I never gave much thought to visibility…. Until re-reading some of the comments and input from my research survey. If you remember, I asked each participant to tell me the one thing that they wish they had known when they became an executive. Here’s what one research participant had to say…..
“New executives must be particularly visible so the stakeholders can satisfy their curiosity on whether or not the new executive was the right choice for the job, and whether or not he or she can be trusted.”
Interesting twist on visibility, isn’t it? Frankly, whenever I’d thought about visibility in the past, it was way more self-centered….. As in, wanting to get positive visibility with my boss or potential bosses so that my career would advance.
However, this twist on visibility acknowledges the need that the people around you have. And it makes sense. When you are first promoted to the executive ranks, many people will know you and your past. However, they don’t know how you will operate as an executive. Additionally, there are many more people that don’t know you at all --- and want to understand how you will operate.
Whether they know you already or not, people are interested (and even worried) about how you operate and what impact it will have on them.
The concept actually touches on a couple of aspects in the Executive Skills and Traits Model (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model). Within the model, there is a set of skills labeled Communication Skills (1-4-10 Let's Talk). And while the idea of visibility doesn’t fit nicely within those individual skills, what is visibility if not some form of communication?
And you will note that my survey participant addressed the need for people learn about the new executive’s trustworthiness. If you look in the Executive Traits section of the model, you will find a set of traits called Honest, Ethical, and Credible (1-18-10 Executive Traits). Certainly, those who promoted you have already made this judgment as to your trustworthiness. But many more people will still need to see you, interact with you, and make their own judgment.
So remember, as you go about your day, people are looking for you. Quite literally. So that they can learn about you, what makes you tick, and how you will impact their lives.
Cheers!
Showing posts with label Executive Traits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Executive Traits. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
5-21-10 One Year Anniversary
Wow, it was one year ago today that I retired. Hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly. As I was leaving that last day, I remember that I sent my husband a text…. C’est finis (it is finished). What I realize now is that I should have sent him this text instead. Il est juste de commencer (it is just starting).
Okay, so what the heck does this have to do with the new/aspiring executive? Well it opens up the avenue for a discussion about career change, of course. I’d say that I went through a major career change when I retired. And that is added to just a long list of previous career changes. My husband used to tease me that I couldn’t hold a job. And he’s probably right. I’ve worked in five different disciplines over the past 25 or so years (IT, finance, operations, program management, sales and marketing). And within each of those, I held multiple jobs. So it is fair to say that I have a wide range of experience when it comes to career change. And really, what is retirement, if not a career change??
There are plenty of studies out there that talk about how the average worker will make multiple career changes in their work lives. And my own model identifies managing change and ambiguity as a critical executive skill (12-3-09 Morphing to a Model and 1-13-10 Now Go Do Something).
So why does this come to mind now (besides the obvious reason of my anniversary)? I’ve been emailing with one of my previous co-workers and her news seems to have brought the entire subject of career change to the forefront of my mind. She (along with her family) is transferring from the Midwest to the southeastern seaboard. Same company, new position, and really new location. I’d say that qualifies as a major career change! (Good luck, Taylor! I know that you will do just fine!).
I’ve had this career change discussion with many of my co-workers over the years. Here’s how it usually goes. When you get the new assignment, the excitement is very high. How can one NOT be excited about a new job? And for the first month or two in the new position, everything is new and exciting. You are meeting new people, learning new things, etc. Things are looking very rosy.
And then, a month or two into the new assignment, you find yourself thinking…… What WAS I thinking when I accepted this job?! I don’t know anything about this position. You begin doubting your wisdom of accepting the new assignment, doubting your ability to do the job, and doubting your desire to accept the new responsibilities. You may even find yourself wishing for the safety and security of your old job.
You have to push past this. And you will. You likely wouldn’t have gotten the assignment if someone didn’t believe that your skills and abilities were a good fit. You just have to find how those skills and abilities fit within the new context. It comes down to relying on your experience as well as relying on your network to get settled into the new function. In fact, you will likely find that your network is a critical aspect of learning about and successfully executing your new job (1-4-10 Let’s Talk). After about six months or so, you will find that you are wondering why you ever doubted the wisdom of your decision to make the career move. Congratulations. You are well and truly settled into your new assignment.
Cheers!
Okay, so what the heck does this have to do with the new/aspiring executive? Well it opens up the avenue for a discussion about career change, of course. I’d say that I went through a major career change when I retired. And that is added to just a long list of previous career changes. My husband used to tease me that I couldn’t hold a job. And he’s probably right. I’ve worked in five different disciplines over the past 25 or so years (IT, finance, operations, program management, sales and marketing). And within each of those, I held multiple jobs. So it is fair to say that I have a wide range of experience when it comes to career change. And really, what is retirement, if not a career change??
There are plenty of studies out there that talk about how the average worker will make multiple career changes in their work lives. And my own model identifies managing change and ambiguity as a critical executive skill (12-3-09 Morphing to a Model and 1-13-10 Now Go Do Something).
So why does this come to mind now (besides the obvious reason of my anniversary)? I’ve been emailing with one of my previous co-workers and her news seems to have brought the entire subject of career change to the forefront of my mind. She (along with her family) is transferring from the Midwest to the southeastern seaboard. Same company, new position, and really new location. I’d say that qualifies as a major career change! (Good luck, Taylor! I know that you will do just fine!).
I’ve had this career change discussion with many of my co-workers over the years. Here’s how it usually goes. When you get the new assignment, the excitement is very high. How can one NOT be excited about a new job? And for the first month or two in the new position, everything is new and exciting. You are meeting new people, learning new things, etc. Things are looking very rosy.
And then, a month or two into the new assignment, you find yourself thinking…… What WAS I thinking when I accepted this job?! I don’t know anything about this position. You begin doubting your wisdom of accepting the new assignment, doubting your ability to do the job, and doubting your desire to accept the new responsibilities. You may even find yourself wishing for the safety and security of your old job.
You have to push past this. And you will. You likely wouldn’t have gotten the assignment if someone didn’t believe that your skills and abilities were a good fit. You just have to find how those skills and abilities fit within the new context. It comes down to relying on your experience as well as relying on your network to get settled into the new function. In fact, you will likely find that your network is a critical aspect of learning about and successfully executing your new job (1-4-10 Let’s Talk). After about six months or so, you will find that you are wondering why you ever doubted the wisdom of your decision to make the career move. Congratulations. You are well and truly settled into your new assignment.
Cheers!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
5-19-10 The Real Power
On Monday, I talked a little about the power of your position as an executive (5-17-10 Personal Impact) along with the impact that the position power has on those around you.
I was browsing the latest issue of Harvard Business Review (May 2010) this morning and ran across an article that really caught my attention….. And in my opinion, extends the discussion of position power.
The article is from Michael Segalla and is based on his research as to where the real power resides in the organization. Michael is a professor and researcher at the HEC School of Management in Paris. You can find the HBR article at the link below. It is a very short, but very powerful article, I think. Go ahead, click the link. I’ll wait.
I was browsing the latest issue of Harvard Business Review (May 2010) this morning and ran across an article that really caught my attention….. And in my opinion, extends the discussion of position power.
The article is from Michael Segalla and is based on his research as to where the real power resides in the organization. Michael is a professor and researcher at the HEC School of Management in Paris. You can find the HBR article at the link below. It is a very short, but very powerful article, I think. Go ahead, click the link. I’ll wait.
Vision Statement: Find the Real Power in Your Organization
Glad that you came back! Didn’t you find the article interesting?
For the new and/or aspiring executive, I find a couple of interesting implications from this research.
First, it would be interesting to plot where you are on the grid. Do you fall in category A -- untapped potential? If you are new or aspiring as an executive, the answer is likely yes. So what? Well, in my mind, the issue for you becomes one of how you move up in the hierarchy and in objective authority --- while maintaining your high sense of responsibility. Of course, that movement up isn’t something you get to chose. But you CAN influence it. How? By finding a boss or mentor that trusts you AND that can help your movement. When you find this person (or persons), you will find additional opportunities to prove yourself. It is then up to you to make sure that you succeed.
A second implication for the new/aspiring executive is to understand how those around you (your peers, your bosses, etc) fall on this grid. Yeah, I know, you can’t go out and interview all of these people to get a fix on it. But that’s okay, because if you stop and think about it, you likely have all of the information you need to plot each person on the grid. And if you don’t have the info, your network can certainly help to provide it.
Once you have them plotted, then what? Well, it should help to shape your work, discussions, meetings, etc. with each person. And you can’t just limit this to those people above you on the grid. Look at the grid that was reproduced in HBR. There are a lot of people in the lower section of the grid with a significant amount of objective authority. Wouldn’t these be ideal people to have as part of your network? And what about category B, dangerous deadwood, people? You certainly can’t ignore them, because they do have a lot of power in your organization. And frankly, if you ignore or butt heads with them, it is likely that they can snuff your career advancement chances in a heartbeat. But since you now know that they wield a large amount of power but lack the sense of responsibility, you can shape your interactions with them -- such that you aren’t damaged or hurt by the interactions.
Of course, I am sure that there are many other implications that go with this model of determining the real power in an organization. And many thanks to Professor Segalla for sharing his powerful research with us.
Cheers!
Monday, May 17, 2010
5-17-10 Personal Impact
For the new or aspiring executive, it is important that you never, and I mean never, underestimate the amount of influence or impact that an executive has.
