Thanks to Quality Digest for the interview they did with me on Friday (Dec 10, 2015) during their Quality Digest Live show. What a professional and fun organization to work with. 

My friends at Quality Digest were kind enough to publish this great article about the new book, "ISO 9001:2015 in Plain English." A big thanks to Mike Richman (QD Publisher) and Dirk Dusharme (QD Editor in Chief). ISO 9001:2015—An Introduction | Quality Digest

Control of production at I. Technical Services

Managing operations can be as simple as ringing a bell. That’s the philosophy that I. Technical Services has taken in Alpharetta, Georgia. I. Technical Services (www.itechserv.com) performs electronic manufacturing services, including PCB assembly, system assembly, test engineering, repair, and logistics. They compete against low-cost companies in Asia and elsewhere, so they have to be as efficient and lean as possible. One of their most efficient processes for managing production is their “bell meeting.” At 9 AM every morning, their production supervisor rings a ship’s bell mounted on the wall. All the managers and supervisors assemble under the bell for a stand-up meeting that lasts about 15 minutes. They discuss what is running that day, what needs to be shipped, and any obstacles or concerns. Important notes are recorded on a white dry-erase board right below the bell. “Everybody leaves that meeting knowing exactly what needs to happen,” Quality Manager, Hector Rivera, stated. “It’s the best investment of 15 minutes you can imagine.” Throughout the day, employees refer to the production notes on the white board, keeping themselves focused on what was agreed to. They ring the bell again at 3 PM every day, and the key players once more gather around the bell. The focus of this later meeting is to get everybody caught up on the current status of production. Where are we right now? What is left to be done? Will we meet all of our commitments today? Resources are re-arranged, as needed, and last minute roadblocks are removed. The General Manager, Lauren Thompson, summarized the process by saying, “When we come together under the bell, we’re not managers of different departments. We’re a single team working to wow the customer. It reminds us why we’re there in the first place.” I. Technical Services has conducted their bell meeting twice a day for years. It’s a very simple, yet powerful process for controlling production. 

New book: Problem Solving in Plain English

Buy it HERE

New Book Explores Best Ways for Organizations to Solve Problems

Effective problem solving is the most neglected organizational competency, often perpetuated by complacence about the status quo, a culture of blame, reluctance or inability to pursue true causes and lack of time. To address these issues, Craig Cochran, the north Atlanta region manager for Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, has written a new book, Problem Solving in Plain English (Paton Press, 2010).

“Managers need to re-examine their processes and problem-solving and think beyond the surface. If they understand their current process, then they can consider causes and potential causes of problems,” Cochran said. “Rarely is there a single root cause to be acted upon; most problems have a web of interrelated causes and potential causes.”

According to Cochran, effective problem solving is equal parts art and science, and he explains why problem-solving efforts that start out strong with motivated team members and supportive managers often fizzle out before they produce any benefits. Cochran suggests using a structured problem-solving method that focuses on processes rather than people.

“There are two major problem-solving myths: the perfection myth and the punishment myth. The perfection myth is the belief that if everyone tries hard enough, no mistakes will be made. The punishment myth says that if we punish wrong-doers, fewer mistakes will be made,” he explained. “Using a structured problem-solving method ensures a degree of consistency and provides the framework for the successful application of analytical tools.”

This book is ideally for managers with long-standing business problems, as well as front-line employees who are often intimately familiar with dealing with them. Cochran covers a variety of topics, including selecting the right problem; forming effective problem-solving teams; planning and implementing corrective actions; verifying effectiveness; writing a problem statement; identifying root causes; and defining the current process.

Cochran has an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Quality Manager, Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Auditor, and Certified HACCP Auditor through the American Society for Quality. He is also certified as a Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor through the Registrar Accreditation Board of the Quality Society of Australasia (RABQSA).

Cochran is also the author of The Continual Improvement Process: from Strategy to the Bottom Line; Customer Satisfaction: Tools, Techniques, and Formulas for Success; Becoming a Customer Focused Organization; and ISO 9001: In Plain English, all available from Paton Press (www.patonpress.com). He has written numerous articles in national and international publications and is frequently featured as a speaker at conferences on quality, performance improvement and management.

For additional information, please contact Craig Cochran (678-699-1690); E-mail: craig.cochran@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright
Media Relations Contact: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu)

Buy it HERE

Don't Fail Your Customers with the 5 Whys

So you have a customer complaint. It’s not just any complaint, but a huge one from your biggest customer. The problem affects millions of dollars in business and threatens the survival of your company. Are you going to take action? Of course! You put together a team of top players and attack it head-on.

Team members investigate the problem and perform a detailed 5-Why analysis. They start with the problem statement and ask, “Why did that happen?” repeatedly, drilling down deeper with each iteration:

Problem: There were seven data errors in reports issued to our largest customer in the last month

• Why? Because lab reports are getting in the wrong project folders.

• Why? Because the project numbers are written illegibly on the folders.

• Why? Because the customer service representatives are rushed when preparing folders.

• Why? Because there are only two representatives taking calls for all divisions.

• Why? Because business expanded rapidly in the past year and management neglected to re-examine the work load of the customer service representatives.

