5 Traits of Ineffective Leadership

Over the years I have encountered many people in leadership positions who are totally ineffective. Why? Is it because they are not bright, not passionate presenters, and or not able to build strong relationships? Generally these characteristics alone do not condemn one to a lifetime of ineffectiveness. In fact, the Ineffective Leader could be very bright, articulate and benevolent or well liked but still ineffective. How can that be, and why do Ineffective Leaders not know they are ineffective? The answer is that many leaders are confused as to what leadership is. Leadership does not always require rendering opinions or stating ideas with confidence in meetings, nor is it an acquired organizational position. There are many people in leadership positions that effectively communicate ideas but do nothing. They communicate doom and gloom, creating a culture of crisis, indicating that a disaster is pending and all need to fight to survive but they never lead the fight. That burns employees out, and the Ineffective Leaders go on their unsuccessful ways, never communicating the solution. If you build an army of 100 lions and their leader is a dog, in any fight the lions will die like a dog. But if you build an army of 100 dogs and their leader is a lion, all dogs will fight like a lion. Napoleon Bonaparte

#1: Renders Opinions

Ineffective Leaders render opinions as truths and give lengthy explanations that only confuse. These Ineffective Leaders try to figure things out as they explain the details. Rendering opinions does not convey leadership, yet there are workplace cultures that promote the statements of ideas as leadership. An opinion that is not well thought out has little to no support and followers unfortunately may see no value in it. Ineffective Leaders do not create inspired followers, only chaos. A concrete example of this is an organization that is creating a Flex Plan for employees. The Ineffective Leader gives an opinion as to how the plan should be implemented. A wonderful power point is presented and guidelines written. At the conclusion of the presentation, a VP says that his department is not going to accept it and they cannot utilize a flex plan given employee’s duties and schedules. Another VP says it is the same for her department as well, while another VP says that it is ok with me, my people want a flex plan (organizational chaos). A person in a leadership position can take a great idea and twist and destroy it until what is left is demotivated staff. Leadership is not a position: it is a sequence of behaviors that focuses others to want to work together to accomplish achievable goals. Ineffective Leaders render opinions but never solicit input and, hence waste not only their own time, but that of the organization as well. An Ineffective Leader renders an opinion and rarely follows through with concrete action. “The death of objectivity relieves me of the obligation to be right; it demands only that I be interesting.” Michiko Kakutani

#2: Promotes Conflict

Some leaders thrive on letting direct reports fight it out and, in fact, promote conflicts among employees. They just pit employees against each other, and the followers vie for the Ineffective Leaders attention and recognition. That undermines not only teamwork but also professionalism. This scenario has one employee complaining about other employees to peers and boss. Ineffective Leaders promote this environment because they really never have to lead. “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality” Dante Alighieri. When faced with such a situation, very educated employees revert back to high school behaviors, cliques and name-calling. Ineffective Leaders want to place themselves as the center of attention by getting employees pitted against each other. Ineffective Leaders are not afraid of encouraging conflict; they promote it and use it as a smoke screen to cover their own incompetence.

#3: Absence of a Clear Goal

Ineffective Leaders take action before they know where they are going. Who would get in a car at 9:00am with no destination in mind, drive around all day and stop at 5 :00pm very tired, having used up all the car’s gas? What was accomplished? With this approach to work, how do the Ineffective Leaders advance in an organization without clear and achievable goals? This is exactly what many people do, going to back-to-back meetings all day. What are their achievable goals and work product? Rendering opinions, producing nothing, doing little to advance the organization through clarity of vision, not establishing better ways to do work, and not encouraging productive work achieves NOTHING. Meetings are a great alternative to work! Ultimately an Ineffective Leader never focuses on the goal nor takes action until something happens…. but who knows what that action will be.

#4: Taking Action No One Believes In

Ineffective Leaders go to meetings and pontificate without allowing employees to agree or disagree. Ineffective Leaders focus on their message and do not include nor engage employee feedback. When at that singular instance they do ask questions no one tells them the truth because the employees know from past experience that the leader does not really care what they say. The employees do not really voice opinion until they go to the bathroom or the break room, and then say what is on their mind. Ineffective Leaders will take no action at all because they do not really want to listen to employees’ suggestions. What a waste of time, talent, and money. Stop to think how much money is in a meeting by adding the hourly rates of each person in attendance to that meeting. Then ask what is the return on equity based on the lack of synergistic leadership in the meeting. Here is a great example. A company wants to be the largest research organization in the northeast so the Ineffective Leaders decide to merge (take over) competitors, thinking that bigger is better. They then get caught in chaos because they have out run their financial resources. Why did that occur? The Ineffective Leaders did not ask the right questions nor listen to their internal financial advisors and took action without a strategic and measured plan (ready – fire – aim: what did we hit?). This is reminiscent of “The Bizarro World version of Dante’s “Inferno,” where arrogance, acquisitiveness and the sowing of discord are not sins, but attributes of leadership; a place where lies, contradictions and outrageous remarks spring up in such thickets that the sort of moral exhaustion associated with bad soap operas quickly threatens to ensue”. Michiko Kakutani August 25, 2016

Ineffective Leaders know what is best for the organization. Great leaders inspire followers to want to do more and bad leaders are energy drainers. Ineffective Leaders aim without identifying the target. Sometimes, the target that is hit can generate at best intermittent financial gains, and at worst loss of talent, low work production, and financial disaster.

