Free leadership articles by Timothy Pascoe

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Leadership: when flipping a coin is not enough

published: 2011-08-29

Every thriller includes a chase, in which the hero makes a split-second, life-and-death decision to take this alleyway and not that one. In business, the stakes are seldom so high but there are plenty where outcomes can make or break your career. Tomes have been written on decision-theory but my six thoughts below are simpler – prompted by Seth Godin’s blog* a while back arguing for coin-flipping as sometimes equally effective (and much less costly). ... read more

Leadership: what's your cool quotient?

published: 2011-08-22 - Comment count: 2

London’s Financial Times commented as follows after Apple briefly overtook Exxon as the world’s most highly-capitalised business. “A cool company run by a cool executive (briefly) ruled the corporate world.” That it “ousted an unhip energy company only made it cooler.” An academic adds that cool comes in two sub-types - what I’ll call “together cool” and “far-out cool”. Perhaps, Rupert Murdoch and Warren Buffett exemplify the first - the older, quieter, more assured version. And, Richard Branson and Larry Ellison the second - more maverick and exhibitionist. The FT recommends* mixing both approaches - but gets sidetracked on style. So, let’s explore what leadership actions might give you “combo cool”. ... read more

Leadership: what's your unbreakable promise?

published: 2011-08-16 - Comment count: 4

As a leader, what are the three things you’ll never do? Break a promise? Fail to show up? Dress someone down in public? Or, what? Seth Godin, the well-known blogger, recently offered a list that he titled “Delivering on never”*. It’s a fun title but what does it mean for your leadership? His focus on customers is spot on for us as leaders. Our teams and other followers are the customers for our leadership. So, here are five things that will help to make them buy. ... read more

Leadership: a warning for control freaks

published: 2011-08-08 - Comment count: 4

What did you learn from the “unexpected” GFC? Or, should you learn from the equally “unexpected” North African Spring? Nassim Taleb (the “Black Swan” guy) and Mark Blyth have answered with clarity and insight*. “What the world has been witnessing in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya is … what happens when highly constrained systems explode. Seeking to restrict variability seems to be good policy.” But as Greenspan (and the rest of us!) found out “suppression of volatility in the name of stability … makes complex (financial) systems … extremely fragile.” Prone to explode “unexpectedly”. So, here are seven things you can do to avoid civil unrest in your organisation – and being unceremoniously thrown out of office. ... read more

Leadership: what the world most needs today

published: 2011-08-01 - Comment count: 4

An American friend wrote to me last week that “The Tea Party is a bunch of crazies. But, they have put our intransigence on the table and deserve credit for refusing to just let things go until we are even more bankrupt. The country is crying out for leadership with a vision … a strategic vision for our future.” Regardless of nationality or political allegiance, people around the world are looking for leaders, who lead. What would your people say of you? Leading or a dithering? Deciding or avoiding? Doing or talking? Here are seven actions to consider. ... read more

Leadership: angel and monster - Mother Teresa and Lady Gaga

published: 2011-07-25 - Comment count: 8

We all want the success pill. But, most of us fail to find it. Not least since we’re unwilling to be different. And, even for those who find it, the pill isn’t a quick-acting one. The key is endless practice and perseverance. Check the winners podium. There you’ll see maverick business people like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs – and also others, like Mother Teresa and Lady Gaga. A charity worker and an entertainer. What’s their secret? Here are five things you could explore. ... read more

Leadership: jargon is your ally and your enemy

published: 2011-07-18 - Comment count: 18

My wife and I recently visited the Venice Biennale including the key national pavilions plus 30 smaller exhibits across the city. As with most expositions (artistic or other), this one ranges from the amazing to, yes, the abysmal. But the explanatory handouts fall within a narrower range: from dismal to abysmal. Full of phrases like “subtracted singularities”, “coloured epiphanies”, “discursive modalities” and “the temple of our contemporaneity”. Jargon can be useful. It facilitates high-value, coded communication between close colleagues. But, it can equally be a smokescreen that sounds smart but is empty of meaning to others. So, how does your own leadership jargon rate? Here are six words, which often come across like Biennale waffle. And, with each, some actions you could take to give your words operational meaning. ... read more

Leadership: sparking up your personal creativity

published: 2011-07-11 - Comment count: 2

“Only by forcing our brains to … move beyond our habitual thinking patterns can (leaders) begin to imagine truly novel alternatives.” So say the authors of a recent McKinsey Quarterly article – and it’s hard to argue. They focus mostly on improving team creativity but there are two segments of their article I’ve re-refocused towards personal innovation. Rapid technical, cultural and social changes mean that leaders, who fail to generate new approaches will become victims of change, not its drivers. How would people say you perform on the items in the two checklists below? ... read more

Leadership: dealing with overload and potential meltdown

published: 2011-07-04 - Comment count: 2

“By far the most difficult skill for me to learn as CEO was the ability to manage my own psychology.” So says Ben Horowitz, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz in his recent blog post. He argues that many CEOs “take things too personally.” They see all mistakes as theirs and “terrorize the team” to get them fixed. Other CEOs “do not take things personally enough.” Like Pollyanna, they believe “it’s not so bad.” Then nothing gets fixed and employees become frustrated. Which would colleagues say is your tendency? Have any of them suggested the following four remedies that Ben offers us? ... read more

Leadership: what are you being paid to do?

