Passion is exciting. People follow passionate leaders faster than somber managers. In “It’s Not About the Coffee,” former Starbucks president, Howard Behar explains he left the last company he worked for before Starbucks, because the CEO sought to restrain his passion. At Starbucks, Behar explains, his passion was an asset, not a liability. Obviously, passion worked well for Behar and Starbucks. Yet, the CEO seeking to restrain passion is a common theme in business. So how can we balance that prudence with the strength of  passion?

Prudence

Dictionary.com defines prudence as “caution with regard to practical matters; discretion”. That’s a reasonable request for a leader in any organization. The problem is when executives assume caution requires the absence of personality, vision or passion. These attributes are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe great leadership demands both prudence and passion.

Passion

I once played football for a coach who had the most monotonous voice you can imagine. In critical moments of a game, when we all needed to dig deep for a burst of adrenaline, his pep talk sounded more like a nanny coaxing babies to sleep. In contrast, another coach was like a tea kettle, always about to burst. Which do you think motivated the team better?

Passion with Prudence

As a leader, you need both passion and prudence. Passion to inspire the team. The authentic, raw feeling for what you believe in. Yet, balance that with the tempered prudence that shows caution and restraint where needed. Prudence sets the example that wild risks, without concern for stakeholders, are unacceptable.

Prudent Questions

Here’s how you can balance your own passion with prudence. Ask yourself some key questions, like the following:

1. What are the risks in each available option?

2. How will each path impact each stakeholder group (consumers, employees, backers and more)?

3. How could my passion be misinterpreted?

4. What if I am wrong?

5. Who can offer me another perspective?

 So the next time you feel particularly passionate about a topic, don’t hide it – use it. Just be prudent about how you pursue that passion by asking some key questions. Then tailor your message accordingly.

Questions: How do you balance your passion with prudence?

As a leader, you need to understand how social media crises occur, how to minimize your chances of an attack and what to do in the case of a customer attack. Paul Gillin recently wrote Attack of the Customers: Why Critics Assault Brands Online and How to Avoid Becoming a Victim. I spoke with Paul about his new book, these questions and more.

Questions Answered in the Interview

1. What should leaders do to minimize the chances of a social media crisis?

2. What is the first thing leaders should do in a customer attack or social media crisis?

3. What is the one thing leaders should never do during a social media crisis? 

Links Mentioned in the Interview

• Social Media Training programs
• Scott Monty (on Twitter)
• Skittles Facebook page
• UPS Facebook page
• Southwest Airlines Facebook page
• Constant Contact website

More from Paul Gillin

• Paul Gillin on Twitter
• Paul Gillin’s website
• Attack of the Customer’s Facebook page

Question:  What else would say is important for people to know about during a social media customer attack? Leave a comment here.

This simple graphic depicts the difference between  a Bad Boss and a Good Leader. I love it, because it highlights  some key attributes, including:

1. Role of the Team: The Bad Boss expects the team to serve them. The Good Leader serves the team.

2. Command vs. Participate: Bad Bosses command others to do what they are no longer willing to do themselves. Good Leaders never ask from the team, what they are unwilling to do themselves.

3. Role of the Mission: Bad Bosses sit on top of the mission. They use the mission to promote themselves. In contrast, Good Leaders focus on the mission for the mission’s sake.

4. Expectations of Self: Bad Bosses expect to reap rewards from the hard work that got them to their position. The Good Leader understands the workload only increases as they progress.

It’s easy to spot a Bad Boss or a Good Leader, especially when compared against each other. This simple graphic helps clarify that image.

Question: What other key differences are there between a Bad Boss and a Good Leader? Leave a comment here.

Credit: A special thanks to my brother, Matt, from DragonBones.net, for sharing this image. I’ve not been able to identify the original image and made minor edits (adding the phrase “mission”). If find the original artist, please let me know so I may share credit.

You have a bad guy. The villain. The antagonist. This bad guy is either inside your company or outside. As a leader, you can influence where he is. Outside it better, but if you don’t point him out to your team, they’ll create the bad guy inside your company walls.

Enemies

The bad guy is whatever you fight. In for-profit companies, this should be your toughest competitor. In a non-profit, the enemy should be the injustice you seek to eliminate: hunger, poverty or disease. In religion, your enemy is obvious: Satan. The problem is, when you don’t constantly point out these bad guys as public enemy #1, your team will create villains within the team: these are your traitors.

Traitors

Your team needs a villain to attack. Therefore, without an enemy for your team to align against, they will look among themselves for that villain. Instead of innovating solutions to defeat the external competition, they’ll focus on internal competition for that next promotion. The result? You have traitors wasting time, money and energy inside the organization.

Creating Enemies for Your Team

Creating enemies for your team is easy. They already exist, you just need to point them out. Here are some tips for creating enemies instead of traitors:

1. Reveal Them: Reveal the unethical business practices of competitors. Display the destructive results of an injustice.
2. Name Them: Don’t be afraid to name your enemies. People want passionate leaders.
3. Sitrep: A Sitrep is short for Situation Report – a status update on a critical area or battle. Provide frequent and regular sitreps to your team. Who is winning the battle? Who is winning the war?
4. Call Out Traitors: Have a no tolerance rule for traitors. Reiterate that dirty politics or attacks on team members will not be tolerated.

As a leader, you are either pointing out the enemies or enabling traitorous behavior. Keep your team looking outside the company for their bad guys and you’ll have a more effective, engaging and happy team.