#5: Live in the Past

Ineffective Leaders do not understand that success is based on today’s ability to resonate with paying clientele. What is driving the workplace of multiple generations is not just time on task and work production based on the past but what people are willing to pay for a product or service. The American traditions (myths) of working hard to get ahead, getting good grades to get a great job, and putting in the time to be recognized by upper management are now more fabrication than fact!

You can work very hard and be taken advantage of by Ineffective Leaders! Put in your time and do a great job and your boss will not let you get promoted – stay where you are to do the job the Ineffective Leader needs you to do. Ineffective Leadership favors for the status quo by staying focused on the successes of the past.

If you do work for an Ineffective Leader, all is not lost (you are not in Hell). What follows is a Coping Plan for working with an Ineffective Leader:

· Remain Calm (remove the emotion)

· Create a career plan for yourself

· Give yourself daily/weekly goals based on job responsibilities

· Give yourself recognition for accomplishments

· Network and network (and then some!)

· Look for opportunities, know your abilities, and have the desire to advance

· Stay focused on what you want from the workplace and be realistic

· Understand the characteristics of the Ineffective Leader and vow to never replicate them in your won career

Summary: Ineffective Leaders have permeated the workplace because they are smooth talkers. They have tied their lasso around a rising star and followed that star. Do not be discouraged, stay the course and have confidence in your abilities. If you find yourself questioning your ability to lead and follow, identify and achieve goals, and inspire others, you probably are on your way to being an Effective Leader. Leaders intellectually struggle to understand concepts of effective leadership. You can use the incompetence of the Ineffective Leader as teaching lessons and learning how NOT to lead. Take these reflections with you in your new endeavors!

5 Tips for Identifying Fake Leaders

What is a Fake Leader (FL)? It is someone disguised as a person in a leadership position who focuses on self and not the organization or ultimate good of people. It’s someone caught in minutia and is incapable of seeing the big picture, someone who misses the needed day-to-day facts to support growth and well being of people and the organization. A person in a leadership position, who renders opinions without substance, does not inspire followers to achieve a vision, nor inspire followers to want to work together as a team. Fake Leaders talk a good game and produce very little. They are focused on self, money, and self-aggrandizement. They confuse a vision of hope with threatening statements and forecast a better place for followers through half-truths and retracted statements, with promises that we will be told the rest of the story in a few days.

Fake Leaders can speak in sound bites motivating the audience to await outcomes that will never occur. People mistakenly think the Fake Leaders are people of conscientiousness but slowly they reveal their hubris only wanting self-satisfaction and pleasure. Civility a formal politeness that leaders may demonstrate as role models for social convention is not part of the Fake Leaders tool box.

Leadership, manifests through the actions of a person on any level. Effective leaders help us to have clarity of the future, and support us in achieving that future. They are motivators who help us get through the mundane, and pain of the present and they support followers in wanting to work together to achieve a better future. More importantly true authentic leaders inspire us collectively to want to work together and help each other to achieve a brighter future and new places of human exploration.

The following 5 Tips for Identifying Fake Leaders (FLs) are based on my many years of observation in my work in national and international corporations and, as of late, leaders on the national level. As you read the 5 Tips, sit back and hear the leaders talking with you about how they lead and their fake rhetoric. Use the 5 Tips as a Scorecard and compare people in leadership positions against the Fake Leaders and then with the Successful and Authentic Leaders. Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones who are led by a Successful and Authentic Leader!

Tip #1There are no Facts or Truth

Tell people what they want to hear without any knowledge of facts. Tell them anything so they believe in a great tomorrow that will never come. Tell them so they cheer for you in the belief you will take them to a better place or offer suggestions of well being. Over the centuries there have been leaders who were able to rally people to take action that was not in their best interests but they took the action because the Fake Leaders, charlatans, disguised themselves as caring human beings with an ability to achieve all that they promised. I will give you want you want by telling you about it. I will create the proverbial carrot and stick routine without ever producing results. Promising anything without any tangle results produces nothing but useless aspiration of dreams that were never real. Hope is a tangible reality with direction while a daydream is wasted words. Hope becomes a reality through the support of a clear vision, evidence, and actions of both the leaders and followers to fulfill the promise of Hope. Facts are concrete action points that can fulfill the hope people want and need. What a terrible thing it is to lose hope based on empty, long winded, and unfounded promises from Fake Leaders.

Tip #2 Impulsivity

Impulsivity appeals to the raw instinct because people want to believe in the Fake Leader’s capabilities to achieve greatness. Impulsivity is based on the spontaneous thoughts of any moment usually lacks reason and truth. The Fake Leader makes irreverent comments and states unfounded truths that deflect from self on to an identified person projecting evil. That person then, becomes the patsy, the cause of all ills. These Fake Leaders revert to the language of the street so that they can be perceived as common folk representing us and addressing our anger and mitigating our frustrations. The followers want to believe these Fake Leaders can bring about change but that will never occur. FLs are great at portraying themselves as representing the common folk when in essence they only are satisfying their own selfish needs of power given to them through the acceptance of the common folk who have swallowed the foul stench of half-truths covered in chocolate. Impulsivity becomes a mantle to motivate those in such need of change that they believe without rational thought, no premeditation of a plan, no calm, no deliberate consideration, just a resulting chaos. Impulsivity also is the enemy of attention-focused achievement and its correlate, attention to detail, accurate historical perspective and plan development. The impulsive statements have no fortitude, no timetable for implementation and no basis in fact.

