17,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Become the effective, proactive leader you aspire to be with this practical tool kit for leading people and organizations Yes, you can learn the skills to effectively lead people, organizations, and employees. With the right motivation and knowledge, you can be a leader who knows what it takes to succeed. Throughout his extensive experience in training leaders, author Alain Hunkins discovered that many leaders shared a common trait. They were mainly focused on what they were doing but not so focused on how they were doing it, especially when it came to working with other people. By strengthening their leadership capabilities, they could become trusted leaders within their organization, improve employee communications, and build bridges across hierarchies. Cracking the Leadership Code shares the valuable principles and practices that Hunkins developed and refined during the 20+ years he's worked with leaders. When you crack the code, you'll have a new operating model for organizational leadership that will help your teams thrive in a 21st century economy. * Discover the brain science behind leading people * Get inspired by real life leadership stories * Use a practical leadership tool kit to become a better leader * Learn how to communicate, influence, and persuade others, more effectively than ever before With this book as a resource, you'll have a new perspective, a new framework, and new tools at your disposal, readily available to guide your leadership. You'll learn to establish proactive, leader-follower relationships. To do this, you'll use the interconnected elements of Connection, Communication, and Collaboration. When you learn from the author's insightful experiences working with organizations around the world, you can accelerate your leadership development and become the leader you've always aspired to be.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 396
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
COVER
INTRODUCTION
MIRED IN MEDIOCRITY
THE PURPOSE OF CRACKING THE LEADERSHIP CODE
KEYS TO READING THIS BOOK
THE STORY BEHIND MY STORY
CRACKING THE CODE
LET'S GET CRACKING
Part I: CONTEXT
Chapter 1: BECOMING A BETTER LEADER
CONNECTION
COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION
LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS
Chapter 2: YOUR INHERITED LEADERSHIP LEGACY
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
THE TAYLOR APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP
WHY COMMAND AND CONTROL ENDURED
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT'S INFLUENCE ON BUSINESS SCHOOLS
THE LEGACY STOPS PAYING DIVIDENDS
Chapter 3: WHY OLD-SCHOOL LEADERSHIP STOPPED WORKING
MEGATREND 1: GLOBAL AFFLUENCE AND CHOICE
MEGATREND 2: COMPUTERIZATION
MEGATREND 3: TRANSPARENCY
THE LEADER OF THE FUTURE
Part II: CONNECTION
Chapter 4: EMPATHY
WHAT IS EMPATHY?
LEADERSHIP BENEFITS OF EMPATHY
Chapter 5: EMPATHY
CHALLENGES TO LEADING WITH EMPATHY
FACING THE CHALLENGES TO BUILD EMPATHY
BECOMING A CONNECTED LEADER
Chapter 6: BUILDING YOUR CREDIBILITY
THE GIFT OF LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP IS A ONE-ON-ONE RELATIONSHIP
HONESTY
SHOWING UP ON TIME
DOING WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO
BEING CONSISTENT
COMMITMENT CREATES CREDIBILITY
Part III: COMMUNICATION
Chapter 7: THE CONFUSING CONUNDRUM OF COMMUNICATION
CATASTROPHIC COMMUNICATION
OBSTACLES TO COMMUNICATING WELL
Chapter 8: CRACKING THE COMMUNICATION CODE
COMMUNICATION GONE WRONG
THE RIGHT WAY TO COMMUNICATE
RAISE YOUR COMMUNICATION GAME
Part IV: COLLABORATION
Chapter 9: MOTIVATION
UNDERSTANDING THE DRIVERS OF MOTIVATION
THE SECRET ABOUT MOTIVATION
Chapter 10: LEADING BY DESIGN
MOTIVATIONAL DESIGN
HUMAN NEEDS
MEETING THE PRIMARY NEEDS
Chapter 11: LEADING BY DESIGN
PERFORMANCE NEED 1: PURPOSE
PERFORMANCE NEED 2: OWNERSHIP
SATISFYING PERFORMANCE NEEDS SATISFIES PERFORMANCE
Chapter 12: CREATING GREAT EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCES
WHAT IS AN EXPERIENCE?
WHAT DOES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE HAVE TO DO WITH LEADERSHIP?
