Deck 11: Leadership and Influence Processes
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Deck 11: Leadership and Influence Processes
1
When to Stand on Your Head and Other Tips from the Top
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
All the opinions expressed by leaders in this case imply certain forms of leader behavior that would be consistent with them. Of these opinions, which are most consistent with job-centered leader behavior? Which are most consistent with employee-centered leader behavior?
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
All the opinions expressed by leaders in this case imply certain forms of leader behavior that would be consistent with them. Of these opinions, which are most consistent with job-centered leader behavior? Which are most consistent with employee-centered leader behavior?
From the case study given, the leaders who are most consistent with people centric behaviors are as mentioned below:
• JF, CEO of the publisher HC considers authors as most crucial to the company, and makes it a point to felicitate them at every important gathering.
• MN, at Boeing, had changed the old bonus system to a profit based system, which the employees can directly control, and hence their motivation level increased manifold.
• BG believes that people are their reason to excel.
From the case study given, the leaders who are most consistent with job centric behaviors are as follows:
• JD believes that leadership is synonymous to communication, because, in order to make people deliver service, communicating them is most important.
• JH, CEO of OTR, believes that employees must be well informed about the necessary changes in operation plan.
• JF, CEO of the publisher HC considers authors as most crucial to the company, and makes it a point to felicitate them at every important gathering.
• MN, at Boeing, had changed the old bonus system to a profit based system, which the employees can directly control, and hence their motivation level increased manifold.
• BG believes that people are their reason to excel.
From the case study given, the leaders who are most consistent with job centric behaviors are as follows:
• JD believes that leadership is synonymous to communication, because, in order to make people deliver service, communicating them is most important.
• JH, CEO of OTR, believes that employees must be well informed about the necessary changes in operation plan.
2
Exercise Overview
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Use the Internet to investigate Covey's background, training, and experience. Does the information that you've gathered give you any clues to Covey's attitudes and opinions about leadership? Do you see any connection between Covey's attitudes and the items on his quiz? Explain.
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Use the Internet to investigate Covey's background, training, and experience. Does the information that you've gathered give you any clues to Covey's attitudes and opinions about leadership? Do you see any connection between Covey's attitudes and the items on his quiz? Explain.
Not Answer
3
Would you want to work for Intel? Why or why not?
Yes, one would like to work for INL. That is mainly because it has some best leaders to work with. The person for whom one would like to work for is BN only. As he is not only the visionary, but could choose people who would exactly fit into the dreams of the company. Moreover, it is because he was almost a mind reader when it came to understanding the employee psychology. The frame of mind of each employee while doing a certain work was clear to him. It is because he could read whether the job is done for the person, or for the sake of the job.
Another reason is that, INL relies on the patterns of alternating leadership styles. The pros of this are, with every succeeding leader the shortcoming of the earlier one was made up. Again, in situations where two leaders operated parallel, the complimentary styles of leadership made sure that the company is jointly in the best hands.
Another reason is that, INL relies on the patterns of alternating leadership styles. The pros of this are, with every succeeding leader the shortcoming of the earlier one was made up. Again, in situations where two leaders operated parallel, the complimentary styles of leadership made sure that the company is jointly in the best hands.
4
Exercise Overview
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Visit the Fortune magazine website at www.fortune.com/fortune/quizzes/careers/boss_quiz.html. Take the leadership assessment quiz devised by management expert Stephen Covey. Then look at Covey's scoring and comments.
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Visit the Fortune magazine website at www.fortune.com/fortune/quizzes/careers/boss_quiz.html. Take the leadership assessment quiz devised by management expert Stephen Covey. Then look at Covey's scoring and comments.
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5
What are the situational approaches to leadership? Briefly describe each and compare and contrast their findings.
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6
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
In what ways would the managers agree or disagree with ideas presented in this course?
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
In what ways would the managers agree or disagree with ideas presented in this course?
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7
What activities do managers perform? What activities do leaders perform? Do organizations need both managers and leaders? Why or why not?
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8
Exercise Overview
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
In Shakespeare's play, of course, Henry's speech inspires his soldiers to almost impossible victory. You may or may not find it inspiring, but you should be able to see why audiences have long praised it as sufficiently stirring to account for such an improbable achievement. What elements of the speech do the most to make it inspirational? If you find the speech inspiring, explain why. If you don't, explain why not.
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
In Shakespeare's play, of course, Henry's speech inspires his soldiers to almost impossible victory. You may or may not find it inspiring, but you should be able to see why audiences have long praised it as sufficiently stirring to account for such an improbable achievement. What elements of the speech do the most to make it inspirational? If you find the speech inspiring, explain why. If you don't, explain why not.