Tip #3 Stability

Stability is the key to leaders who create the steady course of change and direction. There have been many examples of leaders who create stability from chaos. FLs create more chaos from the chaotic situation of the present. Fake Leaders thrive on chaos and call it organized and clarity of leadership knowing that it does not represent nor fulfill what was or will be expected. Fake Leaders create such unstable environments that the second tier of leaders realizing they have been placed in untenable situations find themselves having to chose between failure or leaving, vote with their feet and leave. Or the Fake Leader, who creates the untenable and chaotic environment, relieves the second tier leaders of their duties and blames them for the unorganized mess. This is a mere distraction from the truth that the narcissistic Fake Leader justifies by ridiculing and dismissing the now emotionally depleted fallen second tier leader.

Tip#4 Exaggerated Results

Fake Leaders love to exaggerate their own personal successes. They will tell followers how good they are, how they have created success and how they single handedly have accomplished so much. They take the successes and accomplishments from others and exploit their fake success. They forget that the only reason they are successful is because of others. While exaggerating success, they also act tough even though they have never placed themselves in a given difficult situation. They are politically savvy and capable of telling a story of accomplishments never achieved. FLs ridicule and create simplistic mantras upon which they can be known. The problem is the mantras are based on their half-truths without foundation to solicit support from the naïve person who wants to believe s/he can do what they said they could do. By the time the Fake Leader is found out it is too late: they are entrenched in their cocoon of lies and deceit continuing to attack others as fast as they can. In today’s technically driven workplace, it is possible to continue to spew lies and half-truths hastily bypassing the hard work of negotiating, following through and measuring successes and greatness. But technology will be the verifier to show their half-truths as fake truths. FLs don’t have to measure success because they create innuendo, and quickly move from topic-to-topic and person-to-person with continual distraction from staying the course of action and success. FLs never demonstrate the ability to work down in the trenches that eventually cause success. Because they have to stay ahead of the questioning body of followers the FLs continue to attack past leaders as the reason for today’s failures even when it is clear too much time has elapse and past leaders are no longer the logical reason for failure.

Tip #5 Applying Successes from Unrelated Situations. Applying successes from unrelated situations is not a reason to expect future success. A man who is an effective stockbroker may not be an effective speechwriter or architect. Those are different professions. A Fake Leader who runs an organization as a sole proprietor may not be able to transition to a charismatic leader who is an influencer and caring person. An ogre may have a tough time getting other leaders to follow and only stop when threats impose the greater risk than taking unfounded action. What causes leaders to be successful? How should we measure success? The cause of success is not the ability to tell me I am going to be successful rather it is outcome based. Success factors are important milestones for all to follow and utilize in understanding if a leader is a success or failure. Another measure of effective leadership is to ask followers if they want to follow this leader? If a follower’s life depended on it would they follow the Fake Leader into battle knowing their life and the lives of family members depended on it. The FL will tell you it will be great, it will be the best, but what past successes can they give as examples. Usually NONE!

The 5 Fake Leader traits and characteristics can allow you to identify Fake Leaders. Fake Leadership is all about the leader taking advantage through half-truths, schmoozing, emotional arrogance, and intimidation.

With all of the leadership training and the billions of dollars that go into that training, why do we still have people in leadership positions that exhibit Fake Leadership? With the changing emotional times people are frustrated and have no place to turn so the spewing charlatan (Fake Leaders) pontificate half-truths find an opening in their disenchantment and validate the discontent with distortions and fabrications. Through out history there have been Fake Leaders who have decimated the resources of human kind until good people rise up against them. In contrast, what does an Authentic Leader do?

Authentic Leaders – #1: Analyze the Situation

Authentic Leaders are reliable, trustworthy, realistic and accurate. Authentic Leaders observe others who are role models and acquire the skills needed to be a leader. Authentic Leaders start by examining the whole picture not bits and pieces of a situation. Fake Leaders start by taking action before knowing the whole picture, emotionally responding with bits and pieces to address a situation (band aides). Authentic Leaders take the time needed to understand and know the situation and consequences for taking action. Authentic Leaders create an awareness of the situation and what actions are needed to create calm, fix, resolve, and or address what has occurred. Reflecting on outcomes Authentic Leader understand consequences of leadership actions and next step solutions. Authentic Leaders understand their own emotions, abilities and biases in leading and are able to overcome quick ineffective actions.

Authentic Leaders – #2: Set A Tone

Authentic Leaders realize they set a tone and emotion that followers assume and replicate. Many times second tier leaders take on the characteristics of the leader because their belief is this is how I need to act to be successful. The actual outcome is the absence of respect and distain for the Fake Leader’s followers. Authentic Leaders set a tone that creates trust, which is the cohesive adhesive that holds people and leaders together as one team. Trust is fact based with follow through actions toward achievement, which set a tone of leadership. Trust is a history of people working together and communicating thoughts and feelings, and taking or not taking action to achieve a common goal. It does not take long for observers and followers to either have trust or the absence of trust with regard to a leader. The opposite of trust is not mistrust it is the absence of trust. I have no mistrust with the person if we have no history (just met). Trust = doing what you say. Trust = showing that you are capable and the Authentic Leader (AL) has trust in you and followers in the Authentic Leader’s ability to perform. Leadership must be built on mutual trust. Trust is an outcome of doing what you say based on facts, care and supporting the facts in achieving the promises that were given. Trust begins by the Authentic Leader setting the right tone.