THE POWER OF PEAK MOMENTS
LEAVE THEM WITH A WOW EXPERIENCE
MASTERING GREAT EXPERIENCES: GENERATE POSITIVE EMOTION
MASTERING GREAT EXPERIENCES: CREATING DELIGHT
TAILORING A PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE
Chapter 13: MAKING THINGS SIMPLE
THE SIMPLE ADVANTAGE
MEETINGS
SUMMING UP SIMPLE
EPILOGUE
THE MYTH OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
THE POWER OF SMALL CHANGES
YOU'RE AS READY AS YOU NEED TO BE
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
PART II
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
PART III
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
PART IV
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
EPILOGUE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INDEX
END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Core Components of Being a Leader
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1
Effects
of
Impatience
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 The Gift: Front
Figure 6.2 The Gift: Back
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 The Three Rings of Effective Communication
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 Effective Communication and Results
Figure 8.2 Poor Communication and Results
Figure 8.3 Receipt for Effective Communication and Results
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1 The Need-Satisfying Process
Chapter 11
Figure 11.1 The Effort-Progress-Reward Cycle
Figure 11.2 The Decision Tree Model
Chapter 12
Figure 12.1 Example Icebreaker
Epilogue
Figure E.1 The Road to Success Fallacy
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Pages
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
ix
x
xi
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
57
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
111
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
259
260
261
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
“Alain Hunkins brings years of experience to the topic of leadership, and has important insights into the process of becoming someone whose influence brings greater success, heightened communication, and larger empathy to the whole organization. Cracking the Leadership Code is a great book for those starting out on the leadership journey or managers who need a refresher in what connected, effective leadership really means.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive
“One of the most practical books on the planet when it comes to leadership and how to make a difference. Full of great examples, truths, and insights readily accessible and applicable on both an individual and organizational level. Highly recommend.”
—Barry Z. Posner, PhD, Professor of Leadership Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge
“Cracking the Leadership Code is a valuable and enlightened guide for anyone with the courage and passion to lead with an open mind and open heart. Alain Hunkins writes from rich personal experience with conviction and credibility.”
—Danny Meyer, founder and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group
“The pace of change and the ever-present threat of disruption pose daunting challenges for business leaders. Cracking the Leadership Code offers clear, real-life advice to help navigate these tumultuous times. Seasoned CEOs and first-time managers will benefit from its practical wisdom.”
—Frits Dirk van Paasschen, former CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and The Coors Brewing Company and Amazon bestselling author of The Disruptors' Feast
“Leaders need to continuously improve their fluency in the language of leadership. Cracking the Leadership Code is a magnificent guide to help you translate leadership ideas into action. It manages to be smart, engaging, practical, and authentic all at the same time. If you're a leader who wants to grow your effectiveness and impact, get Cracking!”
—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won't Get You There
“Alain Hunkins is a supremely gifted communicator, and through engaging stories and effortless prose he brings to life essential lessons of leadership in Cracking the Leadership Code. Alain's framework is at once elegantly simple, but at the same time well-grounded in research and highly applicable in practice. It's also just plain fun to read—one of the most enjoyable leadership books I've read all year. I found myself eagerly turning the pages for more of Alain's wit and wisdom, and I am confident your experience will be the same. Five stars for Cracking the Leadership Code.”
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge, and the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University
“How to lead well shouldn't be a mystery. Cracking the Leadership Code lives up to its title—it shares a wealth of real-world information that's valuable for leaders at all levels in any organization.”
—Sydney Finkelstein, Professor of Leadership at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of the bestselling book Superbosses
“This wonderful book shows you how to communicate, influence, and persuade others faster and more effectively than ever before. Get more things done, faster and easier than ever.”
—Brian Tracy, chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, author of How the Best Leaders Lead
“This book really does help crack the leadership code in a way that is practical, easy to understand, and easy to apply. I am a proponent of the concepts of connection, communication, and collaboration as the primary tools of leadership. You'll be a better leader for reading this book.”
—Mark Sanborn, president, Sanborn & Associates, author of The Fred Factor and The Potential Principle
“In an era of uncertainty and change, leadership is all the more vital and its personal mastery all the more essential. The formula for doing so can seem elusive, however, and Alain Hunkins has given us a practical roadmap. For learning to be self-consciously courageous, for taking charge even if you are not fully or formally in charge, Cracking the Leadership Code is the driver's manual.”
—Michael Useem, Faculty Director, Wharton Leadership Center, Professor of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and co-author of Mastering Catastrophic Risk and Go Long
“Leadership excellence starts with fully understanding the fundamentals. Cracking the Leadership Code shines a brilliant spotlight on the fundamentals of Connection, Communication, and Collaboration. Blazing with insights, inspiration, and instruction, it's a comprehensive guide on how to become a better leader.”
