Character Traits Every CEO Needs

The first six months of this year have been among the most complicated in my life. I’ve watched several business leaders make bad decisions that likely will plunge their companies into decades of decline.

Wrestling with these personal disappointments, I’ve listened to some advice and reread books on leadership and psychology. My desk is covered with books, including Drucker’s The Effective Executive, Bennis’ On Becoming a Leader and Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, all marked by dozens of post-it notes.

Here’s what I’ve gathered from this reading: there are two qualities that leaders must have, be they presidents of nations, CEOs, or informal influencers of others.  There’s no crime in not having these qualities, but it is an ethical lapse to not develop them, once their absence is made apparent.

The failure to develop and demonstrate these qualities should be a deal-killer to someone’s promotion, and if you work at an organization run by leaders who lack these qualities, that should be a sign it’s time to move on.

1. Intellectual curiosity: People associate leadership with bold action, but most bad decisions comes down to one simple fact: you’ve made a bold decision before having all the facts.  Curiosity includes getting to the bottom of what’s going on, why it happened, and what the underlying causes are.

Curiosity implies a desire to learn.  As Warren Bennis says, great leaders are “conceptualists.”  They dig into big ideas and see how they apply.  Without curiosity, leaders make decisions based on politics and expediency.

Curiosity includes a love of listening.  My colleague Mark Goulston, a leadership expert and psychiatrist, wrote a book that is perfectly titled: Just Listen.  (The book is available from the American Management Association as a free ebook.)  Many of the worst leaders I know don’t listen, don’t like to listen, and hide in their offices talking to a small circle of people who think like they do.

Companies that lack curiosity don’t see the need for change coming until it’s too late.  Circuit City, Sears, and Blockbuster come to mind.

2. Courage to stand by values: The–say it with me–”Weiner affair” shows us what happens when people act on impulses rather than values.  Courage goes far beyond avoiding moral lapses.  It means finding a set of principles that the leader will use to make decisions, so that no one doubts where they stand.  Courage is what gives leaders the intestinal fortitude to make decisions that will draw fire from naysayers.

Companies that lack courage strike people as spineless or lacking a conscience.  The list includes Enron and WorldCom, but also Whirlpool, Kmart, and Nokia.   In all three cases the companies failed to take bold actions that could have redefined their markets.

Leaders lack the resolve to stop doing something unethical, or don’t venture out in bold new directions.

Reading Warren Bennis reminded me that change has no constituents.  A courageous decision will result in critics shooting spit wads of cynicism and sarcasm.  The leader must demonstrate curiosity to fully understand the situation, and then courage to make the best decisions for everyone.  If the leader caves into criticisms prematurely, then the naysayers start running the place.  Vision is discarded and mediocrity is the future.

Curiosity and courage have a tension between them, and neither is an end in itself.  Too much curiosity and the leader is weak and indecisive.  Too much courage and the leader is brazen and thoughtless.

Of course this leaves us with two questions: how can you develop these qualities?  And what is the effect if one quality, or both, are underdeveloped in the leaders where you work?

Rather than point out a few steps from all these books around me, let me ask you.  How have you developed curiosity and courage?  And if leaders around you lack these qualities, what is the result-for you, others, and the organization?

12 Steps Toward a Successful Business

Here are a few tidbits I have observed that  is common place to those business entrepreneurs I have been blessed with to encounter in my life:

1.    Play to win. Coming in second means the other guy won. There really is no consolation prize in business. Business is war, a zero-sum game. Only one company can win the deal just as only one person can get the job, the promotion, whatever.

2.    Build game-changing strategy that solves a big hairy problem. If it’s not going to make a real dent in something important, you have no business doing it. Build a bold, game changing strategy to win big. Slow and steady does not win the race. Niche is fine, as long as it’s a strategy to gain a foothold.

3.    Surround yourself with confident, competent people that tell the truth … and listen to them. Most mistakes stem from subjective sources, limited information, and inaccurate assumptions. Surround yourself with confident, competent people - no yes-men, sugar-coaters, or BS’ers - and get the unbiased truth from enough sources to make objective decisions.