After 5 Whys, the team has found what it believes to be the root cause of the problem: customer service representatives who are overworked. The team takes action to remove the root cause, which is the addition of a third customer service representative. A person is quickly transferred and trained, and the action is deemed effective by objective observers. A pizza lunch follows, including a congratulatory address by the president of the company. A week later, three more reports have data errors in them. Your company is dropped by its largest customer. Everybody was certain the problem solving was effective, but it obviously wasn’t. What happened?

Why the 5 Whys alone don’t work

Asking why one time after another assumes that the problem is perfectly linear, with one cause directly related to another. If we keep asking “why?” we’ll eventually get back to the root cause. However, real problems are much more complex than this. One cause does not always lead directly to another cause. There are contributing factors and hidden variables that mess up our ingenious chain of causes. If we try to treat every problem as nothing more than the result of a single chain of causes, we’ll miss the complexity that exists in the process.

The other reason that the 5 Whys is ineffective is that it focuses only on today’s causes. People enter the problem-solving process by asking, “In this exact problem that occurred, what was the chain of causes that led to it?” The 5 Whys ignore the causes of tomorrow. For problem solving to be truly effective, we can’t only consider the causes we know about now. We’ve got to consider the potential causes of tomorrow. The 5 Whys will expose some of the current causes, but it will rarely reveal potential causes. We need to consider the entire universe of causes: actual and potential, present and future, large and small, obvious and elusive. The key to uncovering this is gaining an understanding of the process that produces the problem.

Understand the process first, and then ask why

To address customer complaints in a thoughtful way, we must achieve an intimate understanding of our process. I don’t mean what the process should be; I mean what the process actually is. Whatever process is involved in the complaint must be described, step by step, as it is actually happening now. Existing procedures may not be much help to us in this regard. Procedures often describe how a process is supposed to operate, without any obstacles, surprises, errors, or creativity on the part of employees, but the world deals up all of these things on a regular basis.

Put away your procedure when investigating a complaint. Instead, assemble a team of people intimately knowledgeable about the process. The people you want are the ones who actually do the work and get their hands dirty. Utilize people from different perspectives: production, quality, engineering, logistics, and purchasing. Managers should be represented also, but their perspective is often woefully uninformed about the tasks and activities taking place.

Explain to your team that you’re working to address a complaint and you need to understand the process that results in the complaint. The team will create a flowchart for the process as it actually exists. This will lead to an exploration of causes, but only after we’ve gained an understanding of the process from start to finish. Here are the supplies you’ll need to facilitate a session:

• Flip chart

• Markers

• Large sticky notes

Plan on keeping your flowchart exercise very simple. Fancy symbols won’t help you understand your process any better. In fact, the only “symbol” you’ll use will be large sticky notes. Also, avoid the temptation to use a laptop computer or other electronic device to help you construct the flowchart. Creating the flowchart on a flip chart will enable all team members to crowd around and personally contribute to the process. You don’t want to introduce any barriers to the creative process. Computers, by their nature, relegate the majority of team members to observers, which is the opposite of what you want.

If possible, tell team members a day or two in advance that they’ll be making a flowchart for the process. Ask them to think about the various tasks, activities, and decisions that are part of the process. This way they’ll be well-prepared when the session begins and the team will use its time more efficiently.

Here are the key steps to constructing a flowchart that we can use in problem solving:

• Determine boundaries. Decide on starting and stopping points for the flowchart, and keep in mind that many problems originate on the periphery of the process. Make your starting point far enough upstream in the process to capture the early planning and logistics steps. Likewise, make the stopping point far enough downstream that you capture inspection, storage, and follow-up steps.

• Identify each step in the process. Beginning at our assigned starting point, identify the first step (task and decision) of the process. Write this on a large sticky note, writing only as many words as will fit. Continue doing this sequentially for each step in the process. Decide if each is a task or a decision, and put a “T” or a “D” in the lower right-hand corner of the sticky note to indicate this. It’s also helpful to write the decision steps in the form of a question to fully differentiate them from the task steps. Encourage participation and dynamic discussion of the process as a team. Anybody who attempts to dominate the process should be gently reminded to allow everyone to take part.

• Arrange the steps in order. Determine the sequential order of the tasks and begin placing them on the flip chart. The first step will go at the top, with subsequent steps flowing downward. As the team begins assembling the flowchart with the sticky notes, forgotten tasks and decisions almost always spring to mind. That’s the point of using sticky notes--they can be easily moved. Add new tasks as necessary and rearrange existing tasks until everybody agrees that the flowchart accurately represents the process.

• Connect the steps with arrows. Connect the tasks and decisions with arrows, indicating the flow of the process. Each task has a single arrow exiting it. Each decision has two arrows exiting it, with each arrow representing a different decision outcome. Make sure to label the arrows that exit the decision boxes indicating which answer to the decision outcome that they represent. The most common labels for decision arrows are yes and no, although they can be labeled with anything that makes sense in reference to the decision required by the decision box.

• Check for accuracy. No matter what kinds of preparations are made or how smart the team members are, there are bound to be errors with a flowchart. When the team is finished constructing the flowchart, verify it by “walking the process.” Take your flowchart to where the work is actually being done and check that you haven’t forgotten any steps or made errors in sequencing. Make corrections as necessary.

