Five Qualities of Real Leadership

I've noticed coverage of "leadership" in IT magazines recently, but I'm not comfortable with the approach they take. For example, this editorial in CIO Magazine titled Leadership Isn't a Fairy Tale After All has "Personal attention and hands-on involvement can make good IT managers great IT leaders" as the subtitle. The text then says:

Our story spells out detailed tactics and practical ideas that CIOs can use to turn good IT managers into potentially great IT leaders...

You’ll notice a strong thread of personal attention and hands-on involvement from the very top at the companies developing a strong bench of future leaders.

At REDACTED, for example, the CEO walks the walk on one-to-one leadership development by holding regular career conversations with his senior leadership team. His CIO, REDACTED, then makes sure that style of direct communication flows downward to the IT team. “If you don’t take time to talk to people about their professional development,” REDACTED notes, “it just doesn’t get done.”

REDACTED is another bright light in this realm with a program called The Lab, which fosters leadership development across various business units by bringing together 30 of them at a time to form strategic problem-solving teams.

And at REDACTED, CIO REDACTED connects on a more personal level, emailing coffee-talk questions to her global staff every two weeks to get conversations going on everything from personal dreams to world views.

In my opinion, "regular career conversations" are a form of coaching, not leadership. Forming "strategic problem-solving teams" is management, not leadership. Finally, "emailing coffee-talk questions" is banter, not leadership.

So what are the five qualities of leadership, at least in my experience?

1. Leaders develop and execute a vision; they do not follow trends set by others.


2. Leaders embody strong core values and do not sacrifice those core values in order to advance their personal careers.


3. Leaders' actions demonstrate a focus on their people, not themselves, and that focus on the people takes care of the mission.


4. Leaders work to "make their people look good," rather than making the boss or themselves look good.


5. In the darkest hours, leaders put themselves personally at risk for the good of their team.

Notice the contrast between these five principles and the previous guidance. My focus is on actions, whereas the other ideas focus on communication. I do not discount the value of communication, but with leadership the deeds matter far more than the words. It is helpful to have coaching, mentoring, managing, and so forth, but these concepts are separate from leadership.

If you're wondering about the image for this post, I wanted to show a picture from the movie We Were Soldiers, based on the book by Lt Gen Hal Moore and Joe Galloway. Then Lt Col Moore (portrayed by Mel Gibson) always landed with his air cavalry troops, in the first helicopter, and was the first person to step foot on adversary soil. He was also the last person to leave. As he wrote:

When we step on the battlefield, I will be The First Boots On and the Last Boots Off.

And he didn't just say it, he did it. That's a leader.
Tweet

Read More

Everything I Need to Know About Leadership I Learned as a Patrol Leader

This post is outside the digital security realm, but I know a lot of my readers are team members and team leaders in their technical shops. I thought it might be useful to share a few thoughts on leadership. I don't claim to be the world's best leader but I've been thinking about the topic recently.

I've participated in a lot of "leadership training" over the years, in and out of classrooms. A few examples: I've attended classes at GE's Crotonville, earned a master's degree from Harvard Kennedy School (supposed home to future political leaders), led a flight in the AFCERT, served as a cadet flight commander at USAFA, and captained my high school track team. As the years have progressed I find fewer of these experiences, especially formal training, to be novel or particularly helpful. For example, I believe the approaches I brought to my USAFA experience had less to do with USAFA and more to do with what I already knew. Tonight I decided to think back to where I first learned my "leadership style."

I realized that everything I needed to know about leadership I learned as a Patrol Leader, as a Boy Scout. Patrols are the core unit of the troop; they are the unit within a troop that can conduct independent activities, although they collaborate with other patrols during troop-wide events. I spent about 10 years as a Scout (starting as a Cub) and finished (barely) with my Eagle award a few months before I turned 18. My troop first nominated me to become a Patrol Leader when I was about 12.

I distinctly remember being a Patrol Leader twice. I led one patrol for my normal troop when I was younger, and then I was nominated to be a Patrol Leader for a regional troop from Massachusetts that attended the 1989 Scout Jamboree when I was 17. I cherished this second experience, because I was basically inactive during the ages of 15 and 16, due to high school. In both cases my patrol probably consisted of no more than 12 kids, usually younger but not always.

So what did I learn as a Patrol Leader? Check out these Ten Tips for Being a Patrol Leader from Scouting.org:

1. Keep Your Word. Don't make promises you can't keep.


2. Be Fair to All. A good leader shows no favorites. Don't allow friendships to keep you from being fair to all members of your patrol. Know who likes to do what, and assign duties to patrol members by what they like to do.


3. Be a Good Communicator. You don't need a commanding voice to be a good leader, but you must be willing to step out front with an effective "Let's go." A good leader knows how to get and give information so that everyone understands what's going on.


4. Be Flexible. Everything doesn't always go as planned. Be prepared to shift to "plan B" when "plan A" doesn't work.


5. Be Organized. The time you spend planning will be repaid many times over. At patrol meetings, record who agrees to do each task, and fill out the duty roster before going camping.


6. Delegate. Some leaders assume that the job will not get done unless they do it themselves. Most people like to be challenged with a task. Empower your patrol members to do things they have never tried.


7. Set an Example. The most important thing you can do is lead by example. Whatever you do, your patrol members are likely to do the same. A cheerful attitude can keep everyone's spirits up.


8. Be Consistent. Nothing is more confusing than a leader who is one way one moment and another way a short time later. If your patrol knows what to expect from you, they will more likely respond positively to your leadership.


9. Give Praise. The best way to get credit is to give it away. Often a "Nice job" is all the praise necessary to make a Scout feel he is contributing to the efforts of the patrol.


10. Ask for Help. Don't be embarrassed to ask for help. You have many resources at your disposal. When confronted with a situation you don't know how to handle, ask someone with more experience for some advice and direction.

You don't need a MBA now, aside from some classes on financial statements. I'd also venture that many MBA classes don't cover these 10 points.

I remember being particularly keen on patrol spirit:

Patrol spirit is the glue that holds the patrol together and keeps it going. Building patrol spirit takes time, because it is shaped by a patrol's experiences—good and bad. Often misadventures such as enduring a thunderstorm or getting lost in the woods will contribute much in pulling a patrol together. Many other elements also will help build patrol spirit. Creating a patrol identity and traditions will help build each patrol member's sense of belonging.

I remember working on our patrol flag and being proud of our new identity. Never mind that we were "Wolverines" (yes, straight out of Red Dawn) but our flag had a panther or cougar on it. (Blame the T-shirt shop for not having a "wolverine" transfer.) We put our patches and name on that thing and that's all that mattered.

When I was about 14 my troop nominated me to become Senior Patrol Leader, which is the top boy leader. Unfortunately, it's like a management position, because while you lead the troop most of the activities happen at the patrol level. You end up being more of an intermediary between the adult leaders and the Patrol Leaders. It's an important job but I remember missing having my own patrol. That's one reason I was glad to get a Patrol Leader job with the regional troop attending the Jamboree in 1989.

My take-away from this post is to remember the 10 points outlined above when I work with my current team. It's been over 20 years since I left Scouting, but the lessons I learned there have proven to be timeless and enduring.

Read More