Category: Business/Investing Publisher: bookertraining.com
Pages: 250
Copyright: Jun 22, 2011
A Senior Manager is 'made' to go to a Leadership Conference. Amazing behavioral change occurs as she grows through the Great 8 Leadership Principles.
*The ROI (return on investment) is laid out to attendees...
*A story of God, learning & faith surprises the reader at the dinner that evening at the conference...
*In-depth wisdom is revealed during the break out sessions..
A must-have 'read' for any leader anywhere!
A story of learning by a Senior Manager and her boss both attending a 2-day Leadership Conference.
A wealth of leadership challenges and answers are brought to light. Real life personal struggles and their impacts on management are realized. The result is clarity and growth regarding productive leadership and relationships in the workplace.
Not just a warm and fuzzy look at managing but a strategic understanding of the individual and organizational payoff. Return on investment (ROI) is uncovered each step of the way.
Are you coming to the conference? It begins a few pages in, but you will want to read what happens prior to arrival. And although it is optional, don’t skip the speech that evening at the conference!
In PRINT and on KINDLE.
Excerpt
Introduction and Purpose
Our learning here is done by means of a story that will provoke plenty of thinking, ideas, and questions about leadership and management. Have you personally ever struggled with ineffective management—in yourself, your peers, or maybe your own boss? I think we all have at some point.
Debra, Les, and other characters in this story experience a scenario you will recognize and resemble. As you read this book, you will connect with your worlds of leadership, management, and teams as well as workplace relationships and culture.
This book is for leaders of all industries, businesses, and organizations. It is not intended exclusively for, or even focused on, corporate managers in particular. If you are interested in learning about leading others, you have found the right book. After reading this book, you will understand how real leadership works in small businesses, nonprofit organizations, families, churches, communities, large corporations, and anyplace that there are people who need to be led.
This book is about application and real people—it is not a fable or humorous story about some imaginary characters or critters. Our learning here involves people with real-life issues. You will recognize and connect with the folks you have come across in your own world.
We will share a story about leading, relationships, culture, flawed management thinking, human relations, individual and organizational behavior, teams, and so on. We will do so without lost mice, fish flying around, or penguins falling from icebergs! (Those were all great little stories, by the way.) It is not about leading in a minute or any other kind of short-lived program to make managing people instantly easy. It is about the realities of workplace management, providing answers and a lot of behavioral “how to,” complete with Return on Investment (ROI) thinking. This is not just a warm and fuzzy approach to leading, but executable, up-close and behavioral stuff that really works. It is about bottom-line profits and productivity. We believe you will find the content here hits home and is closely aligned to your situation, your challenges, your boss, your behaviors, and your business, organization, or workplace.
Please note that this book is meant to be practical, applicable and useful. The size of the book will allow you to travel with this conference’s learning material anywhere you go. There is room to make notes in the margins of most pages throughout the book in case you like to jot down your thoughts as you read. Also, please note that the sponsors, facilitators, staff members, and players throughout the conference (and book) are, for the most part, real people. Contact information is provided in case you want to contact any one of them in an appendix in the back of this book.
Please realize that the content presented during the conference, as well as the book, is only an overview. We have tried to provide key points and hit on the most important learning concepts but there is much more to learn. The ‘Great 8 Leadership Principles’ curriculum has been developed and the training and coaching experienced by the characters in these pages is ready and available for you or your organization to learn right now. Lastly there are subtle leadership issues and challenges throughout, outside of the actual conference and sessions. We encourage you to look for them and consider them as well in regard to your individual and organizational leadership development.
Our Story Begins
Debra stormed into Les’s office. The routine of showing up in Les’s office for coffee each morning has been going on for years now. However, the peaceful socializing that usually happens this time of day isn’t going to happen today. Debra is visibly upset, in fact, she’s livid! She frequently flies off the handle at the smallest of issues, so her emotional state isn’t all that unusual. Her demeanor and presence suggests that she is a tad bit more upset than she is during one of her normal tirades, though, since this time she slammed the door shut behind her!
In honest moments with only her closest friends, Debra admits her divorce a year ago left her struggling more than ever with her temper. She is quick to go on the attack and this affects all of her relationships. Those she manages frequently suffer the brunt of her personal issues.
Les was staring out the window and looking across the parking lot while he was speaking on the phone to his son. Even so, he caught a glimpse of Debra coming through the door, and shoving the door behind her. As he spun around in his chair, Les grinned—when he did not receive a smile in return, he realized that he needed to end the call quickly, even though there were some important personal issues he needed to discuss with his son. Les knew just what Debra was angry about and he’d been dreading this encounter.
