Bud Bilanich | The Common Sense Guy

Motivational Leadership

Committed and engaged employees are one of the secrets I present in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.  Effective leaders are motivational leaders.  The people they lead are committed and engaged.  The February 2007 edition of The Motivational Manager has an interesting piece on the characteristics of a Motivational Leaders. 

Characteristics of Motivational Leaders

·        Motivational leaders are a good fit with their company.

·        Motivational leaders are good at relationship building.

·        Motivational leaders are good team players.

·        Motivational leaders use their time wisely.

·        Motivational leaders have a strong work ethic.

·        Motivational leaders are principled, but flexible.

·        Motivational leaders are analytical thinkers.

·        Motivational leaders are decisive.

·        Motivational leaders are good coaches and mentors.

·        Motivational leaders help the people around them feel better and, more importantly, do better.

The ten characteristics separate motivational leaders from the rest of the pack.  Leaders who demonstrate them are more likely to do a better job of creating a committed and engaged work than those who don’t.

The common sense point here is simple.  If you have the responsibility for selecting and developing leaders, keep them in mind.  Potential leaders need not be skilled in all ten characteristics when you promote them, but they should be skilled in most of them, and have the ability to quickly develop the others.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming a success in your life and career.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Some Leadership Humor

A little leadership humor today.  Afterall, it is Friday. 

The February 2007 issue of The Motivational Manager includes a list of the most unusual excuses leaders have heard from the people they lead for taking a day off.

• “I was poisoned by my mother in law.”
• “I have really bad hiccups.”
• “I blew my nose so hard that I threw my back out.”
• “My mother’s in jail.”
• “My dog swallowed my bus pass.”
• “A skunk got into my house and sprayed all my uniforms.”
• “My wife is pregnant and I have the same symptoms.”
• “A buffalo that escaped from the game preserve charges me every time I try to get to my car.”
• “I’m locked in a bathroom stall, and there is no one around to get me out.”  (This call was made on a cell phone.)
• “I got drunk and tried to snowboard off my roof and broke my leg.”
• “My wife won’t let me come to work, because I have too many chores to do around the house.”
• “Last night, one of the walls of my house fell in.”
• "I was walking to work and got hit by a bus.”
• “My horses got loose and ran down the highway.  I have to get them back.”
• "I’m too sad to come in.”

Regardless of the reason, effective leaders always have a conversation with the people they lead who are absent when they return to work.  These leaders know that it is important to remind the people they lead that they count on them to be at work when they are scheduled to work. 

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming a success in your life and career.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Great Leaders Know How to Say "Good Job"

Great leaders know the importance of complimenting the people they lead.  In my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, I make the point that effective leaders do everything they can to help the people they lead become engaged and committed to their organization. 

Praise is an effective way of engaging people the people you lead and getting their commitment.  A recent issue of Team Management Briefings included an article entitled 21 Ways to Say “Well Done”.  I like these ideas, so I’m posting them here.

Leadership Training Begins at Home

Monday’s Wall Street Journal had an article, Raising Women to be Leaders, about the Sullivan sisters – Denise, Maggie, Colleen and Andrea – four women who are senior executives. 

“It is rare for four brothers to achieve such levels of success.  The fact that they are sisters is striking.  Half of all managers in the US are female, but most are stuck in midlevel staff jobs.  In senior posts, men outnumber women by almost six to one,” the article pointed out.  It continues, “The Sullivan sisters, as they were known growing up, beat these odds, in large part because of their upbringing.  Their father, an AT&T executive, wanted to share everything he knew about business with his girls.  Their mother taught them that ambition is a part of femininity."

Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan’s “leadership training program” is one that many companies should consider emulating.

• Mr. Sullivan brought home models of the Princess Trimline phone when it was being developed to teach his daughters about marketing.
• Mr. Sullivan took his daughters to the office decades prior to the advent of “take your daughters to work day”.
• Mr. Sullivan had his daughters learn to set and reach goals early in their lives.
• Mr. Sullivan had his daughters read at least one book a week, and then write a report on it.
• Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan woke the family at 6:00 every morning to exercise together. 
• Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan expected their daughters to choose activities they liked – and to excel in them.  “Aim high, and if you don’t get what you want, analyze what went wrong and try again,” they said.
• Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan expected their daughters to earn their allowance by doing household chores.  When they became teenagers, the daughters were expected them to get part time jobs.

