Three Questions for Leaders

I recently asked 41 leaders three questions:

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?

The 22 responses I received present fascinating and varied perspectives:

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CEO, Coaching and Consulting Practice

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
The best advice I ever received was on the importance of really listening, what I would call global listening. When two people come together, the experience is almost always dominated by words. The leader has to raise the game or raise the interaction by truly listening, without judgment, which requires a suspension of assumptions. This allows people in one's organization to explore their own solutions, take responsibility for their own answers, builds their resourcefulness and increases trust. This kind of listening is not passive, and the impact is profound. Let me give you an example. As the primary person responsibility for building clients for our company, I am "pitching" constantly. The last two contracts we were awarded were worth over $60,000. After we were finished with the contracting phase, I couldn't help but ask why did they select us over 7 other national training firms. The answer came back the same both times: you were the only one who really listened to what we needed, and asked questions and designed a program from there.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
The greatest example of leadership was constantly displayed by my Great Grandfather, Senator Burton Kendall Wheeler. This US Senator from Montana was known for his uncompromising integrity, an uncanny ability to create relationships, (even with his enemies) and an unrelenting commitment to questioning the status quo. Growing up with him and being in his presence left quite an impression on me...and on Congress. As President Harry Truman said about him, "one of the greatest periods of my life has been my association with Burton Wheeler."
There was a movie about him, a classic Jimmy Stewart entitled, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

When (Stewart's character) idealistic junior senator Jefferson Smith arrives in Washington, he's full of plans and dazzled by the history of his surroundings -- qualities he retains even in the face of widespread corruption on the part of his colleagues. In this Academy Award-winning classic from director Frank Capra, we get to see him having his hopes dashed by the unstoppable, repressive Washington scene.
Smith had come so hopeful. As he sat downtrodden and dispirited, beneath Lincoln on the Washington Monument, his assistant Saunders says: "good comes from 'fools with faith' like you." He persevered and the rest is history.
Mr. Smith, or Burton Kendall Wheeler, during his 22 year tenure in the Senate, and his 1924 run for Vice President, had seven children, all "fools with the same kind of faith," who became exceptional leaders dedicated to public service. The point is, I know all about this kind of foolishness.
His eldest daughter, my grandmother, helped found the Young Democrats and a Planned Parenthood chapter, was a Washington lobbyist and a known author.
The two of them together taught me about the power of perseverance, and to remain grounded in your own personal ethics, no matter what.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The greatest learning I have had as a leader was the process of becoming a professional coach. The depth of skill around self awareness and management of my blind spots has made me into the leader I am today. It taught me the power of feedback, the power of holding myself and others accountable, and how important fearlessness is in today's leaders.

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Chief Clinical Informatics Officer and Physician, Healthcare IT Organization

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
A couple of different sources have conveyed the message that leadership is about successful processes for defining a vision of what needs to be done and empowering and supporting good folks who are energized by that vision so that they can help realize it. This seems like the essence of it all.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
John Kotter and his books on leadership (Leading Change, The Heart of Change). His material conveys a practical, thoughtful approach to thinking about what leadership means, and how to get the critical things that need to be done accomplished.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Although I haven't had traditional exec leadership roles with responsibility for people and budgets, I've gotten some useful, large-scale projects executed by following the idea outlined in the answer to question 1. When you can clearly articulate the picture on the cover of the puzzle box, and share that picture clearly and passionately with other key stakeholders, the puzzle pieces will appear, and (with proper nurturing and support) practically assemble themselves. (This is happening right now with an effort to produce a practical guidebook for improving medication management, safety and outcomes in healthcare delivery organizations; dozens of individuals from many healthcare organizations on 2 continents are coming together to produce this information that will be co-published next year by 4 leading non-profit healthcare/information organizations.)

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President, Executive Leadership Forum

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Leadership is about serving others and making other people around you happy.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
Sam Addoms, the founder of Frontier Airlines inspired me because of his ability to execute and give all the glory to others around him. He inspired me to be a humble leader.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Growing up and in college, I was the leader and captain of my various sports teams and was also the leader in any extracurricular activities. This gave me the grounding and experience in leading and guiding people towards a goal.