Questions: What other ways can we focus on bad guys and avoid traitors? Leave a comment here.

Social media shifts the power from the few to the masses. Here’s how it works and how you can benefit from the shift:

Before Social Media, Power was Held by the Few

Before social media, the power was in the hands of a few. The wealthy, executives, publicists and formal (traditional) media controlled the message. If the CEO of a large corporation did not like a message, they could stop it from getting out. Publishers decided what message would reach the public. Traditional media of all forms (TV, News, Radio), could spin the final message in the light of their own perceptions.

In short, the masses did not control the message. Whatever the few believed was the right message or believed would get the greatest return on investment, got pushed to the masses.

With Social Media, Power is Now in the Hands of the Masses

Today, when the few try to control the message and the masses disagree, there is fast, influential and measurable feedback:

Fast: When the message goes out, social platforms like Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn immediately react. Forget days. Heck, forget hours. If the masses disagree strongly enough, that reaction is evident within minutes.

Influential: Feedback to messages gain momentum in social media. The more people react to it, the more people see it and respond to it. As a result, the spiral – positive or negative – is amplified.

Measurable: Social media technology enables the simple tracking and quantification of the feedback. Counting the number of individuals agreeing or disagreeing and the overall sentiment – positive or negative – is easy and verifiable.

 So the power shifts from the few to the masses because the masses now control the message. The message is controlled with speed, influence and measurement.

Leverage Social Media Power for Good

Now you can take advantage of this opportunity. All you need do to maximize the benefit of this power shift is serve the masses and be transparent.

Serve the Masses

To serve the masses, have their best interest at heart. This does not mean merely appeasing the masses. That would not be effective leadership. Instead, leadership means making tough decisions and sometimes doing what the people need, not necessarily what they want.

Social media power is not a popularity contest. It is a validation contest. In other words, if you have people’s best interest at heart, it is hard to argue against your position. You may not be popular, but the response to your message cannot deny the objective.

Be Transparent

To be transparent, you should be authentic and vulnerable. This means revealing your contemplation. Leaders who claim to always be sure of themselves come across as egotistical, out of touch with reality and unwilling to listen to the masses.

In contrast, a leader who seems human, is authentic in contemplating their decisions and transparent about “the why” behind their final decision is appreciated by the masses.

Is it always this simple? No. Will everyone agree if you are serving and transparent? Of course not. Will it help you build support in a world that has shifted power from the few to the masses? Definitely.

Question: How do you think leaders can leverage the power of social media for good? Please give your feedback here.

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” – Morpheus in The Matrix (1999)

I’m often frustrated by what so many people call “leadership”. Anything that sets someone above the crowd is often viewed as leadership. Business leadership is frequently measured by fiscal results, alone and non-profit leadership is regularly viewed through a lens of “the ends justify the means”. As a result, how individuals lead their people is overlooked for the perception of results. Real people leadership requires service to the people, not just distinction from the crowd.

Sadly, much of the world is does not understand what real leadership is. I liken it to the red pill vs. blue pill decision for leaders. In the 1999 movie The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo a choice of a blue pill or a red pill:

Blue Pill

If Neo chooses the blue pill, he will continue believing whatever he wants, living in a dream land until the system comes crashing down or kills him. He’ll never see what reality is. He would not touch, taste or feel anything real – it’s all artificial, but desirable. In contrast, he could take the red pill and discover reality.

Red Pill

The red pill and the reality it presents is not as nice and neat as the blue pill and an artificial world. Facing reality means harder work, more mess and a more difficult existence. Yet it is reality, it is genuine. With the red pill he has the opportunity to effect real change, serve others and leave the world a better place.

Leadership Decision

Leaders must make a similar choice: take the blue pill and go along with common misconception or the red pill and commit to real leadership. For great leaders, the choice is clear. Take the red pill. Fight the battle. Stand up against traditional, outdated and inaccurate perspectives. I choose to take the red pill and hope you’ll join us on the journey down our servant leadership rabbit hole.

Question: Which pill do you take? Blue or Red and why?

There are three loves every great leader must have: Love for the Mission, Love for the People and Love for Character. These three loves set the foundation for great leadership.

Great Leaders Have a Foundation of Three Loves: People, Mission and Character

Love for the Mission

Love for the mission shows in all the leader does. Passion flows from one who loves their mission. With this love, leaders inspire and motivate their people.

Without this love you won’t be a great leader in your field. For example, many business leaders are really in love with the money, or notoriety of their role.  Therefore, opportunities to boost these benefits in the short-term, that hurt the mission in the long-term often win out. The net result is failure of leadership for the organization.

“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Love for the People

If you don’t love your people, you will fail them and your role as a leader. The most common faltering of potentially great leaders is their abuse of people. Without love for all your people, you run the risk of benefiting one group at the detriment of another. In business, this is often seen by an excessive emphasis on investors and a lack of investment in employees.

Love for your people ensures care and concern. This does not mean lowered expectations or “taking it easy on them”. To the contrary, it often means pushing them harder and helping them grow.

“I view my role more as trying to set up an environment where the personalities, creativity and individuality of all the different employees come out and can shine.”
-Tony Hsieh

Love of Character

We’ve seen powerful and successful leaders take major and rapid falls from failure of character. The apparent family-man who is exposed for the long history of adultery, or the politician who sold her vote to the highest bidder. If you do not love your own character, you will fail in the shadow of temptation.

