In the Beginning…Ask Questions

A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.”

I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the Beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. The last blog was about “listen” this one is about “ask questions”.

Before you can listen, you sometimes have to ask questions. There are all sorts of techniques to asking questions:

• Open and closed ended questions
• Using a funnel
• Probing questions
• Leading the witness
• Rhetorical questions

While these are useful, they are merely the manner in which you try to elicit input from an individual or group. No matter what technique you use, your posture becomes the most important attribute when you “ask questions”

I want to be clear about the use of the term posture. I do not mean the position of your limbs or the carriage of your body as a whole. In this context I am talking about the definition whereby posture is a mental or spiritual attitude. Your internal attitude as you ask question, no matter what technique you use, will have profound impact on the way the organization operates.

It is human nature to be fault finders. In our natural state we run around, seek out imperfections and crush them. Think about almost every strategy or planning meeting you have been in. It usually has this question somewhere in it, “All right folks, let’s figure out what is broken and let’s go fix it!” I am at the front of the parade, completely guilty of this approach. Of course, this is sometimes necessary in every business or endeavor, so I am not advocating that we never look at what is going wrong and put plans in place to recover, fix, turn around or eliminate the brokenness of an organization.

That said, we have to be careful that we do not fall in a trap where all of our questioning comes from a posture of, “what’s wrong?” Why not? There is an important principal at work here; human systems grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about. If I continue to ask questions from a “what’s wrong” posture, the organization will focus its time, energy and ultimately its attitude around broken things. It will grow towards what is wrong. We need to invert this outcome, instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, we must send our organization in the direction of discovery, dream, and design.

How do we do this? How can we send our organization in the direction of what works? There is a fairly significant body of work around the field of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry joins two powerful words.

Ap-pre’ci-ate, v. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems

In-quire’, v., 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities.

How does appreciative inquiry manifest itself as you ‘ask questions’? Think of these two questions; “We are trying to grow this business, what is wrong? What is broken? Why can we not seem to grow the business?” Or; “We are trying to grow this business; can you tell me some examples of where growth has worked? How do we replicate those examples?”

You can picture the difference in my posture as I ask those two questions. You can almost sense the difference in the room during these two very different conversations. This mode of questioning repeated time and again at all levels throughout the organization can have a profound impact on the attitude, energy, initiative and success within a company. In fact, David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney assert in some of their writing on Appreciative Inquiry, “The single most prolific thing a group can do if its aims are to liberate the human spirit and consciously construct a better future is to make positive change the common and explicit property of all.”

In the beginning…ask questions. But check your posture. Beyond your questioning techniques, what is the core of what you are trying to find out? Are you trying to discover all that is broken or examples of where success is occurring?

Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” We have to ‘ask questions’ in such a manner that we give our folks the chance to see the opportunity in the difficulty.

Joshua's lessons on leadership - Leaders Protect the Truth

In a series of posts, I want to discuss what we can learn about leadership from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the March 30, 2009 blog titled  “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, I discussed the need to remember “Leaders Eat Last”.  In this post, Joshua reminds us “Leaders Protect the Truth”.

I want to use a mechanism created under Joshua’s rule as a proxy for the level to which we need to seek out and protect the truth in the organizations we lead.  The back-story for this analogy is the concept of the Cities of Refuge.

In the Israelite society Joshua led, there was no police force to investigate crimes. If someone was killed, it was the moral responsibility of the family member who was closest to the victim to investigate and avenge the murder.  This person became the avenger of blood – the kinsman redeemer.

However, a human redeemer’s subjectivity, passion, and anger at the loss of their family member just might cloud their judgment.  They might end up avenging the death by killing someone who wasn't guilty of a capital crime.