Les told his teenage son, Jackson, that he had to go and would touch base with him later, after school. Jackson was Les’s only child, and he had raised him on his own up until two years ago. Jackson’s mother, Les’s first wife, had died in an accident when Jackson was just a baby. Les was a single dad for about fifteen years before he married his current wife, Mickey, a couple of years ago. Mickey had been Les’s high school flame many years back. She had reentered the picture when she and Les found each other again through an online dating site. Mickey and Jackson had some initial struggles, but things were great now between them; they were like a real mother and son. Les had done a decent job of raising Jackson, but teenagers could demand a lot of attention. Les and Mickey found themselves doing a lot of parenting these days.
Debra and Les discussed, on occasion, the similarities between workplace management and leadership at home. That wouldn’t be part of their conversation today.
“This is crap, and you knew all about it, didn’t you?” Debra began unloading as Les set the phone down. “The CEO is sending me to some stupid leadership conference and you were in on it, weren’t you?” Barely taking a breath, she continued, “Being made to go! The CEO is not asking me if I want to go, not offering,” Debra finally took a breath, “but directing me to go because he knows I damn sure wouldn’t be going otherwise. Isn’t that right?”
Les wheeled his chair around the desk, scooting with his feet and motioning for Debra to sit down in her usual spot. She declined and paced around instead. Les got up and moved to the door, opening it slightly. You know the chatter that goes on around here about us, anyway. All we need is to be in here behind closed doors. The gossip hounds will go to work; the rumor mill will be in full swing by noon. Let’s not give them reason to talk about that big romance thing we got going on between us.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah—let ’em talk. None of them better bring any of that stuff up to me today, that’s for sure. I might just make up and give them some juicy stuff to really talk about.” Debra knew he was right, as rumors about them had made their way around the plant a couple of times over the last few years. Les and Debra enjoyed the hoopla, giving HR stress as they would provoke and ‘mess with folks’ about the issue.
Les was smirking as he stood and strolled back behind his desk and grabbed his coffee. “Yeah, I knew about it, but the CEO asked me to keep quiet about it until he could tell you himself after getting back from the LA trip. Guess you got the word?” He was halfway smiling, realizing she wouldn’t think the comment was too funny.
Les continued without waiting for a response, “You do realize with me being CFO—the guy in charge of the bucks and the budget—that I did need to be part of this? Sorry I couldn’t say anything sooner, buddy.”
Debra continued to ignore another invitation to sit down, walked over and leaned against the file cabinet, and said, “I have been in management for fourteen or maybe fifteen years, leading people. I never needed any of that warm and fuzzy leadership stuff before and I don’t need any now. It’s a waste of time. I know how to manage! You, the CEO, and that knucklehead HR manager—you and your leadership development ideas! Give me a break. Look at the programs you guys have brought in over the last few years, those so-called leadership, change development, quality and motivational deals. Throwing fish around was a good concept, but what good was it? All we are left with are those stupid stuffed fish toys lying around on book shelves. Then those other programs and, oh, yeah, Team Building for Success, wow, now don’t we have some awesome teams around here now because of that worthless training? What’s come of any of those? What good did they do us? They are all just a waste of our money.” Debra walked over to top off her mug of coffee, spilling a bit as she put the pot back. You could almost always count on coffee being available in Les’s office.
Debra finally sat down. “I’ve met or exceeded production numbers routinely” she said, “and they’ve been over 90% in most every area this past year again. Plus, I’m the only one who’s been under budget the last three quarters straight and customer service complaints are down. Need I go on? I venture to say that I know this company and this business as well as anyone around here outside of maybe, you, and well… no, probably just you, as a matter of fact!”
Les wheeled back around his desk while seated in one of the low-back seats that had been facing his desk. “Look, just relax” he said. “I know you don’t buy into this stuff, but hear me out. This wasn’t a total surprise. We have been talking about some development opportunities for you for a few months now. I am not going to get into all of it right now because I only have a couple of minutes. Besides, you are going. But how about this—I’m going with you!” Les smiled, hoping for some change in Debra’s body language. There wasn’t much, if any, just a subtle look of surprise revealed by her raised eyebrows.
As he walked over to top off his own cup, Les continued, “I told the CEO that I wanted to go and he cleared it. Just you and I, pal, and Mickey is going, too.” He smiled, but he was certain it wouldn’t be reciprocated. But then, Debra did smile just a bit, since she really liked Mickey.
“Look, this is a costly conference—some expensive stuff” he continued. “You must be important to the company, my friend, for us to spend that kind of money on you. Did you think of that?” Les nudged her, smiling, trying to get some hint of a grin, looking for an answer. He got nothing but a hard punch in the arm back.