People follow and mirror the actions of those they wish to emulate. Therefore, a strong character is prerequisite for anyone of character themselves.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
-Abraham Lincoln

If you don’t love your mission, find one you do. If you don’t love your people, listen more. If you don’t love your character, fix it. For, if you want to be a great leader, these three loves will build a foundation upon which your leadership may stand. Without them, your foundation is weak and cracks spread rapidly.

Question: What other loves must a leader have as their foundation? You can leave a comment here.

“If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.”
“You cannot manage what you cannot measure.”

As a leader, you’ve probably heard many variations on these quotes. They are, to some degree, correct. Measurement does make it easier to manage something and I suppose a physical existence can be identified by some form of measurement, in most cases. Still, these perspectives never sat right with me. Last weekend, it hit me:

“Measurement and Reporting Drive Improvement.”

Human beings share a natural desire to improve, grow and win. Numbers help us see a goal and our progress toward that goal more clearly. Therefore, if we measure something and report it, we drive improvement from our natural tendencies.

Sure, there will always be the lazy. There will also be those who say, numbers reported may be adequate for many. For example, if you have 95% and the mean is 50%, why bother? You bother, because the other numbers reported state your competitor achieved 85% and increases 5% each month.

So no, I don’t think measurement alone is really about management or proof of existence. Instead, I think it’s measurement, combined with reporting, that helps us improve.

Question: What do you think? Does measurement combined with reporting naturally drive improvement? Leave a comment here.

In Turning Pro, author Steven Pressfield explains the difference between amateurs and professionals, in any field. Pressfield likens amateurs to addicts – not just drug addicts, but addicts of all forms. In contrast, artists – real artists, are professionals. If you’re passionate about something – anything – and wonder why you’re not making more progress, read this book. I did and, then I read it again and again and again.

After about my third read, I jotted down my perspectives on the difference between the amateur leader and the professional leader. Here’s my take on the difference between an addict and a professional in leadership:

The Amateur Leader

• Controls
• Spins
• Seeks titles and compensation
• Desires praise
• Holds a grudge
• Seeks work/life balance
• Worries about who is to blame, to avoid blame theirself
• Takes the praise so they look good to others
• Expects others to do the dirty work
• Watches the clock
• Worries about when their people arrive and leave
• Seeks the approval of others
• Asks, “What’s in it for me?”
• Worries about perception

The Professional Leader

• Serves
• Delivers
• Seeks impact and evolution
• Desires results
• Moves on
• Seeks work/life alignment
• Takes the blame, so the team can move on
• Shares the praise, so the team is rewarded
• Worries about what people accomplish
• Does the dirty work and expects the same of others
• Watches the deliverable
• Seeks an inner-peace with themselves
• Asks, “How will this help our team?”
• Worries about reality

Many thanks to Chris Brogan for pointing me to Pressfield’s work and of course, to Mr. Pressfield for this great book.

Question: Have you turned Pro? If not, what are you doing about it? You can leave a comment here.

A good friend and leader in her own field, asked advice on starting her social media engagement. I quickly found myself overwhelming her with new ideas. It occurred to me there was a better approach: to lay out stages for her social media engagement. Here are the stages I proposed for her:

Infancy

Like the infant, this stage is about exploration. Trial and failure. You’re not yet steady on your feet. Not to worry, you’ll bounce back. Look for role models to guide you. As the infant learns to speak and walk by listening and crawling, so should the infant social media adopter focus more on listening and crawling than speaking and walking.

Childhood

Playtime is here. The child’s work is play. Most of their time is spent with friends and family, not colleagues. So the discussion focuses on personal interests rather than business. The child social media adopter should do the same: focus on friends, family and personal interests for a while.

Adolescent

That first kiss and heartbreak. Playtime is over, but that doesn’t mean there’s no fun. You’ve picked up a part-time job and your not as naive to the world as you once were. In fact, you may think you know it all and that could get you in trouble. So you’re a bit more careful about what you say and do. Your image and the perception of others matters, as you begin to get work done online.

Adulthood

Professionalism. You hold yourself to a higher standard than you did in your youth – as do others. You can still have fun of course, but before you play hard, you work hard. If you’re good, you align your business and professional life, so your social media efforts do the same. At this point, you are a professional leader in social media and your communications and actions align to that standard.

As with human nature, some individuals will mature faster than others. However, few will mature without first hitting every stage.

Question: What other ways does life parallel social media development? You can leave a comment here .

Yes, there are situations in which Servant Leadership will not work. Here are a few I can think of:

1. Short Term Objectives Only: If you have no long-term objectives. For example, when all you want is short term goals and are willing to throw away your investment and lose your team after those immediate goals are achieved, then servant leadership may not work.

2. Singular Stakeholder Focus: If you only want to provide results for one stakeholder group, servant leadership may not work. For example, if you only want to drive fiscal returns for investors and don’t care what happens to employees, your community or the environment in the process, servant leadership may not work.

3. Career Over Organization: If your only motivation is your career and you have no interest in the success of the organization you serve, servant leadership may not work. For example, if you believe the company exists to serve you and not the other way around, another form of leadership may be better.

Without Servant Leadership, you may not be able to achieve any long-term objectives, your other stakeholders may abandon you and your career may suffer. Still, I supposed these are situations in which Servant Leadership will not work…

Question: Can you think of another time where Servant Leadership will not work? Leave a comment here.

As a leader, you need to know when it’s time for somebody to bounce. Bar Bouncers are skilled at this art and know when it’s time to use force in the protection of guests. In leadership, the responsibility is much the same.

