Quote of the week

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
--Dwight Eisenhower

The challenge of finding good leaders

by Joe Molony, senior advisor to the S. Dale High Center for Family Business and professor of business at Elizabethtown College

Why is it so hard to nail down the qualities needed to be a good leader?

Maybe it’s because under different circumstances different qualities are needed. Sure, there are some common elements like visionary, ethical, steadfast, decision maker, etc. But aren’t military leaders different from political leaders? And aren’t CEOs of public corporations different from the heads of family-owned businesses? And how about the demands of various industries--don’t they require different skill sets given the employment make-up and a whole host of other differences like service versus manufacturing enterprises?

Perhaps we should explore these differences of leadership requirements and include CEO’s of public corporations in these discussions to expand our understanding beyond the family business perspective. Or will we be content to just feel our way along and rely on an occasional inspirational quote from some leader of a different time and place which may or may not have any relevance to our situation?

In the case of family businesses, by establishing a board of advisors, executives of family-owned firms can have the best of both worlds--retaining the autonomy and intuitive approach to running their business that allowed them to be successful in the first place combined with the suggestions and perspectives from other business leaders serving in an advisory capacity.

quote of the week...

"The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

 — Theodore Roosevelt, American President

Leadership is listening . . . to employees

by Mary Beth Matteo, Founding Director of the S. Dale High Center

Knowing what your employees want and need from you sounds like the soft stuff, doesn’t it? In reality, understanding employee needs directly impacts the bottom line.

In a recent study, “Working in America: What Employees Want,” 82 percent of employees who are satisfied with their employer said that it motivated them to go above and beyond their responsibilities. A Deloitte study in 2004-2005 found that while “stock performance annual return of the SP 500 was 9%, the return for Best Companies to Work for was almost double, at 16 percent.”

Furthermore, as the economy begins to come back, baby boomers start to retire, and more jobs become available, the issue of recruiting and retention will again become huge. Understanding what employees are looking for is fundamental.

What employees expect from you:

• Clear goals and objective measurements for their success: companies that work on “whims,” murky goals, and favoritism are in trouble;

• Resources to do the task well and a reasonable time to do it in;

• Respect: the right to never be publically humiliated; tactful discipline is key;

• A vision: studies show that employees want their leader to inspire them and make them proud to be part of the organization, a team, or even a product;

• Autonomy: once the parameters have been set, working adults need freedom to achieve; micromanagement destroys initiative;

• Fairness: reward those who achieve; discipline workers and colleagues who are out of line; provide fair and reasonable compensation; and

• Productive and satisfying work environment; in most surveys, this trumps the salary issue.

Sum and Substance: research shows that there is a huge disconnect between what employers think their employees want, and what employees actually want. Narrowing that gap by looking at the research—and asking your people—will improve recruiting, retention and the bottom line.

Leadership is paying attention to trends and knowing if and when to follow them...

Quote of the week

“There is no such thing as a perfect leader, either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inverting spring onions into his nose in an effort to look like an elephant.”
—Liu Shao-Chi, Chinese politician

Leading in Turbulent Times

by Mary Beth Matteo, Founding Director of the S. Dale High Center

Leading in good times can feel effortless. Leading in turbulent times is taxing (no pun intended.)

Check out Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Harvard Business Review Blog, “13 Mistakes leaders make in Turbulent Times and How to Avoid Them.” Mistakes range from acting too quickly to being too controlling to neglecting key stakeholders.

Sum and substance: Tough times demand excellent communication and keeping your finger on the pulse of the organization. Doing what you always did well, and better!