to confront you with constructive criticism. As a result, one of yourchallenges is to findways toget that feedback—probably through soliciting it(orpryingitoutofthem)inanappropriatemanner.Outstandingexecutiveslearnhowtohavetheseconversationsandgetthisvaluablefeedback.Inmyexperience,thisisnotaneasytask,atleastinitially.Firstofall,itneeds

tobedoneone-on-one,versusinagroup.Juniorpeoplearenotgoingtobeopenintheircriticismsofyouinfrontofothers.Inaone-on-onemeeting,youhavethebestchancetoconvincethepersontolevelwithyou.Eveninaone-on-one,itwilltakesomepracticetolearnhowtoelicithelpfulcomments.WhenIfirstaskasubordinateforconstructivefeedback,theytendtobeginby

tellingmethatI’mdoing“verywell”onall fronts.WhenIfollowupandask,“Well,what should I be doing differently?” they respond, “Nothing that I canthinkof.”IfIchallengethembysaying,“Hey—theremustbesomething!”stilltheytendtosay,“No,really;nothingcomestomind.”Ithenaskthemtositbackandthinkalittlemore.“Wehaveplentyoftime,”I

say.Anawkwardsilencetendstoensue.Beadsofsweatstartappearingontheirforehead.Theyareprobablythinking,“Oh,mylord,thisguyisreallyserious—whattheheckamIsupposedtosaynow?”At thatpoint, insomecases, they look like they’reabout tospeak,and then

stopthemselves.Ithenusuallyhavetoask,“Whatwereyouabouttosay?Pleasegoonandsayit!”Atthismoment,theytypicallythrowoutsomethingthatthey’vebeenthinking

buthavebeenafraidtosay.That“something”isoftendevastating—becauseitisafundamentalcriticism,becauseIknowit’saccurate,andbecauseIrealizethatmanypeopleintheorganizationprobablyhavethesameobservation.Ouch!Ifyouhaveevergonethroughthisprocessyourself,youknowthatyou

needtomaintainyourcomposure,sincerelythankthatpersonfortheirfeedback,

and then call a close friend or loved one to askwhether this criticism soundsaccurate.Most likely, theywillpauseandsay,“Well,yes, thatdoes sound likeyou.”OK,soyounowhaveanagendaitemtoworkon.Youneedtotakestepsto

address thisweakness—which you almost certainly can do if you are open toimproving yourself. The good news is that in my experience, I find that 90percentof thebattle isgetting the feedback.Onceyou realize thatyouhaveaspecificweakness,youcanalmostcertainlyfindwaystoaddressitandimprove.Sometimeafterthisinteraction,makeapointofseekingoutthatbravetruth-

tellingsubordinate,thankthem,andcommunicatethatyouareworkingonstepsto address theweakness that they identified. Furthermore, tell the subordinatethat youmight like to followupwith them in the future to get their feedbackregardingwhether theybelieve thatyou’vemadeprogress.Thiswillbehighlymotivating to the subordinate, who will realize that they have had a realinfluenceonthecompany.Mostlikely,thatstoryanditsaftermathwillcirculatearound the company throughword ofmouth. In the future, that junior person(and others like them) may be willing to come to your office and give youadvice,iftheyseesomethingthatyoumightbeabletodobetter.This,too,getsaroundthecompany.You’renotdoing this tobepopularor tobe“seen” tobeasking foradvice.

You’redoingitbecauseitgivesyouanearlywarningsystemforimprovingyourperformance.Havingseenthisexperiencerepeatednumeroustimes—andhavingbeen through it myself—I offer the following advice: cultivate a group ofindividual subordinate coaches with whom you meet one-on-one on someregular schedule to solicit honest feedback.Almost certainly, youwill need toconvincethemthatyoutrulywantthisfeedback,andthattheyaremorelikelytoadvancetheircareersbyflaggingissuesandproblemstoyouthanbyonlygivingyou“happytalk.”If youact on their advice, assuming it’s on target and appropriate, thiswill

reinforcetheirbehaviorandsendastrongmessagetoothersthatyouarealeaderwhowantstohearthetruthinordertoimproveyourselfandthebusiness.Ifyouare sincere about receiving constructive criticism, and highly motivated tocontinue learning and improving, subordinates and colleagues will gravitatetowardwantingtohelpyou.Whenthisculturedevelops,subordinateshelpyouidentifyandaddressissues

beforetheybecomedamagingtoyourcompanyoryourcareer.Theyhelpyou,personally,adapttochangesintheenvironment,andtheyhelpyouidentifyareas

inwhich the companymaybeoutof alignment and thereforevulnerable.Youbecomealotlesslonelyatthetop.Of course, this approach requires you to be open to learning, adapting, and

hearingconstructivefeedback.Itrequiresyoutokeepyouregoincheck,andtosuppress theveryhuman impulse to conclude—now that you’re in that corneroffice—thatyounolongerneedtolearnanything.Trustme:youdo.Wealldo.

ACultureofLearning

As an executive and an adviser, I have always been interested why certaincompaniesinanindustrysucceedandothersfail—oratleast,performatalowerlevelof success.Often, theyhave thesamestrategies,hire thesamecaliberofpeople, andexhibitother similarities. Ibelieve thatonekeydifference iswhattheydowiththeirtalentedpeopleoncetheyjointhefirm.Inthemostsuccessfulenterprises,thereisacultureoflearning,inwhichall

professionals,regardlessoflevel,aredoingtheirbesttoimproveandultimatelyreachtheirtruepotential.Theleadersoftheseenterpriseshelpmakethishappenbysettingexpectations,providingtraining,andchallengingeachprofessionaltotake ownership of getting coaching—and at the same time, challenging thosesame professionals to take ownership of giving coaching. Executives in theseorganizationsseemtobebetterthantheirpeersatproducingleaders,minimizingunwantedturnover,andgettingthemostfromtheirscarcepeopleresources.Howyouanswerandactonthequestionsposedat theoutsetofthischapter

will go a long way in determining whether your organization has the skillsnecessarytoachieveitsvisionandaccomplishkeypriorities.That’salsowhy,intermsofyourtimemanagement,thisisoneareathatyoumustmakespacefor.While some coaching processes can be delegated to others, responsibility forcoachingyourdirectreportsfallsonyou—youownit!Inthenextchapter,wewilltakethisastepfurther.Acriticalpreconditionto

effective succession planning, and its resulting benefits, is the development ofstrong talentdevelopmentprocessesandacultureofcoaching.Success in thisareawillhelpensurethatyouaredevelopingapipelineofoutstandingtalenttofillkeyleadershipjobs,whichinturnwillbeessentialtoyourownsuccessasaleaderofyourorganization.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Foreachofyourdirectreports,writedownthreetofivespecificstrengths.Inaddition,writedownatleasttwoorthreespecificskillsortasksthatyoubelievetheycouldimproveoninordertoimprovetheirperformanceandadvancetheircareers.Allocatetimetodirectlyobservingtheirperformance,anddiscreetlymakeinquiriestogatherinformationandinsightsinordertopreparethisanalysis.

2.Scheduletimewitheachsubordinate,atleastsixmonthsinadvanceoftheyear-endreview,todiscussyourobservationsandidentifyspecificactionstepsthatcouldhelpthemimproveandaddresstheirdevelopmentalneedsandopportunities.

3.Writedownarealisticlistofyourownstrengthsandweaknesses.Makealistofatleastfivesubordinatesfromwhomyoucouldsolicitfeedbackregardingyourstrengthsandweaknesses.Meetwitheachsubordinateindividuallyandexplainthatyouneedtheirhelp.Inyourmeetings,makesuretoaskthemtogiveyouadviceregardingatleastoneortwotasksorskillstheybelieveyoucouldimproveon.Thankthemfortheirhelp.

4.Writedownanactionplanforaddressingyourownweaknessesanddevelopmentalneeds.Ifyouhaveadirectsuperior(ortrustedpeer),considersolicitingadviceregardingyourdevelopmentalneedsandpotentialactionsteps.Dependingonyoursituationandlevelintheorganization,considertheoptionofhiringanoutsidecoach.

5.Encourageeachofyourdirectreportstofollowthesesamestepsregardingtheirdirectreportsandthemselves.

SuccessionPlanningandDelegation

OwningtheChallengeofDevelopingSuccessorsinYourOrganization

Doyouhaveasuccession-planningprocessforkeypositions?

Haveyouidentifiedpotentialsuccessorsforyourjob?

Ifnot,whatisstoppingyou?

Doyoudelegatesufficiently?

Haveyoubecomeadecision-makingbottleneck?

Oneofthecriticalrolesofaleaderis“gettingtherightpeopleintherightseats.”Put another way, attracting, retaining, and developing talented people—andappropriatelydeploying them in importantpositions—isvital to the successofmost organizations. If you’re going to achieve your vision and executemajorpriorities at a high level of excellence, you need to have developed the talentnecessarytogetthejobdone.Succession planning, combined with effective evaluation and coaching

programs, is the next critical task you must undertake in order to build yourorganization and succeed in your own job. Let me sharpen this point a stepfurther: an essential responsibility of an outstanding leader is to developpotentialsuccessorsforkeypositions.Youmustownthisresponsibility.

FailuretoDevelopSuccessorsOftenLeadstoBroaderIssues

MostofthebusinessleadersIspeakwithnodtheirheadsenthusiasticallywhenItalkaboutthispriority.Afewhavegivenmesomecombinationofanodandashrug,perhapsimplyingthatthisstrikesthemasself-evident:ofcourseIbelievethatattracting,retaining,anddevelopingpeopleisimportant!

Andyet,whenIdigalittledeeper,itturnsoutthatmanyofthesesameleadershavenotsetupasuccessionplanforkeypositionswithintheircompany.Theyfailtorecognizethatmanyofthe“burningissues”theyhavecometospeakwithme about ultimately relate to their failure to develop potential successors ingeneralandfortheirownjobinparticular.Thisfailuretypicallycreatesaseriesof other problems in their organizations, which are symptomatic of theirdeficiencies in managing talent. So why don’t these executives see this issuemore clearly andpress themselvesharder toupgrade their performance in thisarea?Aswithanumberofotherstraightforwardconceptsinthisbook,itisaloteasiertotalkaboutthantoaccomplish.

ARoadMap

Inthischapter,wewilllookatthecriticalimportanceofsuccessionplanningandtherelatedissueofeffectivedelegation.Wewilldiscusstherealcostsoffailingto develop appropriate successors. Inmy experience, if you haven’t identifiedpotentialsuccessorsforkeyjobs—includingyourjob—itisverylikelythatyouarealsonotdelegatingsufficientlyandareprobablyasignificantbottleneckforkey decisions. As a result, you may be experiencing real constraints in yourabilitytorunyourbusinessunitorbuildasuperbcompany.Outstanding people tend to abandon a work environment in which they

believe they are not being groomed for greater responsibility through a well-plannedseriesofkeyjobassignmentsandeffectivecoaching.Thelossofthesehigh-potential people is the functional equivalent of throwing large sums ofmoney (think stacks of $1,000 bills) out the window of your office—notsomethingyouwouldknowinglydo!You’llnoticethat inthischapter,Iwilldiscusssuccessionplanningfirstand

delegationsecond.Why?Inordertoachieveyourvisionandtoppriorities,youneed to delegate several critical tasks. The succession-planning process helpsinformyour thinkingabout the individuals towhomyoushouldbedelegating.Youneedtodecide towhomyou’regoing toassignresponsibilitiesbeforeyouactuallystarttodelegate.Toooften,leadersgiveupondelegatingbecause,initially,itdoesn’tseemto

go very well. This is usually because they have not first identified their besttalent, and then matched key assignments with capabilities and developmentaspirationsofthosetalentedindividuals.Theseleadersdon’tseetheconnectionbetweensuccessionplanninganddelegation.

Onceexecutivesembrace the ideaof successionplanningand implementaneffective process, theymore confidently embrace the idea of delegatingmuchmore extensively and effectively. In addition, they tend to follow up thisdelegationwithmuchmore targeted coaching and advice. They also begin toconnect achieving their own aspirationswith doing a better job of successionplanninganddelegation.Thisisnotnecessarilyaneasyroadtofollow.Thereareseveralimpediments

and red flags to bewaryof and towork to counteract.We’ll explore someoftheseissuesinthenextseveralpages.

DangerSign:ALeadership“TeamofCronies”

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin described Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet as a“team of rivals” and explored the tensions and outcomes associated withLincoln’scourageous(andsometimescounterintuitive) leadershipstyle.1Manyexecutiveshavetakennoteofandlearnedfromthishistoricalexampleofstrongleadership.On the other hand, all too often, corporate leaders take a differentpathandfallintothetrapofassemblinga“teamofcronies.”Whywould theymake that choice?Many leaders have spent years getting

intotheircurrentjob,andtheycertainlydon’twanttogiveitup.Consciouslyorunconsciously, theythinkoftalentedsubordinatesasaneventualthreattotheirownjob.Inthesecases,theleadersknowintellectuallythattheorganizationwillbe stronger if they develop potential successors, but a deep-seated insecurityoverwhelmsthisintellectualunderstanding.Unfortunately, I’ve observed several companies in which the leaders are

determined to keep their job for as long as possible, and have absolutely nodesire to truly develop diverse talent that could potentially threaten them. Insome cases, surprisingly, these leaders are the CEOs; in other cases, they areyoungerbusinessunitheadswhohopetosomedaybecomeCEO.Thesepeopletend to have some degree of insecurity about their current jobs, and theycertainlydon’twant to take any actions thatmightmake them feel evenmoreinsecure.Theymaymakeashowoftalkingaboutsuccessionplanningandtalentdevelopment.Theymayevenimplementsomesortofsuccessionprocess,butona consistent basis, they promote key lieutenants who are loyal to thempersonally, with whom they’ve worked previously, and who share viewpointsverysimilartotheirown.Iftheyarechallengedaboutthispattern,theycarefullyexplainthatotherseeminglymoretalentedsubordinatesaresimplynotasgood

asthefolkstheyhavechosen.Andsotheyhunkerdownanddigin.Theygiveoffapowerful“donotenter”

vibe to highly talented subordinates and colleagues who are not part of theirclique. Unfortunately, the result is that they often (intentionally orunintentionally) drive awaykey talent from theorganization; create leadershipteamsthatareloyaltothempersonally,ratherthantothecompany;anddevelopdebilitatingblindspotsand judgmentgapsdue to thecollectivedeficienciesoftheirseniorleadershipteam.Itnormally takesacrisisofsomekindtohighlight thesejudgmentgaps.By

the time the crisis occurs, itmaybe too late to fix the situationand lurebackdesperatelyneededtalentthathaslongsincedeparted.Asaresult,thecompanymaysuffersevereandlong-termdamage.Inapubliccompany,it’sthejobofseniorleadershipand,ultimately,theboard

of directors to monitor for this type of issue and to ensure that transparentsuccession processes take place. Regular job rotations—aimed at breaking upcliques,amongothergoodoutcomes—arealsohelpful in thisregard.Butmosthelpfulisavoidingcliquesandcronyisminthefirstplace,bycultivatingleaderswho are committed to cultivatingmore great leaders based on merit and anopennesstodiversepointsofview.

“WeJustDon’tHaveEnoughTalentedPeople!”

Ioftenmeetwithleaderswhoarestrugglingtomatchtheirtimewiththeirkeypriorities.Theyaredoingtoomuchbythemselves,workingconstantly,andcan’tseemtofocusonthekeyissuesfacingthecompany.WhenIaskwhytheyaren’tdelegating some of their less critical tasks to promising subordinates, theyrespond that they would love to, but unfortunately, their company has a“shortageoftalent.”Typically,theCEOorbusinessunitleaderthengoesontoexplainhowdifficultithasbeentoattract,retain,anddevelopcriticaltalent.Thisisadangerousandunhealthysituationforallpartiesinvolved—andit’s

potentiallymost damaging to the leader who is in charge. If you are in thisposition—if you can’t find talented subordinates to whom you can hand offsignificant managerial responsibilities—then one of two things is likely to betrue:

1.Yourperceptioniscorrect.Thereisatalentdeficitinyourorganization.

2.Yourperceptionisincorrect.There’snolackoftalentinyour

organization,butyouaren’tusingiteffectively.

In the first case, you need to address the situation immediately—in otherwords,gooutandinterviewandhirekeytalent.Youalsoneedtodeterminewhyyour organization is not developing better-quality talent within. Is there aproblemwithentry-levelrecruiting?Areyoulosingtalentedrecruitsbeforetheyget seasoned enough to become leaders? Is there a problem with the careerdevelopment and skill development processes in your company?Are you andyourseniorleadersfailingtotrackthebesttalentintheorganizationorfailingtoattendtotheirjobassignments,careertrajectory,andcoachingneeds?As you’re doing this, you also need to keep in mind that the second

explanationmight alsobe correct.Perhapsyouneed to look in themirror andfigureoutwhetheryou (amongothers)aresimplynot recognizingandvaluingresidenttalent.Isitsittingthererightunderyournose?

A major division head of a large company was concerned about what sheperceivedtobeatalentdeficitinherorganization.Shefeltthatshecouldnotuseher time to the fullest, because she viewed her direct reports as incapable ofassuming someof hermajor responsibilities. She also believed that this talentdeficit was keeping the company from launching several new product andmarketinitiatives.Shepulledouther“depthchart”oftalent,whichdetailedallherdirectreports,aswellastheirdirectreports.Iwentthroughthenameswithher and askedher about the suitability of several of the executives for greaterresponsibility. Shewas complimentary of several, but still conveyed a certainmeasureofambivalenceabouteachofthem.As our conversations continued over the next three months, two of the

subordinateswhomwehadbeendiscussingquit.Eachlefttoassumeincreasedresponsibilities at amajor competitor. In both cases, the division leader (withhelpfromtheCEO)triedfuriouslytopersuadethedepartingindividualtostay,emphasizingthatshewasactivelyconsideringthatpersonforasignificantnewleadership assignment. Unfortunately, neither of the departing executivesbelievedher.Theyhad seennoevidenceup to thatpoint that theywerebeinggroomedorcoachedforincreasedresponsibilitiesandwerethereforejustifiablyskeptical about the eleventh hour retention pitch. As a consequence, eachdecidedtoleavethefirm.Inthewakeoftheirdepartures,thedivisionleaderwastrulydevastated,and

herCEOwasopenlyexpressingconcernsaboutthisexecutive’sabilitytoattract

and retainkey talent. Inotherwords, analreadychallenging situationhad justgottenfarworse.This traumawassufficient tocause thedivisionhead toseekadvice,andmotivateher todosomeproductivereflectionandanalysis.Aswetalkedthroughwhathadjusthappened,sherealizedthat,priortothedefections,shereallyhadnotidentifiedtheseindividuals(oranyoneelse)ashigh-potentialleaders.Asaresult,shefailedtoputincreasedresponsibilitiesintheirhandsanddidnotactivelyratchetuphercoachingofthem.Sheadmittedthatinthecrushofdailyeventsandthestrainofkeepingupwiththebusiness,shehadn’tcarvedoutthetimetotrulygettoknowthemandaccuratelyassesstheirpotential.Sherealizednowthatshehadunderestimatedthecapabilitiesofthesetwoemployees—andthatshewasprobablyunderestimatingtheabilitiesofseveralothersinherdivision.I encouraged her to sit down and make a list of potential “stars” in the

division. She then blocked out time to spend with each of them individually.Priortothesemeetings,shepulledouttheirpersonnelfilesinordertoreadtheirhistorical performance reviews, job assignment histories, and backgrounds. Inthemeetingswiththeseindividuals,sheaskedseveralquestionstomakesureher“picture”of themwasuptodate,andalsoencouragedthemtotalkabouttheircareeraspirationsandgoals.Asaresultofallthis,sheworkedoutacareerandresponsibilitygameplanfor

eachperson.Sheusedthisplan,inturn,tocreateadraftsuccessionplanforthetoppositionsinherdivision.Whileshewasquiteheartenedbythisprocess,shealso candidly admitted that she probably hadwaited far too long to undertakethisexercise.Onapositivenote,shesubsequentlypresentedthissuccessionplanto the company’s CEO, who was so impressed that he suggested themethodologyberolledoutacrosstheentirefirm.

SuccessionPlanning:ALeadershipTool

Inmostcases, there isanucleusof talent in theorganization—but itmaynothavebeenfullytappedinto.Awell-developedsuccession-planningprocesscanbeanextremelyhelpfuldisciplineinidentifyingthatpooloftalent,assessingit,andthenmatchingitwithkeyneedsofthebusiness.Theprocessleadstoaskinganumberofveryconstructivequestions, startingwith, “Is there someoneherewhocantakemyplace?”Iftheanswerisno,thenextquestionis,“ShouldIhireasearchfirmtolookoutsidethecompany,inordertorecruitthecaliberoftalentthatcouldeventuallytakemyjob?”

Iftheanswertothatfirstquestionisyes—therearepotentialsuccessors—thenthenextquestionsshouldbe,“AmIspendingenoughtimeunderstandingthesepeople’s aspirations and generally getting to know them better? Should I bedelegatingmoremindfully to each talented person, raisingmy expectations ofthem,andcoachingthemmoreintensively,soIcandevelopthemmorerapidlyat the same time that I’m testing their capabilities?Do Ineed tomoveoneormore of them into the first of a planned series of key assignments to helpdeveloptheirskills?2Ifyoudecidetodothis,notonlywillthesubordinates’performanceimprove,

but your own performance will improve, as well. As you’re making thingsexplicit and comprehensible to each individual, key priorities are likely to beperformedatamuchhigherlevel.You’reraisingthebarbothforthatpersonandfor yourself, because the teacher always learns something from the talentedstudent.Hopefully, youhave spotted at least twoor threepeople in theorganization

whoarepotential successors toyou.Youdon’tneed to inform themexplicitlythat they are “successors,” but if you follow a plan of giving them moreresponsibility and coaching, those two or three promising younger people arelikelytocontributemoretotheorganizationandbeevenmoremotivatedtodotheirbest.Bysodoing,theywilldramaticallyimproveyourabilitytoperformatyourbest.Think back to what I said earlier about some senior people being overly

anxious about developing potential successorswho could inadvertently hastentheirowndeparture.Inmostcases,thatscenariosimplydoesn’tplayout.Ifyouperform better, your organization will perform better, and your tenure andlongevityaremorelikelytobeextended.Stated another way, you, as a leader, should be more concerned about the

scenario in which you don’t develop successors. Great companies rewardbusinessunitleaderswhodeveloptalentedsubordinateswhocaneventuallytaketheirplace.Conversely,theyarereluctanttopromotebusinessunitleaderswho,given sufficient time in their jobs, fail to develop talented subordinates intopotentialsuccessors.

TheResponsibilityofEveryLeader

During my career at Goldman Sachs, we put enormous effort into attracting,retaining, and developing talent. I was taught that succession is a critical

responsibility of every leader, and I communicated that to each of my directreports. We had a well-developed succession-planning process, and we hadregularcareerdevelopmentdiscussionsthatfocusedonjobassignments,careerpotential,andthecoachingneedsofup-and-comingtalent.Whenwesetouttofill leadership openings, we almost always began with a review of internalcandidates.Whenwe identified agreat internal candidate for abigger job,wesimultaneously discussed whomight take that person’s place if and whenwepromotedthem.On occasion, we would discover that the candidate in question had not

developedasubordinatewhowascapableoftakinghisorherplace.Whenthatprovedtobethecase,wewoulddigabittoseewhythiswasso.Ifwefoundthisperson had a history of failing to develop subordinates, then that was oftensufficientreasonnottopromotethem.Whywouldwewanttoputsomeoneinabigger job, with even more at stake, when that person hadn’t been able todeveloptalentinhisorhercurrentposition?Whensomeonewasdeniedapromotion for this reason, it tended tomakea

searing impression on that individual. It also helped reinforce the corporateculture, which was underpinned by the conviction that developing talent is acentralcontributortobuildingastronger,moresuccessfulfirm!

ABenefitofaStrongSuccessionProcess:CreatingOneFirm

Aclearsuccessionprocesshelpsteachexecutiveshowtothinkaboutdevelopingtalent. It gives senior leadership the opportunity to coach the next level ofleadership on this subject and also assess the company’s talent on anorganization-widebasis.Forexample:ifabusinessunitleader,afterhonestlyappraisinghistalentpool,

believeshehasashortageoftalent,heneedstoinitiateaplantosearchwithinthecompany—or,ifnecessary,outsidethecompany—inordertobuildareserveof talent. Conversely, if a business unit leader has a surplus of potentialsuccessors, oneormoreof these folks canbe transferred to leadership jobs inanother part of the company as those jobs openup.This process helps ensurethatgreatpotentialexecutivesdon’tget“trapped” inaparticularbusinessunit,andthattheentirecompanygetsthebenefitoftalentdevelopment.In strong companies, there are invariably certain leaders who consistently

developgreattalent.Ifyouexaminehowtheyaccomplishthis,you’relikelytofindthattheyaregoodrecruiters,goodcoaches,andextremelythoughtfulabout

how they assign jobs to their best people.You’re also likely to find that thesepeoplethinkoftheorganizationfirstandofthemselvessecond.Theyovercometheirowninsecuritiesandputtheirenergyintomakingtheirorganizationbetter.In my experience, great companies and nonprofits are almost always builtaroundthesetypesofpeople.Theyshouldberewarded,promoted,andheldupasrolemodelswithintheenterprise.

HowtoDevelopaSuccession-PlanningCulture

Let’sgetmoreconcreteabouthowyouandyourcompanycandevelopaculturebasedoneffectivesuccessionplanning.I’llpointtofourspecificactionsyoucantake; most likely, you and your colleagues will discover other steps that arerelevanttoyourparticularcircumstances.

CreateaDepthChart

Asdiscussedearlier, thiscanbeverysimpleandstraightforward.The relevantbusinessunitleaders(includingyou)shouldlistthekeyjobpositionsthatreportdirectlytothem.Foreachofthesepositions,thebusinessleadershouldcreateacorrespondinglistofthosepeoplewho,withinareasonableperiodoftime,couldcredibly do the job. For each candidate, it is helpful to have up-to-datebiographical information; an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, anddevelopmental needs; and a summary of expressed career aspirations. Thisanalysis should be updated and then reviewed by company leadership on anannualorsemiannualbasis.Atypicaloutcomeofthesereviewsisthecreationofa developmental action plan for each candidate as well as other steps, whichmightincludeadecisiontorecruitadditionaltalentfromoutsidethecompany.There’snooneformatthatadepthchartneedstofollow.Muchdependsonthe

sizeandcomplexityofyourorganization. I’veseenadepthchart thatwas twosides of a single sheet. I’ve also been in a large windowless room at thecorporateheadquartersofamid-westernconsumergoodsgiantthathadamapoftheworldcoveringthreeofitsfourwalls,withlittletagsrepresentinghundredsofmanagersatall ranks,color-codedto indicatefunction,education,skillsets,expressedcareerpathinterests,andsoon.Theexecutivesreferredtothisroomas the“war room.”Whenevera jobaboveacertain level lookedas if itmightsoon be opening up, a senior team unlocked the door to the war room, wentinside,andbeganexaminingtags,withaviewtomovingthemonthisboard.

Thismightbeoverkillforallbutthebiggestcompanies,butyouseethepoint:thedepthchartissomethingtotakeveryseriously.Youshouldaskeachofyourbusinessunit leaders toown thisprocessofanalysis for their specificareasofresponsibility.Thistopicshouldbeanestablishedpartofyourregularbusinessreview sessionswithdirect reports.Effective executionof this effortwill helpensureeffectivedevelopmentanddeploymentofyourpeople, and shouldbeavitalcontributortoyoursustainedsuccess.

DeviseaCareerDevelopmentPlan

Youshouldcomeupwithacareerdevelopmentplanforeachpotentialsuccessorto a key job in the organization. This plan should detailwhowill “own” thisperson’scareerbyservingashisorhercoach(andpotentiallyaskingforthehelpof others to also help coach the person), as well as a list of potential jobassignments that would help develop this individual. This could be somecombinationofanewbusinessunit,functional,and/orgeographicassignment.Theseplansneedtobediscussedandupdatedonaregularbasis.Thisshould

not be a pro forma exercise, and plans should not be allowed to get stale. Itshouldbetheresponsibilityofeachbusinessunit leadertoupdatethisplanforeachofhisorherdirectreports.

ReviewandFollowUp

Hold succession planning meetings with your key business unit leaders on asemiannual or annual basis.Followup tobe sure coaching responsibilities arebeing fulfilledwell inadvanceof theyear-end review—seechapter3—so thatthe recipient has plenty of time and an action plan to work on his or herweaknesses and development needs. A well-thought-out series of jobassignments should be updated,with a view towarddeveloping the person forgreaterresponsibility.Makesurethatdevelopingkeytalentisanevaluationelementintheyear-end

reviews,compensation,andpromotionprocessesatyourorganization.

