Winning: The Answers: Confronting 74 of the Toughest Questions in Business Today (4 page)

F
irst, we’re going to make an assumption. Your company is not under siege from global competitors quite yet. You’re too calm.

That’s OK, for now. But get ready, because the fact that “war” hasn’t officially broken out will make your job going forward much more difficult than if your company was in well-publicized trouble. Organizational transformations, especially the brave-new-world kind required by global competition, almost never happen unless people really feel the need for it. Survival is a mighty motivator.

Without a crisis, oh, how people like the way things are. A bureaucracy like yours, in fact, can feel like a warm bath. People never want to get out. And they certainly don’t have an iota of desire to jump into ice water, which is how the radically different behaviors required by global competition will feel at first. After all, globally competitive organizations must be flat, fast, and transparent. Informal, candid communication is a must. And so too is a mind-set that has people constantly seeking best practices inside and outside the company.

Since people won’t jump into ice water, they need a push. Which is why you, or any leader trying to galvanize change, has to make a case—and make it personal. Your people will change when, and only when, they see how new behaviors will improve the company and, more important, their own lives.

So, get gritty and detailed. Use as much data as you can gather on industry dynamics, profit margins, emerging technologies, political trends—whatever—to come up with two vivid story lines, one about what the company will become if it doesn’t change and the other if it does. Contrast plant closings with growth opportunities at home and abroad, lost jobs with more interesting work, and flat or shrinking wages with more money for everyone.

Then start campaigning. Talk and talk and talk. Not believing—or absorbing—a tough message the first or second time around is just human nature. You will have to repeat your case to the point of gagging, and then repeat it again.

Eventually, however, if your case is compelling enough, behaviors will change. They will change faster if you publicly praise and celebrate them whenever they occur, and faster still if you reward the people who demonstrate them.

Speaking of people, two other actions will help your transformation effort into a company up to the challenges of a boundaryless marketplace. First, make sure you start to hire and promote only true believers—people who completely accept the case for change and will proselytize for it too. And second, make sure you start to ease out resisters who cannot let go of the good old days, no matter how much persuading they hear. Yes, some of these individuals may do their jobs satisfactorily, but they should be working someplace else.

That is, at one of the few companies left out there with no global competition.

T
hey’re not foolish—they’re just uneasy. Like American tourists who eat at the McDonald’s on the Champs-Elysées or French tourists who bring their own wine into Disney World, they’d rather have comfort than authenticity. Now, preferring the familiar may not be a principle of great management, but it’s certainly part of human behavior.

And look, the problem you describe is universal. It is not unique to American and European companies moving into the post-Communist world. From the beginning of modern globalization, companies have tended to “stick with their own kind” when opening up foreign operations. When the Japanese first moved into the United States, or anywhere else for that matter, they typically installed Japanese bosses. And the same pattern is true of the Germans, the British, and many other nationalities. They all want their own trusted people in charge of far-flung operations, especially at the beginning, when so much is unknown about the local environment.

The key phrase here is “at the beginning,” because trouble of the type you describe begins when foreign companies stay in comfort mode and keep their own people in charge for longer than a few years. This tactic misses a real opportunity. Why? Because local people
always
know their own country better; they know how its government works and how its people think. They know which local universities produce the best minds; they can understand what people on TV, in living rooms, in bars, and on the factory floor are really saying about the country’s political and economic future. They can always “work the system” with more insight and ease. And that’s why good companies know that the sooner you put local executives in charge of foreign operations the better. And the best companies work hard from the day they arrive to find and develop local talent with global training programs, creating a pipeline chock-full of middle managers with a shot at the top.

Without doubt, there will always be global companies that don’t move quickly enough to turn management over to local executives. But eventually, these companies will suffer from real brain drain, as smarter companies move in and steal the local talent for their own expanding operations. In thriving Eastern Europe, as in Asia, the competition for professional management is fierce. No foreign company can afford to keep local employees in lower-level positions, beneath the controlling cloak of executives from the motherland. The local talent will leave for companies that offer growth and a future, taking their knowledge with them.

So, while we understand your frustration with the “foolish” companies in your region who continue to value the devil they know over a leap into the unknown, don’t worry too much. This problem is typically self-correcting. In time, good companies put local managers in charge. They have to.

Y
ou know the stereotype of the know-it-all boss who rules his people like an arrogant little dictator? There is probably some truth to it—and it probably happens at too many companies—but to read the e-mail questions and comments we receive is to see just how many people positively yearn to be great leaders. They want to reach into their people’s minds and hearts to help them grow and thrive. They want to build trust, earn respect, and unleash their team’s energy to win. Indeed, their passion can be best summarized by a South African engineer who e-mailed us the day he was promoted to manager for the first time. “My goal,” he said, “is to be remembered by my team as the very best boss they ever had.”

