Event Slides: Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America has a wonderful mission statement: "To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens." Talented employees are critical to that mission, and leadership plays a vital role in attracting and retaining the very best workers. To reach their full potential as leaders, today's managers must show employees that their organization's values are real, and demonstrate a personal commitment to living out those values. That was my keynote message at the Boys & Girls Clubs' Midwest Leadership Conference in St. Louis today. You can download the slides here. You will need PowerPoint to view these slides. 
Labels: Slides
Bookmark this post on del.icio.usGoing First
Robert Galvin, board chair and CEO of Motorola for nearly thirty years, once gave the following definition of leadership: "Leadership is going first in a new direction -- and being followed."
My former coworker Jim Stram and I once attended a leadership summit sponsored by our company for managers from several cities. One exercise involved an outside ropes course. Secured in our climbing gear and safely tethered by belays, our challenge was to ascend thirty feet above the ground and demonstrate our physical agility by crossing various rope bridges strung between utility poles. To accommodate the large number of participants, there were two identical courses, built side by side. Jim and I headed off for different courses.
When my group's instructor called for a volunteer to go first, I looked over at the adjacent course and saw Jim already climbing. He is a strapping former athlete, so seeing Jim leading his group up the ladder was not hard to predict. But, whether I was inspired by Jim's bravery, or worried that he would upstage me, I found myself ignoring my fear of heights and raising my hand.
Soon, I was nervously navigating along the course, swinging between Burma loops, clawing my way across a cargo net, and traversing a balance beam. Then, on an exercise called the hour glass, I found myself hanging upside down, clinging to a rope, and trying desperately to forestall what I imagined would prove an embarrassing rescue. But with encouragement from my teammates and suggestions from the instructor, I managed to right myself and finish the course. Exhausted, exhilarated, and dripping with sweat, I returned to the ground and joined Jim sitting under a nearby tree.
"Wasn't that awesome?" I asked.
"I didn't do it," he responded.
"What? But, I saw you going up the ladder."
"Yeah," he said, "I got halfway up the ladder, but my fear of heights kept me from going any higher. So I came back down."
Later that day, course facilitators persuaded participants to acknowledge any positive influences they received from one another during the exercise. My group thanked me for showing the courage to go first and lead our team onto the course. Many said they gained inspiration by my action. But Jim provided the initial inspiration by disregarding his personal aversion to heights to be the first to try. Without realizing it, Jim helped me overcome my fear and, as a result, inspired others as well.
As a leader, you must summon the courage to chart the course, venture into the unknown, challenge defeat, and risk disappointment. Your initiative will encourage others. Whether you risk personal safety or personal embarrassment for the sake of your values, by taking that risk you inspire others to follow.
My former coworker Jim Stram and I once attended a leadership summit sponsored by our company for managers from several cities. One exercise involved an outside ropes course. Secured in our climbing gear and safely tethered by belays, our challenge was to ascend thirty feet above the ground and demonstrate our physical agility by crossing various rope bridges strung between utility poles. To accommodate the large number of participants, there were two identical courses, built side by side. Jim and I headed off for different courses.
When my group's instructor called for a volunteer to go first, I looked over at the adjacent course and saw Jim already climbing. He is a strapping former athlete, so seeing Jim leading his group up the ladder was not hard to predict. But, whether I was inspired by Jim's bravery, or worried that he would upstage me, I found myself ignoring my fear of heights and raising my hand.
Soon, I was nervously navigating along the course, swinging between Burma loops, clawing my way across a cargo net, and traversing a balance beam. Then, on an exercise called the hour glass, I found myself hanging upside down, clinging to a rope, and trying desperately to forestall what I imagined would prove an embarrassing rescue. But with encouragement from my teammates and suggestions from the instructor, I managed to right myself and finish the course. Exhausted, exhilarated, and dripping with sweat, I returned to the ground and joined Jim sitting under a nearby tree.
"Wasn't that awesome?" I asked.
"I didn't do it," he responded.
"What? But, I saw you going up the ladder."
"Yeah," he said, "I got halfway up the ladder, but my fear of heights kept me from going any higher. So I came back down."