BeaRoleModelforTalentDevelopment

Make sure you are serving as a rolemodel for this activity. Some significantportionofyourtimeshouldbespentonidentifyingtalent,coachingkeypeople,

andcraftingthoughtfuljobassignmentsforyourdirectreports.Thinkabouthowyoucanmakeyourcommitmentvisible.Makesureyouare

participatinginimportantsuccessionplanningandtalentreviewmeetings.Yes,thisisimportantworkinandofitself.Inaddition,yourgoodworkinsuccessionplanningiscriticalasateachingtool.Itsendsanimportantmessageacrosstheorganizationabouttheimportanceoftalentdevelopment.

The leadership group of a very successful global industrial company did anexcellentjobexecutingthevariouselementsofsuccessionplanning.Amonghisother roles, the CEO viewed himself as the “chief talent officer” for thecompany.Hebelievedthattalentwasavitalcompetitiveadvantagetheyhadtodevelop in order to achieve their objective of being a leader in each of theirmajor businesses units and making a positive impact on the world. Heconsciously allocated a full 20 percent of his time to attracting, retaining, anddevelopingkey talent.Hebelieved that thecompanycouldneverhaveenoughtalent, and he felt it was healthy to “run scared” when it came to finding,developing,andretaininggreatpeople.The company’s succession-planning processes were quite sophisticated and

dovetailedwiththeorganization’scoaching,review,andtrainingprocesses.TheCEOopenlydescribedhimselfasbeingan“enemyofcliques.”Hedeclaredthathewanted the company to embody “diversity,” in thebroadest sense. In otherwords, hewanted not only racial and gender diversity, but also a diversity ofthoughtandperspectives.Whilehehadcloseprofessionalrelationshipswithhisdirectreports,hedidn’t

allowhimselftobecometheir“buddy”outsideofwork.Asheexplainedtome,hequestionedthewisdomofleaderssocializingandbecomingtoofriendlywithkeysubordinates.HefearedthatthistypeofsocializingmightsendasignalthatanexecutivehadtobeapersonalfriendoftheCEOinordertogetpromoted.Inone memorable conversation, he told me that he didn’t want his key reportslaughing at his jokes if theyweren’t funny. “And the fact is,” he deadpanned,“I’mnotthatfunny.”When I talked tootherexecutives in thecompany, itbecameclear that they

deeplyrespectedtheCEOandfeltastrongloyaltytohim.Whenpressedaboutwhy,oneseniorexecutiveexpressedviews that Iheard fromseveralothers:“Ibelieve it is fairhere. IknowIwillbe judgedon themeritsofwhat Ido.TheCEO judges me on the basis of the work I do, and not on my personalrelationship with him. We have well-developed processes that give me great

confidence that Iwill be challenged, coached, andgivenassignments thatwillgivemethechancetoshowwhatIcando.“I’m loyal to this company. I know the CEO will do what’s best for the

company.Ihaveconfidencethatwhat’sbestforthiscompanywillultimatelybebestforme—andthatIwillreachmypotentialhere.”Wow!Andasnotedabove,thiswasnotunique;infact,theseviewscascaded

through the company. Therewaswidespread acknowledgment of the need foralternative points of view, disagreements, different backgrounds, and overallfairness, including assessments based on professional performance rather thanpersonal relationships.All in all, it was an impressive example of a group ofself-confidentleadersrunninganimpressivecompany.

The Importance ofDelegating:HowSuccessionPlanningCanBridge theDivide

Once you have developed processes to identify potential successors and keyemergingtalent,youwillknowtowhomyouwanttodelegatekeytasks.As discussed earlier, the failure to identify appropriate successors almost

always goes hand in hand with the unwillingness or inability to delegatesufficiently.WheneverImeeta leaderwhoisoverworkedandfeels thathisorherorganizationisnotreachingitspotential,IknowthatIamlikelytodiscoverthatheorsheisspendingexcessiveamountsoftimeonvariousnoncriticaltasksandnotspendingsufficienttimeonhisorherhighestpriorities.

Forexample:TheCEOofalargeprivatebusinessbasedinLatinAmericawasvisitingHarvard to speak to students.On the trip, hedroppedbymyoffice tocatchup.Hestartedtheconversationbyremarkinghowthrilledhewastoescapehiscompanyevenforjustafewhours.Heappearedquitestressedandfrustrated.Likesomanyotherfirms,hiscompanyhadsufferedserioussetbacksduringtherecenteconomiccrisis.Ithadbeenanordeal,professionallyandpersonally,andhetoldmethathefelt“justplaintired.”Heexplained thathe trulywanted todelegateX,Y,andZ,but reallydidn’t

thinkhehadkey leaders towhomhewould feel confident indelegating.“I’mfightingalotoffires,”hetoldme.“Iknowyouemphasizespendingtimeonkeypriorities,Rob,butyoudon’tunderstand—Idon’thavethebandwidthtospendmore time with customers, drive other key initiatives, or coach my keysubordinates.Also,mykidsarecomplainingthatI’mneveraround,andmywife

is losingpatiencewithme. Iguessyoucouldsay that I’mfeeling trapped . . .maybesuffocatedwouldbeabetterdescription.”Weproceededtoexploreanumberoftheideasdiscussedinpreviouschapters.

Whatwerehisaspirations for thecompany?What three to fiveprioritiesweremostcriticaltotheachievementofthoseaspirations?Thiswasasfarasweprogressedinthismeeting,becauseherealizedthathe

hadn’t thought extensively about these questions in several years, and theeconomic crisis had probably also altered his views on these questions.“Interesting,” he said, without prompting from me. “I suppose I should havebeenregularlyspendingaportionofmytimethinkingaboutvisionandpriorities—and,whentimesgotreallybad, I shouldhavebeen thinkingabout thisevenmore.”We met again a few weeks later. After he laid out his revised priorities—

whichwerewellthoughtoutandcompelling—wethenidentifiedanddiscussedthemismatchesbetweenthosekeyprioritiesandhowhewasspendinghistime.Wethenwentthrough,namebyname,alistofthekeyleadersinthecompany.Anumber of them had excellent educational credentials, and several had strongrecordsofprofessionalaccomplishmentsattheirpreviousfirms.Withhispermission,Ithenmetwithseveraloftheseleadersovertheensuing

fewweeks.Ialsofurtherstudiedtheirbackgroundsandlookedattheresultsoftheir year-end performance reviews. Armed with this information, I sat downagain with the CEO. Together, we looked at the jobs that each individualcurrentlyheld,andexploredwhatkindsofneworaddedresponsibilitiesmightfit their talents and passions. I urged the CEO to have an open mind as weconducted this discussion: nothing should be ruled in, but nothing should beruledout.Onthebasisofallthesediscussions,wewereabletoidentifyaseriesoftasks

thatcouldbetransferredfromtheCEOtooneormoreoftheseindividuals.ThetransferswouldincludeperiodicprogressreviewsonthepartoftheCEO—bothtomakesurethatthesubordinateshadthetools,backup,andcoachingthattheyneeded, and to give theCEO some additional peace ofmind about delegatingwhatheperceivedtobekeyresponsibilities.Needless to say, the executives involved reacted very favorably to their

increased responsibilities. They felt more valued by their boss—and byextension, their company. They were genuinely pleased that the CEO waslearningtoleveragetheirskillsand,consequently,furtherdevelophimself.Theywere also relieved that the CEO was now able to spend more time on the

company’smosturgentpriorities.Of course, almost none of this was “easy,” especially the implementation

phase. I checked in periodically with this particular CEO and found that, onoccasion, he reverted back to his old ways—injecting himself into situationswherehereallywasn’tneeded.Weagreed thathehad topractice“counting toten”beforeheplungedintothesematters.Theresultofthispausewasthat,moreoftenthannot,hestoppedhimselffromgettinginvolved.ThisCEOdiscoverednotonlythathecouldlearntodelegatesuccessfully,but

alsothatmanyofthedelegatedtaskswerenowbeingdonefarmoreeffectivelythanifhehadperformedthemhimself.(Hissubordinateshadthetimetodothejob,and—inmanycases—theyhadmore talentandexperience thanhedid, inthesespecificareas.)Henowspentmuchmore timeonstrategy,keycustomercultivation,andcoaching—andgothomefordinnermostnights.

LeadershipIsaTeamSport

Unfortunately,thisisanall-too-commontale.Ihaveheardittoldcountlesstimes—unhappystoriesofleaderswhojustcan’tseemtofindsufficienttimetospendonkeytasksthatarevitaltotheircompany.Whyisthisso?Maybe,theyhaven’tidentifiedkeytalentthroughsuccession-planningprocesses?Aretheydelegatingtothattalent?Aretheycoachingthattalent?Iftheanswertoanyofthesequestionsisno,theyhavetoaskthemselveswhy.

Thismay require facing their insecurities and idiosyncrasies. Theywill likelyhave to challenge themselves to get more comfortable with “giving up somecontrol”—whichIwouldrephraseas“sharingresponsibility.”Leadershipisateamsport.Let’sextendthesportsanalogy.Agreatgolferisa

solooperator.So isagreat tennisplayer (at least in singles), andso isagreatbowler.Runninganorganization,bycontrast,isateamsport.Inteamsports,thebest individual player is highly unlikely to play well enough by himself orherself to help their team beat an excellent opponent that operates as anintegratedteam.Soyouhavetoaskyourself,whatsportamIplaying?Asaseniorleader,you

know you must assemble a group that has the requisite skills and has beendelegated(byyou) theappropriateresponsibilities toaccomplishkeytasksandpriorities.Ifyouhavethemind-setofaprofessionalgolferasyoustepoutontoafootballfield,youareverylikelytogetclobbered.Whyintheworldwouldyouleadyourorganizationinamannerthatisgoingtogetyouclobbered?

TheSubtleBottleneck

Maybe you have done all the steps recommended above. Maybe you haveidentified key tasks to delegate, identified appropriate talent, and delegatedresponsibilitiestokeysubordinates.Yet, somehow, you can’t seem to get out from under those responsibilities.

Theykeepcomingbackatyou.They justcan’t seem togetaddressedwithoutyourinvolvement.

TheCEOofarealestatefirmheadquarteredinEuropewasattendingaclassatHarvard Business School. He came to visit me after participating in a casediscussion that highlighted the importance of succession planning anddelegation. After we discussed the strategy options for his company, heexplained to me that “delegation” really hadn’t worked well for him. Hedescribedhowheregularlygot“pulledback”intoallsortsofdifferentdecisionsthat he had delegated to others, and professed to be somewhat annoyed aboutthis.HeaskedmewhetherImightvisithiscompanywhenIwasnextinEurope,andmeetwithafewofhisseniorleaders.Ididthisacoupleofmonthslater.Duringthesemeetings,itbecameclearthat

whiletheCEOdiddelegate,heseldomstoodbehindthesubordinatestowhomhe delegated.When subordinates came to him asking for help on a delegatedtask, rather than sayingnoand redirecting thepersonback to the executive towhomthetaskhadbeendelegated,hewasofteninclinedtosayyes,eventhoughthis had the immediate effect of nullifying the delegation and confusing theexecutivewhowassupposedtoberesponsibleforthetaskathand.He also had a bad habit of second-guessing the decisions made by his

subordinates,evenwhenthosedecisionsreallywerenotsufficientlymaterialtohave an impact on the ultimate progress of the organization. Rather than“picking his spots” for disagreeing, he tended to be undisciplined. Theintermediate-term result of this lack of disciplinewas that those executives towhomhehadnotionallydelegatedresponsibilitystartedcomingtohimtogethischeck-off—evenonminordecisions.Gradually,wordgotaroundthecompany,andmoreandmorepeoplestartedshowinguponhisdoorstep.“Itsavestime,”theyexplainedtome,“becauseIknowhe’sgoingtowanttoweighin,anyway.”Worst of all,when theCEOwasunavailable, routinedecisionsgot heldup aspeoplewaitedforhimtosurface.Meanwhile,thecompanywasfacinganumberofstrategicchallengesthatthe

CEOdidnotseemtohavetimetoaddress.Ifoundthatseveralkeyseniorpeoplewereactivelythinkingaboutleavingbecausetheyfeltitwas“rudderless.”IconfrontedtheCEOwithwhatIobserved.Wetalkedextensivelyaboutthis,

andhecommentedthatitdrovehimcrazythatcertaintasksdonebyotherswerejust not done as well as if he did them himself. He acknowledged that heintellectuallyunderstood that all tasksdidnotneed tobeperformedoptimally.Equally,heunderstoodthatunlesshestoppedbeingabottleneck,startedbackinguphispeople,andstoppedsecondguessinghissubordinates,thecompanywasheadingfortroubleintermsofitsstrategicpositioninganddirection.Wellbeforethat,itwasalsolikelytostartlosingitsbestpeople.Ivisitedthecompanysixmonthslaterandfoundthathehadworkedhardto

makesignificantprogressinthisarea.Itdidnotcomenaturally,buthewasnowmotivatedtoaddressthisissueandimprove.

LearningtoPickYourSpots

Doesanypartofthisstorysoundlikeyou?Doyoubristleatthethoughtofevenminortasksbeingdonelesswellbyothersthanyoucoulddothemyourself?Ifso, fix it.Agreeing to takeon tasks thatyou’vealreadydelegated—orsecond-guessingyoursubordinatesexcessively—willturnyouintoabottleneckandtakeyouawayfromdoingthetasksthatshouldconstituteyourrealjob.Ifyoutrulywanttodelegate,makesureyoubackupthosekeyexecutivesto

whom you delegate responsibility. Intervene onlywhen the task at hand is ofsufficient importance to merit your involvement. When you are inclined tointervene, make sure you have discussed that decision in advance with theexecutiveinvolved.To summarize, consider saying something like the following to your

executive:“YoudecideaboutX,Y,andZ—Idon’tneedtoweighinatall.PleasecheckwithmeonA,B,andC.Otherwise,Iam,ofcourse,hereifyouwantmyopinion,butIamhappyforyoutocheckwithmeonlywhenit’shelpfultoyou.”Asnoted, avoid second-guessingyourpeopleunless there is aheckof agoodreasontodoso—andthenbepreparedtoengageindamagecontrol.

HowLongIsYourShadow?

Leaderscastashadow.Youmaynotseetheshadow,butyourpeopledo.The CEO of a privately held company on theWest Coast was known as a

pioneer inhis industryandhadaccomplishedagreatdeal.Hewas inhisearlysixties and was the majority stockholder in the company. He was justifiablyconcerned about what would happen to his firmwhen hewas no longer in apositiontorunit.He explained tome that hehadbeenverygenerouswith compensation and

felt he had a superb group of talented people. I knew that he was generallyacknowledgedtobeagoodspotterandrecruiteroftalent,andhewasextremelyclearaboutdelegatingkey responsibilitiesandbackingup thatdelegation. Justoneproblem:despite doingmanyof the things I talk about in this chapter, hewas quite uncertainwhether the companywould someday be able to functioneffectivelywithout his presence.Over the previous five years, he had hired anumber of excellent leaders, with proven management and leadershipexperience,inordertobolsterthepotentialreserveoftalentthatcouldultimatelytakehisplace in the future. Imetanumberof theseexecutivesandwasquitefavorablyimpressed.Sowhywashesounsureaboutsuccession?Whatwastheproblem?Wasthere

aproblem?After I spentmore timewithhimandother key company leaders,one thing became clear: he just couldn’t refrain from butting in and assertinghimself in the organization.He couldn’t let the enormously competent peoplewithwhomhehadsurroundedhimselfdotheirjobs.Soyes,therewasaproblem:hewassohighlyrespectedinthecompanythat

evenalittletapontheshoulderfromhimfelt(tomanyofhissubordinates)likeananvildroppedontheirheads.Thesepeoplesobadlywantedtomakesurehewashappywiththem.Asonerelativelyhigh-rankingexecutiveputit,“Hecastsareallylongshadow.”Hmm.Howlong isyour shadow? Ifyou startedyour firmandare thepatriarchor

matriarch,beawarethatyoumayneedtotakekeystepstoshortenthatshadow.Thisinvolvesrecognizingthatyoursubordinatesmaynotdotasksaswellasyouor the samewayyouwould—but thatdoesnotmean that theywon’tdo themquiteeffectively.Allowingthemtodosowilltrainthem,buildyourbench,andfreeyou to focuson those tasks that theorganizationdesperatelyneedsyou toattendto.

SkatingintotheFuture

WayneGretzky,perhapsthegreatesthockeyplayerofalltime,hasbeenwidelyquotedassayingthathischallengewasnottoskatetowherethepuckwas,but

instead,toanticipatewherethepuckwasgoingtobe,andskatetothatpoint.Inthissameway,leadersneedtobuildtheirorganizationstocompeteinadynamicmarketplace.Theyneedtoanticipatewheretheworldisgoing.Superbleadersknowthat,nomatterhowtalentedtheyare,theycan’tdothis

alone. They know they need to assemble a diverse group of talented people,developthosepeople inadynamicmanner that fits theirskillsandaspirations,and put them in key positions so they can contribute to the organization. Istronglybelievethattheearlierintheircareeryoungleadersdevelopthismind-set,themoresuccessfultheyarelikelytobecome.Succession planning is a critical part of the process of identifying and then

developing critical talent. Strong companies develop firm-wide succession-planning processes that help executives at all levels learn how to effectivelyidentify and nurture key talent. This is particularly useful to newly mintedmanagers,whomightbeunaccustomed to identifyinganddeveloping talentaswellasworkingthroughothers.Using succession-planning processes, business unit leaders can thoughtfully

delegatekeyresponsibilitiestotheseidentifiedemergingexecutives,sothatthebusinessunit and theorganizationcanbuild a cadreof capable leaders.Talentpool development and thoughtful delegation have the added benefit of freeingleaderstoallocatetheirtimetothemostcriticalchallengesfacingthebusiness.Asdiscussedinthischapter,manyexecutivesagreewiththeneedtodelegate

but often need convincing regarding succession planning. I hope this chapterhelpsconvinceyouofthedirectconnectionbetweenthesetwoactivities.Itwillbemoredifficult toachieveyourvisionandkeypriorities—and to reserve thebandwidth you need to perform the other tasks that you must own—withouthavingfirstbuiltacompetenceinthisvitalarea.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Createasuccession-planningdepthchartforyourbusinessunitororganization(asdescribedearlierinthischapter).Thisdocumentshouldincludeatleasttwoorthreepotentialsuccessorsforyourownposition.

2.Foreachpotentialsuccessor,writedowntheirkeydevelopmentneedsandspecificactionsyoumighttakeinordertodeveloptheircapabilitiesinrelationtopotentialfuturepositions.Worktodevelopandshapethesespecificdevelopmentplans.Makeuseofthedevelopmentalactionplanspreparedaspartofyourchapter3follow-upsteps.

3.Forthosekeytasksthatyouhavecommittedtofindingawaytodelegate(seechapter2),beginmatchingthosetaskswithspecificcandidatesonthedepthchart.Makeassignments.

4.Categorizedelegatedtasksintermsoftheirlevelsofimportancetoyourenterprise.Basedonthisanalysis,notewhichtasksneedtobedoneatextremelyhighlevelsofquality,andwhichcanbedoneat“sufficient”levelsofquality.Askwhetheryouhavecalibratedyourlevelofinvolvementtothiscategorization,andrememberthat“involvement”shouldoftentaketheformofcoachingthesubordinate,ratherthanadirectintervention.Makeacommitmentto“pickingyourspots,”toensurethatyourdirectinterventions(beyondcoaching)arejustifiedbyanappropriatelyhighleveloftaskimportance.

5.Askyourbusinessunitleaderstoperformthissameexercisewithregardtotheirdirectreports.

EvaluationandAlignment

TheCouragetoAssessYourEnterprisewithaCleanSheetofPaper

Isthedesignofyourcompanystillalignedwithyourvisionandpriorities?

Ifyouhadtodesigntheenterprisetodaywithacleansheetofpaper,howwouldyouchangethepeople,keytasks,organizationalstructure,

culture,andyourleadershipstyle?

Whyhaven’tyoumadethesechanges?

Haveyoupushedyourselfandyourorganizationtodothisclean-sheet-of-paperexercise?

Manysuccessfulbusinessesandnonprofitorganizationsgothroughstretchesoftime during which they are achieving their most important objectives.Everythingseemstobe insync.Theorganizationhas therightmixof talentedpeople;itispursuingmarketsegmentsinwhichithasdistinctivecompetenciesthat itbrings tobeareffectively; tasksareorganizedinamanner that ishighlyeffective; the promotion and compensation systems create incentives thatreinforcedesiredbehaviors,whichinturnleadtoachievingmajororganizationalpriorities; the culture reinforces critical behaviors that help the organizationsucceed; the organization’s leaders are effective, in terms of their leadershipstyles,andarewidelyrespected.If it’sabusiness, it ishighlyprofitableandisbuilding an increasingly strong franchise. If it’s a nonprofit, it is serving animportantsocialneedatahighlevelofquality.Employeemoraleandpridearehigh.Whenalltheseelementscometogetherinthismanner,it’sgreatfun,andit’s

deeplysatisfyingbothtoemployeesandtokeyconstituentsoftheorganization.Forthoseofuswhoareorseektobeleaders,thisistheenvironmentandsetof

circumstancesthatwestrivesohardtocreateinourorganizations.Andthen,somethingchanges.Italwaysdoes.Sooner or later, inevitably, something happens that upsets this special

equilibrium and threatens to throw the organization either modestly orsubstantiallyoutofalignment.Itmaynotbenoticeableuntilmuchlater,buttheseedsofchallengehavebeenplanted.Whathappens?Itcouldbeoneofanynumberofevents.Theworldchanges—

forexample,there’sarecession.Leadingplayersintheindustrymerge.Criticalproducts mature or become commoditized. A competitor unveils a significanttechnological innovation that threatens theviabilityofyourbusinessmodelbyunderminingoneormoreofyourdistinctivecompetencies.Acompetitorhiresaway valuable talent that was critical to the company’s success. A centralmemberofyourteamdecidestoretire.Ormaybe you change. You get bored. You become “successful.” You stop

listening toyoursubordinates.Youget tiredofcallingon clients and trying torespondrapidlyto theireverchangingdemandsandneeds.(Maybeyoudecidethatyou’realwaysright,andyourclientsneed to learn that!)Maybeyouhavemadea lotofmoney,andyou’dratherspendyour timeinadifferentway.Forwhateverreason,thejobisnolongerasfunorasmeaningful—andthischangeaffectsyourleadershipactions.I couldcontinue this list indefinitely, catalogingall thekindsofunwelcome

changes thatmight occur insideor outsideyour company.These changesmaynegatively affect the organization’s culture, undermine its distinctivecompetencies,changeitsvaluepropositiontothecustomer,orsimplyerodetheorganization’s edge—theedge thathashelped it succeedup tonow.Whateverthespecifics,thebottomlineisthatthedesignoftheorganizationisnolongeralignedwithachievingitsvisionandkeypriorities.Somethingneedsfixing.

BrokeninMenloPark

AMenlo Park, California—based technology firm had consistently prosperedandgrown since its founding in the 1980s.Yes, therewere plenty of growingpains,butoverall,theorganizationperformedextremelywellandwasverymuchin alignment with its goal of producing innovative products that served thecriticalneedsof itscustomers.Inaddition,over theyears, thecompanybuiltaveryhigh-qualityteamofprofessionals,particularlyintheresearchandproductdevelopmentareas.

Onereasonforthecompany’ssuccesswasthetrulycuttingedgenatureofitsflagshipproduct: an integratedhardware/ softwarepackage thatwas central tothe manufacturing processes of its key customers, most of which were largeglobalmanufacturers of industrial products. The company had been originallyfoundedaroundthedevelopmentofthisproduct,andhadmaderefinementsandbuiltoutproductadjacencies,over theyears, tomeet theevolvingneedsof itscustomers.Many of the members of the senior leadership team had started with the

companyat its inception.TheCEOwas an excellent recruiter andhaddone asuperb job of identifying highly talented people with several years ofengineeringandproductdesignexperienceatother technologyfirmsinSiliconValley.Beinganexcellentsoftwareengineerandproductdesignexperthimself,hepersonallycoachedmanyofthesenewhiresastheycameaboard.Also, theCEOspentsubstantialtimewiththecompany’sproductdevelopmentengineers,helpingthemthinkaboutcustomers’needsandbrainstormingaboutbetterwaystodesignandupgradetheirproducts.Overtheyears,theproductdesignteamofapproximatelyfifteenprofessionals

wasdivided into industrysegments, so that thecompanycouldbetter tailor itsproductstomanufacturingprocessesspecifictothevariousindustriesitserved.Asemployeesbecamemoreseasonedatthefirm,theyoftenemulatedtheCEO’sbehavior,andacultureofcoachingandinnovationprevailed.Aninformalbuddysystemdeveloped,witheachseniorperson taking responsibility forhelpinganassignedyoungercolleaguesucceed.Thecompanywentpublicinthe1990s,and,by2006,itwasgeneratingannual

sales in excess of $2 billion. Over this period, it had built a very impressiverecordofrevenueandprofitperformanceand,moreimportant,hadbuiltastrongbaseofloyalcustomers.In2006,thecompanylaunchedaninnovativenewproductthatwasintended

to better serve the critical needs of its current customers and also enable thecompany tosell itsproduct tonew industries ithadn’tpreviouslyserved.Asaresult of the new product introduction, the CEO believed that the companyneededtobuilditssalesforceandgrowitsoverallheadcounttosupportpotentialfuture growth. The board of directors was strongly supportive, the businessenvironmentwasverypositive,andthefuturelookedbright.Before2006wasover,though,signsofstrainbegantoemerge.TheCEOand

hisseniorpeoplefounditincreasinglydifficulttofindtimeforallthetasksthatwere necessary to run a bigger firm: training new staff, initiating high-quality

coverageofnewindustrysectors,andservicingtheincreasingneedsofexistingcustomers. Employees of the firm were working increased hours, taking ongreater responsibilities, and traveling farmore extensively.Despite the greaterhours, many commented that they felt as if they were getting less and lessaccomplished. The CEO observed that certain fundamental mistakes werestarting tobemade—errorsof execution that hadn’t beencommonat the firmpreviously.Stress levels continued to rise and morale began to deteriorate. A few key

people resigned without much apparent warning. Two went to competingtechnology start-ups. The CEO noted, with chagrin, that these new start-upslooked a lot like his company, back in its earlier days.More ominously, twolongtime customers discontinued their purchases of company products andbeganbuyingfromacompetitor.InameetingwiththeCEOafterinforminghimoftheirdecision,thesecustomersobservedthattheyfeltthatthecompanywasno longer as attuned to their needs and now seemed to be more focused ongrowththanservingitsloyallongtimecustomers.Needlesstosay,thiswasajolttotheCEOandthecompany.Thefirmthathadbeensorewardingandfuninpreviousyearswasnowmuch

morechallenging.TheCEOwasconcernedaboutthecompany’sdecliningstockprice,andhisthoughtsalsobegantowandertothelong-termleasetheyhadjustsignedonthefirm’snewheadquartersbuilding.Hadthatbeenamistake?WhenIfirstmetwiththeCEOin2006,hequicklygottothepoint.“Ithought

growthwasagoodthing,”hesaid,shakinghishead.“NowI’mnotsosure.Infact,Ithinkwemighthavehadabettercompanywhenweweresmaller.”We talkedabout the firm’s trajectoryover thepast severalyears.He readily

admitted that he wasn’t sure they had made the necessary adjustments toaccommodate their rapid growth. He wasn’t sure that their sales force, inconjunction with the product design team, had sufficient bandwidth to stayattuned to the changing needs of existing customers while at the same timelearning to serveentirelynewcustomer segments. In addition,heworried thatthe company had failed to develop a systematic process for training andcoachingnewhires—bothinproductdevelopmentandinthesalesforce.Thebuddysystemworkedwellwhenthecompanywassmaller,buthadfallen

by thewayside in the chaos of the firm’s growth. In addition, in the past, thenorm had been for the product design group to have regularly scheduledmeetings with the sales force, in order to monitor customer needs and newcompetitive developments; and product people had made it a priority to

accompany sales representatives on visits to key customers. With increasedtraveldemands, though,peoplenowoftencalled inbyphone—orevenmissedthese interdepartmental meetings altogether—and product development staffvisitedcustomersmuchlessfrequently.TheCEOhadnotdesignatedkeylieutenantstowhomhewouldincreasingly

delegateimportanttasksrelatingtoproductdesign,salesforcemanagement,andinterdivisionalcoordination.Healsohadnotdesignatedseniorlieutenantstoberesponsible for new-employee training, investor relations, and certain othersignificantfunctions.IsuggestedthattheCEOshouldscheduleanoff-sitewithhisseniorleaders.I

agreed to facilitate and lead this session. In thisoff-site, theywould stepbackfromtheirday-to-dayactivitiesanddeterminewhatprocesses,people,tasks,andincentiveswouldbenecessarytosuccessfullyachievethefirm’svisionandtoppriorities. This sessionwould also address howkey tasks should be delegatedamongsenior leadersof the firm,andhow theCEOmightneed tochangehisown activities and leadership style in light of the firm’s greater size andambition.Ofcourse,Icouldhavepointedoutthatthissessionprobablyshouldhavebeendonebefore theymade several of the strategic decisions relating togrowthofthefirm—butthiswaswateroverthedam,bythatpoint.The meeting was initially awkward and tense. This was the first time in

several years that these executives had gone off-site as a group in order todiscuss overarching issues at the company.Also, each executivewas unhappyabout thetrajectoryofeventsat thecompany.Someprivatelyblamedothersatthe table, while others worried that they might individually be criticized forsomeofthedifficulties.Aftersomewarm-upexercisesintendedtohelpgetthesepeoplemoreopento

talking and listening, the first issuewediscussed at lengthwas thevision andpriorities for the firm.As part of this,we talked aboutwhether and how theyshouldgrowthefirm.Didtheywanttotacklethesenewproductsandindustrysegments—andifso,why?Shouldthey,instead,simplycontinuetoservetheirexisting customer base? What should be the criteria for deciding whether todevelopanewproductorpursueanewmarket?They each shared their views and ultimately concluded that for a public

companyinthehighlycompetitiveandfastchangingtechnologysector,standingpatwasnotanappropriatestrategy; theyhad tofindways todevelopproductsthat fit evolving customer needs and to pursue other avenues of intelligentgrowththatbuiltontheirdistinctivecompetenciesinservingcustomers.