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Director of Learning & Organizational Development & former Air Force Colonel, Engineering Consulting Firm

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
To just be authentic and be myself. We all have strengths and one job of a good leader is to create the environment that allows the strengths of each individual to come out freely so the sum total of his/her team provide a synergy that generates strong results.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
I had a CEO, Paul Reilly, of a former company that operated from strong values and principles. I got to see how easy decision making, problem solving and dealing with any kind of issue can be if you just come at the situation with a strong principle-based approach.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
My flying experience with a crew of 10 people probably taught me my most important lesson early on. People support what they help create. By involving people in decision making, etc. you not only get the best ideas (it takes lots of ideas to get the best ideas), you also get the support of the people in implementation which is critical. The best ideas not supported or implemented are worthless. I involved my flying crew in just about every decision and we achieved exceptional results -- together

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Former President, University of Colorado

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Be strong in your own beliefs, but always be open to hearing/listening to the opinions/advice from others. I think leadership is best exemplified if the "leader" is open and honest in seeking the input and advice from others, and doesn't simply lead by "blind" will or determination.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
President Ronald Reagan. I have recently read The Reagan Diaries and have been additional impressed with his leadership characteristics; e.g. unwavering commitment to his beliefs and not swayed by political pressures, leading by core values and beliefs and not by political expediency, constantly seeking the advice from others he trusted, leading with grace and humor, and leadership from a humble and understated manner.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The opportunity to serve as CU President for a brief period. It was unlike any work experience I have had or ever will have. The wide range of constituent interests which were often in conflict with one another, the breadth of the position in terms of internal and external issues which were extremely varied and complex, and the daily unpredictability of what new issues would come across the desk challenged my abilities and leadership skills in unbelievable ways.

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COO, Multi-site Automotive Dealer

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
To lead, you need to understand the chemistry and motivational characteristics of the group you are leading. Why?....Cohesive and competitive groups are motivated by accomplishment and success. A “group of individuals” are lead more by “reward” for individual achievement. To lead successfully, you need to possess the characteristics in question 2.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
A Top Ranking Toyota Executive, inspired me the most. He is an intriguing combination of personable, firm, fair, knowledgeable, motivated, MANIPULATIVE and blessed with incredible long term vision. Why? I feel that to lead you need to possess all of the characteristics. The proper balance of these characteristics/attributes is a perpetual challenge.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The leadership experience that taught me the most…..was quite sad! I learned when people make requests, that are far from the norm, you need to ask at least 5 WHYS! A Japanese Management practice. In a nutshell, I learned that the 3 and ½ week vacation request was to serve a JAIL term! For an unforgivable crime! Not to participate in a civil trial. Why? I learned to respond decisively to dishonesty.

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Account Manager, Pharmaceutical Company

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Mr. Kauffman, who owned the KC Royals and Marion Labs, said "Reward Those Who Produce and Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated. "

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
Lou Holtz, coached Notre Dame, said "Do What Is Right, Do Your Best, and Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated." He also asked his players "Can I Trust You, Do You Care, and Are You Committed?" He also expected his players to ask him the same 3 questions.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Being a Senior Regional Account Manager for Sanofi-Aventis for 14 years has taught me that the philosophies & principals of Mr. Kauffman and Lou Holtz are important if you want to be a successful Leader. Additionally, I've learned that you need to be Passionate about what you do. You need to understand your customers' business and meet their needs. You need to have a Strategic Focus. Other Leadership behaviors that are important include: Goal Focus, Executing Priorities, Collaborating & Networking, Influencing, Resource Management, Qualifying Needs, Responsiveness, Planning, Innovation, Analytical thinking, Flexibility, Forward Thinking & Planning.

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Founder & CEO, IT Consulting Practice

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Be HONEST always … being a leader is not easy, you need to deliver the honest facts to all people, you’ll gain the teams respect

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
My business partner, under difficult situations – cross cultural situations and highly complex IT solutions his team always delivered world stage events without failure

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
When I ran a division for a multinational in Japan with 22 Japanese and I was the lone American, on how to win my teams trust as a leader and run a business with all the cultural and business differences … we eliminated the personal / national issues and focused on solving business issues … and celebrated the wins and losses as a team.

