Leadership Quote of the Week

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. 

Stephen Covey

Organizational Decline

How do you know when you organization is in decline, even when the outward signs (camp attendance, revenue, etc.) say otherwise? Look for these these symptoms suggested by 

Rosabeth Moss Kanter that indicate your organizational culture is warning you of an impending decline.

 

Communication decreases. 

Criticism and blame increase. 

Respect decreases. 

Isolation increases. 

Focus turns inward. 

Rifts widen and inequities grow. 

Aspirations diminish. 

Initiative decreases. .

Negativity spreads. 

Misconceptions Regarding Leadership

When we don't understand what leadership is it's hard to be a leader. John Kotter recently wrote on the Harvard Business Review blog about three common misconceptions regarding leadership. Do you or those at your camp make any of these mistakes? 

 

Mistake #1: People use the terms "management" and "leadership" interchangeably. This shows that they don't see the crucial difference between the two and the vital functions that each role plays.

Mistake #2: People use the term "leadership" to refer to the people at the very top of hierarchies. They then call the people in the layers below them in the organization "management." And then all the rest are workers, specialists, and individual contributors. This is also a mistake and very misleading.

Mistake #3: People often think of "leadership" in terms of personality characteristics, usually as something they call charisma. Since few people have great charisma, this leads logically to the conclusion that few people can provide leadership, which gets us into increasing trouble.

21 Ways to Stay Creative

Leadership Quote of the Week

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. 

Warren Bennis

Risk Taking

In his book Taking Smart Risks, Doug Sundheim argues that as leaders we need to make more risky decision. Not careless, but calculated, smart risks. He identifies five dangers faced by leaders who avoid risks on a long term basis:

You don’t win.
You don’t grow.
You don’t create.
You lose confidence.
You don’t feel alive.

40 Leaders in Two Minutes

Leadership Quote of the Week

 

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. 

Lao Tzu

 

 

Hotel Impossible

If you host non-summer camp groups in a retreat or conference center setting I'd recommend checking out Hotel Impossible on the Travel Channel. Each week the host helps turn around under performing hotels. The issues he deals with include hospitality, facilities maintenance, housekeeping, staffing, marketing, and leadership. Sound like familiar challenges? While the context is somewhat different, there's something in every episode that will make you think about your own operation and how it can be improved.

Learning Types

Here's an interesting look at different types of workplace learners from the Great Leadership blog.

 1. The Ostrich
Doesn't know a lot and doesn't really give a damn about it. That's not always a bad thing. For example, I don't know a lot about art history and I really don't care to learn about it. However, for a manager, being unskilled in leadership and not wanting do do anything about it is a recipe for failure. These managers are often stuck in their own comfort zone, over rely on a few key strengths  and will justify their behavior by saying things like "hey, that's just the way I am".  They won't seek out feedback, ignore it if they get it, and are seen as unwilling or unable to adapt. Being "retired on the job" isn't about age - I've seen it happen to as many younger managers as older ones. These are often the managers who "get sent" to leadership training or have a coach forced upon them. Without a willingness to learn, the chances for behavior change are slim.

2. The Eager Beaver
Eager beavers are often new in their roles or are in a situation where they need to learn something new in order to be successful. In other words, their jobs depend on it. I love working with new supervisors - they just soak up anything you offer them. The problem is, they sometimes are a little too eager, and try to take on too many new skills at once. They can come across as not genuine, lack consistency, and are prone to lose their confidence. They can also be gullible - being an easy target for the latest fads or silver bullets promising to make them great leaders in 10 easy steps. 
Eager beavers need to take it one step at a time, and prioritize their learning and development goals around the critical few that will having the biggest and most immediate return-on-investment.
 
3. The Know-it-all
Unlike the ostrich, know-it-alls really do have a lot of talent or expertise around the subject (in this case, leadership and management).  However, they can come across as  arrogant, presumptuousness, close-minded, and judgmental. They also may be very successful in their current role, but struggle with transitioning to new roles, given their unwillingness to let go of old skills and pick up new ones.
 
4. The Continuous Learner
Continuous learners are always looking to improve, no matter how good they are. In sports, they're the Tom Bradys, the Peyton Mannings - superstar all-pros, but always the last ones off the practice field and putting in  overtime studying film of their next opponent. They are the David Bowies, the Madonnas of rock and roll, always looking to stay current and relevant, and knowing when it's time to reinvent themselves. Continuous learner leaders seem to be naturally curious and outstanding listeners. They are not faking it - they really do feel that they can learn something from everyone. They are not afraid to admit their weaknesses, and openly share their development plans to address those weaknesses. They are always seeking feedback, and seem to know how to take that feedback and adapt their behavior accordingly.

How to Handle Tears

Clean Bathrooms

Here's a great post from Seth Godin...

Clean bathrooms 

The facilities at DisneyWorld are clean. It's not a profit center, of course. They don't make them clean because they're going to charge you to use them. They make them clean because if they didn't, you'd have a reason not to come.

It turns out that just about everything we do involves cleaning the bathrooms. Creating an environment where care and trust are expressed. If you take a lot of time to ask, "how will this pay off," you're probably asking the wrong question. When you are trusted because you care, it's quite likely the revenue will take care of itself.

 

Leadership Quote of the Week

 

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. 

 John Quincy Adams

 

 

 

2012's Best Leadership Books

Here is a list of the best leadership books of 2012 from LeadershipNow.com.

What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation by Gary Hamel

 The Strategy Book by Max McKeown

 The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

 The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership by Gary Burnison

 The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni

 The End of Leadership by Barbara Kellerman

 Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz by Frank J. Barrett

 Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back by Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy

 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

 Turn the Ship Around! How to Create Leadership at Every Level by David Marquet

 How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen with James Allworth and Karen Dillon

Biographies:

 Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

 The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume 3: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 by William Manchester and Paul Reid

 Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith

Leading Your Former Peers

One of the common practices in camps is to hire from within. Internal candidates offer two advantages in that they know us and we know them.  While this makes the selection decision easier, it does present a challenge once the former front line staff member moves into a leadership role. Now they are thrust into the often difficult task of supervising their former peers. How do they successfully navigate the challenges of leading their former peers? 

Signal the transition - Make everyone, former peers, new peers and your boss aware of the impending change in relationship.

Tread lightly at first - You might have lots of great ideas but start slowly. Focus on your new role and relationships before proposing significant change.

Establish your authority - While you need to move slowly, you do need to let your former peers know you're now in charge. It doesn't have to be done in an aggressive, overbearing manner but it must be done. 

Try out new roles - Take some time and experiment with different modes of relating. Get feedback and continue to evolve until it feels right. 

Deal with the disappointed competitor - If one of your peers also wanted the job deal with their disappointment and potential resentment. Don't let it fester and become a bigger issue. 

Make use of the advantages - You've been on the inside, seeing how things really work where the rubber meets the road. Use that knowledge to help build credibility and to avoid potential buried land mines.