In looking back at the comments made by my survey participants, I was led down memory lane. When I was first starting out in business as a finance analyst and even once I became a first-level manager, I remember how “in awe” I was of the Finance Director. And how terribly nervous I would be when I was in a meeting where he appeared. And if I was the one giving the presentation? Well, let’s just say that extra-strength antiperspirant was a requirement. I could remind myself that he was just a man…. That he didn’t have any special powers or abilities. But believe me, when he spoke, those of us around him listened. We analyzed his every comment and look. And then took what we believed were the appropriate actions -- or at least what we guessed that he expected.
As I grew into my responsibilities and became more comfortable with my abilities, that nervousness around the boss’ boss’ boss faded. But I will always remember what it felt like. And I swore that I would go out of my way to make sure, as I moved up the corporate ladder, that those around me didn’t feel the same nervousness that I grew up with. In fact, I would take care to remind those folks that I am the very same person that I was before I became an executive.
But I learned, much to my amazement, that no matter how much I believed that I was the same person…. The fact is, people reacted to and treated me differently. Whether we like it or not, there is a “power” that goes with having achieved (or been granted) executive status. You have to remember that, for example, slight “suggestions” that you offer are often seen as “commands”. Or that off-hand comments you make can generate significant consternation in your organization. People are often reluctant to come back to you to clarify your comments. And as a result, they will often take off working on projects or tasks that you never intended and didn’t even want.
The fact is you can create a significant amount of unintended consequence simply by virtue of the position power you wield as an executive. Consider the extra work that you can generate with just a flip remark. Measured comments are particularly important when you are around those that will take every statement you make to heart.,
Cheers!
In looking back at the comments made by my survey participants, I was led down memory lane. When I was first starting out in business as a finance analyst and even once I became a first-level manager, I remember how “in awe” I was of the Finance Director. And how terribly nervous I would be when I was in a meeting where he appeared. And if I was the one giving the presentation? Well, let’s just say that extra-strength antiperspirant was a requirement. I could remind myself that he was just a man…. That he didn’t have any special powers or abilities. But believe me, when he spoke, those of us around him listened. We analyzed his every comment and look. And then took what we believed were the appropriate actions -- or at least what we guessed that he expected.
As I grew into my responsibilities and became more comfortable with my abilities, that nervousness around the boss’ boss’ boss faded. But I will always remember what it felt like. And I swore that I would go out of my way to make sure, as I moved up the corporate ladder, that those around me didn’t feel the same nervousness that I grew up with. In fact, I would take care to remind those folks that I am the very same person that I was before I became an executive.
But I learned, much to my amazement, that no matter how much I believed that I was the same person…. The fact is, people reacted to and treated me differently. Whether we like it or not, there is a “power” that goes with having achieved (or been granted) executive status. You have to remember that, for example, slight “suggestions” that you offer are often seen as “commands”. Or that off-hand comments you make can generate significant consternation in your organization. People are often reluctant to come back to you to clarify your comments. And as a result, they will often take off working on projects or tasks that you never intended and didn’t even want.
The fact is you can create a significant amount of unintended consequence simply by virtue of the position power you wield as an executive. Consider the extra work that you can generate with just a flip remark. Measured comments are particularly important when you are around those that will take every statement you make to heart.,
Cheers!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
5-12-10 Shoulda Told Me #10
In the past, I’ve talked about how you should find a career that follows your passion (3-19-10 A Couple of Things to Consider and 3-15-10 Do Overs?). Here’s another reason why this is important. Work isn’t always fun. Big surprise, eh? We’ve all heard the cliché --- “that’s why it is called work”.
And as I’ve said before, your career is way too long to not have a passion for what you are doing.
The corollary to that is…. Life is way too short not to have fun along the way. That means your work life too. Yes, there are times when you have to be serious and studious at work. But there are also times when you should be enjoying yourself and having fun at work. Just don’t take it too far.
A few years back, the department I was in started up a “have fun at work” team. I mean, really, do we need a TEAM to help us have fun? In this case, apparently our bosses thought so --- thought that they could introduce a more enjoyable experience to our daily lives through this team. Interestingly, it was mildly successful. But just as interesting, it didn’t really last long.
Why? Because in my opinion, having fun at work cannot be forced. It doesn’t work so well when someone looks at you and says, “okay, for the next hour everyone have fun!”, right? Having fun at work is spontaneous. And it is unique to the individual or to the team.
So having said that you should have fun at work, I should also point out that there are limits. You should never have fun at someone else’s expense. You should never use “blue humor”. And you should never engage at inappropriate behavior on the way to having fun.
Still, I wish someone had told me early on in my career that is was okay, in fact encouraged, to have some fun at work. It makes the days fly by. And it creates an environment where people WANT to be in your organization. It gives you an edge in attracting and retaining the best (including yourself!). So look for those opportunities where you and those around you can have a good time.
Cheers!
And as I’ve said before, your career is way too long to not have a passion for what you are doing.
The corollary to that is…. Life is way too short not to have fun along the way. That means your work life too. Yes, there are times when you have to be serious and studious at work. But there are also times when you should be enjoying yourself and having fun at work. Just don’t take it too far.
A few years back, the department I was in started up a “have fun at work” team. I mean, really, do we need a TEAM to help us have fun? In this case, apparently our bosses thought so --- thought that they could introduce a more enjoyable experience to our daily lives through this team. Interestingly, it was mildly successful. But just as interesting, it didn’t really last long.
Why? Because in my opinion, having fun at work cannot be forced. It doesn’t work so well when someone looks at you and says, “okay, for the next hour everyone have fun!”, right? Having fun at work is spontaneous. And it is unique to the individual or to the team.
So having said that you should have fun at work, I should also point out that there are limits. You should never have fun at someone else’s expense. You should never use “blue humor”. And you should never engage at inappropriate behavior on the way to having fun.
Still, I wish someone had told me early on in my career that is was okay, in fact encouraged, to have some fun at work. It makes the days fly by. And it creates an environment where people WANT to be in your organization. It gives you an edge in attracting and retaining the best (including yourself!). So look for those opportunities where you and those around you can have a good time.
Cheers!
Monday, May 10, 2010
5-10-10 Rubberband Man
To continue last Friday’s theme of smoothing out the emotional highs and lows in the executive’s life (5-7-10 A Funeral and A Wedding)……
When I was doing my original research for the Executive Skills and Traits model, I asked each of my survey participants if they had any additional information that they felt important to share with new and/or aspiring executives.
One of the survey respondents said, “yep, you have to be the rubberband man”. And then he went on to explain, “you have to have a fair amount of resiliency to work in this industry. You have to quickly recover from the ’bad stuff’ and continue moving forward. Even if some days, that forward progress seems as little as ¼ of an inch. People will judge you by how you recover from the body blows that our business has to sometimes endure”.
I feel fairly secure in assuming that this need for resiliency isn’t unique to the aerospace industry -- that every industry has its own share of body blows that are delivered indiscriminately to the people that work within the industry.
Resilience is one of those traits that I believe ties closely with the Executive Traits portion of my model (1-18-10 Executive Traits). Specifically, it fits within the context of “energetic, persistent, versatile” traits. As an executive, you will face problems. And you will also have successes. Resiliency applies both ways. You have to be able to bounce back from the problems, in order to keep moving forward. And similarly, you also have to bounce back from your successes. Huh? Yeah, that’s right. Successes often encourage the executive to rest on his/her laurels, leaving him/her unwilling to go out on the next limb. Or a huge success can even freeze the executive, if he/she thinks the particular success can never be replicated.
So yes, resiliency is tied to maintaining an emotional even keel. You have to be resilient to bounce back from the highs and lows, successes and failures.
Cheers!
When I was doing my original research for the Executive Skills and Traits model, I asked each of my survey participants if they had any additional information that they felt important to share with new and/or aspiring executives.
One of the survey respondents said, “yep, you have to be the rubberband man”. And then he went on to explain, “you have to have a fair amount of resiliency to work in this industry. You have to quickly recover from the ’bad stuff’ and continue moving forward. Even if some days, that forward progress seems as little as ¼ of an inch. People will judge you by how you recover from the body blows that our business has to sometimes endure”.
I feel fairly secure in assuming that this need for resiliency isn’t unique to the aerospace industry -- that every industry has its own share of body blows that are delivered indiscriminately to the people that work within the industry.
Resilience is one of those traits that I believe ties closely with the Executive Traits portion of my model (1-18-10 Executive Traits). Specifically, it fits within the context of “energetic, persistent, versatile” traits. As an executive, you will face problems. And you will also have successes. Resiliency applies both ways. You have to be able to bounce back from the problems, in order to keep moving forward. And similarly, you also have to bounce back from your successes. Huh? Yeah, that’s right. Successes often encourage the executive to rest on his/her laurels, leaving him/her unwilling to go out on the next limb. Or a huge success can even freeze the executive, if he/she thinks the particular success can never be replicated.
So yes, resiliency is tied to maintaining an emotional even keel. You have to be resilient to bounce back from the highs and lows, successes and failures.
Cheers!
Friday, May 7, 2010
5-7-10 A Funeral and A Wedding
I attended the funeral of a very good, long-time, friend this morning. And this evening, I attended the wedding of one of my nephews. Fortunately, it isn’t every day that one has to go through the emotional spectrum like that.
Oh wait. What was I thinking. It IS almost everyday that the executive goes through the emotional spectrum. Or at least, many days.
An example. We were negotiating a contract that had the potential to significantly increase the company’s standing within the industry, significantly diversify our customer base, and most importantly, was worth a significant amount of money --- for the next oh, 30 or so years.