Joshua, as the leader of his people had to set up a system to protect the innocent and provide time to sort out the truth of a situation.  The system was ‘Cities of Refuge’.  What we know from tradition is that any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Here are some interesting facts about these Cities of Refuge:

• They were strategically located so there would be easy access to them for anybody seeking refuge.
• Highways were built to increase the ability for someone to get to these cities of refuge.
• These highways were maintained so that nobody was ever hindered in getting to these cities.
• Bridges were built across every ravine, so that the person running for refuge wouldn't have to waste time climbing to the bottom of the ravine and then up the other side.
• The highways were rebuilt every spring after the heavy winter rains so that the road surface would be smooth and easy to run on.
• At every crossroads or intersection on these highways, there were big, bold signs pointing the way with the word ‘Refuge’ in large letters.
• The gates of the cities of refuge were never locked.
• The city was well stocked to provide for any fugitives who came to stay for however long they might need to be there.
• The cities were designated for all the people of Israel, including the stranger.
• The same justice, the same protection and provision, were free to all.

How effectively are you setting up ‘Cities of Refuge’ in the organization you lead or are a part of?  Are you building and maintaining roads for the truth to get to you?  Are you building bridges?  Are there signposts in your organization with ‘Truth’ in large letters?  Are all people able to bring the truth or just a selected few of your favorites? Do you do anything unconsciously that locks out the truth?

I know people are not getting physically killed on our teams.  Yet conflict occurs all the time.  An error happens.  A mistake is made.  A deal is lost.  A customer gets mad.  A decision costs the organization time and money.  Then people start defending and justifying.  This sets off acts of accusation and retribution that get increasingly personal.  These acts disintegrate into permanently scarred team members, colleagues who become incapable of trusting each other.  Nine times out of ten, the event was less egregious and purposeful than assumed.  There is an innocent person involved that needs refuge.  There is a truth that needs to be protected.  When your folks see you reliably seek out the truth of a situation by taking the time to discover and understand all perspectives they will stop making personal accusations and trust will reign.

Look back at the effort that was necessary to insure safe passage of a person to a City of Refuge.  You and I must take a page from Joshua’s book and go through the same level of effort as Joshua creating routes for the truth to get to us, protecting, defending and highlighting those routes. 

Winston Churchill said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”  We have to give the truth a chance to get its pants on and pass all the fiction that gets created.  Or as it is written on the main tower of my alma mater, The University of Texas “Ye Shall Know the Truth, And the Truth Shall Make You Free.”

You are the guardian of the truth.  Leaders Protect the Truth.

Joshua's lessons on leadership - See the truth: but not for worse than it is

In a series of posts, I want to discuss what we can learn about leadership from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the March 30, 2009 blog titled  “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, we dug into a lesson about obedience, when Joshua “fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered”.  In this post, we learn the importance of “See the truth: but not for worse than it is”. 

After the battle with the Amalekites, Joshua becomes Moses’ aid de camp.  Moses took him everywhere, even up the mountain when Moses got the first set of famous stone tablets.  A little over two years after the battle where Joshua showed obedience, came the event that Joshua showed the importance of “See the truth, but not for worse than it is”

Moses selects twelve men to go explore Canaan, the land that the Israelites were supposed to settle in.  These twelve men were each selected as leaders from the original twelve tribes of Israel.  Joshua was among the men.  Moses gave fairly broad instructions to the men, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.  See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.  What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they un-walled or fortified?  How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land."  Essentially these twelve leaders were sent out on a reconnaissance mission; they were spies.

The twelve men spent time gathering information about Canaan, even bringing back examples of the fruit that existed.  Moses gathered advisors to listen to the reports, "We went into the land to which you sent us, and you were right, it would be a great place for us, however, the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.”  A man named Caleb, who would become a key partner of Joshua said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

Then all hell breaks loose, the rest of the men, except for Joshua start shouting over each other in the assembly meeting, “We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." Worse, they walked among the rest of the people telling them, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."  They created a truth that was worse than it really was.

Have you noticed there is always a group of people, when confronted with a challenge, who choose to see the worst of all the outcomes? Moreover, it is insufficient for them to be worried by themselves; they must bring people along with them.  This infection of worrying is actually easy to accomplish; worry can be more contagious than hope.  So their definition of “lead” is to get others to worry with them.  When it happens, they think they have followers.  In reality people are just following their fears not the person who speaks to the fear. 

