You Have What It Takes to be a "Small-L" Leader

Recently I stumbled across an HBR article from last summer (via @johnmaeda) titled Three Traits Every CEO Needs.  The author, Justin Menkes, writes that:

...to perform their best in today's turbulent atmosphere, leaders must possess this highly unusual set of three traits that often run counter to natural human behavior. These attributes are catalysts for the mastery displayed by the world's best CEOs— and, together, they add up to a new definition of leadership...

He then goes on to describe the three traits (realistic optimism, subservience to purpose, finding order in chaos).  His descriptions resonated— I've seen these characteristics in most of the best C-level execs I worked with in my consulting days and also in a lot of the partners at the consulting firms where I hung my hat.

Of course, not everyone wants to be a CEO or a very senior-level exec. I'd go as far as to say that most people don't want to be a CEO or other big wig. They don't want to be "big-L" Leaders because they don't identify with an attribute like subservience to purpose (remember, Menkes mentioned that those traits often run counter to natural human behavior).

But most people do want to lead in some way— whether on a project or as the manager of a team or simply as the organizer of a meeting. Fortunately, this same article mentions 3 traits that us ordinary mortals can summon to "small-l" lead. It's in the comments, in a story shared by one Bill Hartman:

Fittingly, a talk last year at the US Naval Academy's Stockdale Leadership Center to graduating Midshipmen stressed three keys to successful leadership (being a CEO?):

1. Competence--either have it, or commit to getting there
2. Courage— integrity/courage to do what is right
3. Compassion/love for your team— care about the team as much as yourself.

Any manager, leader, person, CEO can go a long way with these few points.

Most people— including many kids— have the capacity to exhibit or develop those traits. Competence, courage and compassion take the idea of leadership out of the boardroom and put it into cubicles, classrooms, playing fields, homes— anywhere a person can those traits. That's a really powerful thought, because the word leader has such powerful connotations.  Can you imagine what would happen in our workplaces and schools and communities if we could convince everyone we meet that they are (or can become) leaders if they exhibit these traits? Can you imagine the boost to people's self-esteem when they realize they are leaders?

Another thing that's great about these traits is that they help us very quickly assess people who are "leaders" by virtue of the title on their business cards (CEO, Senior VP, Team Lead, etc.) to see if they are true leaders. We've all run across leaders-on-paper who fall short on one or more of those traits. If you work for somebody like this, you'll need to understand how that person's particular shortcoming will affect you and then compensate accordingly. And when determining whether you want to work for or with somebody who is in a leadership role, make sure they exhibit competence, courage, and compassion.

Finally, the three traits can help you develop as a leader. Whether you're leading a team at work, a committee on a volunteer board, a group of 5-year-olds on a t-ball team— or even your own family— you can determine how to develop the competence, courage, and compassion to be a small-l leader.

Let's Do a Pilot

If you find yourself saying those words, pause for a minute to think about what you really mean.

Are you saying that you don't really have a business case for this, but it's the latest thing and my boss wants me to so it so let's see what sticks?

Or do you have a good idea — backed by research and some thoughts about what outcomes you want to achieve — and need to try it out at a smaller scale to work out the kinks?

If it's the former, there's a high likelihood you'll end up doing something with a low (or unknown) return on investment.  With no concrete goals in place, anything will look like a success.

If it's the latter, carry on.  Collect good data on outcomes for a set period of time, and then take further action based on your results.

Social Media vs. SEO

There's an interesting article on AdAge by Bob Knorpp that made me think differently about how I look at social media.  He points out that a lot of social media is really SEO, designed not to engage but to entice people to come to our sites.

I've always looked at this "broadcast" social media as lame, as not what social media is all about.  I've never thought about its value as part of an overall SEO strategy.  Sure, it's still better to use social media for engagement, but if you can't or won't (and there are lots of reasons why that might be the case) then why not think of it in this way?  It's instructive to list out the ways your company is using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. and then label each item as engagement or SEO.  You can then look at the SEO items to determine how they fit into the rest of your SEO strategy and make adjustments as needed.