I have never ridden such an emotional roller coaster -- for such an extended period of time. We would go to the customer’s site for negotiations. After the first meeting of the day, I would be convinced that we had the contract all but signed. And then a couple of hours later, I would be ready to have my team pack their bags and get on the next plane home. And then two hours after that, I would be back to hopeful. In fact, at multiple points during the negotiations, we told the customer, “this is it. We are done. No hard feelings. Maybe we can work something out on the next program”. Only to have them call us back a week later to start the whole darned thing over again.
So yeah, the executive can go through that emotional spectrum, from very high to very low, within the space of one day -- oftentimes day after day.
My point? It is up to you, as the executive and the leader, to stay on an even keel. Yes, you should celebrate the high points. And yes, you should mourn the low points. Both with restraint. You can’t show the extremes. Why? Because it is up to you to set the tone for those around you. You should be buffering your people from this roller coaster. Not completely, of course. Just from the extremes. And of course, you demonstrate your even temperament to your bosses and your peers. A temperament that will stand you in good stead as new opportunities come your way.
And yes, we won the contract.
Cheers!
Oh wait. What was I thinking. It IS almost everyday that the executive goes through the emotional spectrum. Or at least, many days.
An example. We were negotiating a contract that had the potential to significantly increase the company’s standing within the industry, significantly diversify our customer base, and most importantly, was worth a significant amount of money --- for the next oh, 30 or so years.
I have never ridden such an emotional roller coaster -- for such an extended period of time. We would go to the customer’s site for negotiations. After the first meeting of the day, I would be convinced that we had the contract all but signed. And then a couple of hours later, I would be ready to have my team pack their bags and get on the next plane home. And then two hours after that, I would be back to hopeful. In fact, at multiple points during the negotiations, we told the customer, “this is it. We are done. No hard feelings. Maybe we can work something out on the next program”. Only to have them call us back a week later to start the whole darned thing over again.
So yeah, the executive can go through that emotional spectrum, from very high to very low, within the space of one day -- oftentimes day after day.
My point? It is up to you, as the executive and the leader, to stay on an even keel. Yes, you should celebrate the high points. And yes, you should mourn the low points. Both with restraint. You can’t show the extremes. Why? Because it is up to you to set the tone for those around you. You should be buffering your people from this roller coaster. Not completely, of course. Just from the extremes. And of course, you demonstrate your even temperament to your bosses and your peers. A temperament that will stand you in good stead as new opportunities come your way.
And yes, we won the contract.
Cheers!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
3-10-10 Shoulda Told Me #8
Something about a gray and rainy day encourages a couple of things….. Reading and introspection. Yep, I did a fair amount of reading yesterday. I also ended up doing a fair amount of introspection yesterday as well. And that has resulted in the need to take another trip down the “someone shoulda told me” bunny trail.
One thing that I pondered yesterday? The whole idea that whatever you think you will be doing 30 years from now -- you will probably be wrong. Honestly, that is probably easier for my Generation X or Y readers to grasp than it is for the Baby Boomers.
Why? Consider how things have changed. I’m told that my granddad (who would have been 105 this year) started to work for the local refinery about 1 week after it opened. And he worked there for 40 or so years, until he retired, basically doing the same thing every day. I’m sure that he probably worked a couple of other jobs when he was a very young man or boy. But, in his time, you planned to go to work for one company and stay there until retirement.
That view has carried forward somewhat to us baby boomers. I’m a good example of both the previous generation and the idea that 30 years out, jobs and careers change. On the one hand, I spent most of my career at one company/industry. But on the other hand, 30 years ago I never dreamed that I would be doing anything but a finance-related job. Thirty years ago, I was just finishing up a finance degree and planning a career in a finance-related field. Subsequently I held jobs in manufacturing, e-business, program management, and sales….. Well, none of that was in any career plan I had considered. The only constants during those years were that I worked for the same company and that I always knew that I wanted to be an executive.
And for the Generation X/Y group? The dot.com boom and subsequent bust demonstrated their agility in moving from job to job and industry to industry. And that agility is something that we all could use in today’s dismal job market.
So what about today’s new and/or aspiring executive? If you are just starting out, the odds are pretty good that what you are doing today won’t be what you will be doing in 30 years. The implication for the executive is that you need to be versatile. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my willingness (and burning desire) to take on new jobs and functions gave me a versatility that served me well. Having the basic skills and traits of a successful executive allowed me to move into areas for which I had no background or basic training. Go back and look at how you rank on the executive skills and traits (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model). My research shows that you need them all to be successful. Where are you lacking and what are you doing to improve your versatility?
Cheers!
One thing that I pondered yesterday? The whole idea that whatever you think you will be doing 30 years from now -- you will probably be wrong. Honestly, that is probably easier for my Generation X or Y readers to grasp than it is for the Baby Boomers.
Why? Consider how things have changed. I’m told that my granddad (who would have been 105 this year) started to work for the local refinery about 1 week after it opened. And he worked there for 40 or so years, until he retired, basically doing the same thing every day. I’m sure that he probably worked a couple of other jobs when he was a very young man or boy. But, in his time, you planned to go to work for one company and stay there until retirement.
That view has carried forward somewhat to us baby boomers. I’m a good example of both the previous generation and the idea that 30 years out, jobs and careers change. On the one hand, I spent most of my career at one company/industry. But on the other hand, 30 years ago I never dreamed that I would be doing anything but a finance-related job. Thirty years ago, I was just finishing up a finance degree and planning a career in a finance-related field. Subsequently I held jobs in manufacturing, e-business, program management, and sales….. Well, none of that was in any career plan I had considered. The only constants during those years were that I worked for the same company and that I always knew that I wanted to be an executive.
And for the Generation X/Y group? The dot.com boom and subsequent bust demonstrated their agility in moving from job to job and industry to industry. And that agility is something that we all could use in today’s dismal job market.
So what about today’s new and/or aspiring executive? If you are just starting out, the odds are pretty good that what you are doing today won’t be what you will be doing in 30 years. The implication for the executive is that you need to be versatile. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my willingness (and burning desire) to take on new jobs and functions gave me a versatility that served me well. Having the basic skills and traits of a successful executive allowed me to move into areas for which I had no background or basic training. Go back and look at how you rank on the executive skills and traits (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model). My research shows that you need them all to be successful. Where are you lacking and what are you doing to improve your versatility?
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
2-24-10 Lessons from the Olympics
If you are like me, and probably billions of other people, you have spent a fair amount of time watching the Olympics. And while I mostly watch it just for the joy of watching world-class athletes in action, I must admit that I’ve also been drawing some parallels with the functions of the executive. There are a few things that come to mind for me…….
Bad things will happen in your life. Think of the ice skater whose mother died unexpectedly of a heart attack a couple of days ago. I watched her perform last night. Gotta tell ya that while my heart was going out to her, I was also admiring her poise and ability to go on. We will all be faced with either physical or emotional catastrophes in our lives. How we handle them says a lot about our abilities to handle crises as an executive. Remember, it IS okay to show emotions. It ISN’T okay to let them cripple us.
You are going to wipe out occasionally. All we have to do is watch the skiers or skaters and realize that. And while, as executives, our wipe outs aren’t generally physical….. We will all have occasions where we go down in flames at work. What happened the last time your brilliant idea was publicly shot down at work? Did you abandon it, even though you KNEW it was the right thing to do? Or did you dust yourself off and figure out a different avenue for implementing the idea?
Endurance vs. sprinting. The Olympics events demonstrate that there are endurance racers and there are sprint racers. As an executive, you have to be both. For example, when implementing a culture change, you have to be an endurance executive. Or when fixing a line-stopping problem, you have to be a sprint executive. Both skills are equally important for the executive. And if you get to be better at one over the other, you will likely find yourself pigeon-holed as the “guy that fixes line problems” or the “guy that is good at policy changes”. And while being pigeon-holed isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can limit the opportunities that you will be given.
It doesn’t hurt to be a class act. I’m thinking of the snowboarder, Shawn White, here. He was the last one to go on the second/final run. He had already won the gold with his scores on the first run. He could’ve played it safe and just boarded down the middle of the pipe, but he didn’t. Instead, he gave the fans a helluva a run. One that included the unveiling of a new trick. That’s a class act --- thinking of others and giving them what they came to see.
A little pageantry is good for everyone. From the opening ceremony to the medal award ceremonies, the Olympics has major pageantry. Beyond the show it puts on for all of us, think about what it does for the athletes -- the celebration of what is to come, the celebration of winning, the national pride. When is the last time you had an all-out, over-the-top celebration for your people? The closest I’ve come is a first airplane roll-out or a first jig load. The aerospace industry DOES know how to celebrate, when appropriate….. With music, smoke, light shows, suspense, and unveiling. As an employee at these celebrations, the pride I feel is huge. And I know from experience, that those around me really appreciate the effort and expense that the company goes to in order to create the pageantry.
Being the best in the world is pretty darned cool. I can only imagine what those athletes must be feeling when they stand on the podium and receive their gold medal. For that moment in time, they are the absolute best in the world at what they do. The closest I’ve come to that is during my research phase for my PhD. One of my committee members/professors told me that when I completed my dissertation, at that particular moment in time, I would be the person that knows the most about my particular subject. That I would be the best in the world. Gotta tell you, that feels pretty darned good. So what are you doing to prepare for your moment of being the best in the world?
Cheers!