—Pat Williams, Orlando Magic founder and senior vice president, author of Character Carved in Stone
“Alain Hunkins has written an excellent guide for aspirational leaders. Filled with practical advice and wonderful stories, Cracking the Leadership Code is a must-read primer that cuts to the core of the challenges most leaders face. Hunkins' emphasis on the them-versus-me side of leadership is inspiring.”
—Allen Morrison, PhD, CEO and Director General, Thunderbird School of Global Management
“Well written and well researched—a practical guide for leaders who want to improve on the fundamentals and be better at what they do.”
—Bruce Tulgan, CEO of Rainmaker Thinking and bestselling author of It's Okay to Be the Boss
“Not many leadership books make you laugh and cry and then compel you to take an honest look in the mirror. Alain Hunkins will gently but expertly help you reflect and ask yourself, “What kind of leader do I want to be?” And then, he'll tell you how to do it.”
—Suzanne Bates, CEO of Bates Communications and author of All the Leader You Can Be
“Cracking the Leadership Code delivers the fuel you need to propel your career forward quickly. Hunkins shares great insight and useful tools to becoming the leader you've always wanted to be.”
—Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Bus and The Power of Positive Leadership
“If you're a time-starved leader looking to amp up your effectiveness, put this book on your reading list. With actionable tips and practical tools, Cracking the Leadership Code delivers a roadmap for propelling your career forward.”
—Lisa Bodell, CEO of Futurethink and bestselling author of Why Simple Wins
“In Cracking the Leadership Code, Alain Hunkins raises the bar on what a leadership book should be. With an authentic voice gained from walking his own leadership path, Hunkins weaves together ideas from business, psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics in a surprisingly engaging way. You'll be inspired not just to think differently, but to act differently.”
—Kevin Kruse, New York Times bestselling author of Employee Engagement 2.0 and founder and CEO of LEADx
“Cracking the Leadership Code is a treasure chest of leadership insight that will help you personally and professionally. Told in a refreshingly candid style, you'll benefit from Alain Hunkins' 20+ years working with thousands of leaders. The stories opened my heart and the principles apply to my daily leadership practice. I'm delighted to recommend this book.”
—Dan Rockwell, author of Leadership Freak blog
“What a terrific book on leadership. It is substantive and useful to anyone who wants to create capacity in others.”
—Dr. Nido R. Qubein, president, High Point University
“Most people want to be good leaders—but what does that actually mean? With warmth and good humor, Alain Hunkins reveals that being a great leader comes down to the small choices we make every day. Cracking the Leadership Code will open your eyes to the obvious and not-so-obvious reasons why leading today is so difficult, help you better think about and interact with everyday challenges, and provide tools you can employ right away.”
—German Herrera, Industrial Practice Leader, North America, Egon Zehnder
“Cracking the Leadership Code is an insightful guide for leaders. Alain Hunkins offers sage advice for leaders on connection, communication, and collaboration rooted in decades of his leadership coaching and consulting experience. His examples and stories provide memorable lessons for leaders to create more productive and healthy organizations.”
—Christine Porath, Professor of Management, Georgetown University and the author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace
“Brimming with hard-won wisdom and practical tools, I will be returning to Cracking the Leadership Code for years to come in my journey to be a more conscious and effective leader.”
—Jonah Sachs, founder of Free Range Studios and author of Winning the Story Wars and Unsafe Thinking
“Cracking the Leadership Code is as enjoyable to read as it is practical to apply. Hunkins engages the reader with wit, wisdom, and timely insights gleaned from his decades of experience successfully guiding leaders through challenging situations.”
—Arthur Carmazzi, bestselling author and ranked as one of the Global Top-Ten Most Influential Leadership Gurus 2018 by Global Gurus
“It is with pleasure that I endorse Alain Hunkins' perceptive and revealing book, Cracking the Leadership Code. As the third-generation CEO of my own business, I found his writing to be particularly resonant, and I was quick to share Hunkins' insights with my sons, who I hope will one day be fourth-generation leaders of my company!
Hunkins' voice is deceptively simple as he delves into the complex communication issues that plague organizations today. In a straightforward manner he shares why companies need to integrate—and implement—greater empathy, collaboration, listening techniques, understanding, etc. into their corporate culture. His message is on-target and valuable. In fact, Hunkins imparts so many words of wisdom—combined with so many excellent tools—I had to stop highlighting them all before I ran out of ink! This book is a must-read for anyone in leadership or contemplating leadership in today's world.”