Authentic Leaders – #3: Focused Attention

Attention by leaders is shown by a concentration and fulfillment of a project, topic, or promise. It is completeness and dedication to fulfilling what was said and or promised. Authentic Leaders listen to themselves and have a commitment to connect with others and follow through. They demonstrate care and compassion through the communication connection of listening and working toward accomplishing what they said they would do. They listen with their eyes and ears. The Authentic Leaders listen to what is and is not said and guide the discussion in a productive and learning way. They listen to motivate direct reports. Effectively listening is motivating to followers because the followers knows they are being listened to and that their ideas, when possible, will be implemented. When you see a great deal of turnover, you know that people realize the leader is Fake.

Authentic Leaders – #4: Have the ability to Discern

Leaders who have the ability to understand the present situation are capable of knowing what action to take. They understand the actions to take because they are students of the past, present, and future. They intuitively know what is needed and how to address the situation. They understand the history of leadership and can flexibly meet the challenges moving forward in an action-oriented plan that meets the need to solve the present moving toward the future. Authentic Leaders move from the chaos to clarity rather than dealing with the chaos and thriving on chaotic empty promises.

Authentic Leaders – #5: Communicate Clearly

Authentic Leaders are Influencers, who are capable of having people adopt their ideas because of truth, trust, discernment, character, and are role models for the majority of followers. Being able to communicate effectively so that people respect you is critical to being an Authentic Leader. Authentic Leaders have a clear message and that message does not need to be clarified or managed by second tier leaders. An Inclusive leader is not a deceitful, myopic leader with little to offer once empty promises are exposed. As opposed to Fake Leader who underestimates the difficulty of the present situation and overestimate their abilities to be a leader. Authentic Leaders assess the situation and realize the difficulty and speak with clarity and truth for the well-being of followers.

Keep a Scorecard on leaders and measure them against the truth, inclusively and what is best for all. How do your leaders rate? The next time you have the opportunity to observe leaders, rate them and see where they score: Fake or Authentic Leader. Then, you have a decision to make as to whom you want to follow!

The 7 Habits of Very Unsuccessful People

Lots of people go to work with a positive attitude, thinking they will accomplish a great deal. Leaving work, however, the same people are thinking of all the things they did not get to. Stress builds when these same people start thinking about all they have to do tomorrow, in addition to what they didn’t finish today! The next day is filled with meetings, people stopping to talk, spouse wanting to go to dinner and an early soccer game they must attend because of missing the last one (due to work). Negative thoughts creep in: “this is ridiculous, others don’t work as hard as I do, the boss dumps all the stuff on my desk, meetings are a waste of time.” The spiral down thinking starts and repeats over and over again: “I need to reduce my stress – maybe buy one of those positive thinking books…but I won’t have the time to read it!” What to do, what to do? Here’s an idea: let’s all think negatively and give in to our stress dysfunction. All you need to do is to follow these 7 habits of very unsuccessful people. It is guaranteed that if you will follow these 7 habits you will make a bad situation worse and will alienate those positive successful people who do exist in the workplace. Allow yourself to be the worst person in your workplace, and you won’t have to worry any longer about getting up and going into work each day! Of course, you could look at these 7 habits and do the opposite, focusing on doing what is right and following the suggestions in the summary. But, hey, why bother? You didn’t want this job anyway. (Hope you get a chuckle out of this post….

Unsuccessful Habit #1: Be Negative

Let people know why something will not work. Focus on the key reasons you have seen it fail in the past. Make sure you jump to conclusions and talk like a visionary who is capable of seeing future disasters that will occur by implementing this ridiculous idea that management has come up with. Minify all of the good things that could or might occur and magnify all of the possible negative outcomes. Make statements like “that will never work; we tried that at my last company or five years ago; we don’t have the time; people will never buy in.” Use phrases such as “everything went wrong; the entire project got screwed up; and all of the work that was done was bad.” That is a great way to alienate people that you work with. If you are truly successful people will avoid you!

Make sure you exaggerate all the negative things that could possible occur so you are presenting the negative facts within the workplace. If anyone says you are negative just say, “that’s what’s wrong with the organization: when someone tells the truth they get penalized” (justify all that you say as the truth).

Unsuccessful Habit #2: Agree to everything and do nothing

The beauty of this habit is you will get people to like you. Everyone will see you as a team player. You will go to meetings and everyone will enjoy your company and your friendliness. You will get on the fast track for promotion because you will be on committees and project groups and agree with everyone. You will be seen as the businessperson in the organization that everyone likes. BUT do nothing! The best and greatest alternative to work is going to meetings and agreeing with everyone, and offering opinions but doing nothing. There are many executives who have gotten promoted this way; those poor hard working people who actually produce quality work in an efficient way get no credit (just higher expectations).

Unsuccessful Habit #3: Complain

Learn to gripe about the little things at first. Don’t make your complaints too loud or too often. You have to get a group swell. Go to lunch with people and begin to feel them out. Listen to what they have to say and systematically complain about the work, the boss, or having too much to do. That is a good way to build your disgruntled team. Remember, slow but sure will do it as you build your disgruntled team. Do not begin to complain about everyone until you have your group of complainers together and unified in their complaints. There is nothing better than to go to lunch every day and complain. Call you team “The Stink Team: we stand up for employees’ rights and feelings. We are the team that tells the truth and we are mad, and not going to take any more! Want to go to lunch with us?”

