Thank goodness for
TiVo. My husband and I love it to catch up our favorite television shows. One,
Brothers and Sisters is an
ABC drama about an exceptionally close, yet dysfunctional family. Sally Fields plays Norah Walker, the matriarch. Norah has five adult children, each with their own lives and own dramas. As I watched the October 11 episode of season 4,
Almost Normal, I jolted out of my comfortable chair and furiously took notes. Here is a scene that relates to my “Leadership Tangles Blog,” I thought! Better yet, it’s a Jangle Tangle
TM.
How to Build a Culture of Fear in 3 Easy Steps
Leaders, follow these three easy steps if you want to ensure that tough issues are never raised, that you don't receive early warning signs, and that employees are seen and not heard. If you follow these steps faithfully, you and your executive team will hold all the power. You will be secure in your conference room, knowing that no outside influences sway your decisions. You will be assured that you are right, and all others are wrong! But beware; pursuing this path could result in a totally avoidable train wreck. What if
Merrill’s Board of Directors hadn’t turned a blind eye to internal risk managers who saw the dangers of
collateralized debt obligations? What if
AIG’s Board had recognized the folly of not holding its executives accountable for unsavory business practices?
What follows are the three surefire steps:
Beware: The Shadow of the Leader Can Become the Shadow of the Gang
I once had a boss who used to tell our national sales force, “The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.” In my work as an executive consultant, coach, and “detangler,” I have met some incredibly brilliant and talented leaders. All of them were exceptional in some way, and all had areas in need of development. I would amend my ex-boss’s statement to, “the shadow of the leader is the shadow of the gang.”
Topics:
leadership development
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5 Reasons it’s So Hard to Give Tough Performance Feedback
There are no two ways about it. It is tough to give good constructive feedback. Not providing clear tough feedback to peers, direct reports, and staff exacerbates performance problem and contributes to situations that tangle forward progress. For example, I’ve had clients whose direct reports continued to come up short in developing product roll-out strategies. Rather than confront that poor performance, senior leaders complained to each other, but not the person. As a result, customers were disappointed and company revenue suffered.
What Leaders Can Learn from Michael Jackson
I was stunned when I heard about
Michael Jackson's untimely death last week. As a huge Thriller fan, I remember watching Jackson and being captivated by his music, his dancing, and his beat. He really was a musical genius. I never paid too much to the tabloid headlines swirling around his life. However, in the last few days, given the constant news coverage about Michael Jackson and his life on
Larry King Live,
20/20, and other news shows, I got to thinking what leaders might be able to learn from Michael Jackson's life, and how it ties in to organizational tangles. One category of tangles that I often encounter in my work as an executive coach are what I call individual or internal tangles.
Topics:
leadership
internal tangles
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What Leaders Can Learn from Twitter, Facebook, and #Iran Election?
For the past ten days, I have been glued to the media and social networking sites, especially
Twitter. I am not alone. I have been awed by the level of interest, caring, and actions taken by so many after the June 12 election. As I sat in my office, watching my computer screen, I felt empowered to take a small step, to lend my voice of support to a situation unfolding half-way around the globe. I followed
#Iran election, with thousands joining the conversation every millisecond. I
retweeted (RT) messages that provided helpful information, and posted my own thoughts. I watched as
Facebook friends joined in the discussion and became a fan of sites allegedly providing credible information. I didn’t know if I was making any difference at all, but felt I was a part of something historical, important, and much bigger than me.
Leaders: Ignore Warning Signs at Our Mutual Peril
This blog typically focuses on business leadership topics related to what I call organizational tangles. Today I focus on a different type of tangle, a
Cascade Tangle, and one that might well ensnare us all.
Cascade Tangles are a multi-system mess that like dominoes, result in a cascade of failure. The recent financial meltdown appears to be a result of the failure of multiple systems, and like a house of cards, may still be on the brink of collapse.
Topics:
Cascade Tangle
Warning signs
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What’s Divorce Got to Do with It?
Tina Turner made a singing comeback in 1984 with her hit song, "What's Love Got to Do with It?" My husband, a family law specialist in San Francisco has recently worked with some male clients, who I call alpha males, struggling through their respective divorces. Tina Turner claims that "love is a second-hand emotion." However, from what I am hearing, anger, blame, and transference are first-hand emotions and reactions. Going through a divorce at any time is a trying and emotionally draining experience. However, the stress and tension is now exacerbated by the economic decline. Individuals who have enjoyed unfettered economic success, and the ability to buy and demand whatever they desired, are now finding their world crumbling beneath them.
Generosity and Organizational Tangles
A colleague of mine just sent me this video clip--Gesto de Amor. This was a first place winner for commercial short films at a Cannes Film Festival. This film illustrates a large and personal act of generosity. I have found that small acts of generosity--listening deeply to others, giving others the benefit of the doubt, asking questions before reacting-- all contribute to collaboration, better thinking, and higher productivity. What act of generosity have you performed today?
Topics:
listening
generosity
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How Organizational Structure Contributes to Organizational Tangles
Wall Street Journal reporter Kara Swisher interviewed Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, at the recent All Things Digital Conference. I was struck by Bartz's assertions that organizational structure has limited Yahoo's ability to innovate. Bartz's comments validated findings from my own research. I was interested in uncovering the organizational enablers that contribute to the unwinding of organizational tangles. I define tangles as those interpersonal, political, and human dynamics messes that tie organizations up in knots. What I found in my research is that an organizational structure that ensures clear levels of authority and accountability creates clear channels of communication, and removes the fuzziness that stalls forward progress.
Topics:
tangles
organizatation structure
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