—Mitchell Kaneff, CEO and chairman, Arkay Packaging
“An enlightening book on bettering meaningful and purpose-driven leadership traits in everyday life—home and workplace. Almost immediately I began to reflect on interactions of communication with those in my world. Hunkins has nailed it! A must-read for those learning—which is everyone in a position in life of influence and persuasion. Moms, dads, executives, clergy, political leaders, community organizers, and many more will be well served reading Cracking the Leadership Code and evolving as a result.”
—John Ohanesian, president & CEO, Lear Capital
“Superb book! Cracking the Leadership Code does much to simplify leadership for all of us who practice it and teach it. Alain Hunkins' work is extraordinarily narrative—I am inspired by how much of his life he shares with us, and you will be, too. He pulls together so many ideas in the leadership space, and does so in a such readable, engaging format, that this book represents real value. This book will not exhaust you, but it will activate you and stimulate your desire to lead as it builds your capacity to lead. Hunkins' framing of leadership as Connection, Communication, Collaboration is among the most useful structures I've seen used in books that develop leaders. I enjoyed every minute and every page of this book.”
—Thomas A. Kolditz, Brigadier General, US Army (ret) and executive director, Doerr Institute for New Leaders, Rice University
“I truly enjoyed this book! With the world changing at such a rapid pace, this is a book every leader must read. Through entertaining storytelling of situations we can all relate to, Alain Hunkins reminds us that leadership is a journey of constant and never-ending improvement. By using a framework of Connection, Communication, and Collaboration, he reminds us of the fundamentals of great leadership. Alain's exposure to a wide array of industries and leaders going through times of change has allowed him to see where some leaders have gotten this right and others have not. This book is a gift for anyone interested in being a great leader to be able to benefit from Alain's insights he has collected over the years.”
—Terri Pearce, head of Learning and Talent Development, Human Resources, HSBC Bank USA
“Cracking the Leadership Code offers a refreshing, practical approach to leadership that will help you develop both personally and professionally.”
—Dr. Tasha Eurich, New York Times bestselling author of Insight and Bankable Leadership
“Written expressly for today's leader who is too busy to read it! The world of work has changed as have all the motivators for working in it, and the philosophies underpinning the old ways no longer serve anyone. Hunkins acknowledges leaders face challenges on multiple fronts in this faster, flatter world: ever increasing pace of change, increased expectations of workers, and customers' equal access to information and platform to share their views. Today's leader must be willing and able to face those challenges with empathy, as a human.”
—Cheryl Reich, senior director, Organizational Effectiveness, Broadridge Financial Solutions
“Cracking the Leadership Code brings us a down-to-earth, experience-rich guide for how to make leadership both impactful and effective. Hunkins presents the challenges of today's leadership coupled with three guiding principles for leadership that directly meets these challenges: Connection, Communication, and Collaboration. The book is chockfull of useful examples and pragmatic tools, tips, and techniques for making these principles a real part of your leadership signature. Cracking the Leadership Code is an essential element in your leadership library to both inspire and engage in effective leadership actions for today's business world.”
—Jane Dutton, Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Business Administration and Psychology, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and author of Energize Your Workplace
“Leadership is a deeply human endeavor, and Hunkins' Cracking the Leadership Code reflects that critical idea while offering very practical ideas and tactics to bring your humanity into your leadership. It's a worthwhile read for leaders wanting to show up as their best, most impactful selves.”
—Peter Bregman, bestselling author of Eighteen Minutes and Four Seconds
CRACKING THE LEADERSHIP CODE
THREE SECRETS TO BUILDING STRONG LEADERS
ALAIN HUNKINS
Copyright © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750–8400, fax (978) 646–8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748–6011, fax (201) 748–6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762–2974, outside the United States at (317) 572–3993 or fax (317) 572–4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hunkins, Alain, 1968- author.
Title: Cracking the leadership code / Alain Hunkins.
Description: First Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019051506 (print) | LCCN 2019051507 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119675549 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119675563 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119675556 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Communication in management.
Classification: LCC HD57.7 .H856 2020 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051506
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051507
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © 3D_generator/Getty Images
Author Photo: Maurice Jager © Alain Hunkins
For Mary, Alexander, and Miranda
INTRODUCTIONDeciphering the Code: Why I Wrote This Book
In 2007, a large, well-known organization had a problem. Their service wasn't keeping pace with their customers' expectations. The organization's leadership had to act.