Afterextensivedebateontheircorecompetenciesandtheappropriatevisionfor this company, they began to come to a consensus regarding a plan. Theydecided that the company might have taken its eye off the ball in focusingexcessivelyon“growth,”perse.Instead,theyfeltthattheguidinglightfortheirkeyinitiativesshouldbetheaspirationof(1)producingasuperbproductand(2)understanding and serving their customers’ needs while (3) producingsustainableandgrowinginvestmentreturnstothecompany’sshareholders.To accomplish this, they believed that the company should slow down the

planned pace of its new product introductions and new industry initiatives,leaving enough time to (1) train new hires, (2) better phase in new customercoverage, so that they could do a more effective job of developing closerelationships with these new customers, and (3) develop other key internalprocessesthatwerenecessarytoscalethebusiness.Next, they focused on internal organizational changes. For example, one

change they discussed was that the sales force should be relocated so that itwouldbeadjacenttotheresearchandproductdevelopmentunit.Inaddition,theweeklyinterdepartmentalmeetingshouldbereinstatedandshouldbechairedbytheCEO(foratleastthefirstsixmonths).TheychallengedtheCEOtodelegatemoreeffectivelycertainimportanttasks

toseniorexecutives.New-hirerecruitmentandintegration,sales/productdesigncoordination,andother such responsibilitieshad tobe specificallyassignedbytheCEO.Theyalsowent so faras to suggestwhichassignments shouldgo towhichseniorexecutivesoftheteam.ThisexercisewasanenormouslyhelpfulprodtogettheCEOandthesesenior

leaderstomakethenecessarychanges.Ironically,manyofthesesuggestionshadbeen raisedpreviouslyover thepast fewyears but never activelypursued andimplemented.Tohiscredit,theCEOactedonthesediscussionsandmadeaseriesofcritical

decisions thatallowed the firm togetback intoalignmentover thesubsequentyear.Ashopedandexpected,thesechangesalsosetthestageforthenextphaseofthecompany’sdevelopment.

ItPaystoRunaBitScared

Mybriefretellingofthisepisodeinthehistoryofthistechnologycompanymaymakeitsoundobviousthatthefirmhadgottenoutofalignment.Infact,itreallywasn’tobviousatall.

Inrealtime,fromtheinside,itisoftenextremelydifficulttoseewhenabusinessor nonprofit has gotten out of alignment.Many leaders don’t realize there’s aproblemuntillongaftermisalignmenthassetin.Problemscantakeroot,grow,andfesterforyearsbeforeitbecomesobviousthatthereareseriousissuesthatneed dealing with. In the meantime, the organization might appear to beperformingataveryhighlevelofeffectiveness.Earlywarning signs often come in the formof decreased employeemorale,

thedepartureofkeypeople,rumblingsamongtheclientbase,egosgettingoutofhand(sometimesmanifestedinfancycars,palatialhomes,andotherostentatiousornaments of success), and erosion of the firm’s reputation with keyconstituencies.Eventually,though,thesesituationstendtoreachatippingpoint,afterwhich

somethinghappenstomakethemisalignmentpainfullyclear.Thiseventisoftena downturn, competitive action, or other change in the external environment.Unfortunately, by the time the issue is apparent, it may be too late to takecorrective action. The Menlo Park technology company wasn’t quite at thatpoint,butitcertainlywasgettingthere.Inpreviouschapters, I’vestressed the importanceof the leader’s learning to

delegate.Butthisisoneofthosetasksthattheleadercan’tdelegatecompletely.Effective leadersknowthatoneof theirprimary responsibilities is to regularlycheck,andrecheck,whetherthebusinessisinoroutofalignment.Onthistopic,I like to say that itpays to runabit scared.Ahealthyparanoia is appropriatewhenyou’reexploringwhetherthekeyelementsofyourorganizationstillmatchyouraspirationsandpriorities.

AMixedBag:TheChallengeofAddressingAlignment

As a leader, you are ultimately responsible for selecting your key people,formulating critical tasks the firm must do well, and designing yourorganization’sstructureandpractices.Asaresultoftheseimportantdecisions,aswell asyour leadership style, a culture emerges.Anenterprise is in alignmentwhen these design factors lead to achievement of critical company goals andpriorities.Itisoutofalignmentwhenoneormoreofthesedesignfactorsdetractfromachievingkeyobjectives.1Typically,businessesareinalignmentinsomeregardsandoutofalignmentin

others, andkeyparts of the business are almost always in transition fromonestate to the other (from alignment to misalignment, or vice versa). This is

because the world is changing very quickly, and most industries today areextremelycompetitive.Leadersknow this, intellectually. From an emotional standpoint, however, it

canbeverychallengingforaleadertorecognizethatcertainkeypeople,aswellasother importantelementsof thedesignof thebusiness,need tobechanged.Thisisespeciallytrueiftheleaderisalsothefounderorhasbeeninchargeofthebusinessforanumberofyears.Itverydifficultformostmortalstoadmit,oreven see, that one of their longtime key executives is now in the wrong jobbecausethedemandsofthatjobhavechangedinafundamentalway.Similarly,it’shardtomoveasideanexecutivewhohasgrownabusinessunittothepointthat it’s now too big or too complex for him or her to handle. This problembecomesevenmorechallengingif thatpersonisstronglyaverseto teamingupwith another executive who has complementary skills, even if that pairing islikelytoimprovetheirsuccessandmateriallyprolongtheircareers.Similarly,inmanycases,it’salsoextremelyhardtophaseoutaproductthat

historically has been critical to the success of the company. Yes, you mayunderstand intellectually that if you don’t prune the product line, you willcontinuetodivertvaluablecompanyresourcesthatshouldbeusedelsewheretobuildthefutureofthecompany.Forbetterorworse,though,wehumansdevelopemotionalattachmentsandstrongloyalty—eventoagingproductlines.Equallydifficultisthechallengeofchangingacompensationsystemorother

processesthatrepresent“thewayithasalwaysbeendonearoundhere.”Thiscanbetrueevenwhentheleadershipteamunderstandsthatthelegacycompensationsystem is failing to promote employee behaviors that are critical to futuresuccess,andfailingtosufficientlyrewardthoseemployeeswhoareessentialtothat success.Thissituationoftenarises incompanies thatwant todramaticallyincreasetheamountofcross-sellingbetweenbusinessunits,yethaveembeddedcompensation systems that pay their professionals primarily for individualproduction,ratherthanteam-orientedbehaviors.Makingchangesrisksupsettinglongtimeemployees,familymembers(ifit’sa

familybusiness),boardmembers,oreventhepreviousCEO,ifheorsheisstillaforce in the company.Depending on the situation and your own tolerance forconflict, you might want to avoid offending or appearing insensitive to thesevariousstakeholders.Most important, making changes may make you feel uncomfortable. Like

mostleaders,youhaveestablishedpatternsofbehaviorthatyou’dprefernottoalter,eventhoughyoumightsensethatthey’renolongerproductive.

Possibly you’ve decided that this isn’t the right time to make dramaticchanges. You might have rationalized that changing key components of thebusiness will create unintended consequences or be disruptive to routines orrelationships,andinvolvenewtasksthatfeeluncomfortableoraredistractingtokeyemployees.Finally,it’spossiblethattheproposedchangeswilltakethefunoutofseveralkeyjobs,perhapsincludingyours.Givenall thesecaveats, it’snotasurprise thatmany leadersmightsay,“All

things considered, why don’t we wait another six months, and then we’llconsidermakingsomeofthesechanges?”Orbetteryet:whydoweneedtofoolaroundwiththisatall?“Ifitain’tbroke,whyfixit?”

SeparateWhatShouldBeDonefromHowItShouldBeDone

Myanswerwouldbeasfollows:first,youneedtoaskthequestionanddotheanalysisofwhetheryouare,infact,outofalignment.Iftheanswerisyes,youcanthenassesstheurgencyofthesituation,figureoutwhatchangesmightneedto be made, and determine the degree of difficulty in and tactics for makingthosevariouschanges.Youshouldmakeeveryeffort,initially,toseparateyourconsiderationofwhat

shouldbedonefromhowitshouldbedone.Byjumpingtooquicklytothehow,manyexecutivesscarethemselvesawayfromactuallyfiguringoutwhatneedstobe done. They are dissuaded from doing the work because they anticipate(sometimes incorrectly) severe cultural resistance to making changes. As aresult,theyneverinsistonaskingthekeyquestionstogetthisprocessrolling.After doing the analysis, you will be in a better position to assess which

changeswould be nice to do butwould not be critical to the business, versusthose actions that are essential to your continued prosperity and competitivepositioning.Atthatpoint,youwillwanttodevelopadetailedplanofactionforhowtoimplementthemostcriticalchanges.

BeProactive:CrisesHave“LongRoots”

Themainpointsarethatyoushouldnotputthisoff,andthatyoushoulddoitonaregularbasis.Aproactiveprocesswillhelpyouforestallandpreventacrisis.Ofcourse,someexecutivesbelievethatacrisiscreatesanopportunitytomakeneededchanges.Iwouldarguethatawell-runorganizationdoesn’tneedtowaitforacrisis todowhatneeds tobedone.Further, ifyouwaituntil thepointof

crisis,youmaywellhavefar fewerviableoptionsforaddressing thesituation.You also are likely to be forced to consider disruptive and even destructiveoptions, which could have been avoided if you had acted proactively. Thesemoredisruptive/destructiveoptionsmayinflictlastingdamageontheenterprise,itspeople,anditsfranchise.Let’s lookbrieflyat thewell-documentedcaseofXeroxCorporation.Xerox

wasthedominantphotocopiercompanyformanyyears,withavirtualmonopolyin its industry. (You didn’t “photocopy” something; you “Xeroxed” it.) Thecompanyhadanimpressivehistory,ofwhichitsemployeeswerebothawareandjustifiably proud. Because it was organized around a breakthrough productinnovation, the Xerox culture was heavily product oriented, as opposed tocustomeroriented.For years, the company did sowell that it did notworry excessively about

new product innovations. Even though it maintained an extensive R&DcapabilityinCalifornia—whereanumberoftheoriginalinnovationsthatledtothe personal computer, the computer mouse, and other cutting-edge productswere conceived—the company wasn’t as aggressive as others in getting newideasoutofthelaboratoryandintothemarketplace.This approach worked very effectively for a long time. Xerox was highly

profitable, and its stock was a staple in the portfolios of long-term investors,bothindividualandinstitutional.Then things changed. In the 1980s, competitors, particularly in Japan,

developedalternativetechnologies.Thedigitalrevolutionbeganmakingitswayinto the imaging realm, upsetting the formerly stable apple carts of proud oldcompanies like Kodak and Xerox. Xerox continued to aggressively sell itsproductinessentiallythesamewayitalwayshad.Byalloutwardappearances,this strategycontinued towork.The factwas,however, that thecompanywasdrifting out of alignment. Internally, key executives began to raise concernsaboutfundamentalthreatstothefranchise.By the end of the 1990s, the company had begun to lose money and was

highlyleveraged.PeoplestartedtalkingabouttheimpendingdemiseofXerox—anastoundingturnofevents,givenhowdominantthecompanyhadbeenonlyafewyearsearlier.AnneM.Mulcahy,namedpresidentinMay2000andCEOinAugustofthe

followingyear,understoodthatthecompanywasbadlyoutofalignmentandthatdrasticstepswerenecessarytosaveit.Thisunderstandingwasreinforcedbythecompany’s leverage, operating results, and falling stock price. Mulcahy

restructured,andfiredthousandsofemployeesatacompanythatpreviouslyhadbeenseenasa reliable long-termemployer.Shebroughtdowndebt levels,putmoremoneyintoR&D,andrefocusedthecompanycultureoncustomerneeds.All inall, itwasatimeofgreat traumaforXerox.Mulcahyhascommented

publicly that the crisis thatmanifested itself in2000actuallyhad “long roots”thathaddevelopedovermanyyears.Becauseofthevariousactionstakentodealwiththecrisis,thecompanysurvived—andrecovered,toameaningfulextent—butitsleaderslearnedacostlylesson.Theylearnedthevalueofrunningscaredin order to preempt crises from occurring, and of proactively thinking aboutalignment.2

LearningfromtheGreatRecession

Think of the many proud businesses, young and old, that failed during theeconomiccrisis thatbeganin2007.After thefact,somepunditswerequick toobservethatmanyofthesemanagementteamswereoutoftouchandhadfailedin their leadership responsibilities. Ironically, someof thesesame leaderswerecelebratedbythesamepunditsjustafewyearsearlier.Someofthesebusinesseswere dangerously overleveraged— even though they didn’t appear financiallyfragile just a few years earlier. Some of these business models were overlydependentonkeyproductsinwhichtheynolongerhadadistinctivecompetitiveadvantage. Whatever competitive edge they had enjoyed over the years hadclearlyeroded,andthaterosionacceleratedduringtheeconomicdownturn.Whatcanwelearnfromallofthesesadtales?Isubmitthattheyare,attheir

heart, stories aboutveering out of alignment, usually over the course ofmanyyears.Theeconomiccrisiswaswhatlawyersmightcall theproximatecause—thethingthatactuallypushedthemoverthecliffedge—butwhatreallygotthemrightuptothatcliffedgewasaseriesofgradualshiftsthattookseveralyearstounfold. In each case, key factors slowly changed without an appropriateevaluationandresponseinrealigningthebusiness.Business is about change. Approaches that work in one era usually don’t

continuetoworkinanother.Thetrickandobligationforaleaderistobeabletorecognizewhenabusinessisoutofalignment,andthentodosomethingaboutit.Weallhavethecapacitytodothis—andweeachhavethecapacitytomissit.Askingthequestionisthefirststep.

DrivingAlignment

Each of the previous chapters has a bearing on the alignment of yourorganization.Yourleadershipstyleandeffectivenessarekeycontributorstothatalignment—orlackthereof.In this context, the clear articulation of a vision with key priorities is the

destinationtowardwhichyouarealwaysdriving.Effectivealignmentisalwaysmeasuredagainstyoursuccessinachievingtheseobjectives.Coaching is a critical tool in creating alignment. Top-down coaching helps

juniorpeoplework toachievecompanygoals. Inaddition,whenseniorpeoplehavethebenefitofjuniorcoaches,theyhaveabuilt-inearlywarningsystemthatcansignalwhenthebusinessisgettingoutofalignment.Talentmanagementandsuccession-planning processes help ensure that the right people are beingdeployedtothemostcriticaltasks,whichinturnensuresthattheorganizationisachievingitsvisionandadaptingtocriticalchangesintheenvironment.Movingkey talent across the organization into different job functions and geographicregionseveryfewyearsalsohelpsgetafreshsetofeyesonkeycompanyissuesandpractices.Variouscompanyprocesses—suchasMondaymorningmeetings,off-sites, and strategy sessions—are also critical tools in achieving alignment.Yourleadershipisthefirstandlastlineofdefenseinthiseffort.All of these tools and approaches are critical to enhancing alignment and

spotting opportunities to realign. In addition, I suggest you consider anotherusefulalignmenttool:thetaskforce.

TheTaskForce:NoSacredCows

Onehighlyeffectivewaytohelpevaluatealignment,anddevelopviableoptionstoimproveit,istotakeagroupofpotentialsuccessorsfromdifferentfunctionsandbusinessunitsofthefirmandaskthemtoworktogetherasateam.Givethemsomeversionofthefollowingassignment:“Ifwehadtostartthis

business from scratch today, how would we do it?” More specifically, thequestionstheyshouldpursuemightincludethese:

•Arethesethemarketswewouldserve?Arethesetheproductsandserviceswewouldoffer?Arethesethepeoplewewouldhire?

•Wouldwebeorganizedaswearetoday,orwouldwebeorganizedinsomeotherway?

•Isthishowwewouldassessandpayourpeople?Ifnot,howwouldwedo

itdifferently?

•Whatarethekeytaskswewouldneedtobegreatat?Aretheydifferentfromwhatwedocurrently?

•Isourcurrentculturetheonewewouldfoster?Ifnot,howwoulditneedtochange?

•Wouldthecompositionofourleadershipneedtochange?Howwouldthetalentsandleadershipstylesofourcurrentleadersneedtochange?

Givethemafewweekstoanswerthesequestions.Tellthemthattherearenosacred cows. Tell them that in the end, you may not sign up for all of theirrecommendations, but youdefinitelywant tohear them, andyouwillmake atleastsomechangesbasedontheiradvice.Inmyexperience,youwillgetsomesuperb suggestions, and this teamwill highlight issues that youmay not havebeenabletosee,possiblybecauseyouare,atleastsomewhat,emotionallytiedintoyourcurrentbusinessdesignandstructure.

TaskForceComposition:OneLevelDown

Why this type of task force, versus a small group composed of you and yourmost senior executives? Inmy experience, amanagement level below the topleadership group is often likely to have a greater emotional distance andobjectivityinassessingyoursituationandcallingforspecificremedies.Theyarenotasemotionallyweddedtowhathasbeendoneuptonow,andmaynotbeassensitiveaboutchallengingsomeofthesacredcowsoftheorganization.Finally,dependingonyourseniorityandleadershipstyle,oneleveldownmightbeclosertowhat’shappeningatthe“pointofattack”inyourbusiness,and—asaresult—bring a fresh and different perspective. Ultimately, you and your seniorleadershipteamwillneedtotakeuptheseissues,butthistaskforcecangiveyouapowerfulheadstartandrealitycheck.

ACEOCanGetoutofTouch

TheCEOofafinancialservicescompanybasedinasoutheasternstatedecidedtorunthisexercise.Hewasconcernedthatbecauseofrecentconsolidations inhis industry, thefinancialcrisis,andothercompetitiveandcontextualchanges,

hiscompanymightbelosingitsabilitytoeffectivelycompeteandsucceedinitsindustry.Hetoldmethathewasskepticalaboutwhetherataskforcewasagoodidea,statingfranklythathethoughtthatitwasfarmorelikelytogeneratenaiveandsuperficialadvicethanrealinsights.Ipersuadedhimthatthecostsandriskswererelativelylowandthat—becausetherewassolittletolose—itwasworthatry.He selected four up-and-coming executives from different parts of the

company.This four-person task forcewent toworkand fiveweeks later camebackwith somepreliminary thoughts that called for substantial changes in thecompany and its strategy. The CEO was startled at the sheer audacity of thegroup’srecommendations,inlightofthefactthathekneweachofitsmemberstobeameasuredandcarefulprofessional.Hemetwiththemandposedseveralfollow-upquestions,whichtheyspentthenextfewweeksanswering.Itwas at this point in the process that theCEO askedme back for another

roundofconversations.First,heconfessedtomethathewasastonished—evenshocked—atsomeofthetaskforce’ssuggestions.Implementingthemwouldbetraumatic to the company.On the other hand, he admitted, he had studied thegroup’s work carefully and knew that they had raised issues that he simplyhadn’tseenorreallydidn’twant tosee—probablybecausehewastheprimaryarchitectof thecurrentbusinessstrategyandthefirm’sdesign.The ideasdealthead-on with the dramatic changes that had taken place in the needs of theircustomersandthemixoftheirbusinesses.Manyofthefirm’slegacybusinesseshadbecomecommoditized,andunlessthecompanytookadvantageofitsstrongclient relationships to cross-sell higher-value-added services, its business waslikely to erode. Fortunately, the company had a number of the distinctivecompetencies and product capabilities necessary to make the recommendedchanges,buttodosowouldrequirearevampingofitsvision,keypriorities,andorganization.Afterextensivereflectionanddiscussion,theCEOcametotheconclusionthat

manyoftheseideaswereextremelygoodones.Significantchangeswereneeded—butiftheymovedquickly,theycouldmakethesechangesinawaythatwaslikelytostrengthentheircompetitivepositioningintheindustry.WhiletheCEOembracedmanyofthesesuggestions,hewasalsoworriedthat

his rank-and-file employees would be unwilling to embrace them and wouldresist.Toaddressthisconcern,hesubsequentlydidsomespotchecksaroundthefirmandwasastonishedtofindthat theseseemingly“radical”suggestionshadthefullsupportofkeyplayersinthecompany’smiddleandjuniorranks.Hehad

toconclude thathewasmoreoutof touchwith theviewsofhis employees—especiallythosewhowerefacingclientseveryday—thanhehadeverrealized.This story draws on several of themajor themes in our preceding chapters.

TheCEOwasoutoftouchwithhiscompanyinpartbecausehehadnotinvestedsufficiently in a coaching culture, inwhich he could call on junior coaches togive him and his senior team feedback. He had not focused sufficiently onsuccession planning, which would have identified up-and coming stars withwhomheshouldbeintouchonsomeregularbasis.Untilheaskedthistaskforcetotakeonitsassignment,executivessubordinatetohimdidnotfeelwelcometoexpress views that were contrary to the ones he expressed. He was a moredominantfigurethanherealized,andthecompanyhadbecomemoretop-downthanwas advisable.As a result of this exercise, he now began to realize thattherewasacompellingneedtobringthecompanyintoalignmentwithchangesinitscustomerbaseanditsindustrycontext.

The“cleansheetofpaper”analysisbyataskforceofyouremergingleadersisawayofsayingtoyourpeople,“I’mreadytohearthetruthandalsodealwiththattruth. I may not agree with everything you say, but I want to hear contraryviews.”One compelling benefit of the task force approach is that it is highlymotivatingforjuniorpeople.Ithelpsthemlearnaboutthecompany,givesyouachance to see them in action, and communicates that you are a leader wholistens.Believeme:wordsoongetsaroundthecompanythatyouimplementedan idea that was generated by a task force of midlevel and junior people.Employeeshear,fromtheirpeers,thatthisisacompanyinwhichyoungpeoplecanhaveinfluenceearlyintheircareers.

HowOftenShouldIThinkAboutAlignment?

Many executives have asked me whether there is a way to make the wholealignmentchallengelessdisruptive.Myanswer,suggestedearlier,is:“Yes—doitonaregularbasis.”Donetooinfrequently,theanalysisofalignmentcanbequitetraumatic.Ifkey

questionsareleftunansweredfortoolong,gettingbackintoalignmenttendstorequiredramaticchanges,whichcanadverselyaffectindividualemployeesandeven damage the organization. To make a medical analogy, it’s a lot moreadvisable to lose 25 pounds when you are healthy and fit than after you’vealreadysufferedasevereheartattack,andothermedicalcomplicationsstandin

thewayofdealingwithyourhealth.Similarly,I’darguethat theU.S.governmentwouldhavehadaneasiertime

dealing with its huge budget deficit during a period of economic prosperityrather than waiting until an economic crisis and an aftermath of sluggisheconomic growth: can we really raise taxes or substantially cut governmentspending when the rate of unemployment is unacceptably high? As aconsequence of these arguments, no changes are made, and dealing withgovernmentdebtgetspostponedtoalaterdate,whenitismostlikelytobeevenhardertodealwith.Oneofyourjobsasaleaderistoanticipatechallengesandopportunitiesthat

arecomingdowntheroad,dealwiththeminanorderlymanner,andhelpkeepthecompanyinalignment.Giventhatfact,whatshouldyourpeoplethinkwhentheyhearthatradicalchangesneedtobemadeinahurry?Theymaythinkthattheworldhaschangedprettyradicallyinashortperiodoftime,or—morelikely—theymaywellthinkthatyou’vebeenasleepattheswitchandfailedthemasaleader.They have a right to think that. Your people are counting on you to be

thinkingaboutalignment.Theyhaveputtheirfaithinyourcaptainingoftheshipandinyourabilitytokeeptheorganizationoncourse.Youneedtorewardthatfaith. Use these tools early and often. Depending on the industry, I wouldsuggestdoingsometypeofalignmentexerciseeverysixtotwelvemonths,andcertainly as part of your annual planning process. Thinking about alignmenttendstobecomecontagious,andyourexamplewillencouragefellowexecutivestogetinthehabitofthinkingpreemptivelyabouttheseissues.

SeeingtheBiggerPicture

Itmakessensetostudythemovesofcompetitorsthroughthislens.Assignkeystafftowatchcompetitors’actionsandconsiderwhythey’redoingwhatthey’redoing.What does that particular competitivemove do to help that company’sstate of competitiveness?What do you think they see that is causing them tomakecertainmoves?Aretheyjustdumb,oraretheyseeingsomethingthatyouaremissing?Whatisitlikelytomeanforthreatstoyourcompany’scompetitiveposition,inthefuture?Toavoidgettingwalledofffromtheworld,readthenewspaper,onlinenews

services, and relevant trade publications regularly.Doyou really knowwhat’sgoingonoutthere?Astheleader,youneedtobeuponcurrenteventsandtrends

—even ones that don’t seem immediately relevant to your organization—andaskhowthosetrendsmightwindupchangingyourworld.

ADiversityofViews

One reasonwhy the tools described in this chapter can have such a powerfulimpact is that theyallowadiversityofviews tocome to thefore.Yes,debatesanddisagreementcanbeirritating,distracting,anduncomfortable.Atthesametime, they are extremely goodmedicine for a healthy organization. They helpsurface a variety of different types of problems and are likely to point toapproachestodealwiththoseproblems.But what happens if the members of your senior leadership are all from

similarbackgrounds,withsimilarviews—orworse,ifthey’reallyourlongtimecronies(asdiscussedinchapter4)?Almostcertainly,therewon’tbethesekindsofsalutarydebatesanddisagreements.Asaconsequence,yourcompanywillbeat severe risk of “groupthink,” inwhich issues either do not emerge or aren’tproperly debated. This syndrome was on display during the recent economiccrisis,with lack of diversity (in the broadest sense) at the top of a number ofcompaniesleadingtomonolithicthinking,insulation,and—ultimately—severedamageto(oreventheeconomicfailureof)theorganization.It’syourjob,asaleader,toensurethatatruediversityofbackgrounds,styles,

andviewsispresentintheseniorranksofyourcompany.Ifyoucan’tfigureouthowtodo this,yourboardmayhave tohelpyoudo it,byencouragingyou tosurround yourself with peoplewho aren’t necessarily close or “loyal” to you.Yes,ofcourseyouwantloyaltyfromyourkeysubordinates,butyoualsowantthe composition of this group to be based onmerit and on thewillingness toengage in open debate and disagreement.Youwant a senior leadership groupthatwillseetheworldinavarietyofways,disagreewitheachother,and—mostimportant—havethecouragetotellyouthetruthsyouneedtohear.

TwoTrueTestsofLeadership

In this book, we have talked about the various roles that an effective leaderplays.Thischaptercomprisestwoofthemostimportant.Thefirstistheleaderas “architect.” The architect asks the key questions and is constantly seekingcluesinordertodeterminewhetherthebusinessisinoroutofalignment.Thistaskisneithereasynorobvious,butitiscriticaltothecompany’sfortunes.