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CEO, Healthcare Organization

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Not to confuse social conformity or group consensus with leadership. Leadership demands information-gathering and opinion cultivation to be sure; however, it is the resolute application of those through decisive action that defines and identifies successful leaders.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
Winston Churchill. There have been, are, and will be, enduring qualities of leadership: inspiration, subordination of one’s self-interest to that of the group, commitment to excellence in conduct and ideals, and a rigorous sense of purpose........even in the face of debilitating odds and oppression.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
That the marginal difference between average, good, and outstanding is one of nominal perseverance. For me, this lesson was forged through difficulty and challenge. This, for me, is best captured by Ross Perot, when someone asked him what makes him so successful. His answer (paraphrased): "I can tolerate more pain than most". I think perseverance is the most undervalued characteristic of leadership. (An example was one where) the markets had made a determination that we would not be a viable company (trading at < $.02/share). Resolute in both our determination and resolve, we made some very difficult decisions (e.g., down-sizing), re-dedicated ourselves and persevered through the difficulty. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
General Manager, Large Bicycle Company

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
It’s not one big thing that makes a business successful, it’s all the little pieces done well that really influence positive change and growth.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
I’ve had to learn and accept my leadership style. I’m not my father who started this business 35 years ago. He was the entrepreneur that created this business and loves to jump on solutions quickly. Now that we have up to 70 employees, it takes more time to make big adjustments. However, the little stuff can happen quickly as long as the employees know what’s coming.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
My experience so far has show that most issues in our business stem from a lack of communication. Employees and customers like to know what’s going on and what to expect. Change is bad when people don’t know what’s going on. Additionally, people communicate differently, not one form of communication is going to work for everyone.

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President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Two thoughts—a) Good pre-planning makes actual execution dramatically easier in all leadership challenges, and b) “We all have two ears and one mouth” consequently being a good listener is perhaps twice as important as being a good spokesperson;

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
My father was a tremendous role-model for me in the sense he could communicate well with the typically upscale Board Room while also smoothly implementing frequently complicated strategic direction through his direct reports using effective delegation of both responsibility and authority; and

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
My service as a Platoon Leader at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia where I led an array of post-Vietnam service troops—challenges included short-term morale concerns, disrespect for authority, post-traumatic stress psychiatric issues as well as frequent chemical dependency—all of which make the typical day in the traditional office setting seem somewhat mundane.

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Entrepreneur, Coaching and Consulting Practice

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Unfortunately, no one ever sat down with me and tutored me on leadership. What I now know and promote to my clients is a collection of both positive and negative experiences and observations. But what I know now is that people have a difficult time leaving an environment they are happy in, the most valuable player is usually one who makes all the other players on the team better and that I worked a lot harder for people who made me feel I was important.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
This is a no-brainer, Father Fred (McCallan) he never asked for money but could raise it by the bushel. You just wanted to be around him because you felt better there. He made you want to do more by thanking you for all you have done. He was a visionary who could see things through your eyes.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
When I first started coaching youth football, during a game a parent walked up to me and told me it wasn't very productive for me to call the kids bucket heads etc. in front of everyone. I had to agree. It's funny where you find light switches.

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Retired Air Force General

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Take care of your people and they will take care of our mission. Taking care covers many forms….developing competence, commitment and character are a few expressions of care. Looking out for our people’s whole life including engaging in personal coaching and looking after the well being of their families during good and bad times are also acts of caring.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
Mahatma Gandhi……the remarkable force of a positive, others centered, servant-leader belief system. Such power (force and the will to apply it) leads to “empowering” self. Leaders don’t empower people. People empower themselves by developing understanding of what is right and wrong and acting in the context of what is right. Leaders create an environment of respect for one another’s right-mindedness and potential. This is the stuff of empowerment.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Aiming High !! My first duty assignment in the military was to join an Air Force – Industrial team to catch and overtake the Soviets with their space program.
After huge investments of our nations resources (time, skills, money, international relationships, broken families, etc) and technical failures we achieved our purpose. Later our nation and its NATO allies decided on an “Aim High” strategy to end the cold war by applying our military-industrial-technological might. We did it by bankrupting the Soviets through the development and fielding the cruise missile program…..a program that expanded the political, social, technology and economic capabilities of the Soviets beyond their limits. Michail Gorbachev exercised the virtue of remarkable courage and transformed the belief system of the Soviets and ended the cold war peacefully…….making real the vision of the US Military belief that “Peace is our Profession.” Aim High !!

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Architect & Founder, IT Consulting Practice

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
1a. "This is not the highest form which civilization can reach. The highest form that civilization can reach is a seamless web of deserved trust. Not much procedure, just totally reliable people correctly trusting one another. That's the way an operating room works at the Mayo Clinic. If a bunch of lawyers were to introduce a lot of process, the patients would all die." - Charlie Munger
1b. “I am right and you are smart and eventually you will realize I am right” - Charlie Munger

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why
Gates, Torvalds, Munger

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
getting a pen thrown at me by a high up director at NASDAQ, but I knew I was right and he was wrong. See quote 1b.