Unsuccessful Habit #4: Be Indecisive

DO NOT make decisions. If you start making decisions, people will think you are in charge or have potential as a leader. You do not want people to think you can make a decision, or follow through and get work done on time, because you have too much to do. You must continue to say you are overworked and don’t get paid to make decisions. Being indecisive is a gift. You can sit back and make statements like, “that is their decision and I had nothing to do with it.” “That decision will never work we tried the same thing two years ago.” “That decision will die, just do nothing and you will see management will forget about it.” Being indecisive is a great way to sit back and watch people work and try to make changes, compete in the workplace, and make the budget work. Indecisives also keep changing their mind about things. “Let’s do the assessments on the management team; but wait it is not in the budget so we cannot do that now. I am being forced to make cut backs and changes even though I had nothing to do with it.”

Unsuccessful Habit #5 Blame

Learn how to blame-storm often. Learn to blame others for their incomplete work. “I was waiting for the financial reports or IT just did not get it done on time and that’s why my report was not done on time.” Slowly blame others for the incomplete work or work that is not done at all. Blame the boss! Blaming the boss is just like blaming your parents when you were a teenager. This is like riding a bike: it will come naturally to you. The best way to blame is to quietly go behind the boss’ back and make comments like: “that decision makes no sense; we do not have it in the budget, and that is why we had to let three people go in our department. They want to make more money so they cut the positions and gave us more to do while they make more money. Incompetent people who don’t know what they are doing run this company.”

Unsuccessful Habit #6: Be Super Agreeable

You will agree with anything anyone says. Learn to schmooze in the right way and you will advance in your organization. This is a career builder if you learn to be good at it. Sit back and wait for people to say things in a meeting. Quickly copy down the best of the ideas. After the meeting is over go to the boss and give the boss the ideas that you think are good so your boss can present them as his/her own. Agree with your boss’ suggestions no matter what; this is the best way to build your career. Better yet, next week in the meeting, bring up the same idea you heard from your boss last week and agree with it. Some people may even think it is your original idea. Learn to agree and you will be seen as a high potential employee. Learn to agree to advance your career.

Unsuccessful Habit #7 Know it All

Let everyone know your ideas and what you have done in the past. Talk about what a great job you did and the results you got from all of your work. Analyze and scrutinize the work of others and make yourself indispensible as a thought provoker. Make sure you voice opinions in meeting and go off on tangents. Sabotage other people by letting your boss know what is wrong with decisions others have made. Don’t sit back! Stand up for your rights and speak you mind; after all, you have years of experience with the company and people need to hear what you have to say. You are the best one who knows all that goes on and you are smart enough to let everyone know just that.

So there you have 7 Tried and True Methods to Be Unsuccessful; yet, these sabotaging traits may work. So what you now have is a way to make your work place psychological unhealthy. It is up to you to proceed and make others suffer while you advance.

You are not buying that these habits could work? In that case, let’s refocus toward the right way to work in and help create a psychologically healthy workplace.

Successful Habits

Following are positive suggestions to make the workplace better:

Successful Habit #1: No Emotions

Relax – don’t get emotional; stay focused and centered on doing your job and fulfilling responsibilities; be someone others can rely on

Successful Habit #2: Find the Facts

Minimize the impact to self and others by negative people, look for the facts and evidence that support any actions or thoughts you have

Successful Habit #3: Create Positive Outcomes

Know the action you can take to remain in control; think of a positive outcome based on challenging negative thinking (stop the spiral down thinking to focus on positive outcomes); find the good!

Successful Habit #4: Rationalize

Don’t react, but rationalize; look for the evidence to back up your thinking. If you think you are the only one, talk with others and find the truth. Stop the thinking that everything happens to only you. Everyone has a story; you can find people in worse situations than you.

Successful Habit #5: Realize that Conflicts are Healthy

Know what the one thing is that you can do to resolve any given conflict. Conflicts are part of life. Without conflict, creative thinking would stop and everyone would be thinking in a box. Conflict is healthy and an effective way to share insights. When conflicts are resolved, relationships are stronger than before. However, ensure that your conflict resolution is completed in a positive manner.

Successful Habit #6: Focus on the Future

Stay balanced, and focused on the future, not solely on the problem. Too many times, people focus on the problem, making it insurmountable and not focusing on the future and the bigger picture. Stay focused on the outcome you want, not the obstacle that is presently in front of you. Obstacles can be removed: do not loose sight of what you want and need to accomplish.

Successful Habit #7: Acceptance

Acceptance – be mindful of “the what and why” of present. What is it that is really going on?

Focus on Goals – take action to accomplish goals; don’t stay focused on the problem

Take appropriate action – don’t overreact. Be aware of your emotions and the emotions of others

In Summary

The successful habits are specific ways to deal with each of the unsuccessful habits. Develop a positive course of action and you will have a positive and happy outcome.

Leading Across Generations: Are You Ready?

