The Real Deal

An opportunity to see management in action isn't uncommon at many (dare I say most?) organizations.   Reams have been written about various practices and methodologies for managing a project to completion; indeed, with the increasing number of people adding "PMP" after their name, one might get the idea that the project management profession is on par with the medical or PhD communities in terms of stature and status.     In contrast, seeing someone demonstrate real leadership is uncommon enough to warrant stopping for a moment and marveling at the effect it has on those around them.   This is probably the best way to identify real leaders, for real leadership rarely decorates itself with titles, prefixes, or suffixes.

I recently had the opportunity to observe one such example of leadership along with both the immediate and delayed effects.   A co-worker who is leading the design of an internal system was asked to summarize the progress for a larger group which included the organization's leadership team.   This particular individual is working with several other people to realize the system and has been a key driver behind the design.     While this might have been the perfect opportunity to describe his efforts on the project, he chose not to do so - most people over five years old aren't foolish enough to stand up and proclaim "I made this" to a larger group of people who know better.   He could have spoken blandly about the facts of where the project was at, problems they had encountered, as well as the next steps they would take.   In fact, he did describe their progress and challenges - but he went further.    One of the other people working on the same system happened to be in the room, and he took the opportunity to praise her work on the project in front of everyone.   It wasn't just a generic "she did a good job on this" comment - it was specific, concise, and sincere.

The immediate effect was that she smiled broadly and then quickly tried, unsuccessfully, to return to a straight face.   I'm not sure how many people in the room noticed it, and the longer term effect was probably even less noticeable to the rest of the organization.   To someone who happens to work in close spatial proximity to the team, however, the effect has been wonderful to watch.   This team works to support the goal and each other, and exudes a positive, "can-do" attitude that is infectious.     Such behavior inspires others and is something that is not widely taught or easily learned.

It was a small but impressive display of a specific quality of leadership; so much so that I couldn't help but tell the individual how neat it was that he'd compliment and encourage his teammate like that so publicly.   His response was essentially that praise is what gets passed onto his team; criticism is what he reserves for himself.      His response was not an example of management-by-PMP or leadership-by-numbers; it was the real deal.  

It was Leadership.

Have you had the opportunity to observe leadership in action?   What did it look like?

The Burninator

By now, you've probably heard about Greg Smith and his rather pointed op-ed piece in the New York Times. A well written, forthright assessment of Goldman Sachs by Smith doesn't leave the reader with the impression that he is considering the possibility of working for them in the near future - the first paragraph clearly sets the tone for the rest of the article.   Images of Trogdor kept floating through my mind as I read it.   While he may have excellent reasons for leaving the company that everyone loves to hate, I'm not sure that such a dramatic departure would work well as a template for everyone.

In the days leading up to my departure from Trane, I was surprised by how many of my coworkers wanted to know if I was going to "burn the bridge" by telling management exactly what I thought of them and their organization.    In fact, I was determined to share my perceptions and opinions during the forthcoming exit interview.     While I had a great discussion with the engineering VP surrounding the reasons for my departure, I wouldn't characterize it as bridge burning.   Rather, I felt I owed him something of an explanation and therefore attempted to be as factual and data-driven as possible - even going so far as sharing the weighted Pugh concept selection spreadsheet I had developed.    I appreciated his time and thought it was a good conversation; I think (and hope) he'd say the same.

There may be times, however, where the bridge is already burning and there isn't anything you can (or should) do to stop it.   One former employer was rather heavy handed, and failed to honor a previous agreement.   If the bridge was smoldering when I left his employ, it was engulfed in flames when he received a letter from my lawyer.   Such cases are the exception and not the rule, however, and such action should only be taken after seeking council from others and getting impartial advice from trusted associates.    I believe that had I been vengeful during that time instead of trying to remain polite and impartial, the matter would not have been settled as quickly as it was.

Aside from such exceptional circumstances,  any short-lived emotional satisfaction of telling the boss to go to you-know-where may have consequences in the future; there is little to be gained from burning bridges in most cases :

• Not tossing the match honors the team(s) you worked with.   If they are worthy of your respect and loyalty, why not take advantage of the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to leadership to better their environment?  
• The emotional satisfaction you might gain from burning the bridge is temporary, but the feelings it will create in others are indefinite.   It may come back to haunt you, especially in an always-connected, social media world.
• You may not have the whole picture.   Especially in larger organizations, things that happen may not be under the control of your first or even second level manager.   They may be just as frustrated as you - perhaps even more so - and unleashing your wrath on them only increases their burden.