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9
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe and evaluate your own interviewing style and skills.
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe and evaluate your own interviewing style and skills.
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10
Exercise Overview
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
What types of power does Henry exert in this speech? Give specific examples of each type.
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
What types of power does Henry exert in this speech? Give specific examples of each type.
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11
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe the interview settings. How long did the interview last?
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe the interview settings. How long did the interview last?
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12
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
How did your managers feel about having been interviewed? How do you know that?
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
How did your managers feel about having been interviewed? How do you know that?
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13
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
How did you locate the leader(s) and manager(s) you interviewed? Describe your initial contacts.
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
How did you locate the leader(s) and manager(s) you interviewed? Describe your initial contacts.
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14
Consider the following list of leadership situations. For each situation, describe in detail the kinds of power the leader has. If the leader were the same but the situation changed-for example, if you thought of the president as the head of his family rather than of the military-would your answers change? Why?
• The president of the United States is commander in chief of the U.S. military.
• An airline pilot is in charge of a particular flight.
• Fans look up to a movie star.
• Your teacher is the head of your class.
• The president of the United States is commander in chief of the U.S. military.
• An airline pilot is in charge of a particular flight.
• Fans look up to a movie star.
• Your teacher is the head of your class.
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15
Even though the trait approach to leadership has no empirical support, it is still widely used. In your opinion, why is this so? In what ways is the use of the trait approach helpful to those who use it? In what ways is it harmful to those who use it?
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16
What factors in Intel's environment contributed to its need for a "man of action" as CEO in the 1980s?
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17
Managerial Leader Behavior Questionnaire
Introduction: Leadership is now recognized as consisting of a set of characteristics that is important for everyone in an organization to develop. The following assessment surveys the practices or beliefs that you would apply in a management role-that is, your managerial leadership.
Instructions: The following statements refer to different ways in which you might behave in a managerial leadership role. For each statement, indicate how you do behave or how you think you would behave. Describing yourself may be difficult in some cases, but you should force yourself to make a selection. Record your answers next to each statement according to the following scale:
Rating Scale
5 Very descriptive of me
4 Fairly descriptive of me
3 Somewhat descriptive of me
2 Not very descriptive of me
1 Not descriptive of me at all
_______ 1. I emphasize the importance of performance and encourage everyone to make a maximum effort.
_______ 2. I am friendly, supportive, and considerate toward others.
_______ 3. I offer helpful advice to others on how to advance their careers and encourage them to develop their skills.
_______ 4. I stimulate enthusiasm for the work of the group and say things to build the group's confidence.
_______ 5. I provide appropriate praise and recognition for effective performance and show appreciation for special efforts and contributions.
_______ 6. I reward effective performance with tangible benefits.
_______ 7. I inform people about their duties and responsibilities, clarify rules and policies, and let people know what is expected of them.
_______ 8. Either alone or jointly with others, I set specific and challenging but realistic performance goals.
_______ 9. I provide any necessary training and coaching, or arrange for others to do it.
_______ 10. I keep everyone informed about decisions, events, and developments that affect their work.
_______ 11. I consult with others before making work-related decisions.
_______ 12. I delegate responsibility and authority to others and allow them discretion in determining how to do their work.
_______ 13. I plan in advance how to efficiently organize and schedule the work.
_______ 14. I look for new opportunities for the group to exploit, propose new undertakings, and offer innovative ideas.
_______ 15. I take prompt and decisive action to deal with serious work-related problems and disturbances.
_______ 16. I provide subordinates with the supplies, equipment, support services, and other resources necessary to work effectively.
_______ 17. I keep informed about the activities of the group and check on its performance.
_______ 18. I keep informed about outside events that have important implications for the group.
_______ 19. I promote and defend the interests of the group and take appropriate action to obtain necessary resources for the group.
_______ 20. I emphasize teamwork and try to promote cooperation, cohesiveness, and identification with the group.
_______ 21. I discourage unnecessary fighting and bickering within the group and help settle conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner.
_______ 22. I criticize specific acts that are unacceptable, find positive things to say, and provide an opportunity for people to offer explanations.
_______ 23. I take appropriate disciplinary action to deal with anyone who violates a rule, disobeys an order, or has consistently poor performance.
Introduction: Leadership is now recognized as consisting of a set of characteristics that is important for everyone in an organization to develop. The following assessment surveys the practices or beliefs that you would apply in a management role-that is, your managerial leadership.