What does it mean to work with a generation? What is a generation? A generation is generally understood as people who were born in a similar time frame, who have experienced similar life situations, share similar views, attitudes and maybe values which differ from other generations. Great events, traumatic events and unique situations define our experiences and alter out thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Examples of such accounts can include WWI, Depression, bombing of Pearl Harbor, WWII, Korean War, Polio vaccination, assassinations of the Kennedys and King, Walk on the Moon, Vietnam War, computer revolution, Twin Towers, shootings in schools, Super bowls, Presidential elections, special New Years Eve parties and so on. My grandmother grew up in the depression and was concerned about such things as lights being on in a room that no one was in and running the water full blast – and to me, these seem inconsequential, even trivial. The events such as those listed above can influence us in positive and negative ways and in the way we think about other nationalities and religions, the workplace, values on how we parent, use of technologies, education, the value we place on others, and even how we try to protect ourselves.

I remember a time when a traveler could walk through an airport leisurely to get to the gate just in time to board a plane. I remember a time when teachers would hand out mimeograph paper tests, when typewriters had a ball, answering machines had tapes, Kodak cameras were used and children learned to write in cursive with a pencil. These are all the things today’s children will not likely experience. Change is occurring quickly and technology is replacing workers and those that remain are required to have new skill sets.

Definitions of The Five Generations

The following are the five generations in the workplace that overlap or will do so in the workplace.

Traditionalist Characteristics

(Also called the Silent Generation)

(1922-1945)

2% of the work force

Respect for rules/authority
Conformity
Loyal
Hard worker
Dedicated/disciplined
Frugal

Boomer Characteristics

(Parents primarily Traditionalists)

(1946-1964)

29% of the work force

Personal gratification
More conventional
Competitors/innovators
Silent generation/individualism
Optimism
Workaholics/achievement driven

Generation X Characteristics

(Parents primarily Boomers)

(1965-1980)

34% of the work force

Entrepreneurs/autonomy
Self-reliant/productive
Realist
Fun
Informal/adaptable
Results oriented

Generation Y Characteristics

(Also called the Millennial Generation)

(Parents primarily Boomers and Gen Y)

(1981-1997)

34% of the work force

Achievement oriented
Socially conscience
Optimistic
Confident/comfortable with change
Respect for Diversity
Tech Savvy

Generation Z Characteristics

(Parents primarily Gen Y and Gen X)

(1995 – present)

1% of the work force

Homeland generation
Tech savvy
Creative/Socially connected
Collaborative
Not in the workforce

(Labor Force Composition by Generation, Pew Research Center

May 11, 2015, pweresearch.org)

When we arrive at the year 2020, the above five generations will be working together. We will have an aging workforce with Gen Z arriving and wanting in to work with the other four generations. We need to understand each generation to better recruit, develop, and retain our multi-generational talent pool.

Who will be our leaders in 2020? Who will be running for office and how many companies will go the way of the Kodak Camera, typewriters, and encyclopedia? What can we do to prepare for the five generations in the workplace? First, we must know the style of leadership each group will have.

Generational styles of leadership:

Traditionalist:

Top-down management; follow the military chain of command
Motivated by quiet feedback and their experiences; save money
Statement: your experience is respected here

Boomers:

Census management and micromanage
Motivated by perks and titles; spend money
Statement: you are important to our success

Generation X:

Competence is very important
Motivated by control of time, individual recognition, challenge, and flexibility
Statement: Do it your way

Generation Y:

Inclusive
Motivated by hardworking coworkers; appreciate concrete and specific recognition
Statement: you will be working with other bright and creative people.

Generation Z

Discussing what they want and need
Motivated by: getting what they want and newest technology
Statement: Do you have everything you need?

“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”

George Orwell, 1903-1950

Are You Ready?

The leadership challenge for each of us is to be ready for what is coming. Are you ready? We can look at some predictions for the future and these can give us some ideas of the multiple changes ahead, not only in the workplace, but in our own lives as well. Equipped with the knowledge of what most likely be coming will allow you to prepare and be ready for change.

In the workplace, customers will continue to demand faster, quicker, and more innovative products, delivery modes, and services (i.e. cars that drive themselves, drone delivery, and phones that will store and compile all data and give medical/mental health reports to doctors miles away). This, in turn, will create continual change in the workplace: if workers are not able to constantly change, they will be passed by and not be able to compete. Each day will need a WOW factor, routine will be a way of the past and more people will work from home creating a virtual workplace. This will drive competition to new levels: innovation and technology will compel people to be flexible and communicative leaders, capable of dealing with constant change by being prepared for anything and realizing most of what has been learned is not enough to be successful.

Leaders will need to understand that followership is much more important. Followers will be the ones who drive the workplace and need to be served, recognized, and placated to achieve the results needed to compete (all while the employees themselves demonstrate loyalty to developing their own careers by hop-scotching from one job to another). Leaders and employees doing the right things will be on a sliding scale to achieve profitability and economic drivers.

Are you ready for all of this? If you want to be a part of the future, you best get ready and jump on board – the train is not stopping at the station for long!

7 Habits of Lousy Leaders

Do you ever wonder how some people get promoted to a leadership position? Who did these people know to become a VP or Director in the organization? Billions of dollars are spent on training present and future leaders: there are special events for executives at prestigious universities, full day trainings for middle managers, but how is that benefiting the employees in the workplace? Executives get sent to warm places in the winter and cool places in the summer. How is that advancing the workplace and helping employees grow and develop? Who holds leaders accountable for follow-up debriefs or action plans from executive/partner/manager retreats and or full-day trainings? Have you ever had executives or managers come back to your office from a workshop, a retreat or a training session and relate what they learned and how it will make the workplace better for all? New supervisors want to start their careers and follow in the footsteps of the present leaders. What kind or role models are in the workplace today? There are some great leaders but those lousy leaders seem to overshadow them. With all the money spent on leadership training, one would think leaders would be: brilliant, philosophical, kind hearted, understanding, caring, competent, confident, people-oriented role models, and mentors who are compassionate. However, all too often we see lousy leaders who are self-oriented, greedy, who waste time in unproductive meetings, unable to appropriately give feedback and are only fair presenters who do not inspire. Many people in leadership positions think because they are knowledgeable they can lead. Here is the truth about lousy leaders.