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CEO, Supply Chain Solution Company for Banking Industry

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
The best advice I received relates to communications.
As a leader, it's incredibly important to know your audience in both formal and informal settings and think about what you are saying and the implications it can generate before blurting it out. Many people form opinions based on who is delivering a message and not just the content of what's being said, and I've witnessed the inadvertent damage that can be done when leaders don't take that extra minute to "think".
Many leaders also sometimes fail to recognize the "opportunity cost" of making requests to others who work for them. In the interest of pleasing the "boss", many individuals will drop what they are doing in order to deliver a timely response or deliverable. However, that can often come at the expense of other potentially higher value initiatives that fall down the heap. Prioritization is something that leaders must continually keep in mind, especially as companies attempt to run lean and can only accomplish a handful of concurrent initiatives effectively.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
I have been inspired by many leaders across various fields, from noted business and political leaders to sports personalities and coaches that have led teams to achieve great goals to individuals that I've met on a personal level in educational, religious or other settings. I don't have a single person that I can say has had the most inspiration on me; rather, I often look at the level of passion and conviction that an individual dedicates to whatever business, mission or cause occupies the vast majority of their time and look for how that passion translates into programs and measurable results that truly make a difference within the "world" in which that leader operates. I then try to assimilate those various instances into my own actions when seeking inspiration.


3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Having been a part of a management team during the various phases of growth, maturation and times of conflict that faced a former business of mine formed the basis of the most valuable experience I've had in leadership. Over the course of less than nine years, I was in a senior role with an organization that had gone from a turnaround situation through an IPO, experienced multiple acquisitions and divestitures, issues with management change and ultimately sale of the company. As the head of a business unit that was forced to downsize at one point during this evolution, I learned the value of being straightforward and direct with people, especially when the news wasn't always rosy. I also learned to be adaptive to change, and not to prejudge situations until accumulating enough direct experience to properly form an opinion and act accordingly. There were also situations where I wasn't in direct control of a business unit, but was responsible for various elements of its operation, leading to the need to manage in a matrix environment and provide guidance to individuals across functional areas. The sum of these experiences has taught me that leadership is really all about thinking and acting in a way that earns you the respect of others and enables them to act in a fashion that is characteristic of how you would act yourself, for the purpose of achieving a collective outcome beyond what you could do individually.

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Sales Director, Pharmaceutical Company

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Two things that my dad told me when I worked as a laborer for him in his masonry business
- make every move count
- have a system
It has enabled me to focus on the right things, and to think things through

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
Jesus has most inspired me b/c leadership in many ways is love and self-sacrifice when done right. It's what Jim Collins says about Level 5 leadership in Good to Great. Only authenticity and pure motives have sustainability when it comes to people.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
Building a team of 65 reps and 6 managers and the following principle has taught me the most. "We intensely care about performance and people, and it shows." I spent two years of my business life working on that. My whole career has been a leadership experience, as I have built up my own list of do's and don'ts from observing others.
Two other thoughts on leadership.
"You need to learn how to step on people's toes without taking the shine off their shoes."-- Regional Manager for a Pharmaceutical company speaking on manager interpersonal skills
Knowing that "doing things right" is management. "Doing right things" is leadership.

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Humanitarian and Founder, Peace Organization

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
"In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain.
You can replace "patriot" with leader and Twain's observation is great advice. I think it is important for people to know that sometimes being a leader means staying true to your values even if everyone else will try to persecute you for doing this. I have also found the famous saying "success has many fathers/mothers and failure is an orphan" very accurate.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
Jesus. His message that it is more important to save your soul than save your life inspires me to love other people, especially people who do not agree with me.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
I think the military leadership experience was my most educational. I was able to see good people working together for all the right reasons and clear examples of both excellent and poor leadership. I rarely found leaders of the same quality in the business world.

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Entrepreneur, Healthcare Consulting Practice

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Your reputation proceeds you and your deeds follow you, this is important so you
understand the future impact of what you do.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
Fred Wasserman was my mentor early in my career in managed care.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
A class in situational ledership I took while at Aetna.

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President, Wellness Organization

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Always be willing to do what you ask others to do. I think it is important to understand what your staff do in their day to day lives. Listen to them and then act confidently and in a timely fashion.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
There have been many people that have taught me things throughout my life. I can’t say that I have had someone that inspired me from a leadership perspective.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The first time I had to lay someone off from their job taught me a lot. Being a small business allows for all staff positions to feel like extended family. However, business is business and sometimes layoffs happen due to things that are not in your control.