My Knife Threat

In my youth, I was the effective bouncer of a 24 hour diner in Allentown, PA. Our late-night clientele was diverse, including patrons of local bars, sobering up for their drive home. I was proud of running a tight ship and keeping my guests safe. One night though, that almost didn’t happen.

We had a particularly rowdy group that night. It was the clientele you always had to keep an eye on. They got out of control and I asked them to leave. At that point, one guy stood up from his table and pulled a knife.

As my mind raced, I became aware of a group coming to back me up. Ultimately, I realized this group of “backup” included regular guests from a biker gang, some college kids, a few theater-goers and more.

I was fortunate. The knife-wielder was sober enough to see this, put away his weapon and lead his group out the door.

The Leader as Bouncer

As a leader, you must also play the role of Chief Bouncer. You may not face a physical threat, but you still face damage to your organization. Here’s what good bouncing entails for leaders:

1. Build Cross-Functional Support: When trouble occurs, you need support from more than one team. If I only had friends with one group of regulars that night and they weren’t there, I’d have been in bad shape. Your support needs to come from more than one area as well. By serving all your stakeholders, you ensure that cross-section of support.

2. Identify Threats: Bouncers constantly scan their environment for trouble. This must also be among your many responsibilities. Trouble will arise before you can take action if you’re not constantly on the lookout.

3. Take Action: Waiting too long can spell disaster. Bouncers know if they see an argument escalating, they need to break it up and get the scrappers out on the street, before punches are thrown. Leadership requires the same action. Constructive tension is good but anyone resorting to destruction needs to be out on the street.

 I came by my support through a combination of natural tendency and luck. Thankfully, it turned out well for me that night. Now, as leaders thinking constructively through our responsibilities, we can look at bouncers for some keen insights.

Question: What makes a great Chief Bouncer to you? You can leave comments here .

How do you view each department in your organization? Do you value operations, maintenance, customer service, engineering, information technology, sales, finance, marketing, accounting – all departments, equally?

In Good to Great, Jim Collins explains the best CEOs are not external hires, but brought up through internal development. Therefore, your organization is best served by looking across the entire company for future leaders. Yet, most organizations have a bias toward one department or the other.

We often hear others say, this is an “engineering run company”, or this is a “sales run company”. In these organizations, engineering or sales are typically the grooming grounds for leadership. If you come from another department, there’s a ceiling to your growth potential.

As a servant leader, your role is to serve all stakeholders. Your service to investors requires that you look for the best successors in leadership roles. Your service to employees requires that you value the potential of people in all divisions. So the next time you think about your future CEO, ask yourself, could this person come from any division? The answer could be very telling about who you serve.

Question: Could your next CEO come from any department? You can leave a comment here.

Social media changes the responsibilities of traditional corporate roles and requires the creation of entirely new jobs. Below are the most obvious changes to traditional jobs and some of the key new positions created. An infographic summarizing these details can also be found below.

Infographic: Social Media Jobs, Roles & Responsibilities

Old Roles, New Responsibilities

These traditional jobs require new responsibilities in the social media world.

Marketing

From push to pull.

Before social media, traditional marketing roles emphasized push responsibilities. Most marketers focused on advertising, promotions and creating awareness through disruption of unrelated content. With the emergence of social media technologies, this responsibility shifts from mostly push to mostly pull (inbound) marketing.

Public Relations

From faux to frank.

In the old world, Public Relations served to present the best image of the organization to the public. With social media, there is greater transparency. Corporate walls guarding culture are now windows. As a result, Public Relations now focuses more on a frank dialogue about the reality of a given situation. Instead of presenting a veneer identity, Public Relations ensures a candid and balanced story is presented to the public.

Quality Assurance

From par to peak.

Most companies considered Quality Assurance’s role to be achievement of “acceptable” quality levels. Organizations sought to minimize failures rather than excel in quality. Through social media channels, consumers easily identify the product and services with highest overall quality. Therefore, Quality Assurance now seeks less to achieve par performance and seeks more to achieve peak performance over competition.

Customer Service

From fact to feel.

Customer service was positioned by many to control post-sale costs rather than to serve the customer. Now that bad customer experiences are quickly shared and escalated to massive scales, it is more important than ever to empathize with unhappy consumers. The best customer service departments act more like a consumer advocate and less like a corporate drone.

Human Resources

From policy to people.

Human Resources may have existed to protect the company, but it now finds itself advocating for the engagement, support and advancement of all employees. When Human Resources is not trusted, there’s often nowhere for disgruntled employees to turn. The result? Unhappy employees turn to venting online, damaging the corporate reputation and making it more difficult to attract great talent. It’s no longer about human resources but about people support.

New Roles

These roles did not exist before social media but are increasingly important in the social media generation.

Community Manager

Community manager responsibilities vary from company to company and platform to platform. However, one thing is clear: organizations with a large social media presence need community managers. Overall, the objectives is to ensure the quality, value and often growth of a social community remains on track. These roles usually report into a marketing customer service area.

Personas

Businesses don’t buy from businesses. People buy from people. As a result, the opportunity for consumers to now have a direct, ongoing discussion with an individual who personifies your brand is outstanding. Whether you do it humorously, like Isaiah Mustafah with Old Spice, or transparently, like Dana White of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, consumers love connecting with the personification of their favorite brand.