In one way or another, that’s what every question—and answer—in this chapter is about.

F
or some people, the question of whether leaders are born or made is truly intellectual—fodder for a good classroom or dinner party debate. But for people like you, in front-line positions to hire, promote, and fire, the question “Who has the right stuff to lead?” definitely has more urgency. Getting the answer right can drive an organization’s culture and performance to new levels. Getting it wrong can too—downward.

So, what’s the answer? Of course, since we’re talking about real life here, it isn’t neat or simple. The fact is, some leadership traits
are
inborn, and they’re whoppers. They matter a lot. On the other hand, two key leadership traits can be developed with training and experience—in fact, they need to be.

Before going any further, though, let’s talk about our definition of leadership. It’s comprised of five essential traits. These traits, by the way, do not include integrity, which is a requirement in any leadership position, or intelligence, which is likewise a ticket to the game in today’s complex global marketplace. Nor do they include emotional maturity, another necessity. These three characteristics are baseline—they’re givens.

So, let’s go beyond them. From our experience, the first essential trait of leadership is positive energy—the capacity to go-go-go with healthy vigor and an upbeat attitude through good times and bad. The second is the ability to energize others, releasing
their
positive energy, to take any hill. The third trait is edge—the ability to make tough calls, to say yes or no, not maybe. The fourth trait is the talent to execute—very simply, get things done. Fifth and finally, leaders have passion. They care deeply. They sweat; they believe.

As you may have figured, positive energy and the ability to energize are pretty hardwired. They’re basically personality. Similarly, passion feels inborn. Some people just seem to come fully loaded with intensity and curiosity; they naturally love people, life, and work. It’s
in
them. It
is
them.

Edge and the ability to execute are different. New hires rarely show up with them in polished form, and even middle managers benefit from training in both. But the best teacher for these two traits is trench warfare. That’s because edge and execution are largely a function of self-confidence. You can say yes or no a heck of a lot better when you’ve done it a bunch of times and seen how well decisiveness works. Likewise, only in real-world challenges can managers truly feel the power of moving quickly, demanding accountability, and rewarding results. They can also experience how damaging it is not to execute—a mistake most effective leaders don’t make twice.

So, are leaders born or made? The answer (perhaps not surprisingly) is both. Your best strategy, then, is to hire for energy, the ability to energize, and passion. Go full force in training and developing edge and execution. Promote the people who have a good dose of all five traits. Always remember, though, that not everyone was meant to be a leader. But as long as you are one yourself—and you are—it’s your job to find and build those who can be.

F
irst of all, kudos are in order. Not for getting promoted, though that’s great, but because you seem to understand that becoming a leader means you will actually have to change how you act. Too often, people who are promoted to their first leadership position miss that point. And their failure to do so probably trips up careers more than any other reason.

The fact is, being a leader changes everything.

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. It’s about
your
achievement.
Your
performance.
Your
individual contributions. It’s about
you
raising your hand and
you
getting called on and
you
delivering the right answer.

When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. It’s about making the people who work for you smarter, bigger, and bolder. Nothing you do anymore as an individual matters except how you nurture and support your team and help its members increase their self-confidence. Yes, you will get your share of attention from above—but only inasmuch as your team wins. Put another way: your success as a leader will come not from what you do every day, but from the reflected glory of your team’s performance.

Now, that’s a big transition—and no question, it’s hard. Being a leader basically requires a whole new mind-set, one that is constantly
not
thinking, “How can I stand out?” but
is
thinking, “How can I help my people do their jobs better?” Sometimes that mind-set requires undoing a couple of decades of momentum! After all, you have probably spent your entire life—starting in grade school and continuing through your last job—as an individual contributor, excelling at “raising your hand.” But the good news is, you were probably promoted because someone above you in the organization believes you have the stuff to make the leap from star player to successful coach.

But what does that leap actually involve? First and foremost, actively mentoring your people. Give feedback at every opportunity—not just at annual or semiannual performance reviews. Talk to your people about their performance after meetings, presentations, or visits to clients. Make every significant event a teaching moment, discussing with them what you like about what they are doing and ways they can improve. And there’s no need to sugarcoat your exchanges! Use total candor, which happens incidentally to be one of the defining characteristics of effective leaders.

Getting into the skin of your people is another way of growing others. Exude positive energy about life and the work that you are doing together, show optimism about the future, and care. Care passionately about each person’s performance and progress. Your energy will energize those around you.

And through it all, never forget—you’re a leader now. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about them.