The second role of the leader is being an effective agent of changewhen itbecomesclearthatyourbusinesshasgottenoutofalignment.Doyouhavethewisdom,energy,expertise,andcouragetomakethenecessarychanges?Doyouhave sufficient knowledge and relationships in the organization to be able todevelop a cogent action plan for successfully executing key changes? This iswherecoaching,creatingalearningenvironment,andpromotingkeypeoplewhocare first about the organization—versus their ownparochial interests—are allcriticaltosuccessfullyimplementingchange.However you approach the alignment challenge, the key is asking the

questionsanddoingtheanalysis.Yourcriticalstakeholdersarecountingonyou.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Identifyakeybusinessunitorfunctiontotryouttheclean-sheet-of-paperexercise.Createasmalltaskforcebasedontheselectednamesfromthesuccession-planningdepthchartexercise.Attempttodrawprofessionalsfromatleasttwotothreedifferentbusinessunitsand/orfunctionalareas.Givetheteamaspecificassignment,andemphasizethattheyshouldassumethattherearenosacredcowstobeprotected.Makecleartothemthatwhileyoumaynotfolloweverypieceoftheiradvice,youwanttheircandidviewsandmostlikelywillimplementatleastsomeoftheirsuggestions.

2.Agreeonanappropriatetimeframe.Takeintoaccountthatthisassignmentisnotinplaceofdoingtheirdayjobs.Makeclearthatyouareavailabletoanswerquestionsorgiveguidance,butyouplantostayawayfromthisprocessinordertoavoidinfluencingtheiranalysisandconclusions.

3.Debriefthegroupregardingtheirfindings.Also,conductapostmortemtodeterminewhatyouandthetaskforcelearnedfromtheprocessofdoingthisexercise.

4.Developaspecificactionplanforimplementingatleastsome(ifnotall)ofthegroup’srecommendations.

TheLeaderasRoleModel

CommunicatingWhatYouTrulyBelieveandValue

Doyouactasarolemodel?

Doyourbehaviorsmatchyourwords?

Howdoyouconductyourselfunderpressure?

Isyourconductconsistentwithyourstatedvalues?

Seatedatthehelmofanorganization,aleaderwearsmanyhatsandplaysmanyroles.We’vetalkedaboutseveralofthoserolesinthisbook:theleaderasvisionary,

coach/mentor,organizationalarchitect,andchangeagent.Inaddition,theleadermay play the role of thewise captain—the person you trust to guide the shipevenwhennoone isquitesurewhat thefutureholds.The leadermustalsobethevisiblechiefguardianoftheorganization’sreputation,ethicalstandards,andbrandintegrity.In some cases, the leadermust also be the healerwho gets people towork

together, forgive each other, and generally get along. Similarly, the leader canserveasconvener: theonepersonwhohas theclout togetpeople in thesameroomandworktogethertosolveaproblem.Inthischapter,wewillexploreingreaterdetailoneofthemostcriticalrolesa

leadermustplay—thatis,asamodelforothers,anexampleforotherstofollow.Yes,certainly,theleadercanandshouldtellpeoplewhatheorshewantsthemtodo.Inpractice,however,thesewordsdonotspeakasloudlyorforcefullyastheexampleheorshesetsbyexhibiting(ornotexhibiting)therequestedbehavior.Knowinglyorunknowingly,everyleaderplaysthisrole.Someleaders,though,arenotsufficientlyawarethat theyservethispurposeinanorganization.Theybelievethatbecausetheyaretheleader,theycanplaybyadifferentsetofrules.

Theybelievethatitisreasonabletoaskemployeesto“doasIsay,notasIdo.”Inthesecases,theleaders’actionsfailtomatchtheirmostcarefullyarticulatedtoppriorities(seechapter2).Thisapproachdoesn’tworkforverylong,ifatall.Yes,toacertainextent,the

leader does play by different rules, and the people in an organization aregenerally willing to provide some latitude to a leader in judging his or herbehavior.Thatdoesn’tchangethefundamentalfact,however, that theleader isthemostpowerfulrolemodelforthepeopleofanorganization.Inevitably,hisorherbehaviorwillspeaklouderthananycleversloganorwell-polishedspeech.

HowOthersSeeYou

Far more than anyone else in an organization, the leader is observed—byeveryone. Is her door open or closed?Where does she sit? How is his officedecorated(andwhopaidforit)?Doeshebarricadehimselfinhisofficeallday,or does he walk around, and even sometimes sit at the lunch table with theemployeesandshootthebreeze?Doesshehaveafrownonherfaceorasmile—andwhatdoesthatsayaboutwhatshemustbethinkingandfeeling?Doesherbodylanguagegiveoffanairofsuperiorityorarrogance,ordoesitsuggestthatshe respects the employees and really wants to get to know people asindividuals?Whatdoeshedowhenhegetsinanelevator—doeshestandaloneandlookdown,orengagethepeoplearoundhiminafriendlyway?Isshefriendlier to thoseaboveher in thepeckingorder thanshe is to those

who report to her—in other words, does her demeanor change, based on thestatureofthepersonwithwhomshe’stalking?Isshefriendlytopeopleface-to-face but critical of them behind their backs?When things gowrong, does hedistance himself from the problem—blaming someone else for it—or does hetake responsibility and ownership, even if he wasn’t the person primarily atfault? Does his exhibited behavior reinforce or contradict his aspirationalrhetoric?Do any of these situations ring a bell with you? Do you have one set of

standardsforyourspeechesandadifferentsetforyourbehavior?Doyouhaveonesetofstandardsforyourbehaviorwhenyouthinkpeoplearewatching,andadifferentsetforwhenyouthinknooneiswatching?Ifso,whydoyouthinkthisisOK?Let’s try a fewmore questions.Do you have your own parking spot in the

employeeparking lot?Doyoueat in thecompanycafeteriaor inanexecutive

diningroom?Doyouflyfirstclassevenwhentherestofyourteamisbackincoach?Doyouasktobereimbursedforfirstclassonrelativelyshorttrips,eventhoughcompanypolicystatesthatyouaresupposedtoflycoachclassontripsoflessthanfourhours?Doyoulivebyasetofrulesdifferentfromthosethatyouaskyourpeopleto

liveby?Ifso,why?Whatgivesyoutheideathatyouneedanddeserve“specialhandling?”Again, does any of this get you to thinking?What do you do in these and

similartypesofsituations?Whatdoyouractionssayaboutwhoyouareandthetypeofcompanyyouwanttobuild?Doesyourbehaviorreinforceorcontradictthevaluesyouespouse,thecultureyousayyouwishtobuild,andthevisionyouarticulate for the firm?Whatmessages—reinforcing or undermining—are yousendingbythewayyoubehave?

WordsVersusActions:DoYouWalktheTalk?

Themanagingpartnerofahedgefundhadbuiltanexcellent firmoverseveralyears.Hehadtakenthetimeattheinceptionofthefirmtowritedownadetailedset of business principles, whichwere on thewall of every office, frequentlyreprintedincompanydocuments,andpostedprominentlyonthecorporateWebsites. He even had these principles—which emphasized concepts such as theimportanceof teamwork, innovation, lookingoutforeachother,andlong-termthinkingininvestmentdecisions—printedonlittlelaminatedcardssothatpeoplecould carry them in their pockets. Whenever the subject came up inconversation, he said emphatically that he wanted to build a learningenvironment, in which young people were coached and mentored and couldlearnfromtheirmistakes.Thiswasalsoakeypartofhisrecruitingpitchtoeverypotentialnewhire:ifthisisthekindofcultureyouwant,thenyoushouldcomeworkwithus.Inmylater talkswith this leaderandhisemployees, itbecameclear thathe

had adhered to these principles consistently during the first few years of thefirm’sexistence.Oncethefundpassedseveralbilliondollarsundermanagement,the firmwas obliged to get bigger, and quickly, in order to accommodate thegrowth.Duringaroughpatchinthemarketinlate2007,thefirm’sperformancebegantodeteriorateversustheStandard&Poor’s500—theprimarybenchmarkagainstwhichtheywerejudgedbyinvestors.Thiswasfarfromauniquescenario.Ifyoufollowtheinvestmentcommunity,

you know that every firm goes through periods of underperformance. Thedisturbingthingaboutthisperiod,though,wasthatkeyemployeesbegantoquitthefirm,forvariousstatedandunstatedreasons.Asthesepeopleleft,thefirm’soverallperformancecontinuedtodeteriorate,andseeminglyavoidableanalyticalmistakesbecamemoreandmorecommon.More concerned about the performance of his team than the firm’s overall

flaggingeconomicperformance,hecalledandaskedwhetherIcouldcomeovertohisofficeandspeakwithhim.Ilistenedforafewhoursashedescribedhisphilosophy of the business. He spoke in a heartfelt way about the principlesdescribed above: teamwork, innovation, long-term thinking, and so on. Itwasinspirational—tosuchanextent thatbythe timehewasfinished,Iwasalmostready tosignupandwork theremyself.Whatagreatplace to learnandgrowprofessionally!Then the story took a less positive turn.Hewent on to describe the recent

departures, the performance deterioration, and—worst of all, in his eyes—aseriesofavoidablemistakesinanalyzingcompaniesandstocks.Ashespoke,Iobservedhis irritationincreasing—thevolumeandpitchofhisvoiceroseuntilhewasnearlyshouting:“Whythehellisthishappening?”Hestrodearoundhisoffice,gesticulatingasheyelled,“Whydoesn’t the teamget it?AmI theonlyonewhocaresaboutourvalues?IfeellikeI’malone,here.I’vegottheweightoftheworldonmyshoulders.Howdidwegetintothisfix?”I heard him out, not responding to his rhetorical questions (or his anger).

Finally,IaskedhimwhetherIcouldmeetwithahandfulofhiskeyleadersone-on-one.Heagreedtothis,andIsubsequentlymetwithfiveofhisseniorleadersindividually. In eachof these sessions, I heard story after story about how thefirm’s leader conducted himself on a daily basis. It was eye opening. Forexample:

•Theytoldstoriesofthedaily8:30a.m.investmentstaffmeeting.Inthesemeetings,theleaderoftendirectlycriticizedandbrowbeatindividualstaffmembers.Ifastockwentdown,hewasespeciallycritical,wantinganexplanationofwhythishadhappened—eventhougheveryoneintheroomknewthattheremightnotactuallybeacogentorclearanswertothisquestion.(Thestockmarketisnotalwaysdrivenbylogic;sometimes,stockssimplygodownforreasonsthatcannotbeeasilydeterminedorexplained.)Ifyouwereaninvestmentstaffmemberatthisfirmandyoupickedastockthatdeclined,youknew,forsure,thatyou

weregoingtoget“beatup”infrontofyourcolleagues—eventhoughthefirm’sleaderhadactivelyparticipatedin,andagreedwith,thedecisiontoinvestinthatstock.

•Ialsoheardabouttheunpredictablemoodswingsoftheleader.“Youneverknowfromdaytoday,”onepersontoldme,“whichpersonyou’regoingtoencounter:thehappyoneorthemiserableone.”Itgotworse.Hewasdescribedasalternatingbetweentempertantrumsononedayandsaccharine,over-the-topcomplimentsthenext.Peoplewalkedoneggshells,notknowingwhattoexpect.Hismoodmightbedrivenbythefund’sperformance—orbysomethingthathappenedathomebeforehecametowork,orsomeotherfactor.Whocouldpredict?Howcouldyouknow?

•Anotherthemecamethroughloudandclear:despitethefirm’savowedemphasisoncoaching,theleaderreallynolongerhadenoughtimetocoachhisstaffofprofessionals.Hewasspreadtoothin,dealingwithoutsideinvestors,administrativematters,investmentdecisions,assetallocationandportfolioconstruction,andsoon.Asoneseniorprofessionaltoldme,“We’vegottensobig,andhe’soutwithinvestorssomuchmore.Tous,he’sreallybecomeunapproachable,becausehe’ssobusywithotherstuff.”

WhatIwashearingwasthat theleaderhadfailedfundamentally todelegatespecific typesofdecisions toothers (seechapter4).Asa result,essentiallyalladministrative, investor relations, investment, and trading decisions had to beapproved by him. This created an enormous bottleneck and undermined theleadership development as well as teamwork potential of the group. It alsocreatedastrange,almostsurrealatmospherewhenhepubliclydresseddownhiscolleagues for bad decisions:doesn’t he remember that hemade that decisionhimself?ManyoftheseniorleadersIinterviewedwereactivelythinkingaboutleaving

because—asIheardmany times, insomanywords—”thefunhasgoneoutofthejob.”IalsoheardasteadyrefrainthatIfoundparticularlytroubling:“Pleasedon’trepeatthesecommentstohim!Evenifyoudon’ttellhimwhomadethem,he’llknow,andI’llbeinthedoghousefortherestofmytimewiththefirm.”Needlesstosay,IassuredthemIwoulddoeverythinginmypowertodisguise

allcommentsandconceal the identitiesof the individualswhomade them.On

thatbasis,theyallgavemepermissiontorelaytheirobservationstotheleader.Again, though, Iwasstruckby thedegreeof reluctanceandanxiety theyweredemonstratingasIobtainedtheirpermission todrawontheircomments inmyreport to theirboss.Itwasn’t justanawkwardsituation; itwasadysfunctionalone.Ialsowasstruckbyhowdirectly,andcompletely, thesestoriescontradicted

the goals and aspirations that the leader had articulated regarding the type oforganization he wanted to build and sustain. Yes, he communicated themforcefully, andoften.Theproblem, though,was that theyno longer jibedwithhisdailybehavior.Inmymeetingswiththemanagingpartner,Ifirstgavehimthegeneralflavor

ofwhat I had heard. Then I recommended that he hire an outside coachwhowouldformally interviewaverybroadrangeofcompanyemployees—perhapstwodozenormore.(This,Ifigured,wouldpreventanyonepersonfrombeingidentified and singled out for “punishment”; it would also make the findingsharder to ignore, since they would be derived from a broader base.) Irecommended a coach in whose work I had a lot of confidence, andrecommended that she be brought on board as soon as possible. The leaderagreed.Twomonthspassed, and Iwas called in tomeetwith themanagingpartner

anddiscuss the results reportedby the coach.Hegot right to thepoint. “Howcouldtheysaythosethings?”heaskeddefensively.Bythistime,heandIhadaprettygoodrelationship,andIfeltfreetobeblunt

with him. I explained that the problemwasn’t with the peoplewho had beeninterviewed;theproblemwaswithhim.Hewasfailingtoacknowledge,orevenrealize,thathisactionscarriedfarmoreweightthanhiswords.Itdidn’tmatterhowmanywalls orWeb sites he coveredwith thosewords; all too often, hisbehaviorpointedinexactlytheoppositedirection.We talked through the kinds of actions he took in a typical day, and why.

Together, drawing on the coach’s report and my earlier observations, wecritiquedtheworstoftheseactionsanddiscussedthechillingimpacttheyhadonthepeopleof thefirm.Moreor less inreal time,hesawthatasaresultof thegulf betweenwhat he espoused andwhat he actually did, he appeared to be ahypocrite.This wasn’t a comfortable conclusion to reach, and I give him credit for

getting there. I give him even more credit for his efforts over the followingmonths, as he slowly learned to change many of his more confusing and

offensivebehaviors.It was a painful period for him. He needed to spend time trying to betterunderstand his own motivations and behaviors— including his assumptionsabouthumannature—andcometogripswithwhyhebehavedthewayhedid.Alotofit,hetoldmeatonepoint,hadtodowithhislifestory,hisrelationshipswithhisparents,thelessons(goodandbad)thathehadlearnedfromhisearly-careerbosses,hisoveralltemperament,andthewayhedealtwithstress.Again,itwasatough,evensearing,processforhim,buthelearnedtothinkbeforeheacted,andtoweighhisactionsasheavilyashiswords.Healsolearnedthatheneeded to delegate much more extensively, to make sure that critical firmpriorities were being pursued even when he was too busy to address themhimself.Intermsofconcretesteps,helearnedtodevelopseveraljuniorcoacheswho

werewillingandable tohelphimunderstand the impactofhisbehavior.Withthose coaches, and also with friends and family members, he focused onenhancing his self-awareness: seeing himself as others saw him. He alsodesignatedkeylieutenantstowhomhedelegatedvariouscriticaltasksthatwereessentialtoachievingthevisionofthefirm.Over thenext fewmonths, the company’s atmosphere andculturegradually

improved, becoming more in line with the leader’s aspirations. Although themarkets remained difficult, the firm began performing dramatically better incomparisonwithitscompetitors.Inthesurestsignthatthingsweregettingbetter—and the word was getting out—several former employees who had jumpedship in the bad days agreed to return because of stories from their formercolleaguesaboutthechangeinbehavioroftheCEO.

TheProcessofSelf-Discovery

This case history is about self-discovery and understanding. It’s about youunderstandingyou.Thisisacriticalchallengeforaleader,andit’sonetowhichwe’ll return in more depth in the next chapter. As your roles evolve fromproducer, tomanager of a small team, tomanager of a larger team, to havinghundreds or thousands of employees, the pressures and the role modelrequirements that you are expected to take on become dramatically moreimportant.Not every leader is conscious of this transition, and those who remain

unawareof it arevery likely to fail—without everunderstandingexactlywhat

wentwrong.Success, inseniormanagementpositions, requiresyoutohaveanunderstandingofwhoyouare,anappreciationofthepoweroftheroleyouarein,acarefulplanfordelegatingkeyresponsibilitiesandempoweringothers,anda conscious approach to the messages you want to be sending with yourbehavior.Haveyouthoughtthroughthesequestions?

LearningtoLeadOthers

AverycapableandseasonedseniorexecutivewasrecruitedtobecometheCEOofadiversifiedindustrialcompany.Hegotthejobwhenthecompany’sboardofdirectors did an external search after ousting their previous CEO. He wentthroughanextensive interviewprocess thatwasconducted inahighlydiscreetmanner, given that this was a public company and the board wanted to keeprumorstoaminimum.Why did the board hire him?Therewere plenty of good reasons.Over the

courseofhiscareer,hehadprovedtobeaterrificproductionmanager,andlateran accomplished product manager, at three different companies. He had animpressivebreadthof experienceat thosecompanies andwas, at thispoint, inhisearlyfifties.Givenhisrelativelyyoungage,hewouldhaveplentyoftimetoputhisstamponthecompany.Whattheboarddidn’tfindoutinitsduediligence—inpartduetothesecrecy

withwhich itwas compelled to operate—were some of hisweak points. Forexample,whilehewasanexcellent strategist, hewasnot aparticularly strong“peopleperson.”Hedidn’tparticularlyenjoydevelopingdeeprelationshipswithhis subordinates, through which he might learn about their strengths,weaknesses, backgrounds, and personalities. In addition, he was somewhatstingy about sharing credit, probably because of his own insecurities and hispreviousexperiences.Infact,inhispreviousjobs,hehadconcludedthatinorderto get ahead, he needed to make sure that he got the credit for keyaccomplishments.Last,althoughhewasagreatproducerhimself,hehadtroubledevelopingrelationshipswithothertopproducersandwasnotparticularlyadeptatcoachingotherstobecomegreatproducers.Theboardlearned,toitsdismay,thatmanyofthestrengthsthathadpropelled

itsnewCEOup the ladder athispreviousemployerswerenotnecessarily thequalities that would make him a success as CEO of this company. Uponobservinghimforseveralmonthsandhearing feedback fromseveralcompanyemployees,theboardhadaninterventionwiththeCEO.

Havingdonetheirhomework,theboardmemberspresentedhimwithaseriesofissuestheybelievedheneededtoaddressifhewastosucceedasCEO.At thispoint, the leaddirector askedme tohelp in this situation.While the

CEOwas deficient in a number of areas, hewas nevertheless a very talentedperson. He was quite shaken by the board confrontation and was highlymotivatedtoimproveandmakethissituationsuccessful.We spoke at length through the various questions outlined in this book,

including the importance of theCEO’s being a rolemodel. To respond to theboard’s constructive concerns, he decided to develop an informal network ofjunior coaches at the company, with whom he could consult one-on-oneregarding the impactofhisbehavior.Healsodecided thatdespitehisprevioustraininganddevelopmentofpotentiallybadhabits,heabsolutelycouldlearntochange,becomea rolemodel, andbuildacohesivecompany. Iwasextremelyimpressed by the fact that once he committed himself to thinking differentlyabouthisroleasCEOandcommittinghimselftolearning,hemadesubstantialprogress.Iampleasedtoreportthatafterayearofintensiveworkanddiscussion,heis

performing at a very high level. He always had the intelligence, technicalcapabilities,andother talents thatheneeded—infact,hehadthosequalities inabundance.Thechallenge,forhim,layinchangingthewayhethoughtabouthisrole.TheCEOjob,he learned, isabouta lotmore thanperforming tasks. It isaboutbeingopen to learningandchanging, settinganexample forothers, andcommunicatingthroughactionsaswellaswords.Canyoustill learnandimprove,asaseniormanagerinyourearlyfifties?Theanswerisabsolutelyyes—ifyouarecommittedandmotivated.Inaddition,asayounger professional, you should be highlymotivated to work on developingskillsandpracticesthatwillprepareyouformoreseniorpositionsasyourcareerprogresses.

Fromthe180-PoundExecutivetothe800-PoundGorilla

TheCEO of a large consulting firmwanted advice regarding certain pressingstrategyandleadershipissues.Hehadspentthirtyyearsatthiscompanybeforerecently being promoted to CEO. I had known him duringmy own career ininvestment banking, and had advised him at various points during his upwardcareerclimb.Ilikedhimverymuch.Hewasalwaysverybrightandinsightful.Hehadaverydry,sometimesoff-colorsenseofhumor.Hehadalwaysbeenabit

of a cynic, but that was a humorous and generally appealing part of hispersonality.Thiscompanywasverylargeand—givenitssizeandplaceinitsindustry—

veryhighprofile.TheCEOcalledmeonedayandgotrighttothepoint.Hewasoff toa“roughstart”at thecompany,he said.First,hehaddonean in-personmeetingwithinstitutionalinvestorsandsell-sideanalysts,andhedidn’tthinkithad gone very well. In addition, he wasn’t sure he had been approaching hisdirectreportsandcompanyemployeesintherightway.ItoldhimhonestlythatIwasn’t sure exactly what he was talking about. After a brief pause, he askedwhether,asafavor,Iwouldmeetwithtwoorthreeofhisdirectreportsandaskhowtheythoughthewasdoing.I agreed to do this, andwithin theweek, had the conversations that he had

requested.WhatIlearnedwasthatthesedirectreportshadbeenthrilledthathehadbeennamedCEO.Havingsaidthis,theyhadexpectedhimtorecognizethatheneededtobehavedifferentlynowthathewasCEO.Thecynicismtheyusedto enjoy now seemed inappropriate, and they wished he would stop it. Forexample, they didn’twant him using the company’s town hallmeetings as anopportunitytomakecynicalcomments.Theywantedtheirownsubordinatestobe idealistic about the company, and that required theCEO to showhewas a“truebeliever.”Even if itwasonlya role, they toldme, theyexpectedhim toplayit!There was more—mostly variations on the theme of his new role. They

wantedhim todrop theoff-color jokes, even inprivate settings.They thoughtthatheneededtogetinearlierinthemorning.True,hehadalwaysbeenalatearriver—it had been the subject of much friendly banter, over the years—buttheybelievedthatbecausehewasnowtheCEO,histardinesswassendingabadsignaltoemployees.Theyalsowantedhimtotalkwithhisassistantaboutbeinga bit friendlier and more constructive when she received calls regarding hisschedule.Theysuggestedthatheshouldthinkaboutdrivingalessflashycartoworkandbeabitmoremindfulofhisdress,evenoncasualFridays. Inshort,theywantedhimtolookandactliketheCEOofaconservativecompany.WhenIsatdownwithmyfriendandrelayedallofthisnewstohim,hewas

bothamusedandperturbed.Heexplainedthat,for thepast thirtyyears,hehadnevergottenanysuchfeedback;nowallofasudden,everybodyhadanopinionabout the way he dressed? He confessed that he thought that many of thecomments were off base, even ridiculous—and besides, was he supposed tochangehisactatthisstageinhislife?

Wehadbeenfriendsforseveralyears,soIfeltfreetotalktohiminafairlybluntway.Hehadtorealize,Isaid,thathehadmadeamajortransition:froma180-pound senior executive to the800-poundgorilla that embodied thehopes,dreams, and aspirationsof thousandsofpeople.Like it or not, hiseverymovewouldnowbecloselyobserved,fortherestofhiscareer.Hisstatementswouldbe parsed internally and externally. His moods would be observed, tracked,interpreted.Howhebehavedinrestaurants,howhetalkedtothecustodialstaff,how he dealt with employees across the company— all would be closelyscrutinizedhenceforthforcluestohischaracter.Inshort,hehadbecome“rolemodelinchief,”and—Itoldhim—thiswaspart

andparcelofacceptingthejobasCEO.Sure,hemightfeelthesameashedidfourmonthsearlier,buttoeveryonearoundhim,hewasnotthesame.Hiswordsand actions all had more weight. Yes, he needed to be himself, but he alsoneeded to recalibrate his behavior, taking into account his new weight andstrength.Akindwordfromhimnowmeantmoretoanemployeethaniteverhadbefore;arebukefromhimstungfarworsethaninhispreviouslife.Thegoodnewsisthat,overaperiodoftime,hetookallofthisfeedbackon

board and eventually became quite comfortable with his new reality. But itdefinitelyrequiredachangeinhismind-set.Hisworldwouldbedifferent,fromnowon.

Promotions:APowerfulSignalAboutWhoYouAreandWhatYouValue

The role-model analysis is not just about your behavior. It also relates to thebehaviorofthoseyoupromote.Justasyouareapowerfulrolemodel,thepeopleyoupromote tokey jobssendenormouslypowerfulsignals to theorganizationaboutwhat you truly believe.Are these decisions consistentwith your valuesandyourvisionfortheorganization?Dotheseleadersshareyourvisionandbuyintoyourcarefullychosenprioritiesfor theorganization?Aretheseleaders thetypeofrolemodelsyouwantyouremployeestoemulate?

The CEO of a professional services firm was in the midst of attempting astrategicrepositioningofhiscompany.Hisobjectivewastoexpandtheserviceshiscompanyprovidedandmoveintonewadvisorybusinessesthatwereadjacenttothecompany’straditionalbusiness.Ithoughtthestrategymadealotofsenseandwasconsistentwiththefirm’sdistinctivecompetencies,andthattherewasaterrific market opportunity to provide these additional services to the firm’s

clients.Frommyfirsthandobservations, Ibelieved that this leaderwasanexcellent

rolemodel.Henotonlyarticulatedthecentralvaluesandvisionforthefirm,butalsowasveryscrupulousaboutleadingfromthefront—thatis,makingsurethathis behavior was consistent and exemplified the qualities that he wanted hisleaders to exhibit in this firm: commitment to excellence, putting the client’sinterestsfirst,coachingandmentoringtoptalent,andestablishinganatmosphereoffairness.Despite these built-in advantages, he was struggling to figure out how to

execute the strategic repositioning that he had been advocating. He hadpersonally chosen his senior lieutenants since he had becomeCEO two yearsearlier. He himself had always been a superb producer before becoming thefirm’s leader, and he naturally gravitated toward promoting other producers—that is, people likehim—intokey senior roles. Inotherwords,whenhemadepromotion decisions, hewaswilling to overlook shortcomings in his people’sleadership skills, coaching skills, and moral compasses because he valuedrevenue generation far above these other attributes. Initially, this seemed towork; but over time, voluntary turnover among the top-performing quartile ofprofessionals began to increase, and it became more difficult to moveprofessionalsbetweendivisions.I suggested that he ask his head of HR to interview a number ofmidlevel

managers to learnmoreabout the increased turnover. I also suggested that theHRheaddoexitinterviews—eveniftheyhadtobeheldafewmonthsaftertheemployeeleftthefirm—tofindoutthereasonsbehindthedepartures.Finally,Isuggestedthatheaddsomeinterviewswithmidlevelmanagerswhohadn’tleftthecompany—yet.IagreedtomeetwiththeheadofHRfirst,todebriefwhathelearned,andthenjoinhimforameetingwiththeCEO.The HR head had an instinct, before doing the interviews, about what he

mightfind.Theinterviewsconfirmedhisexpectations.HeheardthatwhiletheCEOespousedvaluesoffairnessandvaluing theemployee, thedivisionheadshehadput inplacesentverydifferentsignals, indeed.NoamountofspeechesfromtheCEOorexemplarybehavioronhispartcouldmakeupforthebehaviorofhiskeysubordinates.Theconstant refrainencounteredby theHRheadwasthatproductionisthebe-allandend-allatthiscompany.Ifthatwasn’tthecase,whydidtheCEOfailtochoosesubordinateswhoexhibitedthebehaviorshewastouting?Whydidhealwaysgofortheproducers?The midlevel employees who had remained with the company were quite

cynicalabout thenewstrategic initiativesanddidn’twant tosignupfor them.While these new directionsmightmake strategic sense for the company, theyinvolved a substantial degree of risk. In particular, years would have to passbeforeproductioninthenewbusinessesreachedthesamelevelasintheexistingbusinesses.Andifproductionwasthecriticalmetric—asevidencedbyallthosepromotiondecisions—whyshouldsomeonewhowassucceedingatanexistingposition decide to move, and thereby incur a risk? It also emerged that thedivision headswere actively discouraging key subordinates frommoving intothesenewareas,becauselosingthemmightdetractfromproductionintheirowndivisions.Next,we discussed all thiswith theCEO,whowas quite disturbed by this

feedback.Iencouragedhimtofirstactivelycoachhiskeysubordinatesonwhatheexpectedofthem.Heshouldexplicitlyexpandthecriteriaforcompensationtoincludefactorsotherthanpureproduction.Heshouldassurepeoplewhoweretransferring to the new areas that he would personally watch over theircompensationandcareerprogress.Heagreedtothisapproach.Unfortunately,though,herealizedafteronlyafew

monthsthatoverthepreviousseveralyears,hehadpromotedthewrongpeopleintocertainkeyjobs.Hewasnowlearningfirsthandwhatmanyinthecompanyhadknownallalong:thathispromotiondecisionshadbeencontradictingwhathehadbeenarticulatingasthevisionandkeyprioritiesforthefirm.Witheachpromotion,hewascreatinganegativerolemodel,whicheventuallyunderminedhisabilitytobuildhisorganizationandmoveitforward.Yes,heultimatelywasable to correct many of these mistakes—but valuable time was lost, and theprogressthatthefirmmade(andhadtomake)wasdelayedunnecessarily.