published: 2011-06-27 - Comment count: 14

Compared with your direct reports, how much bigger is your pay packet? If your employer segmented that premium across the leadership actions you take, how do you think it might be split? In simple terms, employers want you to achieve planned business outcomes. But to achieve these, your subordinates need your guidance and help in delivering them: the higher sales, lower costs, more timely deliveries and other improvements. If your team members (rather than your bosses) were the ones incentivising you, how would they split that extra pay you get as leader? To test this, why not allocate a percentage to each of the following six leadership actions. Once done, show your numbers to a couple of your team members and see what they say. ... read more

Leadership: what do they say behind your back?

published: 2011-06-20 - Comment count: 4

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” So said the English humorist, Douglas Adams – thus making light of a failure and its attendant embarrassment. If we repeat such mistakes, they taint our brand and become a significant aftertaste or qualifier. “Fred adds a lot of value … but he’s always late.” Those last four words are the unwashed grit in an otherwise lovely salad. What is your own brand qualifier: that negative warning people add? Here are six to consider. ... read more

Leadership: what's the R.O.I. of your development spend?

published: 2011-06-13 - Comment count: 1

I was recently talking with two senior HR executives. One from the regional HQ of a global US manufacturer; the other from the head office of an international transport business based in Australia. Both complained of relatively low on-the-job impact from their investment in leadership workshops and profiling. A worrying traction deficit. Ring a bell? ... read more

Leadership: when the stakes are really high

published: 2011-06-06 - Comment count: 7

Let’s think of some really big challenges. For a nation, it might be fighting a war. Putting citizens’ lives and the state itself at risk. For a business, it might be a takeover. Thus jeopardising the interests of all stakeholders. For an individual, it might be taking leadership of a failing project. Or, of something bigger than they’ve previously experienced. So, which was your notable challenge that succeeded – where you and others were at risk? And, which was the messy failure? Below are five factors needed for success in any project – whether national or personal. But, the last seems particularly critical when things get really tough. Particularly if you’re competing from a weak position. So, let me know what you think. ... read more

Leadership: at work and away

published: 2011-05-30 - Comment count: 6

As leaders, most of us combine both good and bad. Unlike Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde, we’re neither wholly good nor entirely bad. But most (myself included) regret some aspect of our leadership. Below are three broad domains. How would those around you in each rate your leadership effectiveness? What would they say is good – and what problematic? ... read more

Leadership: how innovative are you?

published: 2011-05-23 - Comment count: 4

According to The Economist magazine “Business writers have always worshipped at the altar of success” ... and ... “This success-fetish makes the latest management fashion all the more remarkable. The April issue of the Harvard Business Review is devoted to failure.” Well, what does that mean for you and me as leaders? Are you noted for fostering new ways - and risking failure? Do you innovate personally – including in how you lead? Here are 10 action suggestions, I’ve put together from reading The Economist report. ... read more

Leadership: does yours make music?

published: 2011-05-16 - Comment count: 6

Like any effective leader, a good sports-person or concert performer must attract willing and committed followers. Not only their fellow players on field or stage, but also audiences, who pay to attend and enjoy the performance. Think of your favourites: how much do you pay to be present – personally or virtually? So, here’s a thought: who would pay to watch you leading your team at work? Perhaps not a nice idea after all! So, let me share the tricks I’ve learnt from a famous performer, who’s been dead for almost 30 years but people still pay to experience. ... read more

Leadership: are you in love with yourself?

published: 2011-05-09 - Comment count: 6

The Life Styles Inventory offers a well established and highly regarded suite of tools. Over a million managers (the employees of over 240,000 companies) have used them. That is hugely to be admired. And, with this scale, you can’t question their comparative data. But, I do question some underlying assumptions as they apply to helping leaders become more effective. Here are four things I shared with a client recently, who asked me how my own Leadership-Action-Planning approach differs from tools like LSI and Myers Briggs (MBTI). ... read more

Leadership: your four lessons from Japan's decline

published: 2011-05-02 - Comment count: 4

Nature has recently dealt the Japanese a deathly blow – and our hearts go out to them. However, as with most of us, the harder blows are often self-inflicted. In the 1980s, Japan was still the coming economic power – as China is today. Journalists wrote breathlessly of Japan’s super-reliable manufacturing, its highly valued banks and growing position in the world. All exemplified by its zaibatsu buying operations and assets across the globe. More recently, in contrast, the Japanese narrative is one of stagnation and decline – the home of compromised leadership and inability to change. So, if you’re currently a successful leader (of a team or business), how do you ensure this continues and doesn’t stagnate? Here are four things to do. ... read more

Leadership: how hard are you pushing yourself?

published: 2011-04-25 - Comment count: 10

Do Seth Godin and Jack LaLanne have anything in common? Let’s start with the differences. Seth’s a blogger. Jack in contrast was the godfather of fitness training in America – opening a fitness gym in Oakland, California over 70 years ago. In a recent blog, Seth listed eight things Jack did that made him successful. To my mind, Seth walks in the same shoes. As a leader, how do you rate on the eight factors? More importantly, which one or two should you tone up? ... read more

Leadership: when you lack pricing power

published: 2011-04-18 - Comment count: 2

Charlie Aitken is my favourite stock-market writer. Today, aside from energy and resources, he says every bit of feedback he gets from companies is the same … “margins under pressure, lack of consumer confidence, genuine rise of the internet as a competitor and a broad lack of pricing power.” Not pretty. So, in the leadership market, how much pricing power do YOU have? Can you justify a salary or bonus increase? Better, how are you building personal competitiveness? Below is a new 3D mindset that shifts your thinking about leadership to become follower driven, future directed and outcome based. Below that is my 3-step approach for planning your leadership actions: making them practical, value-adding and accountable. Together these can change how you lead – and get some pricing power. ... read more

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