Help Wanted, Mostly Managers

The current distribution of open social media roles, follows (source: indeed.com, n= 29,721):

• Social Media Internships – 8%
• Social Media Analysts – 6%
• Social Media Managers – 40%
• Social Media Directors – 22%
• Social Media Vice Presidents – 3%
• Social Media Consultants – 7%
• Social Media (other) – 13%

Question: What other changes to jobs, roles & responsibilities do you see from social media? Leave a comment here.

Special thanks to Hubspot for the infographic formatting & all-silhouettes.com for the silhouettes.

You know that feeling: you just don’t feel right about a decision. Here’s a simple leadership test to validate the decision: does it seek to serve or control your stakeholders?

Naturally, you’d never seek to control control your customer, investor or employees, you say. But wait, there are nuances to these differences that may surprise you.

Control

A decision may seek to control your stakeholders if it brings about a result that makes you or your team look good, with little or no benefit to stakeholders. Another control indicator is when you make decisions that drive short-term results at long-term costs. A decision may also be controlling when all costs are not transparent to stakeholders.

Serve

To determine if your decision serves your stakeholders, just give it the Robert K. Greenleaf test:

Do those being served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will she or he benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived? – Robert K. Greenleaf

So the next time you have an important decision, ask yourself, does the solution seek to control or serve the stakeholders? The answer will help you decide but it also may surprise you.

Question: How do you avoid decisions that seek to control, rather than serve? Click here to leave a comment.

Dennis Bakke just released his book, “Decision Maker: Unlock the Potential of Everyone in Your Organization, One Decision at a Time.” In a minute, I will tell how to win a fee copy of the book.

If someone asked you for the key to employee engagement, happiness at work or bottom line results, what would you say? Chances are it would be something like pay-for-performance, employee benefits, a safe work environment or plenty of opportunities. My guess is, decision-making authority would not be at the top of your list, but Dennis Bakke thinks it should.

Dennis first introduced the importance of decision making in his book “Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job“. Since then, the co-founder and former CEO of AES (a global Fortune 200 power company) and CEO of Imagine Schools, authored a follow up book entitled, “The Decision Maker: Unlock the Potential of Everyone in Your Organization, One Decision at a Time”. The book is Based loosely on Bakke’s experience implementing the Decision Maker Process at AES. Through story, Bakke chronicles the opportunity, struggles and benefits of driving decision-making throughout a company, together with an Advice Process.

I had the opportunity to interview Dennis on the Decision Maker process and here’s what he had to say:

Questions I asked Dennis Bakke included:

1. What is the Decision-Making process and how did you uncover it’s importance?
2. How does the Decision-Making process unlock the potential of employees that are often overlooked?
3. What role does persistence play in the successful implementation of the Decision-Maker process?
4. Besides the benefits to the business, what is the Decision-Maker process so important?
5. What would you say to someone who does not believe their company will adopt the Decision maker process?

To win a free copy of The Decision Maker

Just do the following:

1. Subscribe to this blog. If you’re not already a subscriber, click here to subscribe for free.
2. Leave a comment below. Tell me why you want a copy of the book. The more creative, the better. Click here for comments.
3. Spread the word. Share this post on Twitter or Facebook. Send a Tweet by clicking here or Facebook by click here.

On Tuesday, March 19th, I will choose three winners for a free copy of the book, based solely on my preference of the comments and Twitter or Facebook content. Thanks and good luck!

Question: What do think of the Decision Maker process? You can leave a comment here.

Legal Stuff (aka Promotion Rules & Regulations):

- No purchase necessary.
- Odds of winning are based on number of entries.
- Entries may be received between March 12, 2013 and March 18, 2013.
- One entry per person.
- Value of the prize is estimated at $15.00 (fifteen U.S. Dollars).
- U.S. residents 18 and older are eligible.
- Disclosure: Although I never promote something I would not buy myself, I was provided a free, advanced copy of this book by the author

Mentoring programs help an organization ensure employees are paired with someone to help them through hurdles. These mentoring programs also help the mentees by building stronger relationships to senior management and the mentors by giving them exposure to new perspectives. However, a mentee needs to know when they’ve found a great mentor – whether or not the company appoints them. Here are some signs of a great mentor.

A Great Mentor…

1. Listens

Authentic listening stems from genuine interest. When the mentee speaks, the mentor is focused. The mentor is not multi-tasking, checking mail or thinking of anything, but what the mentee says. This includes not thinking ahead to their response.

“It takes a great man to be a good listener.” ― Calvin Coolidge

2. Tells You What You Need to Hear

Anyone can say what you want to hear and make you feel good. A great mentor tells you what you need to hear. This means their feedback may surprise you or even sting a bit, but it helps the mentee grow.

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” -Tony Robbins

3. Gives Constant Feedback

This means not just during the formal, regularly scheduled “mentoring meetings“. Instead, a great mentor reaches out, off-cycle, to see how you’re doing. They give feedback on the little things, as well as the big.

“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” – Elon Musk

4. Gets to Know the Mentee Personally

Professional mentoring is only part of the equation. A great mentor knows the mentee on a personal level. They know what you’re objectives in life are, not just at work. The mentor understands the struggles you have on the home front, as well as within the cubicle.

“And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.” – John Kerry

I encourage everyone, regardless of career stage, age or position in life, to find several mentors. If your employer assigns you one and you don’t see these signs in that person, find another. Keep searching until you find at least one, great mentor. You career, and more importantly your life, will be richer for it.

Question: What are some other signs of a great mentor? You can leave a response here .