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Retired Sales Vice President, Pharmaceutical Company

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Leadership starts with doing the "right thing." It also includes treating others as you would like to be treated. And, very importantly, don't ask others to do something you wouldn't do. Lastly, people deep down want to know if they can trust you and really care about them as a person. With people growth comes company growth follows. A great leader will give their people a chance to grow and flourish. Remember, everyone wants to be treated with dignity and respect

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
Bob Ingram, the former President for GSK, inspired me the most. He led by example, and blended a keen business mind with high interpersonal skills. His attitude was always positive...and he was humble...always credited those around him with his success.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
It is easy to lead in "great times." However, a true measurement of one's ability to lead is when things get tough. It is in times of difficulty that people will look to their leadership. How you react will have a great bearing on those that you lead.

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Vice President Operations, Largest Healthcare organization in the U.S.

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
The need for control and coordination can inadvertently undermine your employees' ability to be creative & to act on their innovative ideas. Understand when to jump in and make the deep dive, and more importantly, know when to stand back and allow your team to make their way.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
The president of a managed care company I worked for previously, who is now deceased. While not a well known persona, he inspired me greatly. He taught me to have fun, to make something of this work we do as leaders, and he taught me about influence. The power of influence, when used in a positive way, has a significant and sustainable impact on the people you lead and, therefore, on your ability to achieve the organization's goals.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The experience that taught me the most was a system conversion that failed to go live as planned & the consequences. The lessons ranged from supporting each member of the team without blame, to acting in reality, to crisis management, and to more tactical aspects of contingency planning. Some of my greatest learnings have grown out of difficult challenges.

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Speaker of the House, State Legislature

1. What was the best advice you ever received on leadership and why?
Use your mouth and your ears in the same ratio God gave them to you.

2. From a leadership perspective, who has most inspired you and why?
I am inspired by Robert Kennedy, who (relatively late in life) pursued – and inspired a nation to join – a fight against poverty.

3. What leadership experience taught you the most and why?
The negotiations that produced Referendum C taught me the danger of making the perfect the enemy of the good.

50 Questions for Leaders

SELF-AWARENESS
1. In less than a minute, what is your life story and purpose?
2. What are your greatest strengths?
3. What should you change about yourself?
4. How are you doing relative to your peers?
5. What can you do that someone else can't?
6. Why should someone hire you?
7. How will you continue to be competitive?
8. How can you utilize technology to accelerate your goal attainment?

DAY-TO-DAY
9. What are your current top three tasks, and do they support your goals?
10. What sacrifices do you make on a daily basis towards the achievement of your goals?
11. What is an ideal day for you?

LEADERSHIP
12. What is your management style?
13. What are you doing to become a better listener?
14. What are doing to improve your communication skills?
15. What can do to become a more effective leader?
16. Do you feel that you have top managerial potential?
17. What do you look for when you hire people?
18. Have you ever had to fire people? What were the reasons, and how did you handle the situation?
19. What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager or executive?
20. What types of people do you work best with?

INDUSTRY
21. What important trends do you see in your industry as they relate to your strengths?

MONEY
22. How do you make money?
23. Are you living within your means?
24. How much do you want to get paid?
25. Why aren't you earning more at your age?

ORGANZATION
26. What is the ideal organizational culture for you?
27. What does the ideal organization look like that best aligns with your interests, values, experiences, and skills?
28. Are your job responsibilities aligned with your expectations?
29. When will you be making a decision to make a change in your current situation?
30. What was the most attractive position you have held to date? What was least attractive about it?
31. What’s the ideal position?
32. How long does it take you to make a meaningful contribution to an organization?
33. In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most? The least?
34. What do you think of you as a boss?

GROWTH
35. How do you insure bad news gets delivered to you?
36. How do you evaluate yourself?
37. How do you benefit your organization?
38. Are there opportunities for growth and advancement in your current situation?
39. Are you seeking opportunities for professional training or further education?
40. What have you learned about yourself in the last year?
41. How successful have you been so far?
42. What are your long-range goals?

RISK
43. How do you feel about financial risk in pursuit of your goals?
44. Why did you leave your last job?
45. What type of opportunities do you foresee in the next few years? Why?