All of these things – learning the nuts and bolts of business, goal setting, reading to expand one’s mind, keeping physically fit, learning from failure, taking responsibility – that Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan did as they raised their children, are a great start on the design of a leadership training from which any company would benefit.

By the way, the Sullivan Sisters are all doing pretty well for themselves.  Denise Sullivan Morrison is President of Campbell Soup USA.  Maggie Sullivan Wilderotter is Chairman and CEO of Citizens Communication Co.  Colleen Sullivan Bastkowski is a regional VP of Sales for Expedia.  Andrea Sullivan Doelling is now devoting her time to equestrian competition, but was Senior VP of Sales for AT&T Wireless.

The common sense point here – it’s never too early to learn how to lead.  If you’re a leader or a business owner and you weren’t lucky enough to hire a Sullivan Sister, get on the ball and do whatever it takes to develop your people into leaders.  The sooner you start, the better.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming a success in your life and career.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Leadership Common Sense

Leadership common sense is the theme today.  I’m going to tell the stories of two companies.  The leaders in one company used their common sense.  The leaders of the other company didn’t.  The common sense leaders – Toyota.  The non common sense leaders – Radio Shack.

Love and Leadership, More Similar Than You Think

Debra Benton is a colleague and friend.  She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review and Playboy. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and CBS News. Debra is a sought- after speaker and consultant and author of the best-selling How to Think Like a CEO and six other leadership and professional development books.

Recently, she completed a study of 50 dual career couples, and came up with an interesting result.  You can improve your love life with business management training. Likewise, expertise in love helps you as a leader. Get better in one area and you’ll get better in the other.

Pretty cool, huh?  A win-win in my book.

Ms. Benton says that self-confidence is sexy in the corporate world as well as at home. “Dating is like interviewing. Engagement is the job offer. Marriage is the commitment to full-employment. Divorce feels like getting fired. 

"During the honeymoon, you have excitement.  On the job ‘honeymoon’ you have the enthusiasm. Normalcy becomes the comfort in love and the routine at work. How you treat people, how you compromise, positive thinking, all help you consummate business deals and whatever else you wish to consummate.”

Ms. Benston suggests that you take business management skills home and the same seven courtship traits to work.  She calls these her Love and Leadership Rules.

·        Assume acceptance as a human regardless of rank or role. Never put yourself below your partner or your boss.

·        Ask questions. Know what people need and want.

·        Use humor. No one will fault you for lightening the mood.

·        Touch. Figuratively and literally pat people on the back.

·        Initiate. Don’t wait to be asked or prodded.

·        Slow down, shut up, and listen. When you play hard to get they want you more.

·        Look good. Stand up straight and smile.

Ms. Benton says, “people gravitate to the confident individual in business, and in personal life. People follow the confident.  The love and leadership rules stimulate confidence.”

Ms. Benton makes some great, common sense points about the similarities between leadership and love.  Think about it the next time you are close to getting into an argument with a loved one or are having a difficult time with someone at work.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more leadership common sense.  Check out my other blog www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Successful Leaders Sponsor, Not Support, Organizational Changes

Skillful execution of the things that matter is one of the secrets in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.  Last week, USA Today did a series on health care in America.  On Friday, October 20, an article entitled Hallmark of Quality Care: Efficiency – NJ Hospital Leads the Way to Streamlined, Effective Teamwork appeared.  The article highlighted the efforts of Hackensack University Medical Center; and said in part “Hackensack has been steadily working to improve quality for seven years and is now at the leading edge of a nation wide movement to dramatically redesign health care.   Efficiency, streamlined processes and teamwork are all key factors in execution, so I read the article with some interest…

Questions for Leaders, Part 3

I received a comment from Steve on my last post that said:

• “Thanks, this provides almost a "cheat sheet" of how to do it, whereas before I was kind of stuck with writers block staring at a blank sheet of paper.  It seems like you have an endless potential of subjects to write about, for example, each of those people that influenced you could be expanded into it's own article that describes how they influenced you and what you learned from it, so they we may benefit from standing on your shoulders."