The 7 Habits of Lousy Leaders (LLs) is based on my many years of interviews with Lousy Leaders. As you read the 7 habits, sit back and hear the leaders talking with you about how they lead. Use the 7 Habits as a Scorecard and compare your boss against the Lousy Leader and then with the Successful Leader. Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones who is led by a Successful Leader!

Lousy Leaders – Habit #1: Do Not Listen

LLs do not have the time to listen to what employees have to say. When people stop by their offices, they continue working on the computer but tell employees they can hear what they are saying. They don’t even look up and make eye contact; they just keep working on what they’re doing, interrupt and respond occasionally so the employees think they care. They tell people that they’re really busy and have to get something done in the next hour. That makes people feel bad about asking questions so they leave not getting all their points clarified. The LLs can then blame the employees when mistakes are made. People will get the message that the LLs don’t care and so they stop bothering them.

Lousy Leaders – Habit #2: Do not ask for Input

Do not ask questions or solicit input. Lousy Leaders need to show they are proud leaders and can make decisions on their own. Getting input from followers and peers slows the process down. After all they are the boss, the leader, the commander of the ship, so what could anyone tell them that they do not already know? They tell people what they want to hear and then they decide a course of action. LLs show and tell people their opinions are the best and most informed (what others have to say is not important). They are and will continue to be decisive and let people know what they think and that is the way it is. They remind followers all the time that if they do not follow the leaders’ pontifications there is only one solution: they were looking for a job when they found this one.

Lousy Leaders – Habit #3: Do not Trust Anyone

Trust is for suckers and the lousy leader was not born yesterday. The only ones they can really trust are themselves and others who think just like them. Trust is an emotion that gets people into trouble every day! They believe they are smart leaders and know exactly on whom to depend. Trust is a feeling and the lousy leaders cannot tolerate the warm and fuzzies in the workplace; they have a job to do and work needs to get done. Enough with the emotions! They want the employees to get to work: what they trust is making a profit!

Lousy Leaders – Habit #4: Do Not Develop Future Leaders: They Will Be Your Competition!

Make sure to focus on the Lousy Leaders – Me, and only on Me (LLs motto). Do not put time into developing future leaders who could possibly take the job they have or want. The LLs remember that they did it all on their own and there were no free handouts. Let people do it the old fashion way on their own without any help. After all, if they are any good they will figure it out just like the LL did. Cream rises to the top – just like the LLs. They had to struggle and come up the old fashioned way with hard work and long hours. Just because their boss may have left after few years ago and no one wanted the job has no bearing on what real leaders need to do.

Lousy Leaders – Habit #5: Do Not Encourage or Recognize Subordinates

When people are encouraged, they get motivated and do more. That means the LLs will need to do more to stay up with all the work they do because they are motivated. If LLs have a moderately performing group, they could blame them for a lot of the things that go wrong. A moderately performing team will meet the requirements that the CEO has laid out (stay under the radar). By not encouraging people, they will work hard to try and get approval from the LLs. Remember no one walks on water and the LLs do not want to give out too much praise and encouragement. If they encourage people to do more then “I” will need to step up and do more, dah. LLs already have put in long hard years and don’t need to do any more. After all, the other Directors and VPs don’t work any harder than they do and they leave early on Fridays, and get free parking: the LLs deserve just as much as other leaders (if not more).

Lousy Leaders – Habit #6: Tell People What To Do and By When

Employees are just an extension of the LLs. The LLs are the bosses and the ones who know the most. They and only they know how to do things the right way, the old fashion way without short cuts. If they give people a voice, they will be in interactive discussions all day long and who has time for that? Basically, employees are lazy and really do not care about the work: they just come to work for a paycheck. The LLs know the way things need to be done and no one needs to tell them anything about getting the work done. Their secretaries print their emails every day and then the LLs dictate responses to customers and employees. Their secretaries type all the responses and that is quick, efficient, and easy. The secretaries know how to use social media like tweets and linked in so they read them, respond so the LLs feel connected with those X and Y Generation people. With all that knowledge out there, people need to just do what the LL says to get the work out.

Lousy Leaders – Habit #7: Feedback, Why Use It?

Feedback is a waste of time. The only good thing about feedback is being able to tell employees all the things they are doing wrong. The point of feedback is only to justify giving a 3% raise each year to lazy employees who talk too much at lunch. What good does a performance appraisal do? Each year, all the managers and VPs get together and decide how much money to give out. Then they argue about who has the best or worst people and how to allocate money. Feedback is then fixed so bits and pieces of money can be paid out, but just enough so the employees don’t leave. Yeah they mope around for about a month, but then things get back to normal. LLs do what they need to do. Employees don’t get too upset because the LLs put out stories about competitors who are worse off than they are. This helps to keep employees in line.