Simon Sinek revealed his Golden Circle to the world in a TEDx Puget Sound talk. In his talk, Sinek explains how every organization explains what they do. Many organizations define how they do it. However, he goes on, the greatest leaders explain WHY they do what they do.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” -Simon Sinek

Sinek’s talk resonated with me. Yet, there seemed to be one piece missing. Why is the Why so powerful? Then it hit me: the Service.

Service is at the Heart of Why

When you connect with a message because you agree on the why, you know who the mission serves. Consider this scenario: two car manufacturers selling similar vehicles, with different approaches.

Car Manufacturer A

We believe you shouldn’t have to go to the gas station more than once a month. We also believe we all have a stake in the future of our natural environments. We like to ensure our customers are fully supported at all times.

Car Manufacturer B

We make cars with high MPG and low emissions. We offer several warranty options and have our vehicles rated for safety performance like everyone else.

All other factors being equal, which car would you rather buy? Is it because you understand why they make the product they do?

I agree with Sinek. Yet, to me, the heart of the reason I would buy from Manufacturer A is because I know who they serve and it is not self-interest. In contrast, nothing in Manufacturer B’s pitch suggest any interest of their own, beyond profits.

If You Serve Others:

Your “Why” resonates with others.

Your “Why” is not self-interest.

Your “Why” benefits your stakeholders.

If You are Self-Serving:

Your “Why” will offend others.

Your “Why” is self-serving.

You better stick with “What” and “How”.

wRight or Langely?

In his talk, Sinek compares the Wright Brothers, who had very little funding, education or connections to Samuel Pierpot Langley who had massive investments, extensive connections and tons of media coverage. Yet, the Wright brothers discovered flight. Why was that? Sinek says:

“The Wright brothers, were driven by a cause, by a purpose, by a belief. They believed that if they could figure out this flying machine, it’ll change the course of the world. Samuel Pierpot Langley was different. He wanted to be rich and he wanted to be famous. He was in pursuit of the result… …The people who believed in the Wright brothers’ dream worked with them with blood, sweat and tears. The others just worked for the paycheck.”

People backed the Wright brothers because they wanted to serve the world. The Langley’s of the world are self-serving and those who know them see this. This is especially true in our world of social media transparency.

I am grateful for Sinek’s talk. If you haven’t seen it. watch it now. Then, take it one step further. Ask what is at the heart of your “Why”. I bet you’ll find service pumping the lifeblood of “Why” for your mission

Question: What's at the heart of your WHY? You can leave a comment here .

Hey gang, here’s something I’ve been struggling with for a while and want to run by you. Let me know if you agree…

What is Staying Small?

Staying small, in leadership, means staying in the details. It means remembering the little gals and guys.

Staying small means keeping your humility. It’s about not thinking too highly of yourself.

Staying small means remembering your role is to serve, first.

Staying small is about a mental approach, not a physical size.

A Story About Staying Small

He was a Vice President, accountable for hundreds or people. I was at the bottom of the totem pole, a recent college graduate and I would be happy if he remembered my name. Yet every time I emailed him, he responded within hours. His message seemed genuine and often, also included a note of personal interest.

I was amazed, honored and humbled. When he said jump, I didn’t ask, “how high?”, I jumped and then asked, “was that high enough?”

He stayed small and drove the greatest results from me and my peers. His results were greater the smaller he was.

Seeming Big Hurts

In contrast, how many examples do you have of bad bosses that seemed too busy to hear you out? You know the symptoms: reading email while you’re speaking, keeping the door closed – all the time, declining and / or delegating all your requests. The list goes on. I bet you could add a few yourself.

The results from these “Big” leaders seems a greater degree of disengagement. Less commitment. Less understanding. Overall, lower return on investment.

How to Stay Small

1. Listen.

2. Serve, first.

3. Lead, second.

4. Stay humble.

5. Remember and reiterate names.

6. Have a personal interest in everyone that follows you.

7. Care more about the results of those you’re accountable for than your own direct contributions.

Most of us want to grow our organization, audience or community. Whether it’s your revenues, physical capacity or online subscribers. I think the key to greatest growth is really, staying small. It’s a paradox to be sure. What do you think?

Question: Does staying small help you grow larger? You can leave a comment here.

Members of a tribe generally fall into one of two personality types: Climber or Contributor. Although one is better for most tribes, each has its place. Which are you?

Climber

The Climber seeks first to climb the career ladder.

Climbers only contributes if it will help them climb.

Climbers seek to promote themselves over their peers.

Climbers make decisions for the organization based on the implications to their career.

Climbers create short-term wins with long-term costs.

Climbers jockey for position.

Climbers worry about perception.

Climbers think and act tactically.

Climbers pull command.

Climbers distribute the blame.

Climbers accept the  praise.

Contributor

The Contributor seeks first to contribute to the tribe.

Contributors only climb if it will enable them to contribute more.

Contributors seek to promote their peers and tribe.

Contributors make decisions for the organization based on the implications to their stakeholders.

Contributors create long-term wins out of short-term costs.

Contributors jockey for results.

Contributors worry about reality.

Contributors think and act strategically.

Contributors pull influence.

Contributors accept the blame.

Contributors distribute the praise.

Each tribe places different value on the Climber or Contributor. Some tribes have more of one, than the other. The balance shapes that tribe’s culture and will influence your role in the organization.

Climber or Contributor - which are you? You can leave your feedback by clicking here .

“They just don’t get it! Servant Leadership will never work here.” I hear this frustration all the time. While I disagree, particularly with the absolute of “never”, I confess it is more difficult to embed Servant Leadership in an organization that did not begin with these principles.