FUTURE
46. Why did you choose your line of work?
47. What could really hurt you in the next few years?
48. How are you going to grow?
49. Do you love what you do – is it your passion and your life’s work?
50. What will be your legacy?

Leadership Survey

1. Please rank the item listed below according to your greatest needs:

Listed below is how the respondents ranked the categories...

1. Develop leaders that drive high performance teams
2. Drive revenue growth
3. Achieve strategic alignment across the organization
4. Create culture that challenges status quo
5. Penetrate new markets

2. Where is your greatest expertise?

Listed below are the responses...

Sales – 27.1%
Executive/Generalist – 25.4%
Other – 18.6%
IT – 10.2%
Marketing – 8.5%
Operations – 5.1%
Finance – 3.4%
HR – 1.7%

3. Why are some leaders ineffective?

1. Lack personality/style/leadership capacity plus training
2. Don't communicate with their employees - where is the company going and how the employees will be compensated on achieving the goal.
3. Lack integrity take a "ready, fire, aim" approach when under pressure do not exhibit a servant leadership style that attracts and engages team
4. They don't understand differences between leadership & management. They are very efficient mgrs, but much less effective at leadership. They don't challenge the teams they lead nor the conventional wisdom of their bosses.
5. Lack vision and insight into cause and effect of action/decisions
6. Lack of passion. Effective leaders have an enthusiasm for their work which is contagious. They inspire others around them. Their excitement spreads throughout the team. Leaders that do not display that true passion don't inspire others and tend to fail as leaders.
7. Lack of skill (especially strategy, people development/leadership)
8. Many are not visionaries and react to situations they had not anticipated because of this shortsightedness.
9. They might be good technically, but are not good at communicating and managing people
10. Don't reward those who produce; don’t treat others the way they want to be treated; not trustworthy; don’t surround themselves with outstanding people; only concerned about their next promotion.
11. Lack of support from the top, lack of clear compelling vision, lack of support for their teams
12. Not in touch with their employees intrinsic values No integrity More interested in achieving success for themselves than taking care of their employees Ineffective listeners and/or communicators Do not know how to delegate
13. They can't understand the customer and their needs and how the company's employees and product/service can best support/satisfy that need.
1. Unresponsive to organizational needs expressed. 2. Interference with subordinate responsibility. Do not empower/trust staff. 3. Challenges managing up the chain of the organization
14. They are not trusted by their people. They don't get the job done. If someone comes to them with an issue, the issue should be dealt with (for the better or the worse)...the employee should not have to chase the leader to get answers they need to move on.
1) Won't make hard tradeoff decisions. 2) Analysis paralysis: risk adverse and want total reassurance of result prior to commitment 3) Encumbered by staff management 4) Lack of role clarity and authority within the organization leads to duplication of effort, inefficiency, and infield fighting.
15. Poor Interpersonal skills; Lack of training; Lack of experience; Self-Focused rather than team focused; Disorganized
16. They don't make decisions and won't hold people accountable. They spend too much time managing up and not developing people.
17. They do not galvanize their organization. The people they are leading lack clear, consistent direction.
18. Focused too much on themselves and how they are perceived. Don't know how to effectively manage others. Can't figure out what motivates people that work for them--lack of awareness of other. Not good at communicating
19. Unable to make a decision. Unable to motivate people working for them.
20. Failure to focus and prioritize Failure to align incentives of key players Failure to listen (to customers, employees and other key stakeholders)
21. Inflexible - unable or unwilling to adapt as the situation around them changes. It is easy to be a good leader when things are going well.