Instructions: The following statements refer to different ways in which you might behave in a managerial leadership role. For each statement, indicate how you do behave or how you think you would behave. Describing yourself may be difficult in some cases, but you should force yourself to make a selection. Record your answers next to each statement according to the following scale:
Rating Scale
5 Very descriptive of me
4 Fairly descriptive of me
3 Somewhat descriptive of me
2 Not very descriptive of me
1 Not descriptive of me at all
_______ 1. I emphasize the importance of performance and encourage everyone to make a maximum effort.
_______ 2. I am friendly, supportive, and considerate toward others.
_______ 3. I offer helpful advice to others on how to advance their careers and encourage them to develop their skills.
_______ 4. I stimulate enthusiasm for the work of the group and say things to build the group's confidence.
_______ 5. I provide appropriate praise and recognition for effective performance and show appreciation for special efforts and contributions.
_______ 6. I reward effective performance with tangible benefits.
_______ 7. I inform people about their duties and responsibilities, clarify rules and policies, and let people know what is expected of them.
_______ 8. Either alone or jointly with others, I set specific and challenging but realistic performance goals.
_______ 9. I provide any necessary training and coaching, or arrange for others to do it.
_______ 10. I keep everyone informed about decisions, events, and developments that affect their work.
_______ 11. I consult with others before making work-related decisions.
_______ 12. I delegate responsibility and authority to others and allow them discretion in determining how to do their work.
_______ 13. I plan in advance how to efficiently organize and schedule the work.
_______ 14. I look for new opportunities for the group to exploit, propose new undertakings, and offer innovative ideas.
_______ 15. I take prompt and decisive action to deal with serious work-related problems and disturbances.
_______ 16. I provide subordinates with the supplies, equipment, support services, and other resources necessary to work effectively.
_______ 17. I keep informed about the activities of the group and check on its performance.
_______ 18. I keep informed about outside events that have important implications for the group.
_______ 19. I promote and defend the interests of the group and take appropriate action to obtain necessary resources for the group.
_______ 20. I emphasize teamwork and try to promote cooperation, cohesiveness, and identification with the group.
_______ 21. I discourage unnecessary fighting and bickering within the group and help settle conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner.
_______ 22. I criticize specific acts that are unacceptable, find positive things to say, and provide an opportunity for people to offer explanations.
_______ 23. I take appropriate disciplinary action to deal with anyone who violates a rule, disobeys an order, or has consistently poor performance.
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18
When to Stand on Your Head and Other Tips from the Top
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this case, whose company would you be most likely to invest in? Whose company would you be least likely to invest in? Explain your answers.
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this case, whose company would you be most likely to invest in? Whose company would you be least likely to invest in? Explain your answers.
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19
Of the five profiled Intel CEOs, whose leadership style most closely resembles your own? Which of the five profiled CEOs would you most like to work for? Which would you least like to work for?
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20
Exercise Overview
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Based on what you've learned from this exercise, how confident are you that Covey's quiz is an accurate measure of leadership ability? Explain.
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Based on what you've learned from this exercise, how confident are you that Covey's quiz is an accurate measure of leadership ability? Explain.
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 36 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
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21
When to Stand on Your Head and Other Tips from the Top
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this story, which do you think is likely to be the most charismatic? Explain.
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this story, which do you think is likely to be the most charismatic? Explain.
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22
Describe the subordinate's characteristics, leader behaviors, and environmental characteristics used in path-goal theory. How do these factors combine to influence motivation?
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23
Exercise Overview
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Review carefully each question and each suggested answer. Do you see any correlation between Covey's questions and the theoretical models of leadership discussed in this chapter? Which model or models do you think Covey is using? What details in his questions, answers, or both led you to that conclusion?
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise introduces you to one approach to assessing leadership skills and relating leadership theory to practice.
Exercise Background
At any given time, there's no shortage of publications offering practical advice on management and leadership. Most business best-seller lists in 2008 included titles such as Good to Great by Jim Collins; First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham; and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Some of these books, such as Winning by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, are written by managers with years of experience. Others are written by consultants, professors, or reporters.
Granted, a lot of these books-okay, most of them-don't have much theoretical foundation, and many are basically compendiums of opinions and suggestions unsupported by scientific evidence. Even so, many touch upon ideas that may well be worth the time it takes a busy manager to read them. Thus a real issue for contemporary managers is knowing how to analyze what they read in the popular press and how to separate the practical wheat from the pop culture chaff. This exercise gives you a little practice in doing just that.