Bad things will happen in your life. Think of the ice skater whose mother died unexpectedly of a heart attack a couple of days ago. I watched her perform last night. Gotta tell ya that while my heart was going out to her, I was also admiring her poise and ability to go on. We will all be faced with either physical or emotional catastrophes in our lives. How we handle them says a lot about our abilities to handle crises as an executive. Remember, it IS okay to show emotions. It ISN’T okay to let them cripple us.
You are going to wipe out occasionally. All we have to do is watch the skiers or skaters and realize that. And while, as executives, our wipe outs aren’t generally physical….. We will all have occasions where we go down in flames at work. What happened the last time your brilliant idea was publicly shot down at work? Did you abandon it, even though you KNEW it was the right thing to do? Or did you dust yourself off and figure out a different avenue for implementing the idea?
Endurance vs. sprinting. The Olympics events demonstrate that there are endurance racers and there are sprint racers. As an executive, you have to be both. For example, when implementing a culture change, you have to be an endurance executive. Or when fixing a line-stopping problem, you have to be a sprint executive. Both skills are equally important for the executive. And if you get to be better at one over the other, you will likely find yourself pigeon-holed as the “guy that fixes line problems” or the “guy that is good at policy changes”. And while being pigeon-holed isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can limit the opportunities that you will be given.
It doesn’t hurt to be a class act. I’m thinking of the snowboarder, Shawn White, here. He was the last one to go on the second/final run. He had already won the gold with his scores on the first run. He could’ve played it safe and just boarded down the middle of the pipe, but he didn’t. Instead, he gave the fans a helluva a run. One that included the unveiling of a new trick. That’s a class act --- thinking of others and giving them what they came to see.
A little pageantry is good for everyone. From the opening ceremony to the medal award ceremonies, the Olympics has major pageantry. Beyond the show it puts on for all of us, think about what it does for the athletes -- the celebration of what is to come, the celebration of winning, the national pride. When is the last time you had an all-out, over-the-top celebration for your people? The closest I’ve come is a first airplane roll-out or a first jig load. The aerospace industry DOES know how to celebrate, when appropriate….. With music, smoke, light shows, suspense, and unveiling. As an employee at these celebrations, the pride I feel is huge. And I know from experience, that those around me really appreciate the effort and expense that the company goes to in order to create the pageantry.
Being the best in the world is pretty darned cool. I can only imagine what those athletes must be feeling when they stand on the podium and receive their gold medal. For that moment in time, they are the absolute best in the world at what they do. The closest I’ve come to that is during my research phase for my PhD. One of my committee members/professors told me that when I completed my dissertation, at that particular moment in time, I would be the person that knows the most about my particular subject. That I would be the best in the world. Gotta tell you, that feels pretty darned good. So what are you doing to prepare for your moment of being the best in the world?
Cheers!
Monday, February 15, 2010
2-15-10 The President
Happy President’s Day! This holiday has me pondering the whole idea of being a president. I’ve always wondered why anyone would want to be the President of the United States. And if I separate the policies from the person, I’ve always admired those folks that actually have the fortitude to be the President.
And while most of us will never be the President of the United States, or a president of a company, or even a president of a local special interest group (think president of the knitting circle) --- there are things that we can all learn by watching these presidents. And I’m NOT talking politics here!
If you go back to my model of executive skills and traits (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model), you can see that any of these presidential position holders exhibit most, if not all, of these skills and traits. But today, some stand out in my mind.
First, in order to become a president, you have to set a vision for whatever organization or group you want to lead (1-8-10 I Have a Dream). Our presidential campaigns do a great job of giving the candidates the opportunity to lay out this vision. (Even though we all get REALLY tired of the campaign by the time elections finally roll around!) For the president in the corporate world, setting the vision is probably the most important function that this particular executive will perform.
Second, the president is ALWAYS under the microscope or in the glare of the media (2-10-10 A Fine Line). As a president of a nation or even a president of a company, you can never separate your personal life from your public life. You are always “on”. No doubt that this can be wearing to the individual. But, in the case of our President, it is a choice that he has made…. And has to deal with.
Third, when you are president, everyone is a critic and an expert on your job. You have to work with supporters and detractors. You can’t ignore either of them as both sides are required to make your vision come true. You must have a network that you can go to in order to put the policies and decisions in place. As president, you aren’t the “doer” of the organization or the nation. The executive execution skills are critical here (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now go DO something!) as are the networking skills (1-4-10 Let’s Talk).
And finally, as president of anything, don’t expect immediate satisfaction. It isn’t like being the mechanic that builds a 737 every 6 hours. The president of an organization can’t expect to see results in the short-term. He/she can only be persistent (1-18-10 Executive Traits) and follow his/her vision. And if fortunate, will see the results by the end of his/her term.
So while most of us will never be a president, we can definitely learn something from observing the President of the United States, the president of a company, or even the president of our homeowner’s association. And even better, we can take those learnings and apply it to our own executive position.
Cheers!
And while most of us will never be the President of the United States, or a president of a company, or even a president of a local special interest group (think president of the knitting circle) --- there are things that we can all learn by watching these presidents. And I’m NOT talking politics here!
If you go back to my model of executive skills and traits (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model), you can see that any of these presidential position holders exhibit most, if not all, of these skills and traits. But today, some stand out in my mind.
First, in order to become a president, you have to set a vision for whatever organization or group you want to lead (1-8-10 I Have a Dream). Our presidential campaigns do a great job of giving the candidates the opportunity to lay out this vision. (Even though we all get REALLY tired of the campaign by the time elections finally roll around!) For the president in the corporate world, setting the vision is probably the most important function that this particular executive will perform.
Second, the president is ALWAYS under the microscope or in the glare of the media (2-10-10 A Fine Line). As a president of a nation or even a president of a company, you can never separate your personal life from your public life. You are always “on”. No doubt that this can be wearing to the individual. But, in the case of our President, it is a choice that he has made…. And has to deal with.
Third, when you are president, everyone is a critic and an expert on your job. You have to work with supporters and detractors. You can’t ignore either of them as both sides are required to make your vision come true. You must have a network that you can go to in order to put the policies and decisions in place. As president, you aren’t the “doer” of the organization or the nation. The executive execution skills are critical here (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now go DO something!) as are the networking skills (1-4-10 Let’s Talk).
And finally, as president of anything, don’t expect immediate satisfaction. It isn’t like being the mechanic that builds a 737 every 6 hours. The president of an organization can’t expect to see results in the short-term. He/she can only be persistent (1-18-10 Executive Traits) and follow his/her vision. And if fortunate, will see the results by the end of his/her term.
So while most of us will never be a president, we can definitely learn something from observing the President of the United States, the president of a company, or even the president of our homeowner’s association. And even better, we can take those learnings and apply it to our own executive position.
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
2-10-10 A Fine Line
As much as many (most?) executives would like to separate their personal and professional lives, it just doesn’t work that way. What you do or say in your personal life can have a direct impact on your professional or work life. Think I’m crazy about that? Well, consider this.
Let’s say you go out after work with some peers. And there is that one person that always drinks just a little (or a lot!) too much. Talks a little too loud. Laughs a little too hard. Tells off-color jokes. You know who I’m talking about --- we’ve all seen that person. Is that so bad? Yea, probably. Why? Because in all likelihood, it doesn’t happen just once. It happens time and time again. And because it is likely that, even though the evening out is between peers, the behavior will get back to the bosses and decision-makers in the company. Do you think this behavior crosses their minds when they work on promotions. I guarantee you that it does. If you are that person, it is likely that you have or will be passed over for promotion or opportunities because of this.
Here’s another example. Let’s say you are out to dinner with a spouse. And for whatever reason, you end up being rude to the server. Think people don’t notice? You are wrong. And while it may not happen that particular time, there will be times that your behavior is seen be someone you work with. You probably won’t even notice they are there. But it is a small world, and sooner or later, your behavior will be observed by someone that can make an impact on your professional life. If you are that observer, wouldn’t you think twice about promoting a person that can’t work well with others?
And finally a more benign example. It really used to irritate me when I was at the gym, working hard on the stairmaster, and one of my employees would corner me to talk about work. I mean, really, I was there to work out and forget work! But I finally realized that my job didn’t stop when I walked out of the factory door. That there would be many times in my life when the line was blurred. That there would be employees/peers/bosses/customers that were more comfortable talking to me in a setting away from work. What they had to say was important to them and for me, I often learned very valuable information if I would just stop and listen. And most important, I finally realized that was part of my job!
So yes, it is a very fine line between your professional life and your personal life. And as an executive, your personal life reflects on your public or professional life. What does your personal life say about your executive capabilities and tendencies?
Cheers!
Let’s say you go out after work with some peers. And there is that one person that always drinks just a little (or a lot!) too much. Talks a little too loud. Laughs a little too hard. Tells off-color jokes. You know who I’m talking about --- we’ve all seen that person. Is that so bad? Yea, probably. Why? Because in all likelihood, it doesn’t happen just once. It happens time and time again. And because it is likely that, even though the evening out is between peers, the behavior will get back to the bosses and decision-makers in the company. Do you think this behavior crosses their minds when they work on promotions. I guarantee you that it does. If you are that person, it is likely that you have or will be passed over for promotion or opportunities because of this.
Here’s another example. Let’s say you are out to dinner with a spouse. And for whatever reason, you end up being rude to the server. Think people don’t notice? You are wrong. And while it may not happen that particular time, there will be times that your behavior is seen be someone you work with. You probably won’t even notice they are there. But it is a small world, and sooner or later, your behavior will be observed by someone that can make an impact on your professional life. If you are that observer, wouldn’t you think twice about promoting a person that can’t work well with others?