Reasons to Start with Servant Leadership

There are many reasons to practice Servant Leadership. Let’s focus on why it’s important for an organization just starting out, to practice the principles. Whether you are an entrepreneur creating a new business or a manager building a new team within an existing company, here are the top reasons to embed Servant Leadership principles, from the start:

1. Point to the Founders
Throughout the existence of your organization, people will always look back to the founders. There is something magical, a bit mysterious and almost mythical about founders. They build the foundation for the future. So 50 years from now, when they write the history books, how do you want to be remembered?

2. Culture is Strongest at the Start
Most start-ups have a strong culture. There’s a reason for that – the start-up has the greatest opportunity to tailor it’s culture. They’re not fighting embedded bad habits.

3. Easier to Hire
In the start, money is often tight. Therefore, you especially seek to hire employees that prioritize respect and engagement over fiscal compensation. What better way to reflect this perspective than through Servant Leadership?

4. People are Hard to Change
Once a culture is embedded, it’s far more difficult to change that culture as the people resist change.

5. Momentum
Once a culture of entitlement and self-preservation exists momentum is against you. Build the momentum for Servant Leadership from the start and you’ll keep momentum on your side.

Rising Tides

The above are great reasons to start with servant leadership. As noted, doing so will make embedding and sustaining these principles easier. That said, there is no excuse for not starting Servant Leadership wherever you are and whenever you can. Without someone starting a movement somewhere, sometime, nothing will ever change. Remember:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Back to my friend, complaining that their organization will, “never adopt Servant Leadership”. How do I respond?

“They may not adopt it as a whole, but you and your team may. Your peers may adopt it as well. Then, the broader organization can witness the success and results you achieve through the power of serving stakeholders. Remember, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. Contribute to our rising tide of Servant Leadership adoption.

Question: Why would you suggest Servant Leadership to a new manager or entrepreneur? Leave your thoughts or questions here .

Behavioral psychologists have this big fancy term for how people make changes in their life, it’s called the “Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change”, we’ll just call it “Stages of Change”. In essence, this is how people progress from denial of a need to change through the successful change of the behavior. These stages are often used to describe the disposition of a drug addict in their process to recovery. However, the same stages can describe the disposition of a leader learning to adopt social media. Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: Precontemplation (aka Denial or “Not Ready to Change”)

This is the denial phase. In precontemplation, we’re saying there’s no real issue here. The drug addict says, “I can quit whenever I want.” The leader says, “social media is just a fad”.

What is needed here is an intervention. The drug addict needs their family to confront them with how their decisions hurt those they love. Peers of the leader need to show avoidance of social media reduces market share, causes missed sales opportunities and reduces share of voice online.

Stage 2: Contemplation (aka Acceptance or “Getting Ready to Change”)

The addict admits they have a problem but has not yet committed to solving it. The leader admits there is value in social media, but isn’t quite sure they must change themselves.

During this stage, the addict needs support of friends and family to grow their interest in changing. The leader needs the same: peers and team members to help educate and reinforce the growing awareness of social media.

Stage 3: Preparation (aka Commitment or “Ready to Change”)

The addict has stopped seeing the dealer but hasn’t gotten rid of their stash yet. The leader is dabbling in social media, friending their kids on Facebook (to their children’s chagrin) or perhaps reading blogs and books on social media principles.

What is needed here are examples, tools and techniques. The addict should join a program or commits to a process. The leader needs a routine, perhaps a schedule to check social feeds, a social monitoring suite or training program.

Stages of change: leaders adopting social media

Stage 4: Action (aka Initiation of Change)

The addict takes it one day at a time – without the substance. The leader has a social media account and starts to change their behavior.

Support is key. For the addict, a sponsor is vital to check in with them frequently. For the leader, this is the role of a social media mentor. Temptation to relapse is greatest as the change is new and healthy behaviors are not fully ingrained. So the support system must be in place.

Stage 5: Maintenance (aka Persistence of the Change)

The addict’s been clean a while and the leader’s behavior is solidly changed. Still, temptations are likely to arise.

The addict’s sponsor and leader’s mentor may not be around as frequently. Although they are on their own now, the addict and leader must maintain their focus if the change is to remain permanent. For the addict, this means staying away from situations where temptations arise. For the leader, it’s this is less likely to be a risk. After all, once the leader has embraced social media, they’re unlikely to ever look back.

You’re most likely past stages 1 and 2 already. Perhaps you’re in Stage 5 and preparing to help another leader through their own social media adoption. Whatever the case, be aware of the ever present risks of relapse and the critical roles of peers and mentors.

The cause of the 34 minute Blackout during Super Bowl XLVII at the Superdome in New Orleans is still unconfirmed, as of this writing. However, there are already lessons for leaders to take away. Here are 4 leadership lessons from the Super Bowl blackout:

1. Failures May Occur Even with the Best Planning

Months before the Super Bowl, there was a study commissioned to assess the facilities. That study resulted in a large investment, including electrical supply enhancements, to avoid precisely such an incident. Regardless of the study and enhancements, there was still an issue with the power.

Lesson: It’s important to realize that regardless of how well you plan, failures may still occur. Prepare for the unexpected with backup plans, people and resources.

2. Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Whatever the cause of the electrical outage, only half the stadium was impacted. Had the entire stadium blacked out, the danger and risks to fans, players and everyone there would have been much greater.