22. Low emotional intelligence
- Because they simplify too much - Because they cannot listen - Because they can only repeat and not think for themselves - Because they are too shallow
23. Do not listen to the customer needs
24. Their priorities rarely include the right things. They become overwhelmed with producing quarterly results, not long-term value creation, investor’s pressure- to take care of the investors regardless of the business impact and personal goals- What's in it for me.
25. Too focused on day to day and don't invest in the long-term viability of their employees. Lose sight of what is important and what is just "noise".
26. A lack of honesty, integrity, candor, knowledge, and the willingness to take on the same challenges as their team members. Additionally, ineffective leaders are those focused on self-promotion and advancement and are therefore prone to micromanagement, and increasing involvement in the politics of impressing one's superiors rather than focusing on doing excellent work in light of what is right for their team.
27. Poor communication skills Dysfunctional teams
28. Don't have the trust of their people
29. Too focused on short term revenue or sales Too micromanaged from superiors Cannot focus on big picture Incentive compensation not aligned with objectives
30. Clear values and willingness to do what is right vs. what is popular.
31. Ego
32. Ability to clearly articulate a compelling vision for meeting market needs, and instituting operating mechanisms to deliver against that vision.
33. Varies by person. Biggest challenge is managing the paradox of "brutally honest about today" and "vision for tomorrow."
34. They do not provide motivation, realistic goals, or tactics. Fail to follow up on execution and are not honest and open in communicating. Micro-managers.
35. Cannot drive execution
36. You would be hard for me to call somebody who is ineffective a leader. The major reason I believe would be because the followers don't see where there personal needs can be met by going where the leader is taking them.
37. There are a number of reasons why a person can be an ineffective leader, tops from perspective would be; 1) inability to understand / communicate the mission and its importance, 2) inability to develop or inspire confidence & 3) inability to weather short-term setbacks to build a sustainable organization focused on long-term objectives.
38. They're not leading. They have the title but not the skill/knowledge.
39. inability to get team to understand and buy in to the overall vision and goal of the project; inability to help team overcome obstacles; inability to create high morale in team; too focused on themselves and personal success rather than success of others/team; lack of emotional intelligence
40. They do not understand the difference between commanding and leading. Even though they have the power to command they must operate differently or they will only get what they want rather than getting the best of an employee.
41. There are a variety of reasons why leaders are ineffective. In my opinion, these are the most common reasons: 1. Not having the respect of one's peers and/or team. 2. Not having decision-making authority. 3. Not effectively staving off forces that may be working against the leader's goals.
42. They don't have a true indication of the actual company culture and are misguided in their actions. Spending time on details rather than the strategy of the business.
43. Limited knowledge of the domain in which they are trying to make the decision...along with the fact that they often don't know that they don't know enough about the domain.
44. they operate on CYA
45. Short-term focus for immediate personal rewards.
46. They don't listen.
47. They do not validate the information being presented to them, thus they can make the wrong decisions. They do not understand project or portfolio management.
48. Great leaders have mastered a bottoms-up style of leadership. Ineffective leaders are top down only. They engender cooperation, not initiative.
49. Ineffective leaders frequently use Soviet-style command and control management.
50. They are not capable of asking the right questions and afraid to really listen to the hard answers. They are not able to build a team heading in the same direction.