AND ONE MORE THING: Going to meetings all day

Lousy leaders have back-to-back meetings all day. That keeps them busy and involved with everyone. They go to meetings to tell people what to do, ask questions that no one can really answer and let others know how to do their jobs. LLs only have to give opinions and really don’t have time for much more. Meetings are the greatest alternative for working and LLs are happy just attending meetings all day long. When the BIG bosses ask what they do, the LLs tell them they are in meetings all day long trying to keep the company going and don’t have time for any new projects! Come in early and start each day with meetings and end the day with a meeting. This also keeps the LLs too busy to meet with employees who want to drop in and discuss things. They have no time to discuss anything with anyone outside of the meetings they attend. Time is money and they need to be in meetings.

There you have 7 Tried and True Methods to be a Lousy Leader. What you now have is a way to make yourself into a LL role-model leader. Leadership is all about employees doing what you tell them and making sure they keep their mouths shut.

With all of the leadership training and the billions of dollars that goes into that training, why do we still have people in leadership positions that exhibit the 7 Habits of Lousy Leaders listed above? In contrast, what are the 7 Habits of Successful Leaders who truly are role models and have changed the course of the workplace? Let’s look at what Successful Leaders do.

Successful Leader – #1: Listening

Great leaders listen to connect with others. They listen with their eyes and ears. The leaders listen to what is and is not said and guide the discussion in ways that promote productive and learning. They listen to motivate direct reports. Listening effectively motivates direct reports because the direct report knows they are being listened to and that their ideas, when possible, will be implemented.

Successful Leader – #2: Ask for input

Asking employees relates to employee engagement. The more involved employees are in a project or the work, the more they want to see it succeed. Asking for input, effectively listening to the input, and if appropriate implementing the ideas from the input motivates employees. A leader asks and listens, involving employees in solutions, creative thinking and day-to-day work. Asking for input also gives the leader great insight into the level of thinking of the employees or peers with whom they are working. Listening to input is one of the best way leaders learn how to appropriately lead. Input from employees also will give leaders an idea of the level of employees’ knowledge, confidence, and passion: major characteristics in employee maturity and development.

Successful Leader – #3: Building Trust

Trust is the glue that holds organizations together. Trust is based on a history of two or more people working together and communicating thoughts and feelings, and taking or not taking action. Often in workshops, I ask participants if they trust me (people I have never met). Most people are polite and say yes. Then they ask me if I trust them, and I say NO… we have no history together. Another major point is that I have people ask if I distrust them. Again, I say NO. The opposite of trust is not mistrust. I have no mistrust with the person – we have no history. Trust = doing what you say. Trust = showing that you are capable and the Successful Leader has trust you can do the job. Leadership must be built on mutual trust.

Successful Leader – #4: Coaching New Leaders

Having an experienced person demonstrating, explaining, or encouraging the less experienced person on how to do something as a leader is what coaching is. Coaching opens lines of communication, supports the sharing between generations, lessens aloofness or distancing by the leader, and creates an interpersonal relationship. Coaching also is a sharing of history along with the experiences of the coach. Organizational and industry-related history is important to understanding the present, how the organization got where it is, and possibly where it is going to go.

To have either internal or external coaching also lets the followers (new leaders) know that they are supported and the Successful Leaders care about those employees’ careers and want them to succeed.

Successful Leader – #5: Giving Recognition

The loudest communication in your organization is the last person promoted into a leadership position. That promotion/recognition lets everyone know this is what is rewarded, how employees are expected to act, and is recognition for everyone to see. What is recognized, people will do. If you recognize and reward employees for being people oriented and knowledgeable, employees will start to move in that direction. If the person you promoted is knowledgeable but not a very good role model then people may start to act in that manner. Recognition is a motivator! Recognition has a more lasting effect than money. A raise or bonus is shorter-lived than recognition in front of the team or department. I had a leader once tell me he did not want to recognize anyone in particular because he was afraid of disenfranchising others on his team. Think about that, afraid to recognize success! Everyone is not a star. Recognition is an important part of the workplace and leaders need to have the courage to recognize people for their contribution.

Successful Leader – #6: Participatory Leadership

Teamwork is an essential aspect of success in the workplace. The old phrase “Two heads are better than one” has proven to have merit. Participatory leadership is an approach to building a team. Participators are leaders who involve followers, have open dialogues with followers about issues, concerns, direction, and what actions to take. Participators involve followers in the decision making process and coach and encourage input. There are many ways for participatory leaders to involve followers and support and help followers learn, grow and develop.

Successful Leader – #7: Giving feedback

Feedback is the best way to develop as a leader and develop followers. While giving feedback, a great deal can be learned about one’s own ability to observe, understand others and interpret and evaluate the actions of others. A way to look at feedback is that it is a way to feed the future (feed-forward). Imagine if I said to you that I want to give you some feed-forward information. That would force you to think about applying action for the future. Often when leaders say they are going to give employees feedback, the employees think about the past (usually something they did wrong!). The purpose of feedback is so something can be done about the future: a change in behavior, continuation of skills, or a new way of doing something. The key to giving feed-forward information is to support success and what the employee is doing right.

Well there you have it: a transformation from Lousy Leader to Successful Leader. Did you keep your Scorecard about your workplace leaders? How did your leaders rate? The next time you have the opportunity to observe leaders, rate them and see where they score: lousy or successful leader. Then, you have a decision to make!

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