Whatdothesestoriesaddupto?Theyadduptothefactthatbothyouand thepeopleyouselectasyourlieutenantsarerolemodelsandarethereforecarefullyobservedbyyourpeople.Thisiswhymanycompanieshavetrainingsessionsforprofessionals who have been recently promoted to more senior positions. Inthese sessions, they help the participants better understand the new skills andpractices they will need to learn, as well as their increased visibility as rolemodelsintheorganization.

HowDoYouBehaveUnderPressure?

Many executives deeply understand their position as role model and manage

theirbehavioraccordingly.Inmanycases,thisworkswelluntilthereisacrisisin which the executive comes under enormous pressure. This circumstance isworth exploring here inmore depth.While a leader is closely observed undernormalcircumstances, inacrisis,youcanmultiply thatscrutinybya factoroften.Youmaynotbeawareofit,butwhenahighlyadverseorextremelystressfulsituationdevelops,yourpeoplebegin towatcheverymoveyoumakewith theintensity of a hawk.Theywant to seewho you really are andwhat you trulyvalue.While crisesmight represent only a fraction of your time as a leader, these

episodesaretheonesthatarelikelytodefineyou.Thisisn’tnecessarilyfair,orrational,butanecdotesaboutyouunderpressurearenormallytheonesthatliveonandmaketheroundsinyourcompany.Whenyourpeoplegooutfordrinksafterwork,yourbehaviorunderpressureisverylikelywhatthey’regoingtotalkabout.People take their cues from thewayyou behavewhen things are not going

well. Do you lose your temper? Do you become moody? Do you distanceyourself from the situation? Do you blame others—to the point that theyquestionwhether you really believe in teamwork?Should they avoid bringingyoubadnewsbecauseyouhaveatendencytoshootthemessenger?Shouldtheybe wary of approaching you if they think you’re in a bad mood? By yourbehavior, do you train them to worry more about themselves, versus thecompany,becausethat’swhatyoudo,inapinch?Learningtomanageyourbehaviorintimesofstressisacriticalattributeofa

leader.Youneedtolearnthisskill.

WhatCreates“Pressure”forYou?

Thinkaboutwhatcreatespressure foryou.Myemphasisonyou ispurposeful.Pressureandstressaredeeplyperson-specific.Theissuesthatstressyououtmaynotbothersomeoneelseatall,andviceversa.For example: someofmyhot buttons includepeople quittingunexpectedly,

lax attitudes, and finger-pointing. On the other hand, I am not particularlybothered ifwe loseapieceofbusiness(as longasIbelievewehaveput forthour best effort). It doesn’t bother me to admit a mistake; in fact, I find itliberatingtogetsomethingoffmychestandout intheopen.Similarly,Idon’tmindtakingresponsibilityforthingsthatdon’tgowell.Ibelievethat’sthefirststeptowarddiagnosingtheproblem,fixingthemistake,andmovingforward.In

stressful situations, I have learned (and am still learning) to count to ten, notoverreact,andstaycalmwhenIfeelanxious.What’s on your list of stressors? Itmight include, for example, not getting

promoted, losingmoney,gettingfired,firingsomeone,confrontation,believingyou’renotsmartenough,believingyou’renotlikedorloved,feelingoverloaded,andsoonandsoforth.

StrivingforGreaterSelf-AwarenessasYouBecomeaLeader

As you think about what circumstances create undue pressure for you, and,further,consideryourtypicalbehaviorinresponsetothesestresses,youshoulddeveloppotentialactionstepsthatwillhelpyoucopewithpressure.Actionstepscould be as simple as cutting down on your caffeine consumption, getting apropernight’srest, regularexercise,ormeditation.Otheractionscould includegiving yourself a brief time-out before you overreact to a stressful situation,buildingmore slack time into yourweekly schedule, or developing a strongersupportgroupcomprisingconfidantesbothinsideandoutsideyourfirm.Thisadvicemayseemabit touchy-feely toyou,but Ican tellyou thatself-

awarenessandself-managementarecritically importantattributesasyoumoveupinyourcareer.Theseaspectsofyourbehaviorbecomeespecially importantwhenyoubecomealeader,becauseyourbehaviorwillbeobservedandimitatedbyyourpeople.Ifyouhavebadhabitsunderstress,youshouldexpectthatyourpeoplewilladoptthosesamebadhabits.Thiscanseverelyunderminethetrustand confidence in your leadership and, as a consequence, undermine theoperatingeffectivenessofyourorganization.Ofcourse,youarenotgoingtobeabletoavoidstressfulsituations.Stressisa

part of being human, and it’s certainly part of leadership.You can’t run awayfromstress.Instead,youneedtobecomemuchmoredeliberateabouthowyouchoosetorespondtostress.

TheCostofPlayingtheBlameGame

AsImentionedearlier,somepeoplecan’tstandtoadmitthattheywerewrong,orthatthey’vemadeamistake.Youcouldputaloadedguntotheirheads,andthey still would not want to admit that they screwed up. Unfortunately, thesepeoplehavenotyetlearnedthatmakingthemistakeisrarelyfatal.Ontheotherhand, failing to own up to it and address the issue can have severe negative

consequencesforaleader.Itbecomesasevereissuewhentheleaderfailstotakeownershipofaproblem,distanceshimorherselffromit,orpointsthefingeratothers.Thisreactiontostresshasachillingimpactonteamwork.Itdiscouragessubordinates frompulling togetherandworkingcollaboratively to improve thesituation.I recently advised a leaderwhowas very careful to avoid responsibility for

difficultproblemsthataroseduringthe“GreatRecession.”Theseproblemswerenotatallunusualinhisindustry.Thisdifficultperiod,though,broughtoutmanyof the insecuritiesandfears that this leaderhadbeenfeelingduringhiscareer.His response was to distribute the blame in numerous different directions inordertodeflectattentionfromhim.Heblamedhispredecessor,hissubordinates,certainofhissuppliers,andevenhiscustomers.Hecasthimselfasavictimwhohadinheriteda“badhand.”Whathappenednext?Hispredecessor—offendedbyremarksattributedtohim

inthenewspaper—decidedtostrikebackinanequallypublicwaytodefendhisreputation. Because he was still a revered, even legendary figure among thecompany’semployees,peopleinsideandoutsidethecompanytooknote.Allthishadachillingimpactacrossthecompany.Theconsensusamongthe

employeeswasthatthecurrentCEO—whohadbeeninchargeformorethanayearandhadtheultimateresponsibility—shouldhavesimply takenownership,lookedforward,andmobilizedemployeestodevelopactionplansforwhattodonext.Byblamingothers,heseverelydamagedhisownreputation,underminedthe confidence of existing employees, and hurt the company’s “franchise.”People who would have been inclined to help him address the company’schallengesdecideditwasbettertokeepadistancefromthisCEO.Theylearnedthat helping him could lead to being blamed if the help did not work outpositively. Morale at the company is still repairing itself, very slowly, in thewakeofthisepisode.

HelpingYourPeopleCopewithStress

Asa leader, youare accountable forbothyourownbehavior and thatofyouremployees.Asaresult,itiswisetodiscusstheissueofbehaviorunderpressurewithyourpeople.As noted earlier, the recent economic crisis and its aftermath put enormous

pressureonpeopleinawiderangeofindustriesandcompanies.Intheextreme,it sometimes revealed severe vulnerabilities in organizations whose primary

driverduring the crisiswas “makingmoney,”versusmaintaining andbuildingthe franchise. The crisis presented numerous opportunities to help clients—or,alternatively,totakeshort-termfinancialadvantageofthembecauseofextremeeconomic conditions. In retrospect, the superb companies were those led byexecutiveswhoemphasized the importanceofusing thecrisis toenhance theirrelationships with key clients and thereby build their sustainable long-termbusinessfranchises.As we discussed in chapter 1, a clear vision with priorities is vital to a

successfulcompany.Inthemidstofaneconomiccrisis,thisvisioncanserveasan anchor and a beacon that guide leadership and employee behavior.On theotherhand,ifyourcorporateethicistomakemoneyatallcosts,youarelikelytobe putting people under the kind of pressure that is very likely to lead tofranchisedamageatbestandpotentialethicallapsesatworst.This iswhy it iscritical,duringacrisis, toovercommunicate thevisionand

keyprioritiesforyourfirm.Inthiscontext, it isalsocritical tothinkabout thebusiness you’re in, and anticipate the types of lapses that are likely to occurwhenyourpeopleareputunderpressure.Thispressurecouldemanatefromfearoflosingmoney,fearoflosingtheirjobs,fearoflettingdowntheirpeers,andsoon. In the end, though, the pressure they are feeling is likely to be primarilycomingfromyou.There’s a speech that I’ve given, in one version or another, during every

economicdownturninwhichIhavemanagedagroupofpeople.Itellmypeoplenottocutcorners,andnottogiveintopressuretogeneraterevenueinwaysthatarecontrarytoservingclientsandareinconsistentwithourvalues.Iftheyareindoubt,Iencouragethemtoelevatetheirquestions(tomoreseniorleadersofthecompany) until they feel confident aboutwhat actions they should take. I tellthem that they should err on the side of doingwhat’s right for the client andbuildingthefranchise.Takegoodcareofourclients,especiallyinthebadtimes.We’regoingtogetthroughthisperiod,andwe’regoingtobearoundforalongtime.Let’sbuildthisbusiness.In times of stress, overcommunicate with your people, and especially your

senior lieutenants. Your senior reports are role models, and they are beingscrutinizedby their subordinates. Inaddition, theyarehuman.Maybe theyareafraid for their jobs. Maybe they’re overleveraged at home and need money.Maybe they’re ambitious and angling for that next promotion. I try to spendsubstantialamountsoftimewithmyseniorpeopleduringthesedifficultperiods,andtalkcandidlyaboutstressandhowtheyaredealingwithit.

Ifhandledproperly,thisapproachcandramaticallyimprovetherole-modelingbehavior of your people—and help ensure that you and your organizationemergefromcrisesbetterpositionedtocompete.

BecomingaRoleModel

Inthischapter,we’veemphasizedtheleader’sroleasamodelforthebehaviorof others. Words and deeds both matter, and must be consistent. We’ve alsoexploredthespecialcircumstanceofseverepressure,andhowtheleadermustbeself aware enough to understand what creates severe stress for her, and thencarefullymonitorherbehaviorduringtheseperiodstoensurethatitisconsistentwiththevaluesandprinciplessheistryingtoestablishinherorganization.We’ve discussed several ideas about how you can better manage stress for

yourselfandyourpeople.Inmyownlifeandcareer,Ihavefoundthatsavingmymoney, avoiding living beyond my means, keeping a regular journal, andmaintainingsome typeofemotionalbalance throughnonprofitworkandotherinterestshaveallhelpedtokeepmesaneduringdifficultperiods.Ihavesharedthese approacheswithmy students and encouraged them to develop a few oftheirown.Ihavealso found itveryuseful tobeemotionallyprepared to“walkaway.”

Thismeans realizing thatyoucan livewithout this job.Todo this, it helps tobelievethatyourwhole life isnotwrappedintoothers’assessmentofyour jobperformance. It also helps to have developed a vision and set of ethicalprinciplesthatyousteadfastlyrefusetoviolate,evenunderseverepressure.Ofcourse,thesestressrelieverscantaketimetodevelop—bothtimeinyourcareerandyearsinyourlifeasyoudevelopgreateremotionalmaturity.It pays to think about these issues today. Exploring ways to create some

emotional detachment and independence should enhance your ability to be abetterrolemodel,performatahigherlevel,anddistinguishyourselfinperiodsofstress.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Writedowntwoorthreekeymessagesyoubelieveyousendwithyourbehavior(versusyourspeeches).Seekadvicefromkeysubordinatesandadviserswhodirectlyobserveyourbehavior,inordertoanswerthisquestion:istherea“disconnect”betweenthemessagesyouwishtosendandthoseyouareinfactsending?

2.Dothissameexerciseforyourkeydirectreports.Whatmessagesiseachofthemsendingaboutwhatistrulyvaluedinyourorganization?Again,makediscreetinquiries,ifnecessary,todothisanalysis.Incorporatethisworkintoyourcoachingoftheseexecutives.

3.Thinkofasituationinwhichyoufeltenormousstressatworkandregrettedyourbehavior.Writedowntheoneortwoissuesthatcreatedthestressyouwerefeeling—acknowledgingthattheseissuesmayhavehadnothingtodowithwork.Howwouldyoubehavedifferentlyifyoucouldreplaythissituation?Writedownoneortwolessonsyoutakeawayfromthisexercise.

ReachingYourPotential

BeingTruetoYourself

Areyoupursuingapaththatisconsistentwithyourassessmentofyourstrengths,weaknesses,andpassions?

Ifnot,whatareyouwaitingfor?

Haveyoudevelopedyourownstyleatwork?

Doyouspeakup,expressyouropinions,andconductyourselfwithconfidence?

Doyouencourageyourpeopletobeauthenticandexpresstheiropinions?

Thepreviouschaptersof thisbook focusedonquestions leaders shouldask inorder to more effectively run their organizations. Many of these questionsrequire you to break old habits, learn new ones, and ask new questions.Essentially, much of thematerial in the previous chapters involved “blockingandtackling”—inotherwords,practicalsuggestionsforhowyoumightdevelopyour leadership skills andmore effectively run your organization. Very likelyyouwill takeonboard those ideasandsuggestions that resonatewithyouandhaverelevancetoyourorganizationalcontext.Nowwe’llmove on to a subject that typically separates good leaders from

greatones.Thissubjectisdeeplypersonal.Thefocusofthischapterisyou.Inthischapter,wewillfocusonyourphilosophicalapproachtoyourwork.I

willchallengeyoutodevelopadeeperunderstandingofyourtalents,personality,values,andpassions.Thisdiscussionwillbebasedonthepremisethatinordertobeanoutstandingleader,youmustunderstandyourselfandconsciouslybringyouruniquequalitiesandpersonalitytoworkeveryday.Istronglybelievethat

excellentorganizationsarerunbyleaderswhobringtheirdistinctiveattributestothe job and encourage their people to do the same. In doing this, theyget themostoutofthemselvesandtheirorganizations.Superbleadersareconstantlylearningandadapting.Theyarelearningabout

theworld,theirindustry,andthepeoplearoundthem—butinparticular,theyarelearningaboutthemselves.Thislearningevolvesateverystageoftheirlifeandcareer.In this chapter, we will explore the importance of understanding your own

strengths and weaknesses, as well as your passions. I will emphasize theimportance of learning from others—but at the same time, developing aleadershipstylethatfitsyou.Wealsowill considerwhether you are being too careful in expressingyour

opinionsatwork,andhowthiscanultimatelyholdyouback.Thischapteralsowill raise the question ofwhether you are confident enough to be yourself atwork,orwhetheryouaretryingtobesomeonewhoyouthinkyou’resupposedtobe—perhapssomeonewhoyouimaginethatyourboss,yourfamily,oryourfriendswantyoutobe?Inadditionto thesequestions,wewilladdress the importanceofcreatingan

atmosphereatworkwhereyourpeopleareencouragedtobeauthenticandreachtheir unique potential. Great companies tend to be led by leaders who arecomfortable being themselves, and who create an environment where theirpeople can be themselves, too. In this way, both individuals and theirorganizationsareabletoreachtheirfullpotential.

UnderstandingYourStrengthsandWeaknesses

Doyouunderstandyourstrengthsandweaknesses?Couldyouwritethemdownonapieceofpaper?Wouldyourcolleaguesagreewith these lists? Ifyou’reajuniorprofessional, haveyoudevelopedcolleagues and senior coaches tohelpyouwiththis?Lookingbacktochapter3,ifyou’reaseniorleader,doyouhavejuniorcoacheswhocanhelpyouanswerthesequestions?Doyoutakestepstoworkonyourweaknesses,andtakeadvantageofyouruniquestrengths?1

ArecentlyappointedCEOhadpreviouslyspenthiscareertakingonasuccessionofincreasinglyseniorrolesatfourdifferentcompanies.Inrecentyears,hehadbeen theCFO and then the head of a large division at a diversified industrialproductscompany.Highlyregardedinindustrycircles,hewasrecruitedtobethe

CEOofaglobalindustrialproductscompanylocatedintheupperMidwest.HisnewemployerfeltfortunatetohavelandedhimasitsnewCEO.Aftereightmonthsonthejob,hefelt thathewasstrugglinginhiseffortsto

getoff toagoodstart.Hecalledme toaskwhether I’dbewilling tositdownwithhim todiscusshis leadership styleandperhapsgivehimsome tipsabouthowhecouldbemoreeffective.Whenwemet,Ifirstaskedhimtodescribehisthreebiggeststrengthsandhis

three biggest weaknesses. In his response, he gave me a pretty thorough andcandidsummaryonbothsidesoftheledger.Ilearnedthatinhispreviousjobasadivisionhead, theCEOhadgivenhimavery thoroughand rigorous review.Unfortunately,manyof thestrengthshe listedwerenotparticularly relevant tohis current position, and most of the weaknesses bore directly on his currentposition asCEO.We discussed the fact that the division head role is actuallyquitedifferent fromthe roleofCEO.Forexample, inhisnew jobasCEO,hehad to communicatemuchmore—externally, on television, and to a range ofnewconstituents.Also,tobesuccessfulinthenewjob,hehadtobemuchbetteratpickingstrongleadersfordivisionheadroles—aswellaspickingcriticalstaffjobs (such as an HR head, a CFO, and a head of IT)— than he had beenpreviously.Inthepast,hehadoftenbeenmorefocusedoncompetingwiththesetypesofpeoplethanonassessingthemandselectingthemtobepartofhisteam.Wediscussedthecoretasksatwhichhewouldneedtoexceltobesuperbin

his current job. I asked him to think carefully about identifying those specifictasks and consider the types of skills that he would need to develop—eitherhimselforthroughbuildinghisteam—inordertocarrythemout.Thesewerenotquestionsthathecouldansweronthespot.Hespentthenext

severalweeks studying the characteristicsof theCEOsatkeycompetitors.Healreadyknewsomeofthem,andinthecaseofthosehedidn’tknowpersonally,hefound enough public resources to give him insight into their approaches totheirjobs.Atthesametime,hesoughtcounselfromseveralofhisdirectreportsregardingtheiropinionsofhisstrengthsandweaknessesrelativetothedemandsof his current position. His direct reports responded very positively to thesequestions.Nopreviousseniorcorporateleaderhadeveraskedthemforthiskindofinputbefore,andtheywereflatteredandeagertohelp.Wethenhadafollow-updiscussion.Onthebasisofhisupdatedassessmentof

hisstrengthsandweaknesses,andwithonlyalittlecoachingfromme,hecameup with a developmental plan to help him improve in a few key areas. Forexample, he realized that he needed help with public speaking, and therefore

hiredaspeechcoach.Mediarelationswasacriticalareaforimprovement,andinresponse to his request, his in-house communications group put together a“seminarforone”onmediatraining, investorrelations,andhowtospeakwithreporters.Equally important,he thoughtmoreabouthisstrengthsandhowtodrawon

themmorefully.Byallaccounts,includinghisown,hewasfarmoreanalyticalthaneitherofhistwopredecessors.Heknewthathisboardhadhiredhiminpartbecause itwanted to injectmorerigorousanalysis into thecompany’sdecisionmaking,andhewaswellequippedtoaccomplishthatgoal.Heconcludedthataslong as he didn’t overdo it, this could be an important distinctive competencythathecouldbringtohisnewjob.Whenwefinished,theCEOdecidedthatthiswasaveryvaluableexercisefor

him—somuchso,thathedecidedtodoitonaregularbasis.Hewouldkeeparunning checklist of personal strengths and weaknesses, which he wouldregularlyupdatewiththehelpoffeedbackfromothers.Inthatspirit,heresolvedto build a cadre of junior coaches,whowould help himmaintain an accurateself-assessment and ensure that he kept a finger on the corporate pulse. Hewould regularly get their critique after a public speaking engagement or atelevisionappearance.Months later,he reported thathebelievedhehaddramatically improvedhis

strengths and addressed keyweaknesses. Just as important, he had developednewcoachingand“earlywarning”relationshipsthroughoutthecompany,allofwhichalsoraisedhisstatureintheeyesofhiskeysubordinatesandemployees.It was a success story that would have seemed unlikely only a few monthsearlier.

ALifelongProcess:WhenYou’reThroughLearning,You’reThrough

Learning about your strengths and weaknesses is a never ending process. Itneedstobeupdatedforeachsuccessivejobyoutake.Itdoesn’tendwhenyoubecome CEO (or whatever leadership post you aspire to). Even if you neverchangejobsagain,yourjobwillcontinuetochange.Theworldchanges,andtheneeds of the business change. As a result, your strengths and weaknesses,relativetotheneedsofthejob,alsochange.Likeitornot,youhavetobeopentoupdatingyour views in this area andbewilling to learn and improve.Veryoften, reachingyour desired leadershipposition—andmaking a success of theopportunity—willchallengeyoutokeeplearningaboutyourselfandbuildingon

yourskills.Bytheway:thisexerciseisnotjustforemergingormoreseniorexecutives.In

fact,itshouldbeadoptedasearlyaspossibleinyourcareer.Itisalsoamind-setthat, for the reasonsdescribedabove,needs tohavesomepermanence in yourrepertoire.Don’tmakethemistakeofdiscardingitlaterinyourcareer,when—byallappearances—you’rea“bigsuccess.”When you’re through learning, you’re through. How often have you heard

some version of this saying? Do you take it to heart? Are you committed tolearningfor therestofyourlife?Iurgeyoutomakethiscommitment; it isanindispensablequalityofbeinganoutstandingleader.

RecognizingYourPassions

As a leader, you do need to be aware ofwhat you enjoy. In particular,whichtasksdoyoureallyenjoyandwhichwouldyouprefernottodoyourself?Whatyoudelegate,howyoustructureyourjob,whetherornotyouareinthe

right job—all of this should flow from and be influenced by a realisticunderstandingofyour likesanddislikes. Ifyouhatedoingsomething,youarelikely to avoid it. Conversely, if you love doing something, you are likely toarrangeyourtimesoyoucandomoreandmoreofit.Thequestionthenbecomes,howdoyourpassionscoincidewiththeneedsof

thebusiness?Haveyoureconciledyourpassionswiththesebusinessneeds?

The CEO of a nursing home/health services company in Europe was verydiscouragedaboutherstrugglestomanageanumberofherkeyemployees.Shebecamesodiscouraged,infact,thatshewasquestioningwhethershewantedtocontinue to be CEO of the firm. She asked to come see me to discuss this.During our meeting, she vented about the various frustrations she wasexperiencing—including unusually high turnover among her senior facilities-management staff, as well as various back-office struggles, computer systemfailures,andsoon.I surprised her a bit by asking her first what she loved about the business:

“Why in the world did you choose to take this job?” She thought for a fewseconds, and then said that she truly lovedhelpingpeople inneed—the firm’sclientele. She was enormously motivated by developing (and then executing)seniorhousingconceptsthatimprovedthequalityoflifeforseniorcitizensandthosewithchronichealthconditions.Shewasextremelygoodatunderstanding

the customers’ needs and then devising solutions to fit those needs. She got athrilloutofit!Then I asked her what he hated about her job. She hesitated, but finally

confessedthatshereallydidn’tenjoytheday-todaymanagementofthefacilities,recruitingtalent,orcoachingyoungpeople.Iaskedhowthatcouldbepossible,giventhatshehadbuiltafirmofmorethanathousandpeopleandhadachievedarecordofconsistentsuccess.She explained that in the early years, she was so excited to be building a

business of her own that she took the time to recruit and coach. Once thecompanydevelopedatrackrecord,however,sherevertedtodoingthethingssheloved best. In some ways, this made sense—after all, she was a superbconceptualthinkerandalsolovedspendingtimewiththecompany’sclients.Inotherways,though,itwasadisasterinthemaking.Thecompany’skeyfacilitiesmanagement, coaching, people development, and recruiting functions wereallowed to atrophy. As the organization grew in size, this neglect became abiggerandbiggerproblem.Wediscussed the fact that leaving thesekey taskspoorlyattended to—even

unattended—didn’tmakemuchsense.Ontheotherhand,noteverythinghadtobe done by her, personally (see chapter 4). She needed to identify (or hire) asenior leader who would be empowered to lead the recruiting effort, takeresponsibility for coaching key staff, and identify other leaders who wouldextendthecoachingeffortstillfurther.After our discussions, she asked one of her senior leaders to fill the newly

createdpositionofchiefoperatingofficer(COO).Inthisrole,thenewCOOwasdirectly responsible for addressing these key facilities operation and talentdevelopment/coachingneeds.Hewassomeonewhoknewthecompanyanditscultureandthoroughlyenjoyedthecriticaltasksthejobcalledfor.Hewasveryeffective,andthiscreatedmoreroomfortheCEOtofocusontheessentialtasksatwhichshewassuperb.Ourworkwasnotquiteover.Insubsequentdiscussions,Istressedthefactthat

the CEO could not simply “punt” altogether on the coaching and peopledevelopment front. I suggested that she needed to think of those elements ofcoachingthatshedidenjoyandcoulddoeffectively.Afterthinkingaboutit,sherealized that she did love to sit down with junior executives, discuss newdevelopmentprojects,andbrainstormaboutideasforbetterservingclients.Sheagreedthatshecould,andshould,dothismorefrequently.Six months after the conclusion of these discussions, I received an update

from her. She told me that she was far happier and that the company wasoperatingmuchmoreeffectively.Sheadmittedthatshewasabitamazedthatthe“fixes”weresoeasy.