Later that day, course facilitators persuaded participants to acknowledge any positive influences they received from one another during the exercise. My group thanked me for showing the courage to go first and lead our team onto the course. Many said they gained inspiration by my action. But Jim provided the initial inspiration by disregarding his personal aversion to heights to be the first to try. Without realizing it, Jim helped me overcome my fear and, as a result, inspired others as well.
As a leader, you must summon the courage to chart the course, venture into the unknown, challenge defeat, and risk disappointment. Your initiative will encourage others. Whether you risk personal safety or personal embarrassment for the sake of your values, by taking that risk you inspire others to follow.
Labels: leadership
Bookmark this post on del.icio.usCredibility: The Message Must Be You
As a politician, Ronald Reagan possessed legendary communication skills. He understood the importance of communicating on an emotional level with his audience. In 1980, running against incumbent Jimmy Carter, Reagan asked the American public to consider this question: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" The theme caused voters to appraise their lives in relationship to their goals and hopes for a better future, and it won Reagan the election.
In 1984, at age seventy-three, Reagan ran for reelection against former U.S. vice president Walter Mondale. On October 7, 1984, television networks broadcast the election's first debate between the two candidates, live from Louisville, Kentucky. Mondale appeared aggressive and poised, and by all media accounts, triumphed in the debate. Reagan, on the other hand, seemed defensive, nervous, and confused, and struggled to keep up with Mondale's command of specific details and statistics. Despite his massive lead in the poles, the president's age emerged as a dominate campaign issue.
With the next debate scheduled in Kansas City, Missouri, just two weeks later, the White House scrambled to prepare Reagan using mock debates. Administrative staff members fired practice questions at the president and his "opponent," budget director David Stockman. Stockman benefited from the written answers, while Reagan continued to struggle with the facts and figures. In his book, You Are the Message, media expert Roger Ailes relates how Reagan's campaign team summoned him to avert another disaster. Ailes cancelled the simulated debates and instructed Reagan to stop playing defense and be himself. And he reminded the former actor that his flair for communicating through themes and one-liners got him elected in the first place.
By the time the second debate arrived, Reagan's age was on everyone's mind. When the moderator raised the question, the president went with his instincts. Reagan responded, "I want you to know that I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." With that response, delivered with Reagan's trademark timing, inflection, facial expression, and body language, he erased the public's fear about his mental sharpness and permanently put the age question to rest.
As a credible leader, you must be sincere and straightforward in the ways you communicate. In other words, you must speak with a single voice, so make sure the voice you use is your own.
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In 1984, at age seventy-three, Reagan ran for reelection against former U.S. vice president Walter Mondale. On October 7, 1984, television networks broadcast the election's first debate between the two candidates, live from Louisville, Kentucky. Mondale appeared aggressive and poised, and by all media accounts, triumphed in the debate. Reagan, on the other hand, seemed defensive, nervous, and confused, and struggled to keep up with Mondale's command of specific details and statistics. Despite his massive lead in the poles, the president's age emerged as a dominate campaign issue.
With the next debate scheduled in Kansas City, Missouri, just two weeks later, the White House scrambled to prepare Reagan using mock debates. Administrative staff members fired practice questions at the president and his "opponent," budget director David Stockman. Stockman benefited from the written answers, while Reagan continued to struggle with the facts and figures. In his book, You Are the Message, media expert Roger Ailes relates how Reagan's campaign team summoned him to avert another disaster. Ailes cancelled the simulated debates and instructed Reagan to stop playing defense and be himself. And he reminded the former actor that his flair for communicating through themes and one-liners got him elected in the first place.
By the time the second debate arrived, Reagan's age was on everyone's mind. When the moderator raised the question, the president went with his instincts. Reagan responded, "I want you to know that I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." With that response, delivered with Reagan's trademark timing, inflection, facial expression, and body language, he erased the public's fear about his mental sharpness and permanently put the age question to rest.
As a credible leader, you must be sincere and straightforward in the ways you communicate. In other words, you must speak with a single voice, so make sure the voice you use is your own.
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Author George Brymer's comments about the leaders who get it, and those who never will.