Here is the interesting thing about worry vs. fear.  Fear we will all feel.  Fear will enter our journey often.  Worry does not have to be our companion.  Worry is fear not healed by belief.  If I believe in the team, their talents, their preparation, their effort, their sponsorship and their attitude I need not worry.  My belief in any situation can heal my fear.  So these “leaders” who were walking around the tribes were not sowing fear; they were creating worry.  This is not the job of a leader.

Dwight Eisenhower wrote to his wife from Algiers on December 30^th, 1942, “As pressure mounts and strain increases everyone begins to show the weaknesses in his makeup. It is up to the Commander to conceal his; above all to conceal doubt, fear and distrust”.  Eisenhower understood the leader's job is to heal fear through belief and not let worry take hold in the gut of the team.

What about Joshua?  Let’s look back at the rest of the story.  The night that the spies came back with their report, after worry had been sown all the people of the community raised their voices, wept and grumbled, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.  We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

 Joshua and his partner Caleb, stood strong in front of the entire community and said, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone…do not be afraid of them."

There was still conflict and argument, but this moment by Joshua, where he “saw the truth, but not for worse than it is” was a turning point in the Israelites history.

Or, in the words of Napoleon, “A leader is a dealer in hope”.  Joshua was dealing hope, not worry.

David's lessons on leadership - Reputation

In a series of posts I reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the January 2, 2009 blog titled  “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post outlines why I am looking into David’s life.

The previous blog dealt with Trust  - comprised of character and competence.  This post deals with “Reputation”

What is your dearest possession?  Maybe your reputation is not #1, but I bet it is near the top.  This lesson on reputation comes from the time that Hushai the spy leveraged David’s reputation into an advantage. 

The back-story to this intrigue is that Absalom, the third son of David leads a revolt against David.  As Absalom holds the city and David is in retreat, Absalom seeks out his chief advisor.  This advisor, Ahithophel tells Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. Attack him while he is weary and weak”.  

Absalom turns to another advisor, Hushai, who he does not know is in place to defend the king’s interest and spy for him.  Hushai’s response instills fear in Absalom by reminding him of David’s reputation as a warrior.  "The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time. You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. If he should attack your troops first, whoever hears about it will say, 'There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.' Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave.”

David’s reputation alone caused his son to stop pressing forward when he had an advantage and changed the course of the war of rebellion with his own son.

We all have a reputation, the question is – how close is it to who we are?  You cannot create your reputation, since it is what people think of you. All you can do is concentrate on your character, maintain consistency and then be comfortable with what happens next.  Abe Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

I was on a job interview recently in my hometown and sat down to breakfast with a CEO who is well connected in the local high tech community.  He said, “Alex, this is a pretty small place and I have been checking you out”.  Gulp – here it comes, my reputation.  “Alex, word is that even when faced with challenging situations you do the right thing”.

Wow.  Now, I want a job with this man and the company he leads, but whatever happens from here, I am OK.  That morning - that moment in the breakfast meeting, I received a great gift.  I was told that my reputation was someone who will do the right thing.  I learned that at least for one brief moment, my reputation and what I desire my character to be are sometimes in sync.  That is pure gold, and I will do all that is possible to defend and maintain that reputation.

In David’s life, his reputation was a weapon, it preceded him, and it got things done for him even when he was not present.  It is the same for us; we can get things done through just our reputation.  The question is, “what do you want to get done through my reputation?”  Once you know that answer, the best next action is to work on character.  And the best way to work on my character is to focus on who we are becoming, not just what we are doing.

Reputation - created with character, strengthened by consistency, tested by trials and reflected in how others treat us.  "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently." Warren Buffett

Passion Part IV - Principles

In this series of posts, I write about passion as a force multiplier in an organization and the creation of passion through individuals who know their role, are convinced their role matters and see the good of their work.  I argue that leaders must focus on five elements to create this level of passion; vision, culture, principles, style and sacrifice.  The previous posts discussed vision and culture, this post is about principles.