PassionforWhatYouDo:AchievingSustainedHighPerformance

Perhapsthisstoryseemssimple,anditslessonsobvious.Howcouldthisleaderhavefailedtoseethatshewasneglectingtaskssofundamentaltothebusiness?Howcouldshenotrecognizethatsheshoulddelegatethesetasksifshecouldn’tstandtodothemherself?Inmyexperience,thiscircumstanceisnotasunusualasyoumightthink.Manyexecutivesbelievethattherearecertainkeytaskstheymustdothemselves,whetherornottheyfittheircompetenciesorinterests.Theybelieveitisasignofweaknesstodelegatethesetasks.Asaresultofthisview,theyperformthosetaskspoorlyorirregularly.Ask yourself, do you neglect important tasks you don’t enjoy, and fail to

delegatethemtoothers?Doyoufocusmostofyourtimeonthetasksyoureallydo enjoy, at the same time leaving other important functions unattended?Askyourself these questions, face up to the answers, and then—if necessary—developanactionplantoproactivelydealwiththesituation.Again, as emphasized inprevious chapters, youhave tomatchyour time to

theorganization’skeypriorities.Havingsaidthis,youalsohavetoenjoy thoseselectedtasksifyou’regoingtodothemonasustainablebasis—thatis,atahighlevelof excellence.Considerwhetheryoudohave sufficientpassion for thosetasksyouchoosetospendtimeon.ThisisacriticalareaofadvicethatIregularlygivetoMBAstudentsasthey

are thinkingabout their first jobandindustrychoice.Theprospectoffinancialgain is a strong motivator for many young people. Unfortunately, financialrewards typically take years to achieve, and they typically come only throughsustainedoutstandingperformance.It’stoughtoperformatanoutstandinglevelfor a sustained period if you don’t enjoywhat you’re doing!This is a criticallessonforyoungprofessionalswhoarejuststartingtheircareersandwanttogetstartedonapathtosuccess.Onceyoubecomeamoreseniorprofessional,thenatureofyourjobislikely

tochange.Amongotherthings,yougaintheopportunitytodelegatekeytasks.Invariably,asamoreseniorleader,youwillenjoycertaintasksmorethanothers.For those tasks for which you lack passion, consider delegating primaryresponsibilitytosomeonewhowillhavethepassion.Irecommendyoutakethis

one step further and make sure that your direct reports undertake this sameexercise.No,Iamnotsuggestingthatallkeytaskshavetobeenjoyable.Certaintasks

that come with the territory of being a leader—for example, decidingcompensation and promotions, conducting reviews, and firing people—rangefrombeing a pain in the neck to being downright unpleasant.A leader has tolearntospendtimeonandembracetheseactivities.Iamsuggestingthat,whenpossible,executivesshouldconcentratetheirtimeontasksthatfittheirskillsandtheir passions—and make sure that, whether they do tasks themselves ordelegate them, thesecritical responsibilitiesaregettingaccomplishedatahighlevelofqualitythatfitstheneedsoftheorganization.

DevelopinganEffectiveLeadershipStyleThatFitsWhoYouAre

There’s another aspect to “being yourself,” beyond recognizing andaccommodatingyourpassions.Tobeeffective,youneedtodevelopaleadershipstylethatfitswhoyouare.Your“leadershipstyle”isthemannerinwhichyoudoyourjob.Therearea

number of questions you could ask yourself to tease out the fundamentalelementsofyourstyle.Forexample:Doyouliketojokearound,orareyoubynatureamoreseriousperson?Wouldyouprefertomeetwithpeopleone-on-oneoringroups?Doyoupreferbeingbluntanddirect,orwouldyouratherbelessconfrontational?Areyouhighlyanalytical (learnbydoingextensiveanalyses),ordoyoulearnmorebytalkingtopeople,ordoyoulikeacombinationofthetwo?Whatisyourtheoryofhumanmotivation—doyoubelievepeopleneedaclubovertheirheadstoperform,ordoyoubelievethat,givencleardirectionandcoaching, people are highlymotivated to excel, and you simply need to givethemtheproperincentives?The answers to these kinds of questions have a powerful influence on how

youbehaveeverydayandhowyouapproachyourjob.Eachpersonislikelytoanswerthesequestionsinamannerthatfeelsrighttohimorherandfitshisorher distinctive emotional needs. Fortunately, there is not just one effectiveleadershipstyle.Therearemany,andinanygivensituation,oneormorecouldbehighlyeffective.Thechallengeforyouis todevelopa leadershipstyle that fitsnotonlywho

youarebutalsotheneedsofyourenterprise(thesituation).Ifyourstyledoesn’tfit who you are, it is unlikely to be sustainable. On the other hand, if your

leadership style fits you but doesn’t fit the demands of the situation, you areunlikely to be successful. Of course, this challenge is intensified when thesituation changes due to external forces or other factors. One of the ongoingchallenges of being an effective leader, over a sustained period of time, is tomakethecoursecorrections toyour leadershipstyle thatarenecessary tokeeptheorganizationontrackandyetfityourpersonalityanddistinctivetraits.1Leadership style is a conceptworth thinking about in your very first job. It

willinvariablyinvolveabitoftrialanderrorasyoutrydifferentapproachesandtake on new job assignments.Myprimary advice to youngprofessionals is tobegin this process as soon as possible—don’t wait until you become a moreseniorprofessional!

ItHelpstoWriteItDown

Have you thought sufficiently about this? Could you write down thefundamentalsofyourleadershipstyle?Iencourageyoutotryit—rightnow.Pickup a notepad or your iPad, and write a few sentences that describe yourleadershipstyle.Any surprises?The process ofwriting downyour style causes you to think

about how you go about doing things, and recognize your underlyingassumptions.Many people don’t consciously think about whether they preferone-on-oneorgroupmeetings,orhowtheyactuallygoaboutdoing their jobs.When theyactually reflecton it, theymaynotbealtogetherpleasedwith theirmodusoperandi—andtheymayrealizethatitisn’taseffectiveasthey’dlike.Doyou feel good about your style? Is it effective?Does it fit your values?

Were you wincing as you wrote down its component parts?What made youwince,andwhy?

AreYouWillingtoHeartheTruth,Learn,andAdaptYourBehavior?

AseniorexecutiveofalargeindustrialfirmwasinformedbyhisCEOthattherewasaseriousundercurrentofdissatisfactionintheranksofthedivisionhewasleading.Thisseniorexecutivewassurprised,anddisagreedwiththeCEOaboutthat assessment. To help resolve this dispute, he and theCEO agreed that theexecutiveshouldtakeadditionalstepstogetarealitycheck.TheCEOurgedhimtohaveaconversationwithmeandseewhathappenedfromthere.Atthebeginningofourfirstdiscussion,theexecutivemadeitquiteclearthat

he was in strong disagreement with the CEO’s assessment, which had beenbased on a 360-degree review of him (along with the rest of the top fiftyexecutivesinthecompany).Hebelievedtheprocesswasflawedandamountedtomore of a popularity contest than an objective assessment of his skills andeffectiveness.Early on in this discussion, I asked him whether he could describe his

leadership style.He respondedwith a string of platitudes right out of the popleadershipliterature.“Ibelieveingettingtherightpeopleintherightseats,”hebegan.“Ibelieveingivingpeoplethetoolstheyneedandenoughrunningroomtoprovethemselves.Ibelievethatyouhavetocreateanenvironmentinwhichpeople can excel. I believe in being tough but fair. I believe in an open-doorpolicy.”Andsoon,andsoon. Ididn’targue,but Ididpointout that the360-degree review suggested his style was quite different from the one he wasdescribing.Isuggestedthatratherthanrelyingsolelyonthe360-degreereview,Iwouldbewillingtodobriefinterviewswithasmallsubsetofhistopexecutives.Heenthusiasticallyagreedtothis.Wemetagaininfourweeks.IgavehimacandidassessmentofwhatIheard

inmymeetings:

Hedoesn’tlisten.Hedoesn’taskquestions—hejustadvocates.WhenImeetwithhim,hedoesallthetalking.Hedoesn’tcoachme;infact,hehasn’ttakenthetimetogettoknowmeatall.HelikestoreciteslogansaboutwhatIshouldbedoing,buthedoesn’thaveanyspecificactionableadvicebecausehereallydoesn’tunderstandme,myjob,ormybusinessunit.Hedoesn’tliketohearaboutproblems.HetendstoavoidmewhenIdohaveaproblem,orblamemeforhavingtheproblem.Hetellsdifferentthingstodifferentpeopleaboutthesamesituation.Heisintimidating:hemakesitclearthatmyloyaltyshouldbetohim,andifheeverheardmecomplainingpubliclyaboutanissue,hewouldtakeitasapersonalbetrayal.Hedoesn’tlikeopendebateonissues.Hemakesdecisionsunilaterally,butthenpretendsthatwewerepartofthedecisionbecause“wediscussedit.”

Hewasquiteshakentohearallthis.Whyhadn’theheardthisfeedbackbeforefrom these people?He realized that itwas partly because he had never askedthese people for direct feedback—and, in addition, he gave off a vibe that hedidn’twantfeedback.Hewasstartingtorealize thathisactual leadershipstylewasquitedifferentfromthecannedslogansheespoused.

Thequestionsnowwere:howcouldhenotrecognizethattheseissuesexistedamonghissubordinates?Didhewanttoaddresstheseissues,andwashewillingtodevelopaleadershipstylethatwasmoreeffectiveinthissituation?Ifso,howshouldhegoaboutdoingthis?First,Igavehimanassignment.“Writedownarealdescriptionofyourstyle,”

Itoldhim.“Notthepolishedsalespitchyougavemelasttime.Ifyouneedto,gooutand interviewasubsetofyoursenior lieutenantsandaskfor theirhelp.Pick theonesyou’reclosest to, if that’s theeasiestway foryou toget started.Tell themyouwant todigabitdeeper togetspecific feedbackregardingyourstyleandhowyouareperceived.“When you believe you have an accurate depiction that you’re willing to

discuss,”Icontinued,“callme.Ifyoufeelthisisawasteoftime,thenlet’sdropthewhole exercise.No pressure, honestly—youwon’t offendme if you don’tcallmebackatall.Keepinmindthatyou’redoingthisforyou,notforme.”Iheardfromhimthreeweekslater.Hehadtakenthisexerciseveryseriously,

andwritten out anhonest appraisal of his style basedon conversationswith anumber of his subordinates and some real soul-searching. As we spoke, heexplainedthathisstylehadbeendevelopedovermanyyears.Ithadgrownoutofhisobservationsofpreviousbosses, fromwhomhehadborrowedandadaptedvarioustoolsandtechniques.Hebelieved—forexample—thataleaderneededto know the answers, be a strong advocate for his or her point of view,demonstrateconfidence,andavoidshowinganyuncertaintiesorvulnerabilities.Byinterviewinghissubordinatesandthinkingaboutwhathehadheard,and

bytalkingwithme,henowrealizedthathehadagoldenopportunityasarisingdivisionleadertodevelopa leadershipstyle thatfithispersonalityanddidnotdepend on him being Superman. Maybe—just maybe—he could be moreeffective, and stronger, if he asked more questions, listened harder, tried tounderstandwhat his peoplewere thinking, and admitted to not having all theanswers.Maybethischangeinstylewouldenhance,ratherthandetractfrom,hischancesofeventuallybeingCEO,eitheratthiscompanyoratanotherfirm.Up to this point, he thought that the role of the leader was to shoulder by

himself the burdens of the entire company. Given the complex nature of hisbusiness, this was an enormously difficult assignment, and on a fundamentallevel,itreallywasn’teffective.Nowhesawadifferentwayforward,basedonanewleadershipstyle.

Whatdoyoutrulybelieve?Whatfeelscomfortableforyou?Isyourstylebased

onyourownconceptionofwhatagreatleaderdoes?Wheredidthatconceptioncomefrom?Isitworking,forbothyouandyourorganization?Thesearetoughquestions—but theyareones thatyouhave tobewilling to askyourself and,dependingontheanswers,acton.Youcanlearn,adapt,andchange.

DoYouHaveFaithThatJusticeWillPrevail?

Ibelievethatinordertosucceedasaleaderinanorganization,youneedto,first,haveacertainamountofconfidenceinyourself—inthesensethatyoubelievethat you bring unique and valuable talents to your organization, and that theorganizationisfortunatetohaveaccesstothosetalents.You also need somethingmore.You need the ability to combine your self-

confidencewith theability tomakea“leapof faith.” Inorder todevelopyourown style, pursueyourpassions, and improveyour skills, youhave tobelievethat you are part of a system that recognizes your unique attributes andultimatelyrewardsyourefforts.Youhavetobelievethatjusticewillprevail.This may seem obvious, but to many young professionals and senior

executivesItalkwith,itisn’t.Overthepasttwentyyears,Ihaveseenquiteafewleaders at all levels—includingmore senior executives—underperform againsttheir potential, either because they lacked basic confidence in themselves, orbecause theydidn’tbelieve that thesysteminwhich theyoperatedwould treatthemfairly.Asa result, theirbehaviorsoftensabotaged theirupwardprogress,personaldevelopment,and,ultimately,theircontributionstotheirorganizations.Symptomaticofthislackoffaithwasabelief,forexample,thateveryaction

they took should be based on an expectation of what they might receive inreturn. Would they receive credit, would they get paid, would it help theirpromotion, would it make them look good to the right people? All thesequestionswereattheforefrontoftheirminds.Asaresult,theyweren’tinclinedtodothingsforotherswithoutregardtowhatwas“initforthem.”

TheNeedtoBelieveinFairness

Inseveralcases, Ihavepersonallyworkedwithyoungprofessionalsaswellasmore senior leaders who exhibited this type of cynical attitude regarding“fairness”withinthecorporatecontext(orthepoliticalcontext,orthenonprofitcontext).Whydidtheyhavethisattitude?Atonepointoranotherinthecourseoftheircareers,theyhadbeen“victims”ofaperceivedinjustice.Theydidn’tget

thepromotiontheywanted,ortheyweredeniedthecompensationtheythoughttheydeserved.Maybetheyoutrightfailedatajobandconcludedthattheydidn’tgeta“fairshake.”Whateverthespecifics,theseexperienceshadatraumaticandlastingimpactontheirfaithinbeingtreatedfairly.Theydevelopedabeliefthatjusticewasunlikelytoprevailintheworksetting—andthattheyshouldconductthemselvesaccordingly.Ifyourunyourownfirm,youmaynotthinkthatthisisaparticularproblem

foryou.Afterall,youare theboss.Tomysurprise,even in thesesituations, IhaveencounteredCEOswhofeeltheyhavetoanswertoparents,bloodrelatives,spouses,siblings,oreventheirchildren—andhavelostsomefaithaboutwhethertheyare,orwillbe,appreciatedfortheiruniquestyle,skills,andcontributions.Thisisonereasonwhytherearesomany“familycounselors”whoadvisesmall,independent,andfamily-ownedbusinesses.Inthesecompanies,dysfunctionanddistrust can be just asmuch a problem as in a large corporation.When I amconsulted byCEOs of these firms, their issues often revolve around a loss ofconfidence in the “system” actuallyworking inways that they perceive to befair.Whydoesallofthismatter?Whocareswhethertheleaderiscynical,orlacks

faith in the system? I argue that it matters a great deal, because the cynical,disaffected leader finds it very difficult to do the kinds of things that I’madvocating in this book. Rather than focusing on strengths, weaknesses,passions, leadership style improvements, and authenticity, they are oftendistracted with trying to please someone else. They can’t seem to get to anauthenticleadershipstyle—oreventakethatchallengeseriously.Invariably,thishasapowerfulrippleeffect.Ifleadersdon’tbelieveinfairnessofthesystem,itbecomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They soon find that it is more difficult tocreateaspiritofteamwork,andtomobilizetheirtroopstoworkforthegoodofthecompany.Theyfindthattheyhaveunwittinglyencouragedselfishbehaviorthatdoesn’tservetheinterestsofeithertheorganizationoritsclients.Theconverseisalsotrue.Creatingasystemoffairnessandmeritocracycan

be a superb competitive advantage for an organization. Outstanding peoplegravitatetoleaderswhoareauthentic,andtocompaniesinwhichjusticeprevailsand people are encouraged to reach their true potential based on their owndistinctivequalities.Maybe this strikes you as a little too touchy-feely, or as a little too much

ivory-towerbaloney.Ifso,I’dencourageyoutothinkagain.Therearenumerousexamples of once great companies that have declined over a period of years

based on the erosion of ameritocracy. I have interactedwith several of thesecompanies, and I can tellyou thatonecentral aspectof theirdeteriorationhasbeenalossoffaithintheleadershipandinthecompany’ssystemofjustice.Thislossoffaithunderminedtheabilityofitsexecutivestoperformmanyofthekeyleadership tasks described in this book—creating a vision with priorities thatmobilizesthetroops;coaching,mentoring,andtalentdevelopment;andcreatingandmaintainingalignment.Ineveryorganization,peopleatalllevelshaveastrongneedtobelieve.They

wantandneed tobelieve in themselves inorder toperformat theirbest.Theywant—andultimatelyneed—tobelieve in theirorganizations inorder toexcel.Doesyourleadershiphelpcreatethistypeofenvironment?

GettingOffTrack:TheCynicinChief

The chief executive of a major professional services company was extremelyfrustrated with his inability to take his company to the next level of itsdevelopment.Ihadknownthispersonfortheprevioustwentyyears,andwhenIjoinedthefacultyatHarvard,heaskedwhetherIwouldbewillingtoadvisehim.WhenIfirstsatdownwithhim,hedescribedhisdesiretobuildhiscompany

globallyand,onthebasisof itsdistinctivecompetencies,buildoutkeymarketadjacencies with the company’s existing product lines. This strategy madeenormoussense tome,andheseemed tobeon theright track,soIaskedhimwhyhewantedmyadvice.Heexplainedthatinordertoexecutethisstrategy,hewouldneedtomovekey

leadersintoseveralnewjobsbothdomesticallyandoverseas.Unfortunately,hecouldn’tconvinceanyof thecompany’skey talent tomake thesemoves.Asaresult, hemade several external hires, butmany of these new recruitswashedout,eitherbecausetheycouldn’tadapttothecompany’sculture,orbecausetheycouldn’tperformatasufficientlyhighlevel.Whilethecompanywasstrugglingto make the necessary personnel moves to implement this new strategy, itscompetitorsweremaking fast progress and passing the firm in building thesebusinesses. The impact was a loss of market share and increasing strategicvulnerability.He askedwhether I would be willing to help him figure out how to break

through this logjam. He encouraged me to talk with a half dozen of his toplieutenants, and offered to make available any key financial or strategicinformationthatImightfinduseful.

Ilookedthroughawidevarietyofinternalinformationandthensatdownwiththe six key divisional leaders. I found the discussions with these executivespretty jarring. They explained that “in this company, you get rewarded forgeneratingrevenuesandprofits—period.”Theyreported,unapologetically,thatnot only could they not convince their key employees to change jobs for thegood of the company, but they themselves would not want to make personalsacrifices,or takeriskswith theircareers, toadvancenewcompanyinitiatives.They were quite convinced that these types of sacrifices were unlikely to berewarded.Theyhadseentheseinitiativesplayoutinthepast,andtheexecutiveswhotookriskswoundupdamagingtheircareers.IaskedthemtoreconcilethisattitudewiththestrategicobjectivesoftheCEO

—theirboss!TheyeachexplainedthattheyhadworkedcloselywiththeCEO,overmanyyears,duringhisascentinthecompany.Theysaidthathehadgottenthechiefexecutivejobbecausehisbusinessesgeneratedsubstantialrevenue,hewasgoodatmakingsurehegot“credit”forwhathedid,andhewasnotoriousfor looking out for his own interests first and foremost. In the past, he hadopenly expressed cynicism about the kinds of strategic “investment” projectsthathewasnowimplementing,andhehaddiscouragedtalentedexecutivesfromtakingriskstosupportthem.Ineffect,overaperiodofyears, thisCEOhadcreatedacompanyofcynics

who shared and mirrored his attitudes. He and his cohort of “disbelievers”becamemoreandmore successful andgradually tookover thecompany.Nowtheywerebeingcalledon to think first aboutdoing things for thegoodof thecompany: moving overseas, changing jobs, integrating new lateral hires,coaching promising young talent, and so on. Theywere being asked tomakesacrificesandtodothingsforothersthatmightnotclearlyhelpthempersonallybutwouldhelptheorganizationenormously.ThisnewCEOcouldn’tgetpeopletodowhatneededtobedone.Asaresult,

as the world changed, the company was veering out of alignment. It becamemorevulnerableinthemarketplace.Competitorsstartedtopassthecompanyby.TheCEOandIhadafollow-upmeetinginhisoffice.Iexplainedtohimwhat

Ihaddiscovered:thathiskeypeoplehadlearned—fromhim!—thattheyhadtolookoutforthemselves.Theyhadlearnedthatit’sdumb(ordangerous)totrustthecompany,andthatit’ssmarttocoveryourownbehind.Theyhadlearnedthatthiswasjustajob.Ifaseeminglybetterjobcamealong,theyshouldconsideritseriously.Theyshouldnot“gotheextramile”ontheassumptionthateveryonewould benefit from a stronger company.Looking out for number onewas the

primedirective.Atthispoint,weagreedtogohavedinner—atalocationfarfromhisoffice.

During ourmeal, I asked thisCEO to explain tomewhy he had a reputationwithin the company for such deep skepticism. He told me two stories aboutnegative experiences he had had earlier in his career—experiences that hadshapedhisattitude towardhis jobearlyon.He related thesestorieswithsomepassion, indicating that they still rankled. I pointed out that these sameexperiences happen to lots of professionals during their careers, and thatmostpeoplemanagetoshrugthemoffandmoveforward.Evidently,hehadn’tbeenabletodothat.Heagreed,reluctantly,thathiscynicalattitudehadfinallycaughtupwithhis

abilitytosuccessfullyperforminhisjob.Thequestionwas:whattodonow?Hedecidedthatheneededtodosomeserioussoul-searchingabout theunderlyingassumptions that defined his leadership style. He needed to think hard aboutjustice, and fairness. Was he truly committed to making sure that justiceprevailed at the companyhe nowheaded?He realized that he didn’t have theluxury of being “cynic in chief”; in fact, he had to create a context inwhichpeoplecouldbelieveinthegreatergood,andinwhichtheywouldbewillingtoputtheinterestsofthecompany—andtheircolleagues—aheadoftheirown.Wediscussed specific stepshe could take to address this situation.First, he

wouldneed to startpayingandpromotingexecutivesbasedoncriteriabeyondrevenueproduction—unheardof,inthiscompany.Second,overtime,hewouldneed to fill key executive positions with leaders who were willing to makesacrificesonbehalfofthecompany.Inordertodothesethings,hewouldneedtofundamentally change his own definition of a successful executive and bewillingto“walkthetalk.”Iwouldliketoreportthatthisstoryhadahappyending—butthefactis,in

thiscase,thejuryisstillout.Itisverydifficultforhumanbeingstogoovernightfrombeingselfishandcynicaltodoingthingsfirstforothers,withoutregardtowhat’s in it for them. This CEO is struggling to change his mind-set andbehavior, attempting to create a broader definition of fairness, andworking tofinancially rewardandpromote leadersbasedon theirbroad leadershipactionsonbehalfofthefirm,beyondjustproduction.

DoYouInstillorUndermineFaithintheOrganization?

Are you “cynic in chief”?Are you tearing things down at the same time that

you’re trying to build themup? If so, youmay be building the very thing—acold and unsupportive work environment—that ultimately undermines leadersandweakensorganizations!Successfulorganizationsarebuilt,inpart,onfaith.Theyarebuiltonthefaith

that if you do the right thing, be yourself, help others, and sacrifice for theenterprise, then justicewill prevail.No, that doesn’tmean that therewon’t beinjustice in specific situations, or that things won’t ever be out of “karmicbalance”—forsure,theywillbe!—butoverthelongrun,justicewillprevail.Doyouhavethisfaith?Haveyoucreateditamongyourpeople?Let’sassumethatyouareresolvedtodoabetterjobatthis.Howdoyoudoit?

First,watchyourownrhetoric.Peoplewilllistentoeverywordthatyousay,astheir leader.Becarefulabout theoffhandcomment—itmaycomeback tobiteyou.Second,rewardemployeesformorethanjustcommercialproduction.Reward

thebehaviors youwant to reinforce—coaching, takingon tough assignments,recruiting,superbclient service, relationshipbuilding, andbeingbraveenoughto turn down business that could tarnish the reputation of the firm. In otherwords, reinforce the behaviors that build a great firm as well as fuel acommercialengine.

TheCouragetoSpeakUp!

Let’stakeononemoreimportantissueinthischapter,whichhastodowiththepositiveconsequencesofbeingyourselfina“fair”workplace.Oneofthebyproductsofanenvironmentinwhichpeopleareconvincedthat

justicewillgenerallyprevailisthattheybecomemuchmorewillingtospeakup,express their opinions, anddisagreewhen appropriate.Great organizations arebasedonpeoplebeingwillingtobehaveinthisway.Iwouldarguethatifyou’refortunateenoughtoworkataplace like this,youhaveapositiveobligationtomakeityourjobtodecidewhatyoubelieve,andthenexpressitoractonit.Howmanytimeshaveyousatinameetinginwhichsomeoneauthoritativeis

making an argument, and you have no idea what they are talking about? Iseveryonearoundthetablenoddingknowingly—asiftheyunderstandandagreewithwhat is being said? Influenced by this peer pressure, perhaps you decidethatyoushouldnod,too,eventhoughyoustilldon’thavethefoggiestnotionofwhatisgoingon.Afterthepresentation,everyonearoundthetableeffusesaboutthatauthoritativeperson.Youmightevenjoininwithyourownpraise:nicejob!

Butwhatifnoonearoundthetablereallyunderstood,muchlessagreedwith,whatwas being said?What if they all felt peer pressure to pretend they did?Whatifnoonehadtheconfidenceandthecouragetoraisehisorherhandandadmit,“I’msorry,butIdon’tunderstandwhatyou’resaying;and,ofwhatIdounderstand,Idon’tthinkIagree”?Wheneverybodynodsevenwhentheydon’tactuallyagree,terribledecisions

can be made, andmajor mistakes can happen. No one around the table feelsconfident or accountable enough to disagree with the boss or their peers—oreven, in some cases, their subordinates.Theydon’t have enough faith in theirownviews.Theyworry thatmaybe they’re justdumber thaneveryoneelse,ormaybethey’rejustslowthatmorning—wheninfact,theyareassharpasanyonearoundthetable,andtheirdisagreementwouldbewelcomedbytheircolleaguesandwouldbelikelytoleadtoamuchbetterdebateanddiscussion.Haveyoueverobservedsomethinglikethis?Worse,haveyoubeenawilling

participant?

TheEssenceofLeadership

OvermyfiveyearsofteachingatHarvard,studentsrangingfromyoungMBAstovisitingexecutiveshaveaskedme formydefinitionof the term leadership.Doesitmeancommandingothers?Doesitmeanyouarecharismaticorabletogiveacompellingspeech?Doesitmeansimplythat,forwhateverreason,peoplewanttofollowyou?Areyoubornwithit,orisitsomethingthatyoulearn?Mydefinitionof leadership is as follows:a leaderworkshard to figureout

what he or she believes, and thenhas the courage to act on it.Yes, there aremany attributes of a leader, but at the core, this is what a leader must do.According to this definition, it’s not about the size of your empire or thespecificsofyourjobdescription.Apersoncanbealeaderevenwithouthavinganydirectreportsoranyformalassignedresponsibilities.By this definition, exhibiting strong leadership can be as simple as being

willingtospeakupandexpressyourviews.Accordingtothisdefinition,areyoualeader?Doyoudevelopleadershipinyourorganizationbyencouragingpeopletoexpresstheirviews?Doyoupromoteandrewardleadershipbehavior?Many people are drawn to the superficial aspects of leadership—trappings

suchastitle,significantmanagementresponsibilities,andmoney—buttheyfailtomeetthefundamentaltestofleadership:workinghardtofigureoutwhattheybelieve,and thenhaving thecourage toacton thosebeliefs.This failureoften

explains the cases in which organizations get off track and drift into trouble.Even though their executives, young and old,may disagreewith a number ofexisting practices, they are hesitant to raise these issues, challenge theirsuperiors, develop and suggest alternative solutions, and generally assertthemselves.

AnIntimidatingLeadershipStyle:TheTapThatFeelsLikeaHammer

AnextremelysuccessfulprivatecompanywasledbyaverytalentedCEOwhohadaveryconfrontationalandargumentativeleadershipstyle.IknowthisCEOwell,and the truth is thatheactuallywelcomesdisagreement—agood thing—but his style is sufficiently caustic that he often intimidates people, andsometimesunintentionally discourages them fromexpressing their opinions. Ifyouengageinadebatewithhim,you’dbetterhaveyourfactslinedup,becauseheisgoingtoaggressivelychallengeyouandevencriticizeyoupersonally—andthatislikelytomakeyoufeelquitedefensiveorevenstupid.Asaresultofhisstyle,manyofhisseniorleadersadoptedwhattheybelieved

wasasensiblestrategy,asdescribedtomebyoneofhisseniorlieutenants:“TrytofigureoutwhattheCEOthinks,andmakeanefforttoexpressthatviewwhenspeakingtohim.Ifyoucanexpressthisviewbeforehedoes,that’sevenbetter—because he’ll think that you are of likeminds, and he’ll thinkmore highly ofyou!”Despite this leadership style, the company performed quite well for many

years,andtheCEOhadagoodreputationasastrongmanagerandleader.Thencametheeconomiccrisisthatbeganin2007,andthedownsideofthecompany’sleadershipculturestartedtobecomeevident.TheCEOhadmadecertaindecisions thatdamaged thecompany’scarefully

cultivatedfranchise.Inthedecision-makingprocess,severaltopexecutiveshadapprehensionsbutdecidedtobitetheirtonguesandstaysilent.Oneortwospokeout, expressing muted concerns, but buckled quickly when the CEO activelychallengedtheirarguments.Stillothersdealtwiththeirconcernsbydecidingitwasagoodtimetoleavethecompany.TheCEOcalledmeinlate2008andaskedthatIhelphimdealwithsomeof

thedamagethecompanyhadsufferedintheprevioustwoyears.Wefirstdidadiagnosisofthecompany’scurrentfranchiseanddissectedcertainkeydecisionsthathadbeenmadeduringthisperiod.Hegavemefreereintotalktoseveralofhistoplieutenants.

