Comments on: What’s Your Experience with Leadership? http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/ Leadership, followership, and purpose at work Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:37:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Bret L. Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1408 Bret L. Simmons Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:54:39 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1408 Glad to hear your thougts on this, Art. Very encouraging that early career leaders are passionate about leadership and excellence. That is a very good sign that the next generation of leaders will pass the torch up the mountain. Thanks! Bret Glad to hear your thougts on this, Art. Very encouraging that early career leaders are passionate about leadership and excellence. That is a very good sign that the next generation of leaders will pass the torch up the mountain. Thanks! Bret

]]> By: Art Petty http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1407 Art Petty Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:35:32 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1407 Bret, what a great post and conversation! My own filters of experience come down on the side of encountering a slight majority of truly good senior leaders over 22 years in 4 different global firms. The "weasels" that Steve describe are out there and while there are way too many of them (hey, they give us something to write and speak about!), in my own experience, they are a subset of the overall group. In particular, I've had the good fortune to work in a few organizations where the senior leadership truly understood their role in building great businesses by engaging great people, not by stepping on them. During the past few years, I've spent most of my time with early career leaders, and the passion runs high in this group to learn to lead effectively. They rankle at some of the lousy leaders that they've been exposed to in their early careers and in my perception, have strong convictions about doing things the right way when it is their turn. I'll look at it as the glass is half full. One side note, reading through the comments and adding my own 2 cents here has helped me dredge up some outstanding memories of senior leaders that I learned a great deal from in my past. Thanks for the blogging inspiration! Keep up the outstanding blogging work, Bret! -Art Bret, what a great post and conversation! My own filters of experience come down on the side of encountering a slight majority of truly good senior leaders over 22 years in 4 different global firms.

The “weasels” that Steve describe are out there and while there are way too many of them (hey, they give us something to write and speak about!), in my own experience, they are a subset of the overall group. In particular, I’ve had the good fortune to work in a few organizations where the senior leadership truly understood their role in building great businesses by engaging great people, not by stepping on them.

During the past few years, I’ve spent most of my time with early career leaders, and the passion runs high in this group to learn to lead effectively. They rankle at some of the lousy leaders that they’ve been exposed to in their early careers and in my perception, have strong convictions about doing things the right way when it is their turn.

I’ll look at it as the glass is half full. One side note, reading through the comments and adding my own 2 cents here has helped me dredge up some outstanding memories of senior leaders that I learned a great deal from in my past. Thanks for the blogging inspiration!

Keep up the outstanding blogging work, Bret!

-Art

]]> By: Bret L. Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1406 Bret L. Simmons Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:01:37 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1406 Concur, Wally. I know we share a passion for excellence in leadership. The stakes are high for our children and grandchildren. They need people like you that raise the bar and join the effort to help. Thanks!! Bret Concur, Wally. I know we share a passion for excellence in leadership. The stakes are high for our children and grandchildren. They need people like you that raise the bar and join the effort to help. Thanks!! Bret

]]> By: Wally Bock http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1404 Wally Bock Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:17:49 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1404 Where I was agreeing with Steve is that there are a lot of good and effective managers out there, but that quiet, effective work rarely gets the publicity that a juicy crime or obscene pay package can generate. Seems to me that if top management is doing things right they consider a variety of stakeholders, including stockholders, customers and employees and they consider both results and values/methods. It's not an easy challenge, but there's no reason it should be. Where I was agreeing with Steve is that there are a lot of good and effective managers out there, but that quiet, effective work rarely gets the publicity that a juicy crime or obscene pay package can generate.

Seems to me that if top management is doing things right they consider a variety of stakeholders, including stockholders, customers and employees and they consider both results and values/methods. It’s not an easy challenge, but there’s no reason it should be.

]]> By: Bret L. Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1403 Bret L. Simmons Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:51:20 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1403 I was hoping to hear your perspective, Wally, so I appreciate your thoughts. Certainly concur that the type of results you discuss with Norman A as an example are imperative. But what about other results? when I judge leadership I don't just consider balance sheets, but what is happening with the front line employees and customers of the business. Back to the metaphor of judging a tree by the quality of its fruit. People should be thriving, customers should be delighted. I've worked in organizations that had very charismatic leaders and the organizations were experiencing financial growth, so the public perception was of leadership excellence. But in the bowels of the organization, it was the same old shit. Packaged differently for sure but for the folks that had to wade through it everyday, it was unmistakenly shit. Because I am one, my heart and my bias has always been with the average Sally and Joe employee. Thanks Wally!!!! Bret I was hoping to hear your perspective, Wally, so I appreciate your thoughts. Certainly concur that the type of results you discuss with Norman A as an example are imperative. But what about other results? when I judge leadership I don’t just consider balance sheets, but what is happening with the front line employees and customers of the business. Back to the metaphor of judging a tree by the quality of its fruit. People should be thriving, customers should be delighted. I’ve worked in organizations that had very charismatic leaders and the organizations were experiencing financial growth, so the public perception was of leadership excellence. But in the bowels of the organization, it was the same old shit. Packaged differently for sure but for the folks that had to wade through it everyday, it was unmistakenly shit. Because I am one, my heart and my bias has always been with the average Sally and Joe employee.