Lesson: Commitment and focus to a plan or deliverable is great. However, to minimize risks, spread investments to include at least one backup option.

3. When You’re Confident, Share It

Shortly after the blackout, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reassured the New Orleans community that hosted the Super Bowl, reflecting that the power outage would not hurt their chances for hosting future Super Bowls. Goodell stated, “I fully expect that we will be back here for Super Bowls.”

Lesson: Do not fake confidence. However, if you have confidence in people, processes or communities, reveal that confidence promptly.

4. A Failure to Some is Opportunity to Others

The blackout was not bad for everyone.  4 minutes after the blackout started, most of the 108 Million people watching the game were still trying to figure out what happened. According to Twitter Ads, enterprising individuals were already bidding on advertising for the search term, “power outage”.

Lesson: When bad things happen, ask, “what is the opportunity?”

We may not know exactly what caused the blackout, but we know there are lessons from the experience. The next time you experience a blackout of your own, remember these lessons and see how you can best serve your stakeholders in the time of need.

There are many leadership lessons in Les Misérables. This is one reason I’ve been a fan of the story in it’s many iterations, including the original novel by Victor Hugo, the Broadway production and other productions. After seeing the recent movie release, I decided to capture and share some of these leadership lessons with you:

Fantine’s Orphaned Daughter, Cosette.

Lesson 1: As a leader, your inaction is as important as your actions

In Les Misérables, Fantine is fired by the foreman who is jealous she has not accepted his sexual advances. Fantine does nothing wrong, but is falsely accused by coworkers. As a result, when leading character Jean Valjean leaves resolving the accusations to his foreman, Fantine is thrown out on the street. This begins Fantine’s downward spiral, ultimately leading to her death which leaves her child without a parent.

Lesson for Leaders: Be careful what you delegate. You must be willing to accept the consequences – however tragic. Jean Valjean does. He ultimately finds Fantine’s orphaned child and raises her, as his own.

Lesson 2: As a leader, you are accountable for the ethics and morals of your people

In the same scene, we see the foreman frequently molests female workers in Valjean’s factory. Yet Valjean delegates matters to him as though he can be trusted. It seems clear to everyone in the factory but Valjean that the foreman should not be trusted. Valjean’s character is strong, but his judgement of his foreman is lacking.

Lesson: You are accountable for everyone you hire and supervise. Only hire the most ethical and moral individuals. Know the character of those you are accountable for. Valjean did not and it had dire consequences.

Lesson 3: As a leader, you must deal with uncertainty

In Les Misérables, Police official Javert struggles to comprehend Jean Valjean, who does not fit his “black and white” view of the world. Valjean, who was imprisoned for stealing food for his starving family, shows Javert that not all convicts are bad people. This does not fit Javert’s simplistic views. Ultimately, Javert can’t handle this realization and commits suicide to free himself from an uncertainty he cannot handle.

Lesson: Taking a leadership role means you must deal with issues that do not have a clear and concise answer. This is often why issues escalate to you – the answer is not clear. Accept this and make the best decision you can, with the information you have.

Jean Valjean in Prison Garb

Lesson 4: For strength, leader, look to your Faith

Facing persecution and rejection at every turn after being released from prison, Valjean is saved by a priest. The priest gives him all the silver and gold he has, explaining (movie version), “you must use this gold to become an honest man. I have saved your soul for God”.  The rest of the story is one about forgiveness, salvation and grace. Valjean finds his strength throughout in his faith, as do several other characters.

“My soul belongs to God, I know. I made that bargain long ago. He gave me hope, when hope was gone. He gave me strength to journey on.” – Jean Valjean

Lesson: As a leader, you will face challenges and dark days. You will regret some decisions. This is a burden of leadership. Your faith will give you strength to journey on.

Of course, there could be many more lessons within these scenes and others. Which were you favorite leadership lessons from Les Misérables?

Question: What other leadership lessons do you find in Les Misérables? Leave a comment here.

Before the printing press, leadership was personal, but suffered the constraint of scale. Military power was the only way to achieve large capacity. That form of leadership was localized. It was about power and control.

The printing press arrived and enabled mass broadcasting. Finally, the masses could read the words of their leader directly. Still, the communication was one way. Leaders depended on others to interpret and relay communication back from the masses. The people had no way of communicating directly back to the leader. The dominant form of leadership remained power and control.

Enter social media and the era of mass dialogue in leadership. Now, the masses finally have a way to get their  message heard directly, back to the leader. The message is heard, for it can not be denied. Now, the dominant form of leadership is about service.

How Mass Dialogue Works

It’s simple really. Leaders and followers can now conduct a mass dialogue for the first time in history. Here’s how it works:

1. The leader makes a decision or takes an action
2. The masses react – in many different ways
3. Reactions are captured across many social platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and more)
4. The most popular reactions – both for and against, rise to the top through votes, shares, likes, +1′s etc.
5. The leader can not deny the most obvious feedback

Response to Feedback

To be certain, the leader still decides how to react to the feedback – if at all. In fact, some of the best leaders must not adopt the strongest feedback. Leadership means making tough calls that are unpopular at times. Regardless, the leader can no longer deny awareness of the feedback.

This is why dictatorial nations, like China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea block or heavily censor the Internet and therefore social media usage. These leaders persist in part due to their ability to control the masses and prevent popular sentiment uprising.

Leadership Implications

You now have a choice: participate in the mass dialogue or ignore it. One is the path of democracy. The other, dictatorship.

Question: What type of leader will you be? Leave a comment by clicking here .