In my discussions, I heard about apprehension regarding several criticaldecisionsthathadbeenmade.IlearnedabouttheCEO’sleadershipstyleandthelackofdebateanddisagreement.Uponhearingsomeof this, theCEOmade itclear tomethathewasquiteannoyedthatat leastsomeofhiskeyleadersdidnothave thecourage tostandupanddisagreeat the timethesedecisionswerebeingmade.Iagreedtoleadanoff-sitewiththeCEOandhistoptenleaders.Wesetthis

upasano-holds-barreddiscussion,whereeveryoneneededtocomepreparedtospeak their minds— except the CEO, who was required to remain silent andlisten.Overthecourseofseveralhours,theCEOlistened,andlearned.Hecameto realize that he had unintentionally destroyed one of the company’s naturalpotentialstrengths:astrongseniorleadershipteamthatdebated,disagreed,and,as a consequence,madegooddecisions.For theirpart, his executives came torealizethattheyhadbecometoointimidatedbytheboss’sargumentativestyle,andtheyneededtospeakupforcefullyandfrequently.Sincethisoff-site, thecompanyhasbeenable torepairmuchof thedamage

thatwasdone to thebusiness.More important, ithascreatedanewandbetterdynamicthatrequirestheCEOtoencouragedissent,andalsorequiresjunioraswellasseniorleaderstotakeresponsibilityforspeakingup.

TheRisksofPlayingItTooSafe:GettingtotheRightMind-Set

Overtheyears,Ihaveseenterribledamagedonetocompaniesinwhichtalentedemergingaswellasseniorleadersstayedquietorplayeditsafeasdescribedintheanecdoteabove.What’s the remedy? I like to advisepeople to play the gamewith a degree ofabandon.Whatdoesthismean?Useyourbestjudgmentregardingyourtoneandyour

timing—buthavetheconfidencetosaywhatyouthink.Youhavethatobligationtoyourcompanyandtoyourcolleagues.Speakupwhenyoudon’tunderstand,and especially when you don’t agree. Great companies are built around awillingness todebate anddisagree, andon thewisedecisions that ariseoutofthosedisagreements.Peopleinthesecompaniesaretruetothemselves,andactlikeowners.Manyofthesuggestionsinthischapterareaboutamind-set.Itisfairtosay

that cultivating thismind-set is easier said thandone, especially if youhaveamortgage, car payments, college tuitions, andweddings to pay for, and all the

otherobligationsof“successful”peopleintoday’sworld.“Thanks for the advice,” I canhear some readers saying. “I’llmake sure to

followitsomedaywhenIhavemoremoneyandmorecareersecurity.”Myresponsewouldbe that following thesesuggestionsnow, especially as a

youngprofessional,willhelpyoucreatethetypeofsecurityyou’reseekingandthesuccessyoudesire.Moreimportant,thesesuggestionswillhelpyougetthemostoutofyourtalentsandreachyouruniquepotential.Therearealso somepersonalhabits that, if adopted,maymake it easier for

you to cultivate the right mind-set. You’ve seen these comments in earlierchapters, but they are worth repeating here. First, my strong advice to everyperson I advise, young and old, is to save your money. One business schoolprofessor has described this as “walk-awaymoney” or—less politely—”go-to-hellmoney.”Whateveryouwanttocallit,Ithinkitiswisetoputyourselfinapositiontoloveyourjob,butavoidbeinginlovewithyourjob.Youdon’twantto be a slave to your job to the extent that you’re insecure and afraid to takesomerisks.This is also why it pays to take an appropriate amount of vacation, eat a

properdiet,exercise,cultivatehobbiesoutsidework,andgenerallydothingsthatgiveyousomeperspectiveandemotionaldistanceatwork.Bycultivatingyourown emotional independence, you make yourself more valuable to yourorganization.Last,andmostimportant,rememberthatthepointofthegameistoreachyour

potential—notsomeoneelse’s. Ifyouare true toyourselfandyourvalues,andyouworkonbeingthebestyoucanbe,you’refarmorelikelytofeellikeabigsuccessinthefuture—whateveryourultimateaccomplishments.SuggestedFollow-upSteps

1.Makealistofyourthreegreateststrengthsandyourthreegreatestweaknesses.Getadvicefromyoursenior,peer,andjuniorcoachesoradvisersinordertomakesureyourlistreflects“reality”inrelationtoyourcurrentjobandaspirations.

2.Developaspecificactionplantoworkonyourweaknesses.Actionstepsmightincludespecificjobassignments,seekingfeedbackwithinyourorganization,and/orgettinganoutsidecoach.

3.Encourageyoursubordinatestodothissameanalysisandaction

planning.Discusstheseplansinyourcoachingsessionsforsubordinates.

4.Thinkofasituationinwhichyouwereatyourbest,whenyouperformedextremelywellandfeltgreataboutyourimpact.Whatweretheelementsofthissituation?Whattaskswereyouperforming,whatwasyourleadershipapproach,whatwasthecontext,andwhatotherfactorsenhancedyourperformance?Whatlessonsdoyoutakefromthis,regardingyourpassions,values,andotherkeyelementsthathelpbringoutyourbestperformance?

5.Thinkofatimewhenyoubroughtoutthebestinothers.Whatwasyourmotivationalapproach?Whatwasyourleadershipstyle?Whatotherelementsallowedyoutobringoutthebestinothers?Whenyoureflectonthissituation,whatlessonsdoyoulearnaboutyourself,includingaboutyourphilosophyandvalues,aswellashowyoumightbestmotivateothersinthefuture?

BringingItAllTogether

ThePracticeofGainingPerspective

TheGreatRecessionanditsaftermathhaveaffecteddifferentregions,industries,andcompaniesinavarietyofways.Leadersgloballyhavespentthepastseveralyearsworkinghardtoadapttonewrealitiesandpursuenewopportunities.Thesesameleadersarealsoworkingtoassesstheircurrentcompetitivepositioningandorganizational competencies, evaluate and improve their leadershipeffectiveness, develop ideas for what they need to do now, and formulatespecificstrategiesforimplementingthoseideas.Over thepastnumberofyearsand invariouscontexts, Ihaveobservedand

worked closelywith anumberof emerging aswell as senior leaders—helpingthemtoassess,restructure,grow,develop,andeffectivelybuildtheirenterprises.I havedrawnonmyown leadership experiences (which includemakingmorethanafewmistakes).Ihavehadtheopportunitytolearnfromawidevarietyofleaders regarding those practices that have helped them become substantiallymore effective. Based on these experiences, which ranged across a widespectrumof issues, industries, continents, and personalities, I decided towritethisbook.MyobjectivehasbeentosharelessonsIhavelearnedregardinghowtobea

more successful leader and how to develop other effective leaders within anorganization.Aswe have discussed, this effort startswith developing specifichabitsandprocessesthatfostersustainablesuccess.

Reflection: Allocating Time and Resources to Addressing the BigQuestions

Leadinganorganizationcanbeverydemanding,andevenchaotic.Asaresult,not surprisingly, many leaders struggle to find time to reflect on importantissues.Whentheyfinallydo,itsometimesoccurstoolateforthemtoanticipatecompetitive threats,seizeattractiveopportunities,ormakecriticalchanges thatwouldhelpadvancetheirorganizations—andtheirowncareers.

Theprimaryobjectiveofthisbookisnottosuggestspecificstepsyoushouldtake tobuildyourcareeroryourorganization. Icertainlywouldn’tpresume totry to give you that kind of advice. Every person and organization is unique.Eachindustry,geographic,andculturalcontexthasaprofoundimpactonwhatapproaches and strategies make sense in a particular situation. Instead, theprimary objective of this book is to encourage you to reflect on and consider“whattoaskthepersoninthemirror.”In the preceding chapters, I have challenged you to call “time-out,” so that

you can step back and ask certain key questions. Time-out doesn’t meanstoppingyour activities—instead, itmeansconsciouslyallocating the timeandotherresourcesnecessarytoaddressbigquestions.Ihavesuggestedwhen,why,andhowtoframethequestionsthatyoushould

beaskingyourselfandyourorganization.Thesequestionsareintendedtogetatcritical issues that you should be attempting to frame and address. I havedescribednumerousactualexamplesofthisframingprocess,aswellasobstaclesthatarise,andsuggestedhowyoumightaddressthesequestionsbasedonyourspecificcircumstances.Manyoftheseissuesandquestionswillbethoughtprovokingandwillrequire

agoodbitoffurtherquestioning,analysis,andreflection.Mostlikely,youwon’tbe able to answer themby yourself.Theywill require the help and insight ofyouremployeesandpotentiallyotherexternalresources.

YouDon’tNeedtoHaveAlltheAnswers

Fortunately,thekeytomanagingandleadingyourorganizationandyourcareerdoesnot lie in “having all the answers.” The key lies inmaking a consciousefforttoregularlystepbacktoreflect,andthenidentifyandframetheissuesthatarecentraltoleadingyourorganizationeffectivelyintothefuture.Ibelievethataskingtherightquestionsisusually90percentofthebattle.If

thissoundsobvioustoyou,askyourselfhowregularlyyouactuallydoit.Infact,mostexecutivesgothroughthisexercisefarlessfrequentlythantheyshould.It’sunderstandable,becausealltoooften,theygetcaughtupinthepressingissuesofthe day. Typically, there’s almost always somethingmore urgent to attend to.Also,manyexecutives’firstinstinctistocomeupwithananswer,ratherthantoaskaquestion.Finally,manyexecutivesstruggletoturntheirspecificconcernsinto well-framed questions that can be productively studied and debated.Unfortunately, delaying or avoiding this type of inquiry can cause you to get

severelysidetracked.

TheInquiryHabit

Proactive and regular inquiry is healthy, is habit forming, andwill keep yourcareer and organization on the right track. In my experience, outstandingexecutives tend topursue thisapproachandbuild thisdiscipline into theirbestleadershippractices.Theyfindthatthemoretheypracticeinsightfulinquiryandreflection,themoreeffectivetheybecomeinusingitasapowerfultool.Establishedleadersaswellasyoungprofessionalscanbenefitfromadopting

thesepractices.Thesoonerinyourcareeryoubegintodevelopthesehabits,thebetter.It’salittlebitlikestrenuousphysicalactivityonaregularbasis:itdoesn’tsoundlikefun,andmaynotsoundasimportantasthefiftyotherthingsyouhavetofitintoyourday—butitworks.Let’sassume thatafter reading thepreviouschapters,you’reconvinced,and

you’reeagertobuildatailoredversionofthesequestionsandpracticesintoyourorganization and into your leadership style.How do you go about doing it? Iwouldmake two primary suggestions: build time for reflection into your life,andbuilditintothelifeofyourorganization.

CreateSpaceforReflectioninYourLife

Irecommendthatyouconsciouslystructureyourtimeinamannerthat,amidthechaos ofwork and life, creates opportunities for you to step back and reflect.Youneedtocreatewindowsoftimeinwhichyoucangetperspective,andthinkaboutkeyissuesfromanemotionaldistance.SomesuggestionsIhavemadetoexecutivesonthisfrontincludethese:

•Takeavacationatleastonceeverythreeorfourmonths.That’sthreetofourvacationsayear.Atleasttwoofthosevacationsshouldbethekindinwhichyouhavesubstantialslacktime,withampleopportunitytothink.I’madvocating“lyingonthebeach”time,asopposedto“eightcitiesinsevendays”time.

•Buildidentifiedslacktimeintoyourregularschedule.Makesurethatyougethomefordinnerseveralnightsaweek.Blockouttimeontheweekendsfordecompression,reflection,andcatchinguponyoursleep.Planforandprotectthosetimeslotsfromthekindsoftempting

incursionsthatinevitablypresentthemselves.Realizethattimespentrunningaroundatnightandonweekendsmaybeexhilarating,butit’srarelyconducivetoreflectionandperspective.

•Makeitaprioritytotakebettercareofyourself.Assumingthatyoudon’thavephysicalrestrictions,scheduleexerciseonsomeregularbasis.Watchyourdiet,andseeadoctorregularly.Whenyoufeelgoodphysicallyandgetyoursleep,yourbrainwillworkbetter,andyou’llfinditeasiertotackletoughissuesobjectivelyandwithsomeemotionaldistance.Beingfreshisacriticalcontributortoyourabilitytoreflect.

•Findotherwaystocreatebalanceinyourlife.Isoundedthisthemeinpreviouschapters.Bybalance,Imeanengaginginactivitiesthattakeyourmindoffyourworkforsustainedperiodsoftime.Thismaymeantimewithlovedones,nonprofitwork,intellectualpursuits,serviceinyourcommunity,orotheractivities—activitiesthatcanhelpyouputyourorganizationandjobinsometypeofbroadercontext.

Thesearejustafewsuggestions,andI’msureyoucanthinkofotheractions,suitedtoyou,thatservethislargerpurpose.Thegoalistocarveoutsomespaceand room for creating focus and gaining perspective. You need to positionyourselfsothatyoucancoherentlyasksomeofthevitalquestionsframedinthisbook—oryourownversionsthereof.What else? I have found it veryuseful to keep a short list of keyquestions

(includingmanyof those in thisbook)on thewall ofmyoffice.Ona regularbasis,theyremindmeoftheissuesandquestionsthatIdon’twanttolosesightof. Periodically, I update these questions as my job changes and the worldchanges. If I find that I’mgetting toodistracted to thinkabout them,Imakeanote to myself that I need to schedule time away from the office in order toreflectononeormoreoftheseissues.Youneedtofigureoutanddowhateverworksforyou.Howeveryoudoit,I

urgeyoutoconsciouslybuildwindowsoftimeinyourlifetoreflect,diagnose,andmoveforward.

TheReflectiveOrganization

Inadditiontoincorporatingthisapproachintoyourprofessionallife,youneedtobringsomeofthismind-setintothelifeofyourorganization.

Manycompaniesdevelopprocessesandeventsthathelpcreateopportunitiesfortheleadershiptotaketimetoreflect,frameissues,debate,andmoveforwardwith key initiatives. Some leadership groups make good use of theseopportunities. Others, unfortunately, don’t recognize their value, and wind upgoingthroughthemotionsorsquanderingtheminotherways.ExamplesoftheseopportunitiesincludeaMondaymorningmeetingofsenior

leadership,monthlyorquarterlydinnersforsenior leaders, leadershipoff-sites,specialtaskforcestoaddresskeyissues,andsoon.Doyouhavethesetypesofmeetings,events,andtaskforcesscheduledintothelifeofyourcompany?Ifso,howdoyouusethem?Doyouusethemasopportunitiestoreflect?Oraretheymoreproceduralandprocessoriented—thekindsofinteractionsinwhichpeoplemerely provide status reports, in which debate and disagreement are subtlydiscouraged,andissuesaren’tadequatelyframedanddiscussed?Howmanytimeshaveyouheardaleadersaythatheorshehatesmeetings?

Howoftenhaveyouyourself said that? Inmyexperience, theproblem is lesswith the “meeting” per se andmore often a result of the way themeeting isframedandchoreographed.Apoorlychoreographedmeetingisawasteoftime,andtheparticipantshaveeveryrighttobeannoyedbyit.Ifyouhave scheduled time for ameeting,haveyouprepared sufficiently to

makesureyouareusing that timewisely?Haveyoustructured themeetingsothat important issues are framed and key topics are actively debated?Do youscheduletimeforreflectionwithyourseniorleaders?Ifyou’renothappywithyouranswerstoanyofthesequestions,stepbackand

rethinkyourapproach.Mostmeetingsarewastedbecausetheleaderrolls in tothemeetingrelativelyunprepared,atleastinthewaysthatI’madvocating.Heorshehasnotthoughtaboutthemajorsubjectstobeframed,hasn’tgottenasenseof the members of the group regarding the burning issues that need to bediscussed, and isn’t prepared to conduct an effective discussion in which theparticipantsparticipateandgainrealinsights.This approach requires preparation and thought, and argues for a

“segmentation”ofmeetings.Keeptheproceduralandupdatemeetingsbriefandto the point. (The regular Monday morning meeting can suffice.) Separately,plan for longer debate-and-discussion meetings that are held far less often—preferablyawayfromtheofficeandata timeofdaywhenparticipantsarenotlookingovertheirshoulderstoworryabouteventsbackattheoffice.Forthesemeetings,youneedtothinkthroughissuesinadvance,beprepared

to pose a small number of key questions for discussion, and probably ask the

attendees to come prepared to debate and discuss particular issues. Thesemeetings should alwayshavewell-understood follow-up, so that great insightsaren’t lost and good suggestions are actually pursued. When you conductmeetingsoroff-sitesinthismanner,yourteamwillbestrengthened,yourstaturewill be enhanced, andyouwill identify actions that,when taken, are likely tostrengthenthebusiness.Make sure you are creating this space for reflectionwith your team. If you

haven’tdoneso,youaremissingkeyopportunitiestoadvanceyourorganization.In addition, more broadly, as you schedule key events in the life of yourcompany,asyouretoolprocesses,andasyousetpriorities,buildinthattimeforreflection. These meetings are an opportunity to reiterate your vision andpriorities,andemphasizeyourvalues.Theycreateopportunitiesforyoutolistenandlearn,asyougivevoicetoyourpeople.

IntotheFuture

These suggestions are intended to help you navigate through your future. Thenext several years are likely to be a time of immense change. True, we’verecentlybeenthroughadifficultperiod,butIbelievethenextseveralyearswilltesttheabilitiesandadaptabilityofleadersatleastasmuch.Fortunately, despite notes of skepticism from naysayers and pessimists,my

interactions with thousands of executives from all over the world haveconvinced me that leadership is alive and well in today’s companies andnonprofitorganizations.Thousandsofleadersaretakingthetimetoseekadvice,studybestpractices,andlearnhowtheycanhoneandbuildtheirleadershipandmanagementskills.Iamcontinuallyinspiredbytheirexample,andbytheiropennesstolearning.

I am hopeful that at least some of the questions and advice in this bookwillprovetobeusefultools—foryou,andforthem.SuggestedFollow-upStep

1.Keeptheappendixofthisbookonyourwall(orsomeotherconvenientspot)andlookitoverregularly.Askyourselfwhetheryouaretakingsufficienttimetoconsiderthesetopics.Areyouaskingthecriticalquestionsthatwillhelpyouincreasetheeffectivenessofyourorganization?

Appendix

CriticalQuestionsforBecomingaMoreEffectiveLeaderandReachingYourPotential

VisionandPriorities

In the press of day-to-day activities, leaders often fail to adequatelycommunicate their vision to the organization, and in particular, they don’tcommunicateitinawaythathelpstheirsubordinatesdeterminewheretofocustheirownefforts.

•Haveyoudevelopedaclearvisionforyourenterprise?

•Haveyouidentifiedthreetofivekeyprioritiestoachievethatvision?

•Doyouactivelycommunicatethisvision,andassociatedkeypriorities,toyourorganization?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Writedown,inthreetofoursentences,aclearvisionforyourenterpriseorbusinessunit.(Ifit’shelpful,usetheexercisesdescribedin“DevelopingaVision:SomeUsefulExercises”inchapter1.)

•Listthethreetofivekeyprioritiesthataremostcriticaltoachievingthisvision.Theseshouldbetasksthatyoumustdoextraordinarilywellinorderforyoutosucceedbasedonwhereyouarepositionedtoday.

(Ifyouarehavingtroublenarrowingthemdowntothreetofive,usethe“1s,2s,3s”exercisedescribedinchapter1.)

•Askyourselfwhetherthevision(withpriorities)issufficientlyclearandunderstandable.Inaddition,askyourselfwhetheryoucommunicatethe

visionandprioritiesfrequentlyenoughthatyourkeystakeholders(e.g.,directreportsandemployees)couldrepeatthembacktoyou.Interviewkeyemployeestoseewhethertheyunderstandandcanclearlyrearticulatethevisionandpriorities.

•Identifyvenuesandoccasionsfortheregularcommunication,reiteration,anddiscussionofthevisionandpriorities.Createopportunitiesforquestionsandanswers.

•Assembleyourexecutiveteamoff-sitetodebatethevisionandpriorities.Inparticular,considerwhetherthevisionandprioritiesstillfitthecompetitiveenvironment,changesintheworld,andtheneedsofthebusiness.Usetheoff-sitetoupdateyourvisionandprioritiesandtoensurebuy-inonthepartofyourseniorleadershipteam.

ManagingYourTime

Leadersneedtoknowhowthey’respendingtheirtime.Theyalsoneedtoensurethat their time allocation (and that of their subordinates) matches their keypriorities.

•Doyouknowhowyouspendyourtime?

•Doesitmatchyourkeypriorities?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Trackyourtimefortwoweeksandbreakdowntheresultsintomajorcategories.

•Comparehowthisbreakdownmatchesorismismatchedversusyourthreetofivekeypriorities.Makealistofthematchesandmismatches.Regardingthemismatches,writedownthosetimeallocationsthatare2sand3sandcouldthereforebeperformedbyothers—orshouldnotbeperformedatall.

•Createanactionplanfordealingwiththemismatches.Forexample,committodelegatingthosetasksthatcouldjustaseasilybeperformed

bysomeoneelse.Decide,inadvance,tosaynotocertaintimerequeststhatdonotfityourkeypriorities.

•Afterafewmonths,repeattheprecedingthreesteps.Assesswhetheryouaredoingabetterjobofspendingyourtimeoncriticalpriorities.

•Encourageyoursubordinatestoperformthesesamesteps.

GivingandGettingFeedback

Leadersoftenfailtocoachemployeesinadirectandtimelyfashionand,instead,waituntil theyear-end review.Thisapproachmay lead tounpleasantsurprisesandcanundermineeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment.Justasimportant,leadersneedtocultivatesubordinateswhocangivethemadviceandfeedbackduringtheyear.

•Doyoucoachandactivelydevelopyourkeypeople?

•Isyourfeedbackspecific,timely,andactionable?

•Doyousolicitactionablefeedbackfromyourkeysubordinates?

•Doyoucultivateadviserswhoareabletoconfrontyouwithcriticismsthatyoumaynotwanttohear?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Foreachofyourdirectreports,writedownthreetofivespecificstrengths.Inaddition,writedownatleasttwoorthreespecificskillsortasksthatyoubelievetheycouldimproveoninordertoimprovetheirperformanceandadvancetheircareers.Allocatetimetodirectlyobservingtheirperformance,anddiscreetlymakeinquiriestogatherinformationandinsightsinordertopreparethisanalysis.

•Scheduletimewitheachsubordinate,atleastsixmonthsinadvanceoftheyear-endreview,todiscussyourobservationsandidentifyspecificactionstepsthatcouldhelpthemimproveandaddresstheirdevelopmentalneedsandopportunities.

•Writedownarealisticlistofyourownstrengthsandweaknesses.Makealistofatleastfivesubordinatesfromwhomyoucouldsolicitfeedbackregardingyourstrengthsandweaknesses.Meetwitheachsubordinateindividuallyandexplainthatyouneedtheirhelp.Inyourmeetings,makesuretoaskthemtogiveyouadviceregardingatleastoneortwotasksorskillstheybelieveyoucouldimproveon.Thankthemfortheirhelp.

•Writedownanactionplanforaddressingyourownweaknessesanddevelopmentalneeds.Ifyouhaveadirectsuperior(ortrustedpeer),considersolicitingadviceregardingyourdevelopmentalneedsandpotentialactionsteps.Dependingonyoursituationandlevelintheorganization,considertheoptionofhiringanoutsidecoach.

•Encourageeachofyourdirectreportstofollowthesesamestepsregardingtheirdirectreportsandthemselves.

SuccessionPlanningandDelegation

When leaders fail to actively plan for succession, they do not delegatesufficientlyandmaybecomedecision-makingbottlenecks.Keyemployeesmayleaveiftheyarenotactivelygroomedandchallenged.

•Doyouhaveasuccession-planningprocessforkeypositions?

•Haveyouidentifiedpotentialsuccessorsforyourjob?

•Ifnot,whatisstoppingyou?

•Doyoudelegatesufficiently?

•Haveyoubecomeadecision-makingbottleneck?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Createasuccession-planningdepthchartforyourbusinessunitororganization(asdescribedinchapter4).Thisdocumentshouldincludeatleasttwoorthreepotentialsuccessorsforyourownposition.

•Foreachpotentialsuccessor,writedowntheirkeydevelopmentneedsand

specificactionsyoumighttakeinordertodeveloptheircapabilitiesinrelationtopotentialfuturepositions.Worktodevelopandshapethesespecificdevelopmentplans.Makeuseofthedevelopmentalactionplanspreparedaspartofyourchapter3follow-upsteps.

•Forthosekeytasksthatyouhavecommittedtofindingawaytodelegate(seechapter2),beginmatchingthosetaskswithspecificcandidatesonthedepthchart.Makeassignments.

•Categorizedelegatedtasksintermsoftheirlevelsofimportancetoyourenterprise.Basedonthisanalysis,notewhichtasksneedtobedoneatextremelyhighlevelsofquality,andwhichcanbedoneat“sufficient”levelsofquality.Askwhetheryouhavecalibratedyourlevelofinvolvementtothiscategorization,andrememberthat“involvement”shouldoftentaketheformofcoachingthesubordinate,ratherthanadirectintervention.Makeacommitmentto“pickingyourspots,”toensurethatyourdirectinterventions(beyondcoaching)arejustifiedbyanappropriatelyhighleveloftaskimportance.

•Askyourbusinessunitleaderstoperformthissameexercisewithregardtotheirdirectreports.

EvaluationandAlignment

The world is constantly changing, and leaders need to be able to adapt theirbusinessesaccordingly.

•Isthedesignofyourcompanystillalignedwithyourvisionandpriorities?

•Ifyouhadtodesigntheenterprisetodaywithacleansheetofpaper,howwouldyouchangethepeople,keytasks,organizationalstructure,culture,andyourleadershipstyle?

•Whyhaven’tyoumadethesechanges?

•Haveyoupushedyourselfandyourorganizationtodothisclean-sheet-of-paperexercise?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Identifyakeybusinessunitorfunctiontotryouttheclean-sheet-of-paperexercise.Createasmalltaskforcebasedontheselectednamesfromthesuccessionplanningdepthchartexercise.Attempttodrawprofessionalsfromatleasttwotothreedifferentbusinessunitsand/orfunctionalareas.Givetheteamaspecificassignment,andemphasizethattheyshouldassumethattherearenosacredcowstobeprotected.Makecleartothemthatwhileyoumaynotfolloweverypieceoftheiradvice,youwanttheircandidviewsandmostlikelywillimplementatleastsomeoftheirsuggestions.

•Agreeonanappropriatetimeframe.Takeintoaccountthatthisassignmentisnotinplaceofdoingtheirdayjobs.Makeclearthatyouareavailabletoanswerquestionsorgiveguidance,butyouplantostayawayfromthisprocessinordertoavoidinfluencingtheiranalysisandconclusions.

•Debriefthegroupregardingtheirfindings.Also,conductapostmortemtodeterminewhatyouandthetaskforcelearnedfromtheprocessofdoingthisexercise.

•Developaspecificactionplanforimplementingatleastsome(ifnotall)ofthegroup’srecommendations.

TheLeaderasRoleModel

Your actions are closelyobservedby those aroundyou.They sendapowerfulmessageaboutwhatyoubelieveandwhatyoutrulyvalue.

•Doyouactasarolemodel?

•Doyourbehaviorsmatchyourwords?

•Howdoyouconductyourselfunderpressure?

•Isyourconductconsistentwithyourstatedvalues?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Writedowntwoorthreekeymessagesyoubelieveyousendwithyourbehavior(versusyourspeeches).Seekadvicefromkeysubordinatesandadviserswhodirectlyobserveyourbehavior,inordertoanswerthisquestion:isthereadisconnectbetweenthemessagesyouwishtosendandthoseyouareinfactsending?

•Dothissameexerciseforyourkeydirectreports.Whatmessagesiseachofthemsendingaboutwhatistrulyvaluedinyourorganization?Again,makediscreetinquiries,ifnecessary,todothisanalysis.Incorporatethisworkintoyourcoachingoftheseexecutives.

•Thinkofasituationinwhichyoufeltenormousstressatworkandregrettedyourbehavior.Writedowntheoneortwoissuesthatcreatedthestressyouwerefeeling—acknowledgingthattheseissuesmayhavehadnothingtodowithwork.Howwouldyoubehavedifferentlyifyoucouldreplaythissituation?Writedownoneortwolessonsyoutakeawayfromthisexercise.