I appreciate the comment, Steve.  However, in the interest of privacy – both mine and the people who have influence me – I’m not going to follow through on your suggestion and give detailed examples of what I’ve learned from each of these people, just one.

However, I will offer one suggestion for anyone interested in learning from other people – pay attention!  Watch the people you admire.  See what they do.  Think about what you can learn from them.  And then, apply these learnings in your personal life.

Here is my one example – to help clarify what happened, what I learned and how I use it in my life. 

Addie Perkins and I used to work together.  When I was finishing my Harvard dissertation, I had a lot of numbers to crunch.  Statistics is not my strong suit.  Addie has a PhD from the University of Michigan and is very strong quantitatively.  I asked her for help in running some regression analyses and interpreting the results.

Addis and I spent a several hours after work for a whole week, running the reports and analyzing the data.  This went way beyond what she needed to do – and what I expected.  Addie worked with me to make sure that I had everything I needed to finish up the dissertation and get my degree.  She asked for nothing in return, and she new that I could not reciprocate -- at least with the kind of help she gave me.

To this day, I am willing to help anyone who asks because of what Addie did for me.  She expected and asked for nothing in return – either do I.  I help others for a few reasons:  1) I like to see others succeed.  2) I feel good about myself when I help others.  3) I thank Addie by helping others.  4) I hope that those I help will thank me by helping others.

I hope this helps, Steve.  Good luck as you work through Blanchard’s questions.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blogs: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be; and www.CommonSenseDay.com to learn more about Use Your Common Sense Day -- November 4, and to read stories of common sense in action.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Questions for Leaders

Committed, engaged employees are one of the secrets I discuss in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.  Leadership is an important key to creating a committed and engaged workforce.

The other day, I came across a set of great questions to help anyone become a better leader.  Not surprisingly, they are more common sense from Ken Blanchard (of One Minute Manager and a zillion other books fame).  These questions can be found in Ken Blanchard’s book, Leading at a Higher Level. 

Dr. Blanchard suggests that leaders need to find their “center” if they are to be effective.  He offers the following seven questions for finding your leadership center.

1. Who influences you – for good or bad?  What have you learned from them about leading?
2. What is your life purpose?  Why are you here?  What do you want to accomplish?
3. What core values guide you as you live your purpose?
4. Given your influences, purpose and values, what do you believe about leading people?
5. What can people expect from you?  Can they trust you?
6. What do you expect from the people you lead?
7. How will you set a good example?

These are simple common sense questions that should have straightforward answers.  I'll post my answers to these questions tomorrow. 

However, as with most common sense, you have to have the willingness and determination to put the answers into play if you’re going to succeed as a leader. 

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blogs: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be; and www.CommonSenseDay.com to learn more about Use Your Common Sense Day -- November 4, and to read stories of common sense in action.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Leadership and "Gridiron Gang"

The other day, I saw the movie Gridiron Gang.  For those of you who don’t know, Gridiron Gang is the story of Sean Porter, a counselor at Camp Kilpatrick, a Los Angeles detention center for juveniles – many who are violent gang members.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Porter started a football program at the camp to help the young men there learn such things as discipline, teamwork and dealing with authority in a positive manner.  The movie is a dramatic recreation of the challenges faced by Mr. Porter. 

I liked this movie.  Yes, it is sappy, but I like movies in which people get their lives together.  Yes, it’s about American football.  Not everyone likes American football, but I do.  Yes, it’s a bit violent at the beginning, but I think it sets the stage in explaining the young men on the football team.  But the reason I like the movie best is because it makes some great points about leadership.

In the movie, Sean Porter:

• Builds the players’ self esteem.
• Admits when he is wrong.
• Challenges the players to do their best.
• Rewards them when they perform.
• Is candid, he confronts the players with the reality that their lives are not working.
• Shows genuine empathy for the players.
• Treats the players as individuals – using different techniques to motivate different players.
• Takes risks for the things in which he believes.

I know it’s just a movie, but it can be both an entertaining and instructive flick.  There are things to be learned here about leadership.  If you go, watch from two angles – enjoy the story.  But more importantly, pay attention to how The Rock, aka Sean Porter, leads his team.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blogs: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be; and www.CommonSenseDay.com to learn more about Use Your Common Sense Day -- November 4, and to read stories of common sense in action.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.