Review carefully each question and each suggested answer. Do you see any correlation between Covey's questions and the theoretical models of leadership discussed in this chapter? Which model or models do you think Covey is using? What details in his questions, answers, or both led you to that conclusion?
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24
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
In what ways were the leaders/managers similar or in agreement about issues?
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
In what ways were the leaders/managers similar or in agreement about issues?
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25
What are the two generic approaches to leadership? What can managers today learn from these approaches?
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26
Think about a decision that would affect you as a student. Use Vroom's decision tree approach to decide whether the administrator making that decision should involve students in the decision. Which parts of the model seem most important in making that decision? Why?
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27
Exercise Overview
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
Interestingly, Henry had been a notoriously wayward youth before turning his life around and living up to his royal responsibilities. In what ways might knowledge of his past tend to increase or decrease his referent power?
Diagnostic skills enable a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. This exercise shows how they can be useful when a manager must decide which type of power is most appropriate in different situations.
Exercise Background
William Shakespeare's play Henry V, which was performed for the first time in 1599, explores the themes of war, leadership, brotherhood, and treachery in a way that remains relevant today. The play contains the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech that, despite its brevity, many people, Shakespearean scholars and non-experts alike, regard as one of the most inspiring speeches ever written.
First, we need to set the scene: In 1415, England, under the leadership of King Henry IV, has invaded France to regain control of some disputed lands. Bear in mind that, to Shakespeare's audience, the legitimacy of Henry's claim makes both his cause and his war "just." Having won several hard-fought battles, the English army of 6,000 has marched from the coast into the interior of France and are encamped outside the French town of Agincourt. At this point in the campaign, they are sick, cold, hungry, and dispirited, and to make matters worse, they face an army of 25,000 well-rested, well-equipped soldiers and armored knights on horse. Through a combination of courage, strategy, and plain luck, they win one of history's most renowned battles, losing only 200 men while inflicting more than 5,000 casualties on enemy.
The short scene in which Henry delivers his St. Crispin's Day speech occurs just before the Battle of Agincourt. Henry's officers are understandably disheartened and fearful of the coming battle, and Henry must motivate them. That's the purpose of his St. Crispin's Day speech.
Exercise Task
Read the transcript of the speech that your professor will provide you. Then answer the following questions:
Interestingly, Henry had been a notoriously wayward youth before turning his life around and living up to his royal responsibilities. In what ways might knowledge of his past tend to increase or decrease his referent power?
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28
You're responsible for a work unit that needs a strong-handed, task-oriented leader, and you have two candidates. Unfortunately, one is the better manager but isn't particularly task oriented, whereas the other is task oriented but not as effective as a manager. Which one will you select?
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29
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe the level and responsibilities of your leader(s) and manager(s). Do not supply names-their responses should be anonymous.
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
Describe the level and responsibilities of your leader(s) and manager(s). Do not supply names-their responses should be anonymous.
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30
When to Stand on Your Head and Other Tips from the Top
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
You're the owner-manager of a [select two] small-motor manufacturer/ commercial dry-cleaning service/high-end catering company/tax-preparation office. As you know, we're in a recession, and you'd like some advice on how to lead in tough times. Which of the leaders cited in this case would be your first choice as a source of advice? Explain your choices.
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
You're the owner-manager of a [select two] small-motor manufacturer/ commercial dry-cleaning service/high-end catering company/tax-preparation office. As you know, we're in a recession, and you'd like some advice on how to lead in tough times. Which of the leaders cited in this case would be your first choice as a source of advice? Explain your choices.
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31
The behavioral theories of leadership claim that an individual's leadership style is fixed. Do you agree or disagree? Give examples to support your position. The behavioral theories also claim that the ideal style is the same in every situation. Do you agree or disagree? Again, give examples.
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32
In your own words, define political behavior. Describe four political tactics and give an example of each.
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33
Intel appears to rely heavily on mentoring and longterm leadership development from within. What are the pros and cons of such an approach? Intel also seems to have thrived on a pattern of alternating leadership styles. What are the pros and cons of this approach?
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34
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
What were some of the major differences between the leaders/managers and between the ways in which they approached their jobs?
Purpose: Leadership and management are in some ways the same, but more often they are different. This exercise offers you an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for leadership and management.
Introduction: Most management behaviors and leadership behaviors are a product of individual work experience, so each leader/manager tends to have a unique leadership/management style. Analyzing leadership/ management styles, comparing such styles, and relating them to different organizational contexts are often rewarding experiences in learning.