And finally a more benign example. It really used to irritate me when I was at the gym, working hard on the stairmaster, and one of my employees would corner me to talk about work. I mean, really, I was there to work out and forget work! But I finally realized that my job didn’t stop when I walked out of the factory door. That there would be many times in my life when the line was blurred. That there would be employees/peers/bosses/customers that were more comfortable talking to me in a setting away from work. What they had to say was important to them and for me, I often learned very valuable information if I would just stop and listen. And most important, I finally realized that was part of my job!
So yes, it is a very fine line between your professional life and your personal life. And as an executive, your personal life reflects on your public or professional life. What does your personal life say about your executive capabilities and tendencies?
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
2-3-10 Executive Lessons in Sports
I am a sports fan. Okay, I don’t love all sports. And I don’t follow sports so closely that I can tell you stats about them. But I do love watching many sports. And I did suffer withdrawal last weekend because the football season is over. And yes, I do actually watch golf on tv. Go figure.
In watching all the publicity (some would say hype) about the Superbowl, I got to thinking about what the executive could learn from sports. I realized that there is a lot to be learned, but three things stand out in my mind. Interestingly, they correlate with my favorite sports. Imagine that.
First, is football. There was a ton of discussion in the media (and I’m sure at the water cooler) about Brett Favre this past football season. The general consensus is that he was REALLY old to be playing football. And while he didn’t take his team to the Superbowl, he did lead his team to the post season. Think that’s not a big deal? Well, look at how many teams didn’t make it to the post season. It IS a big deal.
So what can an executive learn from Favre’s and the Vikings’ example? Don’t forget your “older players”. All you have to do is look around you and you will know who I’m talking about. It is that first-level manager that has been there 25 years and has very low turnover in his/her organization. Or it is that mechanic that has been there 40 years -- still doing the same job, reliably, every day. Or it is that programmer that has been there 30 years, who seems to intuitively know where the bug is hiding. Well, you get the idea. It is easy to overlook these fixtures in your business. But believe me, when they are gone, you will fell the full impact.
The second sport that teaches me a lesson in executive management is baseball. I adore baseball, but I sure do hate many things that are happening in the sport. The biggest beef I have is with the abuse of the fan trust in the sport at the professional level these days. Recent news about Mark McGuire is a prime example. First he denied drug use and then he came out and said that he lied about his lies. Good grief.
The lesson for the executive? If you make a mistake, man up and admit it. Don’t try to cover it up. Don’t try to slide it off onto someone else. Don’t overplay your admission, but don’t underplay the impact. And then realize that how people treat you and how they interact with you will change, at least for a while. You have to rebuild the trust that you violated.
The final sport is golf. The kickoff last week of the pro tour season got me to thinking about what the executive can learn from golf. Of course, the sport is not without its controversies --- Tiger and his mess or the square groove controversy. But my initial thought when I consider golf is honesty. It is the only sport (that I’m familiar with) where the player calls penalties on him or herself. Of course, on the pro tours, there are rules officials. But they only come into play AFTER the player calls the penalty on him/herself.
For us hackers, yea, we can omit that penalty stroke or improve our lie, but most of us don’t. The integrity of the game depends on each of us being honest about our individual game. And while we don’t always like it, most players tell our playing partners about our mistake when it happens. It goes back to the executive trait of being honest, ethical, and credible.
So this weekend, when you are watching your favorite sport, take the time to ask yourself….. What can I learn about executive skills and traits from this sport? How can apply it to my everyday life? Oh yea, and take time to enjoy the game!
Cheers!
In watching all the publicity (some would say hype) about the Superbowl, I got to thinking about what the executive could learn from sports. I realized that there is a lot to be learned, but three things stand out in my mind. Interestingly, they correlate with my favorite sports. Imagine that.
First, is football. There was a ton of discussion in the media (and I’m sure at the water cooler) about Brett Favre this past football season. The general consensus is that he was REALLY old to be playing football. And while he didn’t take his team to the Superbowl, he did lead his team to the post season. Think that’s not a big deal? Well, look at how many teams didn’t make it to the post season. It IS a big deal.
So what can an executive learn from Favre’s and the Vikings’ example? Don’t forget your “older players”. All you have to do is look around you and you will know who I’m talking about. It is that first-level manager that has been there 25 years and has very low turnover in his/her organization. Or it is that mechanic that has been there 40 years -- still doing the same job, reliably, every day. Or it is that programmer that has been there 30 years, who seems to intuitively know where the bug is hiding. Well, you get the idea. It is easy to overlook these fixtures in your business. But believe me, when they are gone, you will fell the full impact.
The second sport that teaches me a lesson in executive management is baseball. I adore baseball, but I sure do hate many things that are happening in the sport. The biggest beef I have is with the abuse of the fan trust in the sport at the professional level these days. Recent news about Mark McGuire is a prime example. First he denied drug use and then he came out and said that he lied about his lies. Good grief.
The lesson for the executive? If you make a mistake, man up and admit it. Don’t try to cover it up. Don’t try to slide it off onto someone else. Don’t overplay your admission, but don’t underplay the impact. And then realize that how people treat you and how they interact with you will change, at least for a while. You have to rebuild the trust that you violated.
The final sport is golf. The kickoff last week of the pro tour season got me to thinking about what the executive can learn from golf. Of course, the sport is not without its controversies --- Tiger and his mess or the square groove controversy. But my initial thought when I consider golf is honesty. It is the only sport (that I’m familiar with) where the player calls penalties on him or herself. Of course, on the pro tours, there are rules officials. But they only come into play AFTER the player calls the penalty on him/herself.
For us hackers, yea, we can omit that penalty stroke or improve our lie, but most of us don’t. The integrity of the game depends on each of us being honest about our individual game. And while we don’t always like it, most players tell our playing partners about our mistake when it happens. It goes back to the executive trait of being honest, ethical, and credible.
So this weekend, when you are watching your favorite sport, take the time to ask yourself….. What can I learn about executive skills and traits from this sport? How can apply it to my everyday life? Oh yea, and take time to enjoy the game!
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
1-20-10 Questions, Questions……
Okay, now you have seen the whole model that I developed for Executive Skills and Traits.
I’ve talked about the executive functions related to communication, people, vision, and execution --- as well as the skills needed for each. I’ve also chatted about the executive traits show in the model.
If you would like to re-look at each of the posts, here are some links.
12-30-09 Morphing to a Model
1-4-10 Let’s Talk
1-6-10 People…. Yep ya gotta have some skills
1-8-10 I have a dream
1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now go DO something!
1-18-10 Executive Traits
So now, I would love to hear from you…
1. Did anything in the model strike a chord with you?
2. How does this model fit with your industry?
3. If you are currently an executive, how does this fit with what you experienced?
4. If you are an aspiring executive, what is the “scariest” part of the model?
5. If you are an observer of the corporate life, what do you think?
Let the conversation begin……..
Cheers!
Monday, January 18, 2010
1-18-10 Executive Traits
And now the final section of the model -- Executive Traits. My survey participants provided feedback and illustrations that helped me to reduce and refine the list of traits that are expected of the new executive. Those traits include:
A variety of adjectives could be used to describe the next trait on the list but it really boils down to the executive being energetic, persistent, and versatile. The new executive will soon realize that not only does he/she work very long hours but he/she is always “on”, even away from the office. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been cornered at the gym or in the grocery store -- because of my position. Some of my survey participants said that the only time they can really relax and “turn off” is at home. And energy is closely tied to persistence. As mentioned in one of my previous posts (1-8-10 I Have a Dream) the executive is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization. Setting, changing, or leading a strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It occurs bit-by-bit, and only after the executive persistently and relentlessly shifts the organization. The executive must be resilient in the face of setback and accomplishment of the strategy. Also tied to this trait is the concept of versatility. In one minute, the executive might be called upon to interface with a large group of employees while, in the next minute, the executive might be working one-on-one with the CEO. Versatility will allow the executive to shift focus, frame of reference, and even context.
The trait of emotional maturity goes back to Goleman’s concept of emotional intelligence (ref below). One aspect of this is self-awareness. This involves knowing one’s limits and boundaries along with knowing when one must surge beyond those limits. It also encompasses the poise and tact required when dealing with others. It means that the executive should have the maturity to deal with both success and setbacks with equanimity.
The trait of quiet self-confidence is closely linked to Collins’ Level 5 leadership description (ref below). This is personal modesty that is coupled with the iron will for the organization to succeed. It equates to control of one’s ego, by not letting it get in the way of business, decisions, or relationships while at the same time knowing deep down that you are the “right” person for the task, position, company, and so forth. It includes an unshakeable knowledge of one’s own abilities as well as the ultimate success of the organization.
The new executive must also display the traits of being intuitive and inquisitive. In my post about execution skills, I talked about the management of data (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now Go DO Something). In using this skill, the executive must have the desire to ask questions, thereby learning. But as I also mentioned in this post, the executive will never have perfect data or all of the relevant data for the topic at hand. Therefore the executive must often use his/her intuition (grounded in fact, of course!) to make critical decisions.