And did they ever. As part of their 87-page strategic transformation plan, they wrote:
Customers form expectations on critical attributes such as waiting time in line based on their experience with other similar services, and compare (our) performance to best-in-class providers.1
In other words, customers were complaining that they had to wait too long in line. The organization's leadership knew, however, that defining the problem was not enough. They had to do something about it. In a declaration of intent, they confidently pronounced that they were
committed to changing with its customers, designing new products to meet new needs, and creating new solutions that customers value.2
It all sounded good.
These published promises mirrored the organization's published “core set of enduring goals that guide all of (our) strategic initiatives and continuous improvement efforts.”3
They were using all the right words. So what did they actually end up doing?
One of the biggest customer complaints was long wait times to talk with a customer service representative at their 37,000 retail locations.
To address the issue, these bold leaders executed their most innovative idea:
They removed the clocks from the walls of every location.
No, really.
That's what the United States Postal Service did.
Shockingly, the clock removal did not make customers happier about their wait times. There were 87 pages of strategic planning, and removing the clocks was the best solution leadership could come up with.
Maybe the United States Postal Service thought people would forget they carried their own timepieces and wouldn't notice how long they were still waiting in line. Maybe they thought that without clocks on the walls, people would act as though they were in a casino and put all their money on Forever stamps. We really don't know what the leadership at the U.S. Postal Service was thinking.
The clock removals set off a customer backlash.4 Leadership tried to contain the outrage, saying this was part of a national effort to have all post office lobbies look the same. Yet no matter what the spin, removing clocks to address long wait times is absurd.
It's easy to blame the Postal Service blunder on poor strategy or bad execution. But who creates the strategy? Leaders. Who maps out the execution? Leaders.
If you work in an organization, this clock-removing story may not seem all that surprising. Leaders do strange things all the time that leave employees scratching their heads in disbelief and muttering, “What were they thinking?” Although we don't know for sure, there's one thing we do know: the state of leadership is poor.
MIRED IN MEDIOCRITY
Ketchum, Inc. is a nearly 100-year-old global public relations firm. Every year, Ketchum interviews more than 25,000 people from 22 industries on five continents to ask them what they think about their leaders. They've found the following from their research:
Only 23%
believe their leaders are leading well. (This number has not been above 25% in the last five years.)
Only 31%
believe leaders communicate well.
Only 17%
have confidence that leadership will improve in the upcoming year.
5
Ketchum's findings are not the exception, but the rule. Other research corroborates the shoddy state that leadership is in. Only 37% of the population believes CEOs are credible,6 and less than half (48%) of employees report their top management does a good job of providing effective leadership.
It gets worse. Bad leadership has a ripple effect—particularly on those being led. Worldwide 87% of employees are not engaged,7 54% of employees claim they don't regularly get respect from their leaders,8 and less than half of full-time workers place a great deal of trust in their employers.9
The future of leadership also looks bleak. More than half (55%) of organizations are struggling with a talent shortage.10 Only 18% of HR professionals rate their leadership bench strength as strong or very strong,11 and 71% said their leaders are not ready to lead their organizations into the future.12
No leader sets out to be mediocre. No one shows up to work and thinks, “Today I want to make someone else's life miserable.” No one says, “Today, I'm going to be a crummy communicator. None of my direct reports will trust me, and they'll assume that my overall leadership will get even worse in the future.” For the most part, people genuinely want to do a good job.
Unfortunately, good intentions don't translate into good results. Too many leaders don't understand what it takes for them to succeed. They mean well and work hard, but they lack the proper mind-set and tools.
Consider this startling finding: a poll of 2,058 adults reported that 69% of managers are often uncomfortable communicating with employees. Isn't communication a basic part of the job? Lou Solomon, CEO of Interact (the company that conducted the survey), elaborated, noting, “Many managers are uncomfortable with becoming vulnerable, recognizing achievements, delivering the ‘company line,’ giving clear directions, crediting others with having good ideas, speaking face to face, and having difficult feedback conversations in general.”13
Leading well is extremely difficult. If it were easy, more people would be doing it. Think back on your own life experience. Of the leaders you've worked with, how many would you rate as excellent? How many were middling? How many were eminently forgettable?
If you find that most of your memories fall on the negative end of the spectrum, you can take comfort in the fact that you're not alone. For most people, working in organizations with lousy leaders is just another day at the office.
But it doesn't have to be this way. There's a path out of the muddle of mediocrity. Great leaders aren't born—they're made. If you're committed, you can learn and apply specific tools to improve how you lead.