Thanks Wally!!!! Bret

]]> By: Wally Bock http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1402 Wally Bock Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:20:38 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1402 Great post, Bret, building on Steve's. There are also lots of great comments, so let me add something that's been hinted at but not explicit that I think is importat. Over the last twenty years or so, we've raised "leadership" and "leaders" to an exalted status. That's resulted in people craving the title and it's resulted in more of those at the top of chart thinking that they are superior human beings. Simply put, if you're a CEO it was harder to be humble in 2005 than it was in 1985. That said, I agree with Steve. Most of the leaders at any level do good and honest work, day after day, often under outrageous pressure and often without adequate resources. That doesn't make the headlines. The executives and CEOs that help produce those results don’t' make the cover of business week. They certainly aren't seen on TV doing a perp walk. Here's one example. Norman Asbjornson has been CEO of AAON, based in Tulsa, since the company came into being in 1988. The company completes in industrial air conditioning against the likes of Carrier and Trane. It's been consistently profitable. It's debt-free, with a strong balance sheet. And it's been named "one of the best stocks to retire on." Magnificent achievement by any standard, but I'm will to bet that hardly anyone knows who Asbjornson is. The fact is that solid, steady, long-term performance simply doesn't make news. Because it doesn't, it seems like the big, bad, bullying and awful are the rule. But I don't think they are. Great post, Bret, building on Steve’s. There are also lots of great comments, so let me add something that’s been hinted at but not explicit that I think is importat.

Over the last twenty years or so, we’ve raised “leadership” and “leaders” to an exalted status. That’s resulted in people craving the title and it’s resulted in more of those at the top of chart thinking that they are superior human beings. Simply put, if you’re a CEO it was harder to be humble in 2005 than it was in 1985.

That said, I agree with Steve. Most of the leaders at any level do good and honest work, day after day, often under outrageous pressure and often without adequate resources. That doesn’t make the headlines.

The executives and CEOs that help produce those results don’t’ make the cover of business week. They certainly aren’t seen on TV doing a perp walk. Here’s one example.

Norman Asbjornson has been CEO of AAON, based in Tulsa, since the company came into being in 1988. The company completes in industrial air conditioning against the likes of Carrier and Trane. It’s been consistently profitable. It’s debt-free, with a strong balance sheet. And it’s been named “one of the best stocks to retire on.” Magnificent achievement by any standard, but I’m will to bet that hardly anyone knows who Asbjornson is.

The fact is that solid, steady, long-term performance simply doesn’t make news. Because it doesn’t, it seems like the big, bad, bullying and awful are the rule. But I don’t think they are.

]]> By: Bret L. Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1401 Bret L. Simmons Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:11:07 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1401 Aaron that video is fascinating!! Thanks for pointing me to it. Bret Aaron that video is fascinating!! Thanks for pointing me to it. Bret

]]> By: Aaron http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1398 Aaron Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:26:25 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1398 Perhaps you have the misfortune of only working for "corrupt institutions" Lessig- http://blip.tv/file/2711623 It's kind of like the nature/nurture argument. Are the people in the system foul, or is the system itself bad? What is the organizational culture like in these places where the leadership seems awful? Perhaps you have the misfortune of only working for “corrupt institutions” Lessig- http://blip.tv/file/2711623

It’s kind of like the nature/nurture argument. Are the people in the system foul, or is the system itself bad? What is the organizational culture like in these places where the leadership seems awful?

]]> By: Bret L. Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1397 Bret L. Simmons Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:44:51 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1397 That is a great perspective, Angie! Too many leaders start their path without proper perspective. No surprise that when they get to the top they have no little l. Want to know how to tell if a leader has heart? Look on the very front lines of the organization. Whatever you see out there is a direct reflection of senior leadership. if people are thriving, you are seeing great leadership, but if people are dying on the vine, I don't care how charismatic the head is or how lofty the rhetoric, the leadership is problematic. Thanks! Bret That is a great perspective, Angie! Too many leaders start their path without proper perspective. No surprise that when they get to the top they have no little l. Want to know how to tell if a leader has heart? Look on the very front lines of the organization. Whatever you see out there is a direct reflection of senior leadership. if people are thriving, you are seeing great leadership, but if people are dying on the vine, I don’t care how charismatic the head is or how lofty the rhetoric, the leadership is problematic. Thanks! Bret

]]> By: Angie Chaplin http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-10/what%e2%80%99s-your-experience-with-leadership/comment-page-1/#comment-1395 Angie Chaplin Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:56:29 +0000 http://www.bretlsimmons.com/?p=1358#comment-1395 When I conduct The Leadership Challenge Workshops, I differentiate between self-appointed or by-default "capital L" leaders - similar to Mark Sanborn's philosophies. The difference between Leaders and leaders is where they "wear" the "L" or "l" - is it all in their head, or all in their heart. At every level, "little l" leaders are the ones who make the difference by carrying leadership in their heart. When I conduct The Leadership Challenge Workshops, I differentiate between self-appointed or by-default “capital L” leaders – similar to Mark Sanborn’s philosophies. The difference between Leaders and leaders is where they “wear” the “L” or “l” – is it all in their head, or all in their heart. At every level, “little l” leaders are the ones who make the difference by carrying leadership in their heart.

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