The final executive trait is passionate but calm. Interesting combination, eh? One of my survey participant described this as the antithesis of the “arm waver”, i.e. someone that gets so worked up that he/she literally flaps his/her arms -- pointing direction, giving orders, etc. Employees, peers, and even bosses like to see a person’s passion for a topic or concept. But they also like to see it exhibited with a certain amount of decorum and calmness. The fact is that the “arm waver” wears out not only him or herself but also everyone around them.
There is, of course, some debate as to how an executive acquires these traits. Some believe that they are in-born -- you either have them or you don’t. Others believe that they are learned -- you acquire them as part of the growing up process. My beliefs fall in the latter category. I believe that traits are acquired. Sometimes as a result of your upbringing. Sometimes as a result of your work experiences. Sometimes as a result of your personal interactions. And so on.
Next time? A summary for you……
Cheers!
References:
Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 93-102.
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
- Honest, ethical, credible
- Energetic, persistent, versatile
- Emotional maturity
- Quiet self-confidence
- Intuitive and inquisitive
- Passionate but calm
A variety of adjectives could be used to describe the next trait on the list but it really boils down to the executive being energetic, persistent, and versatile. The new executive will soon realize that not only does he/she work very long hours but he/she is always “on”, even away from the office. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been cornered at the gym or in the grocery store -- because of my position. Some of my survey participants said that the only time they can really relax and “turn off” is at home. And energy is closely tied to persistence. As mentioned in one of my previous posts (1-8-10 I Have a Dream) the executive is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization. Setting, changing, or leading a strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It occurs bit-by-bit, and only after the executive persistently and relentlessly shifts the organization. The executive must be resilient in the face of setback and accomplishment of the strategy. Also tied to this trait is the concept of versatility. In one minute, the executive might be called upon to interface with a large group of employees while, in the next minute, the executive might be working one-on-one with the CEO. Versatility will allow the executive to shift focus, frame of reference, and even context.
The trait of emotional maturity goes back to Goleman’s concept of emotional intelligence (ref below). One aspect of this is self-awareness. This involves knowing one’s limits and boundaries along with knowing when one must surge beyond those limits. It also encompasses the poise and tact required when dealing with others. It means that the executive should have the maturity to deal with both success and setbacks with equanimity.
The trait of quiet self-confidence is closely linked to Collins’ Level 5 leadership description (ref below). This is personal modesty that is coupled with the iron will for the organization to succeed. It equates to control of one’s ego, by not letting it get in the way of business, decisions, or relationships while at the same time knowing deep down that you are the “right” person for the task, position, company, and so forth. It includes an unshakeable knowledge of one’s own abilities as well as the ultimate success of the organization.
The new executive must also display the traits of being intuitive and inquisitive. In my post about execution skills, I talked about the management of data (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now Go DO Something). In using this skill, the executive must have the desire to ask questions, thereby learning. But as I also mentioned in this post, the executive will never have perfect data or all of the relevant data for the topic at hand. Therefore the executive must often use his/her intuition (grounded in fact, of course!) to make critical decisions.
The final executive trait is passionate but calm. Interesting combination, eh? One of my survey participant described this as the antithesis of the “arm waver”, i.e. someone that gets so worked up that he/she literally flaps his/her arms -- pointing direction, giving orders, etc. Employees, peers, and even bosses like to see a person’s passion for a topic or concept. But they also like to see it exhibited with a certain amount of decorum and calmness. The fact is that the “arm waver” wears out not only him or herself but also everyone around them.
There is, of course, some debate as to how an executive acquires these traits. Some believe that they are in-born -- you either have them or you don’t. Others believe that they are learned -- you acquire them as part of the growing up process. My beliefs fall in the latter category. I believe that traits are acquired. Sometimes as a result of your upbringing. Sometimes as a result of your work experiences. Sometimes as a result of your personal interactions. And so on.
Next time? A summary for you……
Cheers!
References:
Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 93-102.
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Morphing to a Model
After all the reading, surveying, analyzing, extrapolating, synthesizing, etc….. then what? Well the next step was to use the results of all this activity to update the conceptual model into a final model of executive skills and traits for use by new or aspiring executives.
If you will remember, the original conceptual model looked like this.
I took each of the functions and updated them, based on the results of my research.
The important communications skills for the new executive include: listen, network, and speak. The skill of establishing interpersonal relationships is combined into networking, as the participants tended to use these terms interchangeably. The skill of written communication is dropped from the model, as it is clear for this population that in-person communication skills are most needed by the new executive. This is perhaps influenced by the tendency of this group to debate and discuss as a prelude to decision-making. So now, this section of the model looks as follows.
For the people skills, the ability to hire and retain people is significantly less important than the other personnel-related skills, and so is eliminated from the model. Keep in mind, that isn’t unusual for the aerospace industry, particularly in downturns. This executive team was clearly focused on the team that they already have in place. If this survey had been conducted during an up-cycle in the industry, I’ve no doubt that the results relative to hiring would have been significantly different. So now, the people skills become as follows.
Within the vision skills portion of the model, the overwhelming (indeed, almost unanimous) response was for the skill of understanding the big picture. However, this didn’t seem to preclude the other vision skills. It did lead me to understand that the remaining skills weren’t as “crisply” defined as possible. The survey comments show that the new executive must be able to transition from a tactical view of the business to a more strategic view of the business. As one executive said, “setting the vision for the future”. Additionally, it was clear that this group of execs believe that a new executive needs to not only have the skills to set the strategy, but also to communicate and even “market” the strategy to get buy-in from the rest of the organization. As a result, the vision skills portion of the model looks as follows.
The execution function portion of the conceptual model provided the greatest number of individual skills, all important to this group of execs to one degree or another.
As a result of their input, the managing change skill is combined with the ability to deal with ambiguity. Also combined were the skills related to dealing with fragmentation and working at a fast pace. One participant observed that the business world moves at a rapid pace and doesn’t always throw information or even problems in a linear, logical fashion. As such, the executive must be able to keep up as he/she moves from fragment to fragment of information.
And finally, as a result of the survey input, the skill of delegation was added to the model. This is especially critical for the new executive. By delegating the day-to-day activities, the new executive no longer participates as closely in the latest “fire fight”…. he/she instead is forced to think in a more long-term, strategic manner.
As a result of these changes, the execution skills portion of the model now appears as follows.
And finally, the executive personal traits. Most of the original list clearly resonated with the survey participants. There was near unanimous support for the honest, ethical, and credible trait. This is likely due to the Midwestern location of this organization and its associated Midwestern conservative values. It was interesting to note that while the participants felt strongly about ethics and honesty; they were, at best, lukewarm about the need for the executive to be empathetic and nice. As such, that trait is dropped from the model. The final portion of the model, executive traits, is shown below. They are listed in priority order.
Bringing it all together, the final Executive Skills and Traits model is shown below.
Of course, I have a few more things to say about this model. Next time, a further discussion of the final model.
Cheers!
If you will remember, the original conceptual model looked like this.
I took each of the functions and updated them, based on the results of my research.The important communications skills for the new executive include: listen, network, and speak. The skill of establishing interpersonal relationships is combined into networking, as the participants tended to use these terms interchangeably. The skill of written communication is dropped from the model, as it is clear for this population that in-person communication skills are most needed by the new executive. This is perhaps influenced by the tendency of this group to debate and discuss as a prelude to decision-making. So now, this section of the model looks as follows.
For the people skills, the ability to hire and retain people is significantly less important than the other personnel-related skills, and so is eliminated from the model. Keep in mind, that isn’t unusual for the aerospace industry, particularly in downturns. This executive team was clearly focused on the team that they already have in place. If this survey had been conducted during an up-cycle in the industry, I’ve no doubt that the results relative to hiring would have been significantly different. So now, the people skills become as follows.
Within the vision skills portion of the model, the overwhelming (indeed, almost unanimous) response was for the skill of understanding the big picture. However, this didn’t seem to preclude the other vision skills. It did lead me to understand that the remaining skills weren’t as “crisply” defined as possible. The survey comments show that the new executive must be able to transition from a tactical view of the business to a more strategic view of the business. As one executive said, “setting the vision for the future”. Additionally, it was clear that this group of execs believe that a new executive needs to not only have the skills to set the strategy, but also to communicate and even “market” the strategy to get buy-in from the rest of the organization. As a result, the vision skills portion of the model looks as follows.
The execution function portion of the conceptual model provided the greatest number of individual skills, all important to this group of execs to one degree or another.
As a result of their input, the managing change skill is combined with the ability to deal with ambiguity. Also combined were the skills related to dealing with fragmentation and working at a fast pace. One participant observed that the business world moves at a rapid pace and doesn’t always throw information or even problems in a linear, logical fashion. As such, the executive must be able to keep up as he/she moves from fragment to fragment of information.
And finally, as a result of the survey input, the skill of delegation was added to the model. This is especially critical for the new executive. By delegating the day-to-day activities, the new executive no longer participates as closely in the latest “fire fight”…. he/she instead is forced to think in a more long-term, strategic manner.
As a result of these changes, the execution skills portion of the model now appears as follows.
And finally, the executive personal traits. Most of the original list clearly resonated with the survey participants. There was near unanimous support for the honest, ethical, and credible trait. This is likely due to the Midwestern location of this organization and its associated Midwestern conservative values. It was interesting to note that while the participants felt strongly about ethics and honesty; they were, at best, lukewarm about the need for the executive to be empathetic and nice. As such, that trait is dropped from the model. The final portion of the model, executive traits, is shown below. They are listed in priority order.
Bringing it all together, the final Executive Skills and Traits model is shown below.
Of course, I have a few more things to say about this model. Next time, a further discussion of the final model.