THE PURPOSE OF CRACKING THE LEADERSHIP CODE
The goal of this book is to shorten your leadership learning curve and accelerate your leadership growth. Its content is drawn from two decades of fieldwork. I've had the good fortune of getting to work with and learn from a tremendous number of leaders and teachers, and this book represents a distillation of that knowledge. My hope is that the insights and tools I offer in this book will help you reap the rewards that exceptional leadership brings.
In this book, I won't stick to the flat, two-dimensional world of leadership theory. I'll share what works and what doesn't work. At times, it's going to get messy and ugly. Above all, it's going to be real. Because leadership—authentic, conscious leadership—is hard work. But it's a journey that's worth the effort.
You'll read stories and learn concepts that are straightforward and practical. You'll have an opportunity to look in the mirror, take stock of your current skillset, and improve on it. You'll gain tools that you can apply immediately in your work for tangible results. These tools will enable you to accomplish the following:
Improve employee engagement
Increase productivity
Decrease levels of employee turnover
Expand influence
Decrease stress
Improve overall work-life satisfaction
KEYS TO READING THIS BOOK
Cracking the Leadership Code is divided into four sections. Part I provides context for the challenges faced by today's leaders. In Chapter 1, you'll be introduced to the framework of the master keys: connection, communication, and collaboration. Chapter 2 shares a brief history of organizational leadership, and explains how you've unknowingly inherited the bad habits of previous generations of leaders. Chapter 3 discusses the cultural and societal forces that caused that Old-School leadership to stop working, and why leaders are struggling to keep up with the speed of changing times.
In Part II, you will learn how to decrypt the first of the essential leadership principles: connection. Chapter 4 discusses empathy, and explains why improving this soft skill can deliver huge business benefits. Chapter 5 details the daily challenges leaders face in practicing empathy and how to overcome them. Chapter 6 unscrambles the concept of leadership credibility—what it is, why it's important, and how you can build it.
Part III takes aim at one of the most challenging parts of leadership: communication. Chapter 7 untangles the confusing conundrum of communication. Chapter 8 cracks the communication code, giving you six keys to improve your communication immediately.
Part IV dives deep into the third essential leadership principle: collaboration. Chapter 9 clarifies motivation—what it is, what it isn't, and the common traps that leaders fall into when trying to motivate others. Chapter 10 offers a new model for motivational leadership: being a motivational choice architect. It shares the two primary needs all people have: safety and energy. Chapter 11 describes the two essential needs that need to be met to enable high performance: purpose and ownership. Chapter 12 explains the employee experience and how you can influence it to improve teamwork and collaboration. Chapter 13 addresses the question no one wants to ask: how can I implement these great ideas when I'm already too busy? This chapter shares tools, tips, and techniques on how to make things simpler. At the end of each chapter is a resources section that distills the big ideas. You can use this to begin crafting your own personal leadership development plan.
Since the new millennium, I've worked with thousands of teams, and tens of thousands of leaders in 25 countries around the world. I've coached people from frontline employees to C-Suite executives to titans of Wall Street to dog food factory workers. I've worked with teams as small as two and have led workshops for more than 2,000 participants. I've worked with every industry you can think of, as well as some industries you probably don't know exist.
In my role, I've been given an all-access pass to hundreds of companies. While working behind the scenes, I'd get confidential briefings on a team or the company's most pressing business issues. I'd meet with key players, who'd confess their deepest dysfunctions and admit what was broken and needed fixing.
After gathering all that data, I'd search for clues, on the hunt to truly understand these people and teams. I fervently wanted to find out what made them tick, because I wanted to help them to tick better. Then, I'd go back and work with the individuals, teams, and/or whole companies.
On the surface, each team's and company's situation and issues were unique. However, as I began to work with more and more clients, I started to see that they weren't so unusual after all. Because each company had people, the key to improving their performance ultimately came back to the same set of root causes: some dimension of leadership. My task was to figure out which dimension and how to help them apply it in their work environment.
THE STORY BEHIND MY STORY
My entire life, I've been gripped by the question, “Why do people do what they do?” No matter how challenging or stressful the situation, I've always wanted to make sense of it. The need to make sense of stress goes way back for me. It started in my early childhood.
To preface this, my family loved me and fed me and housed me and did the best they could. However, I grew up in an apartment filled with screaming, stressful, dysfunctional leaders—that is, the adults. Even as a kid, I knew there had to be a better way. I could see the difference when I went to visit my friends. My friends' families would talk and listen to each other. They'd do stuff as a family together. Why couldn't my family be more like them? Why couldn't my mother and grandmother lead us more effectively?