4.    Success builds confidence, but life-lessons come from failure. That means real personal and professional growth comes primarily from failure and losing. Moreover, you’ll never truly understand that until you’ve been on the receiving end of a few knockout punches.

5.    Bounce back fast. When you get knocked down - and you will, over and over again - the sooner you get up, brush yourself off, learn what you can, get your chin up, and get back to business, the better. Not just for you, but for everyone to see, including your competitors.

6.    Challenge conventional wisdom. Things change. That means challenge the status quo, authority, sacred cows, “the way it’s done,” anything that sounds even remotely like a generalization that your gut tells you may not apply in the current situation.

7.    Results count, intentions and excuses don’t. It’s shocking how many experienced leaders and managers waste time explaining why things didn’t work out and making excuses or placing blame for failure. Nobody cares, except that you own up to it, get over it, and move on.

8.    Know when to quit. Killing projects, quitting jobs, pulling the plug on investments, terminating partnerships, firing people, even shooting customers - they’re all things nobody likes to do, and yet, they’re just as critical as starting something new. If you’re not good at stopping things, they’ll drain your resources, kill your productivity, and limit your opportunity.

9.    There are times to be focused and times to be flexible; the key is to know when to switch from one to the other.

10. Trust your gut and do the right thing. Whatever compass you use, moral, or otherwise, trust your instincts and everything you’ve learned along the way, and do what you think is right, not what anyone else tells you to do.

11. Do what you’re great at or passionate about, whatever makes you happy. Otherwise you won’t be successful and whatever you manage to achieve won’t be worth it.

12. Set some goals, come up with a plan, execute, see how you did, learn from it, repeat. That’s how everything is done.

“Bossypants” Lessons for the Workplace via Tina Fey

Okay, I admit it.  I really love Tina Fey.  No, not the way I love my wife and family, but in a way of admiration for one of those intellectual phenomena that crosses our path rarely in life. 

Fey, the first woman to head the writing team for Saturday Night Live, the producer, writer, and star of 30 Rock, the youngest recipient of the Mark Twain award for comedy, and the woman who does a better Sarah Palin than Palin herself, continues her conquest of all media with her new book Bossypants, a comic memoir. Mixed in with her stories about bad jobs and worse dates, she has some important lessons about work — getting a job, doing it well, using the “Sesame Street” approach to obstacles (”over, under, through”), and creating a successful business, brand, and career.

It’s all material: Despite the self-deprecating humor that often has Fey telling stories about her own cluelessness, one theme that emerges from this book is the way that she is constantly observing everyone around her and making use of what she learns from the good and bad examples, sometimes in guiding her own career and sometimes inspiring some of her funniest scripts.

Find a way to like it — but not too much: After college, Fey worked as a, 5:30am-to-2:30pm, receptionist at the YMCA. Instead of thinking of it as beneath her, she found a way to like her job. She was not snarky or disdainful about the work or her co-workers. “I’m the kind of person who likes to feel like part of a community,” she writes. “I will make strange bedfellows rather than no bedfellows.” She genuinely appreciated the lessons the job had to teach her about the importance of professional courtesy and consideration. But finding much to like in the job did not make her lose sight of her goals. When an opportunity came for a promotion, she took it, even though one of her colleagues wanted the job. And when the opportunity came to leave the YMCA, she did.

Yes, and: Fey’s discussion of the rules of improvisation should be handed to every business student and new hire. The key rule of improvisation is “yes, and.” It means, “don’t be afraid to contribute. It’s your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you’re adding something to the discussion.” Whatever is thrown at you, you are supposed to agree and add something of your own? “In other words, whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.”

Don’t ask stupid questions. Do ask good questions: A stupid question to ask Tina Fey: “My whole life, people who ask about my scar within one week of knowing me have invariably turned out to be egomaniacs of average intelligence or less.” She is not wild about questions about the role of gender in humor, either. If you want to make a good impression think of an interesting, unexpected — and un-intrusive question.

Give credit to the people who do the work: Fey says her advice to bosses is to “hire talented people and then get out of their way.” She explains why the Saturday Night Live writers are a combination of Harvard nerds and Chicago improvisers. She describes the writing staff of 30 Rock affectionately — and then lists the best joke contributed by each of the writers. It is an astute and instructive guide to what makes jokes funny, what makes people funny, and how different specialties, backgrounds, and perspectives contribute to their creative contributions. It is a classy acknowledgment of the people who play a critical role in the show’s success. And it is hilarious.