Cheers!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Participant Observations (or the inside skinny)
If you have been reading along with me, by now you know why I did the research, background for the research, what the research was, and some preliminary results. Today, I’ll take a look at some general observations made by the participants.
The participant observations came as I was analyzing the data by demographic category. For example, within the execution function, the only intersection of agreement between males and females was the ability to be decisive. As related by one executive, “many/most times decisions are elevated due to lack of a clear-cut ‘answer’. Being able to listen to opposing arguments and make a decisions is critical to executive leadership. If it was easy, the team would have already decided”. But I also learned that as important as being decisive is also to have the skill to delegate not only a task but also the decisions related to the task. So the “skill” isn’t a narrow focus on decision-making. It is expanded to acknowledge the need for the executive to understand when he/she should step up and make the decision as well as know when to delegate the decision to other levels.
When I analyzed the results based on the level of the executive respondent, I discovered that within the vision function, there is clear agreement that as a person moves into the executive ranks, he/she should must also move from the day-to-day (or tactical) management to a longer-term or strategic view. One executive told me, “in my first executive assignment, I focused on solving day-to-day problems and the organization I led did not have a clear, well-communicated strategy. This limited the effectiveness of the organization and sent the wrong signals about what was necessary for long-term success”. Clearly, it is important for the new or aspiring executive to figure out how to make the transition to strategic management.
Within the functional organization demographic, I found agreement that the new executive must have, and use, the skills of empowerment and teaching/mentoring. The responses relative to this went from the purely practical (if you don’t empower, you end up doing the day-to-day stuff), to the more esoteric idea of ownership and buy-in. One executive summed this up very well, “if you are the smartest (or busiest) person in the organization, you probably need to make some changes”. Wise advice, indeed.
One theme I heard, over and over, in the structured and in the open-ended questions was relative to the communication function. These executives could not stress enough the need to have the skill for establishing interpersonal relationships, which they tended to use interchangeably with the skill for development personal networks. In addition, they approached this need via varying avenues. For example, one executive discussed the need to create a sound network within his/her peer group -- “I wish I had been more incisive about the fragile egos and personalities of existing executives”. Solid peer-to-peer relationships would have allowed him/her to ask questions or challenge ideas without creating defensiveness. Another application of the networking skill concerns getting work done through the “right channel” within the organization -- or more specifically, getting the right support to get an idea moved forward. “At the executive level, decisions often get made based upon trust and relationships. There aren’t always policies, procedures, or protocols in place to drive decisions that need to be made. They’re based upon a mutual trusting relationship.” Clearly there is a need for the new and aspiring executive to carefully (and honestly) build his/her network of relationships. This idea of building your network is clearly a critical factor for the success of an executive.
Next time? How the conceptual model morphed from a concept to a final model for executive skills and traits.
Cheers!
The participant observations came as I was analyzing the data by demographic category. For example, within the execution function, the only intersection of agreement between males and females was the ability to be decisive. As related by one executive, “many/most times decisions are elevated due to lack of a clear-cut ‘answer’. Being able to listen to opposing arguments and make a decisions is critical to executive leadership. If it was easy, the team would have already decided”. But I also learned that as important as being decisive is also to have the skill to delegate not only a task but also the decisions related to the task. So the “skill” isn’t a narrow focus on decision-making. It is expanded to acknowledge the need for the executive to understand when he/she should step up and make the decision as well as know when to delegate the decision to other levels.
When I analyzed the results based on the level of the executive respondent, I discovered that within the vision function, there is clear agreement that as a person moves into the executive ranks, he/she should must also move from the day-to-day (or tactical) management to a longer-term or strategic view. One executive told me, “in my first executive assignment, I focused on solving day-to-day problems and the organization I led did not have a clear, well-communicated strategy. This limited the effectiveness of the organization and sent the wrong signals about what was necessary for long-term success”. Clearly, it is important for the new or aspiring executive to figure out how to make the transition to strategic management.
Within the functional organization demographic, I found agreement that the new executive must have, and use, the skills of empowerment and teaching/mentoring. The responses relative to this went from the purely practical (if you don’t empower, you end up doing the day-to-day stuff), to the more esoteric idea of ownership and buy-in. One executive summed this up very well, “if you are the smartest (or busiest) person in the organization, you probably need to make some changes”. Wise advice, indeed.
One theme I heard, over and over, in the structured and in the open-ended questions was relative to the communication function. These executives could not stress enough the need to have the skill for establishing interpersonal relationships, which they tended to use interchangeably with the skill for development personal networks. In addition, they approached this need via varying avenues. For example, one executive discussed the need to create a sound network within his/her peer group -- “I wish I had been more incisive about the fragile egos and personalities of existing executives”. Solid peer-to-peer relationships would have allowed him/her to ask questions or challenge ideas without creating defensiveness. Another application of the networking skill concerns getting work done through the “right channel” within the organization -- or more specifically, getting the right support to get an idea moved forward. “At the executive level, decisions often get made based upon trust and relationships. There aren’t always policies, procedures, or protocols in place to drive decisions that need to be made. They’re based upon a mutual trusting relationship.” Clearly there is a need for the new and aspiring executive to carefully (and honestly) build his/her network of relationships. This idea of building your network is clearly a critical factor for the success of an executive.
Next time? How the conceptual model morphed from a concept to a final model for executive skills and traits.
Cheers!
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Research
Okay, so I’ve told you about the “burning question” as well as the background of where I came up with the conceptual model for executive skills and traits. But until you actually do some research, you can’t know whether your ideas (and others ideas) are valid, right? So now, we turn to “the research”. Whenever I type those two words, I always hear it in my mind as a deep, James Earl Jones, CNN-type voiceover. “THE RESEARCH”. Impressive, eh?
At any rate, one of the goals of graduate school and of a PhD program is to actually graduate, so the school is repetitive in making sure that you understand that your research should be of sufficient breadth to prove/disprove your point, while at the same time, sufficiently narrow that you can actually accomplish it.
To that end, I defined my research population as the executives of the largest tier 1 structures supplier in the commercial aerospace industry. This gave me a potential population of approximately 70 executives at all levels -- from CEO to newly-promoted directors. The survey itself was comprised of both set questions and open-ended questions in order to derive both qualitative and quantitative data. My end-goal was to validate the conceptual model as well as to add or subtract from it as required.
One cautionary note here. Because this was a small target population and because it was not randomly chosen, care should be taken in extrapolating the results to other populations.
In the end, I had just over a 65% return rate from the survey. A look at the demographics of the respondents provides some interesting information. For example, 13% of the respondents were female and 87% were male. Not a surprising distribution given the nature of the aerospace industry. A couple of other demographic bits of data…… The executive levels of the respondents were represented by: company officer/executive VP (4%), senior VP (11%), VP (11%), and director (74%). The functional orientation of the respondents included: operations/manufacturing (42%), engineering (27%), finance (11%), human resources (4%), and administrative (16%). Again, not a surprising distribution given the nature of the aerospace industry.
So what did I learn? For the most part, the conceptual model held up. Some examples of this.
In the function of communication, the participants clearly leaned towards the use of “in person” communication skills. Within the people functions, the slant was towards the retention of existing employees, not the hiring of new employees. Not surprising in a mature industry such as aerospace.
Within the vision function, the participants stressed the need for the new or aspiring executive to have the skill of understanding the big picture. This was significantly more important that having the ability to create the strategy or meaning for the organization.
Within the execution function, the respondents equally valued the ability to be decisive and the ability to gather, synthesize, and analyze data. And within the executive traits of the conceptual model, the respondents most highly valued the trait of being honest, ethical, and credible.
Of course, with all this data, I was able to come up with a host of information from categories such as age group, gender, functional area, number of years on the executive payroll, etc. Because of the sheer volume, I can’t cover it all here.
I did put in one “throwaway” question that produced some input for the new or aspiring executive. I asked these executives to indicate one of four methods by which the executive acquires these skills/traits. The four methods were: heredity, college education, on-the-job, and special training. Almost 60% of the respondents indicated that on-the-job training was the single most important avenue. And none of the respondents believed that it was heredity. So, there is hope for all of us.
As mentioned earlier, I also collected data from a couple of open-ended questions. The most revealing was, “Looking back to when you were first promoted to executive management, what is the one thing that you wish you had known about being a successful executive?” Of those that responded, over 31% said that the skill of building relationships was critically important. More about those answers in future posts.
So what does all this data mean for the conceptual model of executive skills and traits? The model held up fairly well…… however, as a result of the analysis of the data and the drawing of conclusions, I was able to make some important modifications to it.
Next time…… some observations from the research results and the final model for executive skills and traits.
Cheers!
At any rate, one of the goals of graduate school and of a PhD program is to actually graduate, so the school is repetitive in making sure that you understand that your research should be of sufficient breadth to prove/disprove your point, while at the same time, sufficiently narrow that you can actually accomplish it.
To that end, I defined my research population as the executives of the largest tier 1 structures supplier in the commercial aerospace industry. This gave me a potential population of approximately 70 executives at all levels -- from CEO to newly-promoted directors. The survey itself was comprised of both set questions and open-ended questions in order to derive both qualitative and quantitative data. My end-goal was to validate the conceptual model as well as to add or subtract from it as required.
One cautionary note here. Because this was a small target population and because it was not randomly chosen, care should be taken in extrapolating the results to other populations.