Happy Birthday Ella

(via swissmiss)

Fundamental Richness

Reading a few passages from The Pocket Pema Chödrön is one of the best ways to start your day.  Enjoy this excerpt:

Fundamental richness is available in each moment.  The key is to relax: relax to a cloud in the sky, relax to a tiny bird with gray wings, relax to the sound of the telephone ringing.  We can see the simplicity in things as they are. We can smell things, taste things, feel emotions, and have memories. When we are able to be there without saying, "I certainly agree with this," or "I definitely don't agree with that," but just be here very directly, then we find fundamental richness everywhere.  It is not ours or theirs but is available always to everyone.  In rain drops, in blood drops, in heartache and delight, this wealth is the nature of everything.  It is like the sun in that it shines one everyone without discrimination.

Isn't that awesome?  I also enjoy the @PemaQuotes twitter account.  This puts me in a good frame of mind to enjoy whatever life brings my way.  Try it!

Yes! No. Yes?

Just finished reading a great article by Whitney Hess over on A List Apart.  In the article she talks about the importance of saying “no” when necessary to help people make good decisions about user experience.

In her How to no section she describes an approach championed by William Ury that could be shorthanded as Yes! No. Yes?.  I’ve used this approach and it really works--here’s an example from a past discussion with a client:

(Yes!) "Finding ways to encourage others to forward/share your content makes a lot of sense and I’m glad you’re thinking that way."

(No.) "But buying an email list, spamming it, and asking users to forward the email will only bring you trouble--and it’s against your own policies."

(Yes?) "Let’s sit down and brainstorm about how you can make better use of your current partner networks to encourage content sharing."

The article provides more detail on how to use this approach effectively. Good stuff!

Thanks also, Whitney, for admonishing me:

If you don’t know anything that no one else on your team knows, then it’s probably time to walk away. But if you do, it is your duty to assert that capability and share your knowledge for the betterment of the final product.

and

As people who create stuff with the hope that other people will use it, it is outright cowardly for us to protect ourselves before defending the needs of our users.

I need to be reminded of that on occasion.

Anti-social Social Media

While digging through my backlog on Instapaper (my absolute favorite iPhone app) I came across a wonderful article by Joanne McNeill: Caring for Your Online Introvert.  Read it now if you're an introvert-- it'll banish any feelings of inadequacy for your neglected Facebook account or your failure to use the appropriate Twitter hashtags.

My favorite line:

This doesn’t mean i don’t see the value of social media. I just use it my own way.

That's exactly how I feel.  I'm an INFP in Meyer-Briggs parlance.  An introvert.   It doesn't mean I don't love being around people.  It just means that for me, being social uses up a lot of energy (compared to extroverts, who gain energy from being social).  I use up a lot of energy in work interactions and prefer to focus my remaining energy on my wonderful family, a great group of friends, and the extremely nice neighbors I run into at the local swimming pool or the Safeway up the street.

I tend to use social media as an information gathering tool, occasionally interacting with others.  I deleted  my Facebook account simply because I didn't have the energy to get much value from it-- or contribute much to it.  (Ok, yeah, I'm appalled at the privacy issues and think Zuckerberg comes across as a bit of an ass, but that's another story.)

As a web professional I need to stay on top of what's happening in the social media space, even if I don't really feel like doing so.  Khoi Vinh mused on this issue and summarized my feelings pretty well when he said:

Keeping up with these networks is getting incrementally more entertaining, but it still very much feels like something I have to do, rather than something I want to do.

It's likely that I'll become more active on twitter, and I'll probably set up a new Facebook account under a pseudonym just so I can keep on top of it.  But most of my social interactions will continue to happen face-to-face, via text messages, by phone, and by email. 

The introvert in me likes it that way.