Before lighting that fuse, look around.   Listen to others' perspectives.    Carefully consider the possible outcomes.   If, after doing all that, you think you still need to put flame to fuse - go ahead and write an op-ed piece in a major newspaper - it will give us bloggers something to talk about.

Ever had hair signed off your arms while lighting the match?   What happened?

Use It or Lose It

I thought about this recently when a friend invited me to go target shooting.   Several years ago,  I went to the range often and achieved (and least in my own mind) some level of competance in the shooting sports.   I was always at the top of the class in terms of shooting skills; the last class I took as part of a legal requirement saw my score recorded at twice that of the next student (250 points possible; he shot a 125).  

The hour on the range on Saturday reminded me that those days are long gone and won't be coming back without a bit of effort on my part.   The trip reminded me that skills can be fleeting; that an art not practiced is an art soon lost.   I shot no better, accuracy-wise, than the majority of folks there that day.   What happened?   Obviously, I hadn't used the skill and so lost it.

You have almost certainly experienced this phenomenon as well.   Quick, without looking it up, what it is the formula for finding the length of one side of a triangle if you know the opposite angle and lengths of the other two sides?    Almost everyone has had trigonometry at some point in their academic career but only a few of us remember it because most of us don't have the opportunity or need to use it on a day-to-day basis.   A skill not used is a skill soon lost.  This same pattern exists for many different kinds of skill sets and is a reason why those in roles that affect safety (pilots, police officers, paramedics, and more) are subject to rules regarding how often they must exercise their skills and training.   There are many other non-safety areas where such is important - guitar players practice riffs, for example, and military units do drills appropriate to their function.  

As a software developer, I constantly write software not only for my job, but also for the express purpose of staying current with the techniques and technologies associated with the task.     The exercise of refining a problem into its essential logical elements, translating those elements into a design to solve the problem, then translating that design into a specific technology (web page, mobile application, etc.) hones those skills far more than does reading or other study method (though those are important too).      Would you want to get on a plane whose pilot hasn't flown at all in the last year but has read lots of graphic novels about flying adventures?   I would not, so then why would I expect my employer, whose business may very well depend on the skill and accuracy of its software, ever considering doing something similar by hiring someone who has "read a lot about computers"?

Practicing your profession with dedication and intent sharpens your mind and trains your thoughts so that you can perform at your best when it counts.    Practice is also the mark of a professional - as the saying goes, "An amateur practices until he gets it right; a professional practices until he can't get it wrong.".     Too often, I see would-be professionals masquerading as amateurs simply because they haven't practiced their trade to the point of being able to fully exercise their potential.    Amateur, indeed.

As  Phillip Su put it,   "Athletes do drills.  Musicians hone difficult passages.  What do you do?"

Why We Fight

In the ninth episode of the epic 2001 miniseries "Band of Brothers", the soldiers of Easy company reveal their weariness and bitterness towards their time in the United States army.   Each man had been away from home for a long time, in some cases years, and endured terrible conditions and a brutal enemy in the fight for freedom.   Through it all, though questioning why they were fighting, it becomes clear that their loyalty to each other in the face of adversity was a bond stronger than most people would ever know.  

It is well known and accepted that shared adversity improves team cohesion and builds bonds between team members in a way that few other activities do.    This phenomena manifests itself not just for soldiers on a battlefield, but also for athletic teams, police and fire departments, and even working professionals.    A common challenge, whether in the form of a poor manager, unreasonable schedules, or difficult working environments can serve as the impetus for fostering strong friendships and building team cohesion.  

A friend (whom I could also refer to as a former co-worker, but I prefer 'friend') has told me several times that people he worked with were a major part of the satisfaction he took away from his job.   In my own experience, I tend to agree.   There have been a number of people at each of my former employers whom I look up to and respect.    I can't help but wonder if there is a way to build these kinds of relationships without having to endure the negative waves that are by definition part of the whole shared adversity experience.

My current employer believes that it can be done - they define a stunning workplace as stunning colleagues.    At this early juncture, I tend to agree - I'm amazed by the talent around me and I'm challenged just trying to keep up.   What is interesting to me is that even though there is a very steep learning curve in learning the business domain and the operational tempo is much higher than all but a few of my previous employers, I'm encouraged and enthusiastic about each day.   Learning from my new coworkers about different things and facing positive challenges such as meeting customer expectations and delivering on a desire for the best possible end user experience can have the same benefits as a shared adversity situation, only without the negativity and pessimism.

What kind of challenges do you face?   Do you have a team that can support you and that you can support?