In the end, I had just over a 65% return rate from the survey. A look at the demographics of the respondents provides some interesting information. For example, 13% of the respondents were female and 87% were male. Not a surprising distribution given the nature of the aerospace industry. A couple of other demographic bits of data…… The executive levels of the respondents were represented by: company officer/executive VP (4%), senior VP (11%), VP (11%), and director (74%). The functional orientation of the respondents included: operations/manufacturing (42%), engineering (27%), finance (11%), human resources (4%), and administrative (16%). Again, not a surprising distribution given the nature of the aerospace industry.
So what did I learn? For the most part, the conceptual model held up. Some examples of this.
In the function of communication, the participants clearly leaned towards the use of “in person” communication skills. Within the people functions, the slant was towards the retention of existing employees, not the hiring of new employees. Not surprising in a mature industry such as aerospace.
Within the vision function, the participants stressed the need for the new or aspiring executive to have the skill of understanding the big picture. This was significantly more important that having the ability to create the strategy or meaning for the organization.
Within the execution function, the respondents equally valued the ability to be decisive and the ability to gather, synthesize, and analyze data. And within the executive traits of the conceptual model, the respondents most highly valued the trait of being honest, ethical, and credible.
Of course, with all this data, I was able to come up with a host of information from categories such as age group, gender, functional area, number of years on the executive payroll, etc. Because of the sheer volume, I can’t cover it all here.
I did put in one “throwaway” question that produced some input for the new or aspiring executive. I asked these executives to indicate one of four methods by which the executive acquires these skills/traits. The four methods were: heredity, college education, on-the-job, and special training. Almost 60% of the respondents indicated that on-the-job training was the single most important avenue. And none of the respondents believed that it was heredity. So, there is hope for all of us.
As mentioned earlier, I also collected data from a couple of open-ended questions. The most revealing was, “Looking back to when you were first promoted to executive management, what is the one thing that you wish you had known about being a successful executive?” Of those that responded, over 31% said that the skill of building relationships was critically important. More about those answers in future posts.
So what does all this data mean for the conceptual model of executive skills and traits? The model held up fairly well…… however, as a result of the analysis of the data and the drawing of conclusions, I was able to make some important modifications to it.
Next time…… some observations from the research results and the final model for executive skills and traits.
Cheers!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
But First, Some History
So how do you define executive skills and traits? Well, I started by reading and reading and reading….. Everyone. Okay, maybe not everyone. But I read A LOT. And I discovered that I wasn’t the only one out there with this question in my mind. Darn, no original thought there. (Which could lead me to wonder, are there any original ideas in business anymore? An interesting bunny trail, to be sure.)
Frankly, there are a significant number of excellent thinkers in this area. And I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. So I started with understanding what past and current thinking was on executive skills and traits.
Surprisingly, the very first thinker in this area was in 1938.… Chester Barnard, who wrote “The Functions of the Executive”. (btw, all references are given below so that you can go to the source.) His ideas started my trail of clues as to what the skills and traits of a successful executive are. Barnard believed that the functions of the executive are to: provide a channel of communication, secure the essential efforts, formulate and define purpose. So…. In today’s vernacular, communicate, hire the right people, and be strategic.
But is that all there is to it? Nope.
Since Barnard’s time, many academicians and business people have entered the discussion on the functions of the executive. This includes such folks as: Mintzberg, Drucker, Heifetz, Laurie, Kotter, and Peters. Just as important are the learnings from the business leaders. They furthered my trail of clues relative to the skills and traits of a successful executive.
These thinkers typically either echo Barnard’s list of functions, or in some cases, add to it. For example, Mintzberg echoed Barnard’s list of functions by defining three broad roles of management. Drucker took a different slant by explaining what it takes to be an effective leader, not just what an executive should or shouldn’t do.
Heifetz and Laurie add to the conversation by explaining how our leaders should be adaptable to the challenges and opportunities within their environment. Kotter echoes this addition. He says, “management is about coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change.” In this context, one could argue that this provides a fine distinction between management functions and executive functions.
Peters has an extensive body of work relative to leadership. Most striking, for me, is his approach via the realities of leadership. For example, one reality that Peters describes is that “senior managers will be shielded from most bad news”. In defining the realities, Peters adds to the conversation of executive functions, and by extension the skills and traits of successful executives.
And finally, no conversation about executive skills and traits would be complete without some input from business leaders. There are several places to pick up this information -- books by the business community, articles about their successes and failures, etc. Eric Yaverbaum has the results of a research project where he interviewed over 100 CEOs of corporations across the world. His research asked 3 simple questions about the CEOs leadership techniques. It is fascinating that, 40 some years later, the results of his efforts appear to closely align with Barnard’s 1930s view of the functions of the executive.
After all that reading, so what? Well, it allowed me to create a synthesized model of executive skills and traits that became the conceptual framework and foundation for my research. The model is shown here.
Next time……. How did I add to the conversation about successful executive skills and traits??
Cheers!
Barnard, C.I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Drucker, P.F. (1967). The effective executive: The definitive guide to getting the right things done. New York: Harper Collins.
Drucker, P.F. (2004). What makes an effective executive? Harvard Business Review, 82(6), 58-63.
Heifetz, R.A. and Laurie, D.L. (2001). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 131-140.
Kotter, J.P. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 85-96.
Mintzberg, H. (1976). Planning on the left side and managing on the right. Harvard Business Review, 54(4), 49-58.
Mintzberg, H. (1990). The manager's job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 163-176.
Mintzberg, H. (1994). Rounding out the manager's job. Sloan Management Review, 36(1), 11-26.
Mintzberg, H. (1996). Musings on management. Harvard Business Review, 74(4), 61-67.
Mintzberg, H. (2000). View from the top: Henry Mintzberg on strategy and management. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 31-42.
Peters, T. (2001a). Rule #3: Leadership is confusing as hell. Fast Company, 44, 124-138.
Peters, T. (2001b). Leadership: Sad facts and silver linings. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 121-128.
Yaverbaum, E. (2004). Leadership secrets of the world's most successful CEOs: 100 top executives reveal the management strategies that made their companies great. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing.
Frankly, there are a significant number of excellent thinkers in this area. And I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. So I started with understanding what past and current thinking was on executive skills and traits.
Surprisingly, the very first thinker in this area was in 1938.… Chester Barnard, who wrote “The Functions of the Executive”. (btw, all references are given below so that you can go to the source.) His ideas started my trail of clues as to what the skills and traits of a successful executive are. Barnard believed that the functions of the executive are to: provide a channel of communication, secure the essential efforts, formulate and define purpose. So…. In today’s vernacular, communicate, hire the right people, and be strategic.
But is that all there is to it? Nope.
Since Barnard’s time, many academicians and business people have entered the discussion on the functions of the executive. This includes such folks as: Mintzberg, Drucker, Heifetz, Laurie, Kotter, and Peters. Just as important are the learnings from the business leaders. They furthered my trail of clues relative to the skills and traits of a successful executive.
These thinkers typically either echo Barnard’s list of functions, or in some cases, add to it. For example, Mintzberg echoed Barnard’s list of functions by defining three broad roles of management. Drucker took a different slant by explaining what it takes to be an effective leader, not just what an executive should or shouldn’t do.
Heifetz and Laurie add to the conversation by explaining how our leaders should be adaptable to the challenges and opportunities within their environment. Kotter echoes this addition. He says, “management is about coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change.” In this context, one could argue that this provides a fine distinction between management functions and executive functions.
Peters has an extensive body of work relative to leadership. Most striking, for me, is his approach via the realities of leadership. For example, one reality that Peters describes is that “senior managers will be shielded from most bad news”. In defining the realities, Peters adds to the conversation of executive functions, and by extension the skills and traits of successful executives.
And finally, no conversation about executive skills and traits would be complete without some input from business leaders. There are several places to pick up this information -- books by the business community, articles about their successes and failures, etc. Eric Yaverbaum has the results of a research project where he interviewed over 100 CEOs of corporations across the world. His research asked 3 simple questions about the CEOs leadership techniques. It is fascinating that, 40 some years later, the results of his efforts appear to closely align with Barnard’s 1930s view of the functions of the executive.
After all that reading, so what? Well, it allowed me to create a synthesized model of executive skills and traits that became the conceptual framework and foundation for my research. The model is shown here.
Next time……. How did I add to the conversation about successful executive skills and traits??
Cheers!
References:
Barnard, C.I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Drucker, P.F. (1967). The effective executive: The definitive guide to getting the right things done. New York: Harper Collins.
Drucker, P.F. (2004). What makes an effective executive? Harvard Business Review, 82(6), 58-63.
Heifetz, R.A. and Laurie, D.L. (2001). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 131-140.
Kotter, J.P. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 85-96.
Mintzberg, H. (1976). Planning on the left side and managing on the right. Harvard Business Review, 54(4), 49-58.
Mintzberg, H. (1990). The manager's job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 163-176.
Mintzberg, H. (1994). Rounding out the manager's job. Sloan Management Review, 36(1), 11-26.
Mintzberg, H. (1996). Musings on management. Harvard Business Review, 74(4), 61-67.
Mintzberg, H. (2000). View from the top: Henry Mintzberg on strategy and management. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 31-42.
Peters, T. (2001a). Rule #3: Leadership is confusing as hell. Fast Company, 44, 124-138.
Peters, T. (2001b). Leadership: Sad facts and silver linings. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 121-128.
Yaverbaum, E. (2004). Leadership secrets of the world's most successful CEOs: 100 top executives reveal the management strategies that made their companies great. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing.
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