Much of the time, my home life was like a toxic work environment. There was either yelling or a complete lack of communication. As a young child, I strived to please my mother and grandmother, thinking that if I did whatever they asked, then they'd be appeased and things would get better. As I got older, I realized that no matter how well I followed their instructions, my behavior didn't change their behavior. When I was the “good employee,” I still got the toxic treatment. Eventually, I checked out. I mentally and emotionally detached.
That primary stressful setting affected me greatly. I became highly attuned to other people's emotions and behaviors. I studied psychology and theater—disciplines that focus on human behavior and motivation. I learned about group dynamics and facilitation skills. And although I couldn't use all those skills to help my first “workplace,” I've been putting them to good use ever since.
What I've learned is that if you dig deep enough, there's always a story behind the dysfunction. If you can find a way to bring that story out of the shadow and into the light, there's the potential to change things. You can be freed up to lead with a story and not be stuck leading from the story.
In my case, I didn't really understand what was going on with my mother and grandmother until I was an adult. They'd hidden their stories from me when I was a child—maybe in an attempt to protect me. But their stories influenced our every interaction nonetheless.
I learned that my mother and grandmother were both Holocaust survivors. They had their lives torn apart by the horrors of war. Their crime? Being Jewish and living in Nazi-occupied Belgium during World War II.
My grandmother gave my mother away to the Belgian underground resistance to hide her as best they could. At the age of seven years old, my mother had her hair dyed blond and was given a false identity and address to memorize in case of capture. She was moved from orphanages to foster homes to convents to barns every few months. This went on for three years.
Meanwhile, my grandmother was hidden separately. But eventually she was discovered, arrested, and imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. She was one of the lucky ones; she was liberated at the end of the war. When my mother and grandmother were finally reunited in a Red Cross displaced persons camp, they pieced together the terrible truth: nearly all the rest of their family had perished.
You can imagine how living through such experiences would change your attitude and behaviors about the world. My grandmother lived the rest of her life vacillating between shell shock and rage. She could not move beyond her past. Yet she also served as the matriarch and head of our family—the person responsible for steering the rest of us and influencing our decisions.
I view my grandmother with compassion and can entirely understand why she behaved the way she did. However, no matter how much I loved her, there's no question that she was my first exposure to toxic leadership.
Ever since, in my personal and professional life, I've been driven to understand what actions:
Produce or destroy trust
Improve or stifle communication
Build bridges or walls
Create engagement or apathy
Create high performance or high dysfunction
Each person in an organization carries his or her own history. In working with clients and learning their stories, I've seen patterns emerge—specifically, patterns in behavior. I've seen how these behaviors are reinforced by leaders and solidify into a company's culture. This culture would then in turn influence interactions each employee would have with coworkers, colleagues, and customers. This translates into the experience of “what it's like to work here.” Although these forces are invisible, they impact on everything around them.
CRACKING THE CODE
I've watched countless leaders struggle, waylaid by the same behavioral traps over and over. Try as they might, they can't get out of the story and solve these problems on their own.
But every so often, I meet a leader who, like Neo in The Matrix, sees through the complexity and gets what leadership is all about. Matt was such a leader.
Matt was a district manager (DM) for a global fast-food restaurant chain. He'd been with the company for 23 years, and he was not just a DM. He was the DM. That is, he was the number-1 top-ranked and -performing DM in the entire company for the past two years running. Out of 100 leaders, he was at the top of the chart.
That “chart,” by the way, is no mere metaphor. In Matt's company, every DM knew how they ranked—daily—on a “hot list” (a battery of performance measures) against their peers. These metrics included the following:
Revenue per store
Cost of goods
Customer satisfaction
Drive-thru wait times
Employee retention
Matt wasn't always number 1—or even close. For years, he ranked in the bottom half of the hot list. Something had changed in Matt, and I needed to find out what it was.
It's been said that “success leaves clues.” Matt was a potential role model for his 100 peers. I wanted to make sure they'd learn what he already knew. I asked Matt, “What do you do now as a leader that helped you to become number 1? What is it that your peers in the middle and bottom of the pack aren't doing?”
That question was no accident. A key to leadership development is to focus on behavior—what you say and what you do. He replied,
Every single DM has got a lot to do. Each one of us is managing 8 to 10 stores. With all the numbers on the hot list, it's easy to focus on what's not measuring up and be in constant fix-it task mode.