4. What do you believe are the most pressing challenges for today's business leaders?

1. Having a strategic vision and plan. Setting a high moral standard of conduct.
2. Spending more time on their people issues.
3. Having a focused, strategic, balanced, long-term view of business opportunities an active application of emotional intelligence and situational leadership principles throughout the organization
4. Leading through change.
5. To do what you say and say what you mean
6. Engaging team members to think and act as business owners instead of being just an employee.
7. Prioritizing the plethora of projects, initiatives and issues.
8. To be responsive to changing market and competitive situations
9. Retaining top talent; Surrounding themselves with the right people; Creating the right culture; Strategic alignment according to business priorities; understanding the business
10. Change management (keeping folks motivated and focused in changing times).
11. Consistently being ethical when attempting to satisfy the demands of their shareholders Innovation…what is the company doing to ensure that will continue grow and be profitable? Customer Service; not developing long-term relationships with the customer. Retention; what is the company doing to ensure it maintains a skilled workforce?
12. 1. Effective communication with the customer and employee 2. Accepting criticism, growing from it. 3. Seeing the future and understanding how to drive the organization to excel at the changes and challenges that lie ahead.
13. 1. Corporate "America" in general is under such pressure to drive revenue and compete that they are creating company cultures that ignore and discount life balance equations for employees.
14. Aligning their own interests with the interests of the company....that includes shareholders. Short-term gain....long-term problem. Doing the right thing....being honest.
15. 1) unifying subordinates toward mission/goals 2) "Data overload", as opposed to identification of "right" information
16. Organizational effectiveness, recruiting and hiring, sales and sales management processes, turnover.
17. The need to grow revenue within short time spans with little thought to strategic development. There is no institutional patience for development any more.
18. Globalization, employee lethargy or entitlement, business integrity
19. Looking/seeing beyond the next 6-12 months.
20. Business ethics
21. Keeping their businesses fresh, relevant, creative and continually adding value to customers Dealing with new forms of competition (Internet, global)
22. Ability to rapidly transition or adapt to the changing market. Or to recognize where upcoming changes and to adjust accordingly.
23. Depends on the situation: startup, realignment, etc.
24. Bring ethics back in business. A business leader should also be a moral leader. Currently business is ONLY about making money - with business being a (if not THE) driving force in modern society, it's responsibility is broadening.
25. Cost pressures
26. To create a business that will stand the test of time is one of our toughest challenges. To create shareholder value that steadily increases. Attract new Visionaries and Talent that want to be a part of creating greatness and retaining them.
27. Reverse the cycle of self-serving managers who will destroy and organization's ability to compete just to get themselves ahead. Cutting down the politics in an organization to allow for true high achievers to create impact and results.
28. Growing revenue in a difficult economy and business environment; hiring the right people to do the job; expectations to deliver more with fewer resources.
29. Flexibility Strength Maintaining focus (of self and of team)
30. Maintaining motivation and understanding of widely varying generational needs/wants/strengths. Boomers are not risk takers and tend to not want to change, Gen X/Y get bored very easily. Boomers built things themselves, Gen X/Y have been given everything by their parents (Boomers).
31. The most important challenge facing today's leaders is how to make sure you are developing your future leaders while achieving sales and revenue goals.
32. Being true to their values as they are surrounded by long standing practices that support injustice. For example, how many business leaders speak out about the exponential difference between CEO pay and that of ordinary employees? Or consider how is it just that employees have two weeks’ vacation a year when the demands of caring for a family alone often consume the entire two weeks of vacation. We need to focus on treating employees the way we would want to be treated. When this happens in the business world, productivity will skyrocket and the corruption we see at the highest level of corporate America will plummet.
33. Inability to identify or lack of attention to issue of mentoring others to become effective leaders. Most companies prize self-starters and self-reliant people who require less management time. Most companies also seem to recognize the value of building team skills among their employees. However, those traits are far different from leadership skills. The effectiveness of an organization that has people who can "direct" or "manage" others is probably less than an organization that has "leaders" scattered throughout the company in those positions. An organizational leader who recognizes the value of leadership skills helps position his company for success.
34. The ability to build and sustain and effective leadership team.
35. Coping with very complex markets and very rapid pace of change.
36. Aligning executive compensation with desired company performance. Finding genuine ways to lead their team.
37. Ability to keep the team or company motivated and focused in the right direction. The right direction to me means having the correct vision: What is my market, now and in the future, how to dominate that market and continue to stay on top as that market, technology, and delivery of product and services changes?
38. Achieving team ownership, understanding, or a belief in the strategy. Many leaders are effective at gaining a “following”, but not a culture of workers that can help drive the new ideas needed to execute on the strategy.
39. Balancing task and relationship in their corporate culture. Creating an environment where people want to work versus have to work.
40. The pace of change, the development of leadership capabilities throughout the organization, fed partly by the difficulty to retain important staff members.
41. Challenging national and global economy - differentiation
42. How to continue to keep company/teams motivated, especially when faced with a constantly changing business environment
43. They do not listen to their employees. They do not listen to their customers. If they did both of these they would solve most of their problems.
44. 1. Some leaders put too much emphasis on their own advancement instead of the welfare of their employees and company. 2. Today's business leaders' actions and creativity are limited by human resource mandates.
45. Balancing the bottom line and increasing revenues with company culture and keeping employees challenged, happy and motivated.
46. Figuring out how to use information technology to its fullest capabilities while at the same time allowing employees and customers to feel that they still have an important role in making the decisions. In other words, if the IT was always right, we wouldn't need the people, but currently the IT is wrong often enough that only the really good people can recognize what to do in the face of wrong advice from the IT.
47. Don’t solve problems, create opportunities - Drucker
48. Achieving financial results required by large corporations while building/sustaining a long-term business opportunity. Making employees and customers a central focus; not just shareholders.
49. Understanding the market direction and aligning the organization to meet strategic goals.
50. For them to slow down and take note of what's going on in the world, in our culture, in their own offices.
51. Having to lead teams with thin experience and shallow teamwork skills.
52. Morale.
53. Getting intelligent, driven people to effectively work together.

5. Please rate the importance of the following issues:

Listed below is how the respondents ranked the categories...

1. Culture
2. Revenue & operational efficiencies
3. Leadership development
4. Teamwork
5. Product development & market penetration


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February 2007
Subject: 90 second survey for Jan Rutherford's research project

This email request is being sent to 90 people I respect as astute business professionals. This anonymous survey was developed for research I am conducting on leadership, and there are only 5 short questions.
Thank you for participating!
Jan Rutherford