Instructions: Fact Finding and Execution of the Experiment
1. Develop a list of questions related to issues you have studied in this chapter that you want to ask a practicing manager and leader during a face-to-face interview. Prior to the actual interview, submit your list of questions to your instructor for approval.
2. Arrange to interview a practicing manager and a practicing leader. For purposes of this assignment, a manager or leader is a person whose job priority involves supervising the work of other people. The leader/manager may work in a business or in a public or private agency.
3. Interview at least one manager and at least one leader, using the questions you developed. Take good notes on their comments and on your own observations. Do not take more than one hour of each leader or manager's time.
Oral Report
Prepare an oral report using the questions here and your interview information. Complete the following report after the interview. (Attach a copy of your interview questions.)
The Leadership/Management Interview Experiment Report
What were some of the major differences between the leaders/managers and between the ways in which they approached their jobs?
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35
When to Stand on Your Head and Other Tips from the Top
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this case, for which would you most like to work? For which would you least like to work? Explain your answers.
It isn't easy leading a U.S. business these days. Leaving aside the global recession (at least for a moment), the passion for "lean and mean" operations means that there are fewer workers to do more work. Globalization means keeping abreast of crosscultural differences. Knowledge industries present unique leadership challenges requiring better communication skills and greater flexibility. Advances in technology have opened unprecedented channels of communication. Now more than ever, leaders must be able to do just about everything and more of it. As U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain puts it, "[Leadership is] a game of pinball, and you're the ball." Fortunately, a few of Corporate America's veteran leaders have some tips for those who still want to follow their increasingly treacherous path.
First of all, if you think you're being overworked-if your hours are too long and your schedule is too demanding-odds are, you're right: Most people-including executives- are overworked. And in some industries, they're particularly overworked. U.S. airlines, for example, now service 100 million more passengers annually than they did just four years ago-with 70,000 fewer workers. "I used to manage my time," quips one airline executive. "Now I manage my energy." In fact, many high-ranking managers have realized that energy is a key factor in their ability to complete tasks on tough schedules. Most top corporate leaders work 80 to 100 hours a week, and many have found that regimens that allow them to rebuild and refresh make it possible for them to keep up the pace.
Carlos Ghosn, who's currently president of Renault and CEO of Nissan, believes in regular breaks. "I don't bring my work home. I play with my four children and spend time with my family on weekends," says Ghosn. "I come up with good ideas as a result of becoming stronger after being recharged." Google vice president Marissa Mayer admits that "I can get by on four to six hours of sleep," but she also takes a weeklong vacation three times a year. Many leaders report that playing racquetball, running marathons, practicing yoga, or just getting regular exercise helps them to recover from overwork.
Effective leaders also take control of information flow-which means managing it, not reducing the flow until it's as close to a trickle as you can get it. Like most executives, for example, Mayer can't get by without multiple sources of information: "I always have my laptop with me," he reports, and "I adore my cellphone." Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz receives a morning voice mail summarizing the previous day's sales results and reads three newspapers a day. Mayer watches the news all day, and Bill Gross, a securities portfolio manager, keeps an eye on six monitors displaying real-time investment data.
On the other hand, Gross stands on his head to force himself to take a break from communicating. When he's upright again, he tries to find time to concentrate. "Eliminating the noise," he says, "is critical.... I only pick up the phone three or four times a day.... I don't want to be connected-I want to be disconnected." Ghosn, whose schedule requires weekly intercontinental travel, uses bilingual assistants to screen and translate information-one assistant for information from Europe (where Renault is), one for information from Japan (where Nissan is), and one for information from the United States (where Ghosn often has to be when he doesn't have to be in Europe or Japan). Clothing designer Vera Wang also uses an assistant to filter information. "The barrage of calls is so enormous," she says, "that if I just answered calls I'd do nothing else.... If I were to go near e-mail, there'd be even more obligations, and I'd be in [a mental hospital] with a white jacket on." Not surprisingly, Bill Gates integrates the role of his assistant into a high-tech informationorganizing system:
On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you'll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.
The screen on the left has my list of e-mails. On the center screen is usually the specific e-mail I'm reading and responding to. And my browser is on the right-hand screen. This setup gives me the ability to glance and see what new has come in while I'm working on something and to bring up a link that's related to an e-mail and look at it while the e-mail is still in front of me.
At Microsoft, e-mail is the medium of choice.... I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that level. E-mail comes straight to me from anyone I've ever corresponded with, anyone from Microsoft, Intel, HP, and all the other partner companies, and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren't on my permission list or individuals I don't know....