What You Should Never Say to Employees

Your employees constantly watch you.  Say the wrong thing, no matter how unintentionally, and at the very least you send the wrong message.  Sometimes what you say can even destroy employee morale.

Here are a few things a good leader should never say to employees:

“I’m in charge, so this is what we’re going to do.” Dealing with different opinions or even open dissent is challenging for any leader and can make you feel defensive and insecure.  When that happens you might be tempted to fall back on the golden rule:  She who has the gold makes the rules.  Don’t.  Everyone knows you’re in charge; saying you are instantly destroys any feelings of collaboration, teamwork, and esprit de corps.  When you can’t back up a decision with data or logic, possibly that decision isn’t the right decision.  Don’t be afraid to back down and be wrong.  Employees respect you even more when you admit you make a mistake.

“I have a great opportunity for you.” No, you don’t; you just want the employee to agree to take on additional work or the project no one wants.  If you say, “Mary, next week I’m assigning you to work on a new project with our best customer,” she immediately knows it’s a great opportunity.  If you say, “Mary, I have a great opportunity for you; next week I’m assigning you to sort out the problems in our warehouse,” she knows she just got stuck with a less-than-plum assignment.  Any opportunity that really is great requires no preface or setup.  Don’t sell.

“Man, this has been a long day.  I’ll see you guys.  It’s time for me to get out of here.” No employee wants to feel your pain. From your perspective, running a business can be stressful, draining, and overwhelming.  From the employee’s perspective you have it made because you make all the rules.  Don’t expect employee empathy; instead talk about how today was challenging and everyone pulled together, or how you really appreciate that employee’s help.

“Hey, that’s a great idea — and if we do it this way…”  (Unsuccessful people do too, by the way.)  You may be able to improve an employee’s idea and lay out a specific path for implementation, but in the process you kill their enthusiasm.  Instead, say, “Hey, that’s a great idea,” then ask questions:  How they came up with the idea, the data or reasoning they used, how they think the idea should be implemented, etc.  In the process the employee may identify small tweaks on her own, and if not you can gently guide him in the right direction.  The best ideas, from an employee’s point of view, are not your ideas.  The best ideas are always their ideas, and rightfully so.  Make sure employees’ ideas stay their ideas, and everyone benefits.

“Sure, I’ll be happy to talk to your brother about a job.” The smaller the company the less you can afford interpersonal problems, especially those created by cliques and “alliances.”  (Doesn’t running a small business sometimes feel like an episode of “Survivor”?)  There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but think carefully before you hire an employee’s family member.  Blood is always thicker than business.

“No.” Actually, “no” can be okay — as long as it is always followed with an explanation.  Still, better choices are “I don’t think we can, and here’s why…” or “I would like to, but here’s why we can’t…” or “That sounds like a great idea, but we’ll need to do a couple of things first…” Explain, explain, and explain: As a leader, explaining is near the top of your job description.

“I can’t wait to go to Cancun next week.” Don’t assume your employees will be inspired by and hope to emulate your success. They won’t.  Leave your Porsche in the garage.  I’ve consulted for a number of family-run businesses, and in every instance (sometimes when I was on-site less than a day), at least one employee spoke of resenting how “good” the owners have it — at the expense of underpaid employees.  Is resenting your success, even if you don’t flaunt it, fair?  No.  Is it a real issue for employees?  Absolutely.

“We.” This one is conditional:  Use “we” when it fits, but never use the royal “we.”  Employees are aware there is no “I” in team, but they know when you are paying lip service to “we.”  Just as it’s incredibly obvious to employees when you take an insincere, obligatory tour to “check in” and show how much you seem to care, it’s just as obvious when you say “we” just because you think you should.  Build a real sense of teamwork first and using “we” comes naturally.  Teamwork actions speak much louder than any theoretically inclusive words.

I know there are plenty more.  Feel free to share things on your “do not say” list — and things you wish had never been said to you.