Debra and Les were, indeed, close friends. They had a dotted-line reporting relationship—a dotted line from Debra to Les, who had a direct reporting line to the CEO. It was awkward at times, but they managed to make it work. This upcoming summer, Les would mark his twenty-year anniversary at TC, Incorporated. Les had been part of the interviewing team when Debra was hired seven years ago. The two had developed a close bond right away. Along with morning chats, they also socialized outside the office now and then. Debra and Mickey had connected as well; the three enjoyed going out and had dinner together a few times each month.
“Listen, I can only spare a couple of minutes” Les said, “since I have to get to the acquisition meeting and can’t be late—there will be some important visitors in attendance. But, let me just share some quick thoughts with you here and then I’ll see you over at Mulligan’s after work tonight. Mickey will be there too, so I’ll meet you both. Be prepared to listen to her go on about Mulligan’s serving alcohol—I think she wants to bring back the days of Prohibition! It looks like I’m going to have to listen to both of your complaints.”
Les went on as Debra nodded in agreement, her mood, posture, and facial expressions mellowing a bit. “Look, it’s just me here, pal, and we’ve spoken about this plenty of times” Les continued. “We both know leadership is something you could use some help with. I don’t need you to acknowledge that fact right now, while you’re mad, but just listen to me for a minute. I believe in the difference real leadership can make. That ‘warm and fuzzy’ stuff as you like to put it—it’s the stuff I try to practice with my folks. Anyway, I get to attend this two-day conference in Kansas City, and spend the evenings on a getaway with Mickey—I’m looking forward to that. There’s nowhere better to be than in the Great Midwest in the springtime. We can all get away from this rainy, drizzly, so-called Seattle Rain Festival for a couple of days.”
“Obviously, you’re skeptical about how valuable leadership development conferences are,” Les went on. “You are one of those managers who need convincing of its value, the Return on Investment (ROI). That’s kind of an interesting twist on things, isn’t it? You’re the one worried about the value and expense involved in attending this conference, and I’m the CFO! Maybe there’s a point there—since I am the CFO, maybe I have a better understanding of the ROI and that allows me to be more confident. Did you consider that?”
Les was smiling, waiting for her to concur. After Debra gave a slight nod, Les continued, “Listen, you and I are going with a mission, a very clear purpose. I want you to be open-minded yet determined to achieve our goal there. Here’s the deal—I’m going because I know that I have more to learn and I value any learning and growth opportunities. What I want, and what the CEO wants as well, is for you to go and play the devil’s advocate. We’re going to roll out a sustainable leadership development process at this company sometime in the near future. We want to hit it really hard for the next couple of years, so we want to see if these people have what it takes to help us put our plan into action. In addition, we want to get some clarity on ROI. So, I’m going because I see it as a good opportunity and also because I want to get a better grip on ROI. I want you there to disprove it all. How about that? Is that fair enough?
On top of all that, you know how passionate the boss is regarding leadership and is pushing the whole Women in Leadership agenda. He has substantially increased the women we have in managerial roles around here and sincerely wants you to lead that charge. He would love to see you become active and become a player in the movement in our society these days. You are already good my friend, a little sharpening of the tool regarding some of this leadership stuff would make you one of the best managers I personally know of either gender.
Besides,” Les continued, “look at the topics we’re going to be learning about—I jotted down a few that caught my eye.” Les pointed at the white board, where he had scribbled topics and dynamics before Debra had arrived that morning:
Relationships,(360) built on trust
‘Real’ Power Teams
Delegation / Project Management
Boss and Buddy
ROI – (absolutely)
Establishing Expectations
Micromanaging – Understanding It
Facilitating & Teaching
Accommodating People and Ideas
Depth in Communications
Creating Nonthreatening Environments
Consensus
Trust, Teams / even with Senior Managers
How we lie to people?
Fixing that Rumor Mill
The Great 8: Relate, Communicate, Eval, Eliminate, Create, Facilitate, Accommodate, Demonstrate
“Everything they are speaking about, the CEO and I want you to challenge—seek out the ROI and don’t let up until you’re sold” Les said. “I know you think you could never be convinced, but give it a chance. At the CEO’s direction HR found this particular conference because it is marketed as addressing management skepticism and demonstrating ROI to the manager and organization. Additionally, the boss checked within his network of executives and got some good reports from them about this conference. Look, to your credit, you are assessing things from what they bring to the organization. You’re asking what the value, return, and gain for the company is. I wish we had more managers with those concerns and priorities, to be honest with you.”
Debra finally conceded, sat down next to Les, and replied, “Look, I know you’ve got to go. Let me process this information over the day today. I’m still pretty upset about how all of this transpired. On top of everything, it is especially untimely with the attention the new product launch needs—it’s putting a lot of stress on me.”