We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail-it's ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like "in-box rules" and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.
Like most leaders of knowledge workers, Gates also knows how important it is to motivate and retain talented individuals who (at least under normal circumstances) have other options for employment. In fact, he once stated that if the 20 smartest people at Microsoft left the company, it would shrivel into an insignificant dot on the corporate map. Obviously, then, executives who employ thousands of such workers are under enormous pressure to keep them productive and happy. Mayer holds office hours at a regularly scheduled time every day so that she can field employee complaints and concerns. Schultz visits at least 25 Starbucks stores each week. Jane Friedman, CEO of publisher HarperCollins, attends lots of parties. Authors, she explains, "are the most important people in our company, [and they] really appreciate it when the [publisher's] CEO turns up at events [to celebrate their books]."
At Boeing, CEO Jim McNerney has a goal of making his people 15 percent better each year. The key, he says, is a two-step process. First, you focus your attention on those people who show the greatest potential to change, generally because they're more open, appreciate teamwork, and have more courage. Second, you remove all the bureaucratic obstacles that will prevent them from doing what you're working so hard to get them to do. (McNerney apparently remembers what management expert Peter Drucker once said: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.")
And what about leading in a recession? What adjustments do you have to make when money is scarce, markets are volatile, and morale needs boosting? The current economy, says Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, "requires all of us to pull up every leadership trait that we have." Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International, an executive search firm, suggests that top managers start by acknowledging that leading in extreme circumstances means calling into question everything they do under normal circumstances. "You can't rely on a peacetime general to fight a war," he reminds fellow executives. "The wartime CEO prepares for the worst so that his or her company can take market share away from players who haven't." Hire away your competitors' best people, for example, and keep them from grabbing yours. Or buy up their assets while they can be had at bargain prices.
Jack Hayhow, founder and COO of Opus Training, adds that leaders need to make sure their employees know why they're making changes: "Clearly state to your people that we are in a recession... [and that] very little of what [they've] assumed to be true in the past will be true in the future. [Tell them]: 'You must understand that this is no longer business as usual.' " Let them know if you can no longer guarantee their jobs. "My suggestion," says Hayhow, "would be [something like]: 'Quit worrying about the things you can't control and focus on what you can. Find ways to contribute... and make it really hard for the company to let you go....' If you have people who argue or debate, show them the door."
Hayhow also realizes that "when things are as bad as they are [in a recession], motivation is critical.... If you create an environment conducive to people motivating themselves," he contends, "you'll be able to motivate in these changing times." Ho do you create such an environment? "Start by matching talent with the task," says Hayhow. "Play to your employees' strengths. Figure out who does what and make sure they're spending their time where they can best utilize their talents." And don't forget to "give people some choice.... When people have even a little choice over what they do or how they do it, they're more committed and enthusiastic about the task." Let employees decide how to do something "or maybe even who they work with to get the job done."
Many leaders go a step further and use a time of crisis as an opportunity to rethink a company's reward system. At Boeing, for example, McNerney replaced an old bonus system based something that managers can't control (the company's stock price) with a system based on something they can -profit: He rewards people who improve the firm's profitability by better managing its capital. So, if a manager can figure out how to generate $10 million in profit by spending $1 million instead of $2 million, he or she now gets to keep some of the savings. One organizational psychologist adds that if you're the top person at your company, "the last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself." In December 2008, for example, when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith was forced to make broad salary cuts, he started with himself, slashing his own paycheck by 20 percent.
Ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald makes a fairly simple recommendation: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at a time of crisis," he advises, "make sure your message reaches all levels, from the very lowest to the uppermost." Kip Tindell, who's been CEO of the Container Store since its founding in 1978, agrees. That's why his managers "run around like chickens relentlessly trying to communicate everything to every single employee at all times." He admits that it's an impossible task, but he's also convinced that the effort is more important than ever in times of crisis. He also contends that his company is in a better position to ride out the economic storm "because we're so dedicated to the notion that communication and leadership are the same thing." At the very least, he says, "we're fortunate to be minus the paranoia that goes with employees who feel they don't know what's going on."
Of all the leaders cited in this case, for which would you most like to work? For which would you least like to work? Explain your answers.
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36
Describe a time when you or someone you know was part of an in-group or an out-group. What was the relationship between each of the groups and the leader? What was the relationship between the members of the two different groups? What was the outcome of the situation for the leader? For the members of the two groups? For the organization?
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