ReachingYourPotential

Successful executives develop leadership styles that fit the needs of theirbusinessbutalsofittheirownbeliefsandpersonality.

•Areyoupursuingapaththatisconsistentwithyourassessmentofyourstrengths,weaknesses,andpassions?

•Ifnot,whatareyouwaitingfor?

•Haveyoudevelopedyourownstyleatwork?

•Doyouspeakup,expressyouropinions,andconductyourselfwithconfidence?

•Doyouencourageyourpeopletobeauthenticandexpresstheiropinions?

SuggestedFollow-upSteps

•Makealistofyourthreegreateststrengthsandyourthreegreatest

weaknesses.Getadvicefromyoursenior,peer,andjuniorcoachesoradvisersinordertomakesureyourlistreflects“reality”inrelationtoyourcurrentjobandaspirations.

•Developaspecificactionplantoworkonyourweaknesses.Actionstepsmightincludespecificjobassignments,seekingfeedbackwithinyourorganization,and/orgettinganoutsidecoach.

•Encourageyoursubordinatestodothissameanalysisandactionplanning.Discusstheseplansinyourcoachingsessionsforsubordinates.

•Thinkofasituationinwhichyouwereatyourbest,whenyouperformedextremelywellandfeltgreataboutyourimpact.Whatweretheelementsofthissituation?Whattaskswereyouperforming,whatwasyourleadershipapproach,whatwasthecontext,andwhatotherfactorsenhancedyourperformance?Whatlessonsdoyoutakefromthis,regardingyourpassions,values,andotherkeyelementsthathelpbringoutyourbestperformance?

•Thinkofatimewhenyoubroughtoutthebestinothers.Whatwasyourmotivationalapproach?Whatwasyourleadershipstyle?Whatotherelementsallowedyoutobringoutthebestinothers?Whenyoureflectonthissituation,whatlessonsdoyoulearnaboutyourself,includingaboutyourphilosophyandvalues,aswellashowyoumightbestmotivateothersinthefuture?

WhattoAskthePersonintheMirror:AFramework

NotesandAdditionalReferences

Chapter1

1.SeeJamesC.CollinsandJerryI.Porras,“BuildingYourCompany’sVision,”HarvardBusinessReview,September–October1996,65–77;andJohnP.Kotter,“WhatLeadersReallyDo,”HarvardBusinessReview,December2001,85–97.

2.MartinLutherKing,Jr.,“IHaveaDream,”August28,1963,Washington,D.C.3.RobertStevenKaplan,ChristopherMarquis,andBrentKazan,“TheMiamiProjecttoCure

Paralysis,”Case9-408-003(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2008).4.BarackObama,keynoteaddress,DemocraticNationalConvention,Boston,MA,July27,2004.5.Seehttp://www.teakfellowship.org/.6.Seehttp://www.ifoapplestore.com/thestores.html.7.Seehttp://www.ge.com/company/culture/leadership_learning.html.8.RobertStevenKaplanandSophieHood,“BobBeallattheCysticFibrosisFoundation,”Case9–409-

107(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2009).

Chapter2

1.StephenR.Covey,TheSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople:RestoringtheCharacterEthic(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1989).

Chapter3

1.SeeJohnJ.GabarroandLindaA.Hill,“ManagingPerformance,”Case9-496-022(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2002);LeslieA.Perlow,ScottA.Snook,andBrianJ.Delacey,“CoachKnight:TheWilltoWin,”Case9-405-041(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2005);andLeslieA.Perlow,ScottA.Snook,andBrianJ.Delacey,“CoachK:MatteroftheHeart,”Case9-406-044(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2005).

Chapter4

1.DorisKearnsGoodwin,TeamofRivals:ThePoliticalGeniusofAbrahamLincoln(NewYork:Simon&Schuster,2005).

2.LindaA.HillandMariaT.Farkas,“NoteonBuildingandLeadingYourSeniorTeam,”Case9-402-037(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2002).

Chapter5

1.SeeMichaelL.TushmanandDavidA.Nadler,CompetingbyDesign:ThePowerofOrganizationalArchitectures(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1997).SeealsoLindaA.Hill,“NoteforAnalyzing

WorkGroups,”Case9-496-026(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,1998);andMichaelL.TushmanandCharlesA.O’ReillyIII,“ManagerialProblemSolving:ACongruenceApproach,”2430BC(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2007).

2.WilliamW.GeorgeandAndrewN.McLean,“AnneMulcahy:LeadingXeroxThroughthePerfectStorm,”Case9-405-050(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2005);seealso“XeroxCorporation:AnneMulcahy,Chairman&CEO,Leadership&CorporateAccountabilityclass,”video,productnumbers9-408-714(DVD)and9-408-715(VHS)(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2008).

Chapter6

SeeLindaA.Hill,“BecomingtheBoss,”HarvardBusinessReview,January2007,48–56.

Chapter7

1.LauraMorganRoberts,GretchenSpreitzer,JaneDutton,RobertQuinn,EmilyHeaphy,andBriannaBarker,“HowtoPlaytoYourStrengths,”HarvardBusinessReview,January2005,74–80.

2.LeslieA.PerlowandScottA.Snook,“CoachKnight:TheWilltoWinandCoachK:AMatteroftheHeart,”CaseTeachingNote9-406-103(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool,2007).

SeealsoWarrenG.BennisandRobertJ.Thomas,“CruciblesofLeadership,”HarvardBusinessReview,September2002,39–45;WilliamW.George,TrueNorth:DiscoverYourAuthenticLeadership(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,2007);DanielGoleman,“WhatMakesaLeader?,”HarvardBusinessReview,January2004,82–91;andRoderickM.Kramer,“TheHarderTheyFall,”HarvardBusinessReview,October2003,58–66.

Acknowledgments

Theideasandconceptsinthisbookaredrawnfromavarietyofexperiencesoverthepastseveraldecades.I owe a great deal to the numerous mentors, coaches, friends, colleagues,

clients, and studentswhom I havehad the privilege to knowover thesemanyyears. Their wisdom—as well as generosity in sharing their stories andchallenges—hasbeencritical toall that Ihave learnedand forms thebasis formuchofthisbook.IhadthegoodfortunetostartmycareeratGoldmanSachs.Thefirmandits

leadershelpedmetodevelopabusinessphilosophyandapproachthatIwasableto test in a variety of leadership positions over twenty-two years. The firm’ssuperbclientsweregenerouswith their time,wisdom,andideas—wellbeyondthe requirements of professional relationships. Several of the firm’s seniorleaders,aswellasasignificantnumberofclients,servedascriticalrolemodelsinhelpingmedevelopmymanagementabilitiesandleadershipskills.IamenormouslygratefultomycolleaguesatHarvardBusinessSchool.They

gavemetheopportunitytojointhefacultyin2005andhavealwayshelpedmeto become a more effective professor—coaching me to better frame issues,orchestrateeffectivediscussions,andexpandmytechniquesforhelpingleadersimprovetheirperformance.Myfellowprofessorsareenormouslygenerousandrigorous thinkers, intensely interested in the realworldandhowto improve it.That’sapotentcombination,andone thathasmotivatedme to furtherdevelopmy skills and keep learning. I particularly want to thank Nitin Nohria, BillGeorge,BorisGroysberg,RanjayGulati, andChrisMarquis for reviewing themanuscriptforthisbookandgivingmeexcellentfeedback.Myclassroomexperienceshavebeenhugelyinfluentialinshapingthisbook.

Since coming to Harvard, I have had the opportunity to teach a substantialnumberofMBAsandexecutivesatalllevels,whichhasgivenmeexposuretoawide array of leadership, strategy, and competitive challenges. My executiveinteractionshave taughtmeagreatdeal about leadershipandprovidedagreat

laboratory for experimenting with various approaches for improvingperformance.IwanttothanktheHarvardBusinessReviewforgivingmetheopportunityto

writearticlesonleadershipandindividualdevelopmentpotential.JeffKehoeandhis colleagues at the Harvard Business Review Press—including Erin Brown,Courtney Cashman, Ellen Peebles, and Allison Peter—encouraged me to usethose articles as a basis for sayingmore andworkedwithme at every step tocreatethisbook.I could not have written this book without the help of my editor, Jeff

Cruikshank. Jeff is an accomplished author in his own right and served as asuperbcoach,mentor,andeditor.IalsowanttothankSandyMartin,myfabulouslong-timeassistant,whoputs

upwithmeandmakesitpossibleformetofunctionefficientlyandeffectively.JaneBarrett,myassistantatHBS,hasbeeninvaluableandoutstandinginallthatshedoes.Bothhavehelpedtokeepthisprojectontrackoverthepasttwoyears.Special thanks to Karen Belgiovine,Michael Diamond, Heather Henriksen,

Colleen Kaftan, Arlene Kagan, Scott Richardson, Wendy Winer, and DavidWinerforreadingandadvisingmeonvariousportionsofthismanuscript.Lastandmost important, Iwant to thankmyparentsandfamily.Theyhave

given me love, support, and understanding at every point in my life. Theirphilosophy,values,andadviceechointhepagesofthisbook.

Index

alignment.Seeevaluationandalignmentaspiration,andvision,6,12,15–16,23

balance,inaleader’slife,187,228Berra,Yogi,12blamegame,183–184boardsofdirectors

coachingofCEOsand,95–98knowledgeofperformanceofCEOsby,94–95successionplanningand,110

BPoilspillof2010,41–42Buoniconti,Nick,19

calendars.Seetimemanagementcareerdevelopmentplans,118–119CEOs.Seeleaderschange

communicationofvisionand,37–40,42lackofalignmentresultingfrom,143,149leadersand,158–159,201timeallocationand,65–66updatingcoachingdueto,89–90

CivilRightsmovement,andKing’s“Ihaveadream”speech,18–19coachingofandfeedbacktoemployees,6–7,73–91,102–104

achievingavisionandprioritiesusing,74,76–77beinguncomfortablewithgiving,74careerdevelopmentplanand,119ascentraltoleader’sjob,84ascriticalpartofperformancemanagement,74criticalquestionsandfollow-upstepsfor,236–237

cultureoflearningand,102–103definitionof,76evaluationandalignment,150,154exampleof,77–79fearofconfrontationin,84–88follow-upto,89–90gatheringinformationfor,76,84

coachingofandfeedbacktoemployees(continued)identifyingexecutivesgoodat,78–79impedimentsto,79–81implementingchangeand,159importanceofeffectiveprocessesfor,75incentivesfor,88lackoffocuson,75–76leaderasrolemodelin,119leader’sappointmentofjuniorcoaches,167,170,173leader’sinvolvementin,196,197mentoringdifferentiatedfrom,76–77mistakeofrelyingonyear-endreviews,80–81organizationalchangeandupdating,89–90owningtaskof,90–91potentialsuccessorsand,119preparationtimefor,83–84,87,88rewardingemployeesfor,213role-playingorrehearsingasessionin,87specific,actionablefeedbackandproposedremediesin,88–89suggestedfollow-upsteps,103–104timingofmultiplesessionsduringyear,82–83trainingin,79,88year-endevaluationdifferentiatedfrom,73–74,80coachingofandfeedbacktoexecutives,91–102aboutimportanceofcoaching,88actingonfeedbackfromsubordinatesin,100,101–102askingsubordinatesforfeedback,99–100boardofdirectorsrolein,95–98follow-upwithsubordinateswhoofferedfeedback,100–101gatheringinformationfor,84

isolationoftopleaders,91–92lackofpotentialcoachesforseniorexecutives,74,96notionofbeinglonelyatthetop,3–4,91–93opennesstoprocessofsoliciting,102outsidecoaches,useof,97–98,168–169owningtaskofgetting,76receivingdownwardfeedbackin,94–95receivingupwardfeedbackin,98–102360–degreereviewprocessfor,95,96,97

communication,ofvisionandpriorities,12,37–40,42compensationprocesses

motivationand,15successionplanningand,119

competitorschangesdueto,37,65,134evaluationprocessand,156–157timemanagementforanalysisof,56,57visiontodifferentiatefrom,13,25,26,36

competitiveadvantage,talentas,91,120,133confidence

ofCEOsandemployees,16–17self-confidenceofleader,205–206

confrontation,fearof,andgivingfeedback,84–88corecompetencies,inarticulatingaclearvision,17,24,25,28,34,43,135couragetospeakup,214–215Covey,Stephen,67–68cronyism,perilsof,108–110culture

leader’stimemanagementandeffecton,60ownershipoffeedback,90–91

customerrelationshipsarticulationofavisionand,16exampleofkeyprioritiesin,33–34rewardingemployeesforbuilding,214

cynicism,effectsof,207–208,209–213CysticFibrosisFoundation(CFF),40–41

decisionmakingclearlyarticulatedvisionand,12,16,17,26intimidatingleadershipstyleand,217–218

delegation,122–128,131backingupexecutivesin,128benefitsof,124–125criticalimportanceof,107examplesoffailurein,122–124,167–168exampleofsubtlebottleneck,126–128identificationofbesttalentbeforedelegating,107–108,122

leader’sself-examinationaboutfailureofsharingresponsibilitythrough,125–126

savingtimeand,54,63–64second-guessingsubordinatesin,127,128

DemocraticNationalConvention(2004),21–22depthcharts,111–112,117–118

descriptionof,117–118formatof,118

directobservation,ingatheringinformationforcoaching,76,84

economiccrisishelpingemployeescopewith,185reorderingprioritiesin,42–43

employeescoachingandfeedback.Seecoachingofandfeedbacktoemployeesevaluationof.Seeevaluationofemployeesmotivationof,12,15

evaluationandalignment(ofbusinessesandnonprofits),7,133–160beingproactiveandnotputtingoff,143–144,145,146challengeofaddressingalignmentin,143–145changeandneedfor,143,149coachingand,150,154competitorsimpacton,156–157criticalquestionsandfollow-upstepsfor,239–240difficultyinspottinglackofalignment,141–142discomfortwithmakingchanges,144–145

evaluationandalignment(ofbusinessesandnonprofits)(continued)diversityofviewsencouragedin,157–158earlywarningsignsofmisalignment,142economicchangesandneedfor,148–149impactofinternalorexternalchangesandneedfor,135potentialsuccessorsworkingasateamon,150–155regularbasisforscheduling,146,155–156responsibilityofleaderfor,142,149–150,154,156,159–160separatingwhatshouldbedonefromhowitshouldbedone,145–146successionplanningandtalentmanagementaspartof,150,154suggestedfollow-upsteps,159–160technologyfirmexampleofsituationrequiring,135–141visionand,149Xeroxexampleof,146–148

evaluationofemployeesachievingavisionand,74coachingdifferentiatedfrom,73–74,80ascriticalpartofperformancemanagement,74importanceofeffectiveprocessesfor,75mistakeofdelayingfeedbackuntilyear-endreview,80–81“nosurprises”rulein,81–83successionplanningand,119

executives.Seeleaders

fairness,leader’sbeliefin,206–209fearofconfrontation,andgivingfeedback,84–88feedback.Seealsocoachingofandfeedbacktoemployees;coachingofandfeedbacktoexecutivesGeneralElectric,34GoldmanSachs

partnerpromotionprocessat,82–83responsibilityforseekingfeedbackat,90succession-planningprocessat,115–116

Goodwin,DorisKearns,108Gretzky,Wayne,130

“Ihaveadream”speech(King),18–19

incentivesforcoaching,88innovation,exampleofkeyprioritiesin,33interviews,ingatheringinformationforcoaching,76,84,87

KansasCityRoyals,20–21Kauffman,Ewing,20–21King,MartinLuther,Jr.,18–19leaders

asagentsofchange,158–159allocatingtimeandresourcestoaddressthebigquestions,224–225askingtherightquestions,225–226coachingascentraltojobof,84coachingof.Seecoachingofandfeedbacktoexecutivesdilemmaofbeinglonelyatthetop,3–4,91–93evaluationandalignmentresponsibilityof,142,149–150,154,156,159–160feedbackto.Seecoachingofandfeedbacktoexecutivesframingkeyquestionsandcreatingaprocesstoaddressthem,4,5identifyingasetofquestionsthatfitorganizationandindustry,9isolationof,91–92leadershipstyle,200–202notionofnaturalabilityof,1–2periodsofconfusionanduncertaintyexperiencedby,2–3powerofaclearvision,29–30prioritiesand.Seeprioritiesproactiveandregularinquiryby,226rangeofrolesof,161–162asrolemodels.Seerolemodel,leaderasself-awarenessof,182–183sevenbasictypesofinquiryusedby,5spaceforreflectionneededby,227–228successionplanningasresponsibilityof,106,115–116takegreaterownershipoforganizationandcareer,5

leadership,definitionof,215–216leadershipstyle,200–202learningenvironment

coachingand,102–103implementingchangeand,159lifelongprocessforleaders,190,194–195

Lincoln,Abraham,108

mentalhealthprofessionals,consultingaboutfearofconfrontationinfeedback,86–87mentoring

ofCEOs,96coachingdifferentiatedfrom,76–77definitionof,76

MiamiProjecttoCureParalysis,19–20mistakes,acknowledging,183–184money

roleinarticulationofvision,15–16asmotivatorforyoungleaders,199

motivationclearlyarticulatedvisionand,12,15leader’stheoryof,200moneyas,199

Mulcahy,AnneM.,148

Newman,Randy,91newproductdevelopment

coachingin,136,138newproductdevelopment(continued)

delegationand,139,141exampleofkeyprioritiesin,33visionand,17

NewYorkCityTEAKFellowshipprogramforjuniorhighschoolstudentsin,22visionofneighborhoodrestaurantin,23

“nosurprises”ruleinyear-endevaluations,81–83

Obama,Barack

BPoilspillof2010and,42keynotespeechatthe2004DemocraticNationalConventiongivenby,21–22

observation,ingatheringinformationforcoachingandfeedback,76,84

performancemanagement.Seecoachingandfeedback;evaluationoftalentpotential,8,189–221

achievingsustainedhighperformance,198–199beliefinfairness,206–209confidenceinself,205–206criticalquestionsandfollow-upstepsforreaching,241–242developingaleadershipstyleaspartof,200–202effectofcynicismon,207–208,209–213effectofintimidatingleadershipstyle,216–218essenceofleadershipand,215–216faithintheorganization,13–214faiththatjusticewillprevail,206learningaslifelongprocess,190,194–195mind-setofnotplayingtoosafe,218–219passionsofleader,195–198personalhabits,219–220,227–228philosophicalapproachtowork,190rewardingandreinforcingbehaviors,213–214speakingup,214–215suggestedfollow-upstepsforreaching,220–221understandingstrengthsandweaknesses,191–194willingnesstohearthetruth,learn,andadapt,202–205

preparationtimeforcoaching,83–84,87,88pressure

onemployees,185–186onleaders,181–182

pricing,aspartofkeypriorities,34priorities

adaptabilityof,12–13,36–37biotechcompanyexampleofdefiningavisionand,26–30categorizingkeytasksinto1s,2s,and3stonarrowlistof,31

changeand,37–40communicationof,12,37–40,42crisisandreshapingof,41–44defining,30–35examplesof,33–35exerciseofevaluatingtimecommitments,54–58,63–64feedbackaspartofachieving,75–76globalizationandtailoringbyregion,36–37identificationofmanageablenumberof,12importanceofbuildingfoundationwith,44–45matchingtimecommitmentsto,54–55,59,63,64needtochoosethreetofivemostcritical,31–32,33purposeof,26salesforcemanagerexampleofdefining,31–32suggestedfollow-upsteps,45–46timemanagementshapedby,47,48,63,64timematchexerciseofevaluatingcommitmentsagainst,54–58,63–64updatingduringtimesofchange,40–41writingdownandposting,asadailyreminder,69–70

profits,inarticulationofvision,16promotions

coachingasacriterionfor,88failuretodevelopsubordinates,116implementingchange,159leadershipbehavior,216leadersasrolemodels,177–180successionplanningand,119

psychiatrist,psychologist,consultingaboutfearofconfrontationinfeedback,86–87questionexercise,tohelpdevelopavision,24

reflectiveorganization,229–231rehearsingacoachingsession,87rewards,leadersand,213–214,216rolemodel,leaderas,7–8,161–188

acknowledgingmistakes,183–184

balancingactivitiesfordifficultperiods,187,228behaviorunderpressure,180–181casehistoryofproblemsstemmingfromgulfbetweenaleader’swordsversushisactions,164–170criticalquestionsandfollow-upsteps,240–241emotionaldetachmentandindependenceneededin,187–188helpingemployeescopewithstress,185–186howemployeesseeleaders,163–164leader’slackofawarenessofrole,162learningtoleadothers,171–174makingthetransitionasnewCEO,174–176pressureandstress,181–182processofself-discoverybyleader,171promotions,177–180rangeofrolesofleader,161–162self-awarenessand,182–183suggestedfollow-upsteps,188timemanagement,59–63

role-playingacoachingsession,87Royals,KansasCity,20–21

schedules.Seealsotimemanagementslacktimein,227vacationsand,227

self-awarenessofleaders,182–183self-confidenceofleaders,205–206seniormanagement.SeeleadersSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople,The(Covey),67–68slacktime,needfor,227speakingup,asleadershipstyle,214–215spinalcordinjury,andMiamiProjecttoCureParalysis,19–20spreadsheet,fortrackingon-the-jobtimebycategory,50–51strategyformulation,andclearlyarticulatedvision,26strengthsofleaders,self-awarenessof,191–194stress

ofemployees,185–186

ofleaders,181–182style,leadership,200–202success

clearlyarticulatedvisionascriticalto,11–12leader’stimemanagementandeffecton,60talentmanagementaskeyto,105

successionplanning,7,105–122,129–152benefitsof,116–117careerdevelopmentplanforeachpotentialsuccessor,118–119criticalimportanceof,107,131criticalquestionsandfollow-upstepsfor,237–238delegationaspartof.Seedelegationdepthchartin,111–112,117–118developingacultureof,117–121evaluationandalignmentand,150,154exampleofleadershipin,120–121identifyingapooloftalentfor,113–115leaderasrolemodelin,119–120lossofhigh-potentialpeopleduetolackof,107perceptionofshortageoftalentand,110–113periodicmeetingstoreviewpotentialsuccessors,119problemsfromfailuretodevelopleaders,106,122responsibilityofleaderfor,106,115–116,130–131shadowofleaderinimplementing,129–130suggestedfollow-upsteps,131–132teamofcroniesasimpedimentto,108–110visibilityofleaderin,120

talentcompetitiveadvantageof,91,120,133evaluationandalignment,150exampleofkeyprioritiesforattracting,retaining,anddeveloping,34–35intimidatingleadershipstyle,218leaderasrolemodelinidentifying,119roleofleaderinattracting,retaining,anddeveloping,105

taskforce,forevaluationandalignment,150–155

TEAKFellowship,22360–degreefeedback,80,95,96,97timemanagement,6,47–71

categorizingtasksinto1s,2s,and3saspartof,55–58changesinenvironmentand,65–66continuingbasisfor,66criticalquestionsandfollow-upstepsfor,235delegationoftaskstosavetimein,54,63–64diagnosisofhowtimeismisspent,51–54discardingoldhabitsin,58–59evaluationandalignmentmeetings,146,155–156exampleofmixedmessagesfromCEOin,61–63exerciseofevaluatingtimecommitmentsagainstprioritiesin,54–58,63–64facingandgettingoverdisconnectin,66–70honestyinevaluatingtimecommitments,63–64leaderasrolemodeland,59–61multiplecoachingsessionsduringyear,82–83preparingforcoachingsessionsand,83–84,88prioritiesmatchedtotimecommitmentsin,54–55,59,63,64reasonsforfailingtorecognizemisallocationoftime,47–48seasonalchangesand,66seniormanagement’sevaluationoftimecommitmentsagainstpriorities,64–65spreadsheetfortrackingon-thejobtimebycategory,50–51suggestedfollow-upsteps,70–71techniqueforhandlingrequestsin,69–70valueoftimeasanasset,49visionandkeyprioritiesshaping,47,48,63,64writingdownandpostingprioritiesasadailyreminder,69–70

trade-offs,inarticulatingavision,16,26training

incoaching,79,88fornewlypromotedseniorexecutives,180

vacations,220,227valueproposition,andvision,14

vision,6,11–46adaptabilitytoyourspecificregionsandbusinessunits,12–13,35–37analysisandidentificationofcorecompetenciesforarticulating,13–14annualreviewsessionstodiscusspossiblechangesto,24–26biotechcompanyexampleofovercominganimpasseindefining,26–30

vision(continued)changeand,37–40communicationof,12,37–40,42confidenceofCEOsandemployeesusing,16–17cornerdiner’ssuccessasexampleof,23criticalquestionsandfollowupstepsforcommunicating,233–234definitionof,13developing,23–30differentiationfromcompetitors,13effectofconfusionanduncertaintyabout,17employees’needforaspirationtostriveforandarticulationof,6,12,15–16evaluationandalignment,149examplesofpowerof,18–23feedbackandevaluationaspartofachieving,74,75–76globalizationandtailoringbyregion,35–37importanceofbuildingfoundation,44–45King’s“Ihaveadream”speechasexampleof,18–19MiamiProjecttoCureParalysisasexampleof,19–20Obama’sspeechat2004DemocraticNationalConventionasexampleof,21–22organizingofCEOsandemployeesaround,16–17questionexercisetostartprocessofdeveloping,24restatementof,inorganizationsofftrack,17–18roleofmoneyin,15–16suggestedfollow-upsteps,45–46sustainedsuccessandneedforclearlyarticulatedvision,1–12TEAKFellowship’svisionandplansasexampleof,22timemanagementshapedby,47trade-offsinarticulating,16,26updatingforchange,40–41valuepropositionand,14WorldSeriesquestofKansasCityRoyalsasexampleof,20–21

weaknessesofleaders,self-awarenessof,191–194WorldSeries,questofKansasCityRoyalsfor,20–21

XeroxCorporation,146–148

year-endreview.Seeevaluationofemployees

AbouttheAuthor

Robert Steven Kaplan is a professor of management practice at HarvardBusiness School and co-chairman of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, aglobalventurephilanthropyfirm.PriortojoiningHarvardin2005,heservedasvice-chairmanoftheGoldman

Sachs Group, Inc., with global oversight responsibility for the InvestmentBankingandInvestmentManagementdivisions.Hewasamemberofthefirm’sManagement Committee and co-chairman of its Partnership Committee, andchaired the firm’s Pine Street leadership program for developing emergingleaders. He previously served as global co-head of the Investment Bankingdivision, head of the Corporate Finance department, and head ofAsia-PacificInvestmentBanking (headquartered inTokyo, Japan).He became a partner ofthefirmin1990.Throughout his career, Kaplan has worked extensively with nonprofit and

community organizations. He is the founding co-chairman of the HarvardNeuroDiscovery Center Advisory Board, co-chairman of Project ALS, andfoundingco-chairmanof theTEAKFellowship.Healso isco-chairmanof theExecutiveCommitteeforHarvardUniversity’sOfficeforSustainability,aswellasamemberoftheboardsofHarvardMedicalSchoolandHarvardManagementCompany (serving as interim president and chief executive officer fromNovember2007toJune2008).Previously, Kaplanwas appointed by the governor of Kansas to serve as a

memberof theKansasHealthcarePolicyAuthorityBoard.Healsoservedasamember of the Capital Markets Advisory Group for the New York FederalReserve.KaplanisamemberoftheboardoftheStateStreetCorporation,chairmanof

the InvestmentAdvisorycommitteeofGoogle Inc., a senior adviser to IndabaCapitalManagementLLC,andanadvisorydirectorofBerkshirePartnersLLC.HepreviouslyservedontheboardofBed,BathandBeyond,Inc.(1994—2009).He serves in an advisory capacity to a number of other companies and

organizations. Over the course of his career, Kaplan has advised and workedcloselywithseniorexecutivesinboththefor-profitandthenot-for-profitsectors.Hehasalsocoachedanextensivevarietyofprofessionalsintheearlyandmiddlestagesoftheircareers.AsaprofessorofmanagementpracticeatHarvardBusinessSchool,Kaplan

hastaughtavarietyofleadershipcoursesintheschool’sMBAprogramandhasalsotaughtasubstantialnumberofexperiencedleadersintheHarvardBusinessSchoolexecutiveeducationprograms.HeistheauthorofanumberofHarvardBusinessSchoolcasesregardingleadershipandhaswrittentwohighlyregardedHarvardBusinessReviewarticles:“WhattoAskthePersonintheMirror”and“ReachingYourPotential.”Kaplan grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas, and received his BS from the

University of Kansas. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School,wherehewasaBakerScholar.