Principles or boundaries?  Words matter and boundaries just might be a better word for this topic.  Principles are accepted or professed rules of conduct or action; boundaries are something that indicates a border or limit.  Why would a border or limit increase passion?

How can controlling someone release them to pursue their role with passion?

Many years ago there was a study of child behavior.  Two identical school yards were designed. The yards were the exact same dimensions, terrain and elevation.  Both had a flagpole in the middle of the yard.  The only difference was that one yard had no fence and the other was fenced-in.  In the schoolyard with no fence, the children played in a tight circle around the flagpole.  In the yard with the fence, their play consumed the entire yard.  The control of the fence released their play.  

Another example of control and release is musical improvisation where creativity is based upon melody, harmony or rhythm.  Think about harmony; an instrument produces sound waves that cause air to vibrate at a specific frequency.  At any particular frequency, there will be an overtone at multiples of that frequency.  Our ears perceive the matching up of overtone waves as harmony.  If the improvisation does not occur at the exact multiples of the frequency, we will hear distortion rather than music.  The control of the math behind the overtones releases the creativity that allows improvisation to occur in harmony.

As leaders we must set up principles or boundaries within our organization.  The use of these boundaries will release people much like the school child in the study or the creative musician.  Boundaries that work are Getting it Done and Doing it Right.  The basic principle is both/and, not an either/or.  Our teams must know we expect them to Get it Done and Do it Right.  The both/and is the boundary, the control around which all creativity is encouraged. We are telling our teams we care about what they do and how they do it.

Imagine a 2x2 grid where the vertical axis is Getting it Done (low to high) and the horizontal axis is Doing it Right (low to high).  An assessment of each individual in the organization would create a grid populated with four potential outcomes:

1. Low GID, low DIR - Exit Door - unless something changes this person needs to leave
2. Low GID, high DIR - Coaching Time - all the right ingredients, this person needs to be taught how to do their job well
3. High GID, high DIR - Role Model - this person is studied and raised up to the organization
4. High GID, low DIR - Roadblock - the dangerous one, this person needs to leave quickly, keeping them in the organization will derail your plans.

Labels such as Getting it Done and Doing it Right are ambiguous and clarity must be brought into the boundaries. Getting it Done reflects the person's ability to do the job assigned and has three elements to it; a) does the person have the requisite knowledge and skills? b) do they perform the tasks or processes necessary in the job? c) what is their measurable performance against the key metrics for the job?  An example for a sales executive would be; a) do they know the product? b) do they use the sales process? c) do they maintain the right pipeline and do they make their quota?

Getting it Done elements likely change from job to job.  The Doing it Right elements should not.  Doing it Right reflects how the person does their job and has three elements to it;

1. Team Player - Do they place the team's needs above their own?  Do they willingly share expertise with others?  Do they respect, seek and embrace input from others?
2. Integrity and Accountability - Do they accept blame as well as glory? Are they ethical, trusted by customers, partners and their team? Do their actions match their words?  Do they demonstrate through action that self-improvement is a priority?
3. Optimism and Enthusiasm - Are they a source of energy vs. a use of energy within the team? Do they see the truth, but not for worse than it is? Can they argue their position, but support the organizational decision?

Once these are defined we begin measuring and plotting people on this 2x2 grid.  Imagine combining an objective assessment of an employee's position in the grid with the cultural attribute of straight-talk discussed in the last post.  Through this activity we give our people a great gift; they know their standing in the organization and they have a roadmap to be a star.  This should be done with transparency, as Stephen Covey says, "Light is the greatest disinfectant in nature and business".

One last comment on a certain group, the ones who are Getting it Done but not Doing it Right.  People ask me, "Do we really have to get rid of those people?"  Yes and publicly.  Most of my leadership mistakes have been people related and almost always a result of compromising this tenant.  When we have the courage to lay out the Doing it Right principles to our team, their hearts will be stirred.  The majority of humanity really wants to do the right thing. But one compromise and we become seen as a hypocrite.   Nothing punctures passion more quickly and wounds it more severely than hypocrisy in leadership.