That's what I did when I started, I'd hustle from store to store in task mode. I'd come in and look for what was broken and instantly try to fix it. I thought that was my job as “the big boss.”
What I've learned is that people don't appreciate me breathing down their necks. They don't want a fixer: they want a leader.
I've been doing this for a long time now. Over the years, I've realized that the key to making the numbers is to stop focusing on the numbers. My job is to focus on the people—because it's the people who make the numbers.
When I first started out, I used to walk past people on the restaurant floor, and I didn't really pay attention to them. I just saw them as worker bees. Then, when they'd up and quit, I had no idea why. I was totally clueless. They might have been really upset or unhappy, and I would have completely missed it.
The key to all of it is making people your priority. If you do that, not only will your results improve, your life will get a whole lot less stressful.
Everything Matt said made sense. But it wasn't enough. It was positive, but vague, like a feel-good, self-help book. He wasn't sharing the specifics of what he said or did that made the difference. During a pause, I jumped in to probe deeper, revisiting his point about focusing on the people. “When you're focused on them,” I inquired, “what is it that you say and do?”
Matt stopped for a moment and took a big breath. He replied,
When I come into the store, I spend time with my people and ask them about their lives outside of work. I really listen to what they say, because how they answer tells me what's important to them, whether that's their kids, or a sports team, or whatever. Then, the next time I come in, I can start the conversation by asking about that topic, and we bond over it. By starting there, the team knows I care about them. Then, I listen to what's been going on in the store, and together we figure out ways to solve their issues.
I'd hit pay-dirt. Matt had shared his strategy for success. It was simple, clear, and replicable. I almost had what I needed to teach the other DMs how to do what he did. We weren't quite yet done.
From experience, I knew that just giving a list of to-dos to the other DMs wouldn't be enough. They also needed to learn the pitfalls they would face as they tried their hand with these new skills. Matt's road to the top of the chart hadn't been a straight line—he'd had his share of bumps along the way. Matt was happy to share his stumbling blocks. He explained what seeing employees as “worker bees” really meant behaviorally, and he went on to share other failures that, with time and reflection, had become lessons.
LET'S GET CRACKING
If you talk to cryptologists—people who crack codes for a living—one of the first things they'll tell you is that code breaking can be frustrating work. It's filled with wrong turns and mistakes, trial and error. You've got to be in it for the long haul. Calmness and patience are highly advised.
By picking up this book and reading this far, it's clear that you don't want to settle for being in the mediocre majority. You're genuinely interested in leading people well. You want to understand human behavior and how it affects high performance. You want insights so you can know what makes people tick and tools so you can help them tick better.
Most people spend their careers working in, at most, just a handful of organizations. They tend to rely on, know, and learn what they see firsthand. My professional career has been a gift. It's rare to get to work in hundreds of organizations in the span of just one career. I've been lucky enough to gain inside access to thousands of leadership experiences, and I'm delighted to get to share these lessons with you.
Let's begin by looking back at an epic failure that taught me a tremendous amount about the basics of leadership. Though it happened in 1999, that fiasco has been etched in my memory—in great part because it was all my own doing.
Part ICONTEXT
Every traveler knows that the trip goes a lot better if you have an excellent map. A great map provides a clear big picture while still offering the appropriate amount of specific details. It clearly demarks boundaries so you can easily identify where you are and where you want to go. The journey of leadership development works the same way. The goal of this book is to serve as such a map. The concepts and tools that you learn will help you lead more effectively. You'll be able to multiply your influence and impact. As such, you'll accomplish more things in less time.
Part I gives an overview of the journey. It prepares you for the voyage ahead. You'll learn why leading others is more challenging—and more important—than ever before. You'll hear first-person accounts as to why some leaders succeed and others fail. You'll get a brief history of leadership and how the bad habits of previous generations of leaders have been passed down to you.
In addition, you'll become acquainted with the overarching leadership framework of connection, communication, and collaboration. An entire section of the book is devoted to exploring each of these principles later. Please note: this is no academic treatise. Based on the experience of working with thousands of leaders, you're going to get the inside scoop as to what works and what doesn't. It's not always pretty. But it is always real. Let's start cracking the leadership code.
Chapter 1BECOMING A BETTER LEADERThe Basics
We're blind to our blindness. We have very little idea of how little we know. We're not designed to know how little we know.
—Daniel Kahneman
The ballots were all counted.
Final score: 38–6.
Thirty-eight votes to six!
And it wasn't me that won the 38. It was my opponent.
