Episode #471: Guiding Principles Of Leadership (Part Two)

In Part One we covered principles 1-7 and we continue looking at some fundamentals we all know but may have forgotten or may have neglected.

8. Truly respecting others is the bedrock of motivation. This idea of respecting staff by the boss makes sense except when we realise that 80% of the team, by definition, are either average or low performers. Maybe the boss is frustrated with some performance levels and maybe they are digging the hole deeper for themselves by applying the wrong motivation formula and not communicating to their 80% cohort that they are valued and respected too.

9. People work for money, but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards. Frederick Herzberg’s research on motivation said that salary was only a “hygiene factor”. In other words, people expect to get paid fairly for their work, so money isn’t everything. Of course, major money does speak loudly to certain people, though most people are not getting paid the astronomic packages we see in the finance industry for example. Our research on the emotional drivers of engagement pointed out that staff feeling valued by their boss was a key catalyst for feeling engaged. How would they know they are valued? The boss is constantly communicating this to them through giving praise and recognition. So are you doing this?

10. Be quick to admit mistakes and slow to criticise. Above all, be constructive. What - the boss has to admit they aren’t perfect? Ego, face, pride, image are all wrapped up together for bosses and how they project themselves. Afterall, bosses by definition, are saying they are superior to their staff, otherwise one of them would be the boss instead. So how do we square this with the boss admitting they have made a mistake? Doesn’t this undermine their right to rule, their authority to claim the crown? Bosses who are chronic mistake makers should be replaced so we are not talking in terms of extremes here. Bosses who have enough self-confidence to admit when they are wrong or have made a mistake will be admired, rather than scorned. Once you deny your boss divinity it makes it easier to accept your staff are not perfect either and to be more understanding of occasional mistakes. Again, chronic mistake makers need to work in another job, because the current one is not the right fit for them.

11. Set goals that are clear, challenging and obtainable. Most of my career, I have been subject to goals which defied any scientific, logical or understandable rationale. A wet finger being thrust into the breeze seemed to be the methodology of my bosses. Were these unrealistic goals motivating? No. How are the goals being set in your team?

Today, I have a spreadsheet which tracks each salesperson from the day they joined us and I can compare the sales being achieved person by person. This allows me to see some averages and a guide for what my expectations should be for every year of experience selling our solutions. It certainly beats guessing or wishing when setting goals.

12. Leaders never lose their focus. They keep their eyes on the big picture. Do they? Markets, currencies, wars, meltdowns, pandemic nightmares are all able to distract us from the big picture. Staff are rarely sharing any interest in the big picture, because they are micro-focused on themselves. They want what they want today and to hell with tomorrow. It takes a lot of good planning, preparation and guts to keep the focus on the light on the hill when the darkness clouds your vision. The mantras are “work on your business, not just in your business” and don’t forget to spend sufficient time in Quadrant Two – Not Urgent/ Important in our time management.

13. Consistently high performance comes from a balance between work and leisure. “I will out work, out commit, out sacrifice everyone to win”, sounds admirable, until it isn’t. Our ideas often come while running, walking, lifting weights, swimming, gardening etc., not at the desk while working. Our health determines our sustained success. My father started his own company aged 49, was surprised by his immediate financial success and then died of lung cancer at age 51. He wasn’t around to reap the annual rewards and that is the same for those who say dumb things like “the winners finish with the most expensive toys”. This business life is a marathon not a sprint in terms of remaining successful.

14. Gain strength from the positive and don’t be sapped by the negative. The movie reel in our minds keeps playing past failures, humiliations, mistakes, disasters, etc. The media says “if it bleeds, it leads” so they have learnt to pump out as much negativity as possible to sell ad space. Covid was a disaster for the training industry, so staying positive in the face of massive losses and upheaval hasn’t been a picnic for me. There wasn’t a lot of “positive” to cling to quite frankly. The mantra is TINA – There Is No Alternative, meaning you cannot quit, you have to keep going, to keep fighting until the last breath. If your business has survived the pandemic, despite taking massive flesh wounds, then congratulations. If it didn’t, then get back up on the horse and try again. I love this Japanese saying, “Fall down seven times, get up eight”.

15. Tame your worries and energise your life. “Can I make payroll this month?”, “Will we run out of cash?”, “How much longer can we hang on for?”, these have been the realities for many of us beaten around the head by the pandemic, supply chain issues, market collapses and war in Europe. Here is a simple, but powerful four part formula for dealing with endless woes: What is the problem? Why is it a problem? What are some of the things I can do to alleviate this problem? Which one is the best solution to this problem? We move from paralysis and drowning in worry, to moving our mind into solution mode. It works – try it.

16. Never underestimate the power of enthusiasm. There is no doubt it has power, it can move mountains, it will make the difference, but how do you become enthusiastic when everything and everyone around you is grim. Somehow, somewhere, I learnt that staying away from the kryptonite of negative people was key to remaining positive. This gets a bit trickier when your spouse is a glass half full type of personality. Nevertheless, we have to honour, protect, cherish and amplify our own enthusiasm when it is coursing through our veins. Don’t let anyone rain on your parade and definitely avoid hanging around “downer” people. Find the spark of whatever it is which makes you feel enthusiastic and try and expand that spark into the blue flame of hope for the future.

The things I have covered over Part One and Part Two are unremarkable, unsurprising, old, well known and smell of moth balls. The only problem is we don’t do these things as our regular practices as leaders. It is always good to be reminded of the obvious and to try and make it the everyday. Take one a day like as business health supplement and swallow it completely then let it course through your system. These 16 pills are probably good for whatever is ailing you in business, so why not give them a shot.