Identify causes

The big benefit of starting with a flowchart is that it forces us to consider the entire process, not just the parts that we know best or are most likely to be involved. The team can now begin to identify the actual and potential causes that occur at each step of the process. Start at the top of the flow diagram and brainstorm what could possibly go wrong and lead to our customer complaint. Instruct the team members to think about the following possibilities at each step:

• Mistakes that can be made

• Confusing tasks

• Incomplete instructions

• Conflicting goals

• Communication barriers

• Anything else that can go wrong

Cast a wide net as you speculate on causes. Hunches are OK, and no proof is needed. The spirit of this is the same as brainstorming: All ideas are treated as potentially significant, without criticism. Write each of the potential causes on the flowchart next to the steps to which they apply.

Another way to think about causes is to call them failures. Ask the question, “What failures could lead to our customer complaint?” Whether they’re called causes or failures doesn’t really matter. The point is be to as inclusive as possible, taking a full inventory of what could go wrong at each step of the process as it actually exists. At the end of the exercise, your team will have identified dozens of potential causes. Now it’s time to narrow the field.

Narrow the causes to the most significant

It’s unlikely that you have the resources to act on all the actual and potential causes. That’s why you have to narrow your focus. One of the easiest ways to do this is through a multiple-voting process. Each person on the team is assigned four votes to use for what he or she believes to be the most significant causes. Team members can cast their votes anyway they wish: placing one vote on each of four separate causes, placing two votes on two causes, whatever they decide. Choose a colored marker that is different from the ones used for constructing the flowchart and writing the causes. The votes can be cast as check marks beside the causes to which they relate.

After all votes are cast, the facilitator will tally up the number of votes for each cause. You’re going to take action on not one root cause, but on a number of significant causes that contribute to the complaint in question. How many causes should the team act on? There’s no magic number, but taking action on five to seven causes for relatively obvious problems and 10 or more causes for complex problems seems to work well. List the top causes, as indicated by the number of votes they received, on a separate flip chart. It’s helpful at this point to allow a brief discussion on each of the top causes. The facilitator can begin this by saying, “Who would like to say a few words about this cause?” The point is to bring everyone up to speed on each of the top causes. This builds a richer understanding of the causes and creates a basis for taking action.

Plan and implement action

Now we come to the most important step of all--action. Each of our top causes must be matched with an action that will remove it or reduce it to an acceptable level. The team will consider each cause in turn and agree on an action for it. Here are the specific variables that should be identified:

• Action to be taken. Be as specific as possible in defining the action to be taken.

• Responsible party. Who will lead the implementation of the action? Preferably, each action should be assigned to someone who has participated in the problem-solving session. Team members are invested in the process, due to their involvement up to this point, and they have an understanding of the process variables.

• Required resources. List the money, people, supplies, time, and other resources that will be required to carry out each action.

• Expected completion date. State when the team believes that the action can be completed. Because you’re striving to assign actions to team members, you can get commitment from each responsible party on the completion date.

Agree on a date when the team will reconvene and review the progress on action items. Let it be known that top management will be present during the review meeting. This will highlight the importance of making progress on the assigned actions. Team members don’t want to appear remiss in front of their peers, but they’re mortified to appear remiss in front of top management. Visibility and accountability ensure that nobody drops the ball.

Keep your customer abreast of the progress you’re making on the complaint. Because the actions were triggered by customer feedback, it only makes sense to provide some feedback of your own. “Here’s what we’re doing to improve our service to you,” sends a powerful message. It also cements the organization’s commitment to follow-through on the actions being implemented. The ultimate result of the entire process I’ve described is to create customer loyalty. Focusing on the entire process when attacking customer complaints, instead of just asking 5 Whys, will achieve this.

Improving the Quality of Leadership

Leadership is the genesis of everything that takes place within an organization. From idea to launch, growth to maturity, decline to demise, leadership affects everything that takes place within an organization. Nothing is more important to success, and yet many organizations suffer from poor leadership because nobody understands what it is and how to practice it.

How do we define leadership? It’s the process of influencing personnel, strategy, decisions and activities to fulfill an organization’s mission. To some, this definition implies that people in most organizations won’t have the opportunity to lead, but that’s a narrow interpretation. Everybody has an opportunity to influence business excellence at some level. The more people who practice leadership, the stronger an organization will become.

Leadership is composed of four basic elements:
* Clarity--possessing a clear vision for the future
* Communication--passing along that vision in an understandable way
* Credibility--being worthy of trust
* Character--demonstrating the inner qualities that facilitate true leadership

Let’s examine each of these components, see what they really mean on a practical level and figure out how to put them into practice.

Clarity

The world offers countless variables and uncertainties. A leader can sort through these complications and point out a clear path to a company’s goals. As a result, people become less anxious about the future and more confident about where the organization is heading. Leaders can’t necessarily reduce uncertainty, but they can help others understand its aspects, which in turn will strengthen the organization to meet future challenges.

A leader’s clarity can reveal the following to an organization:
* Unique ways of securing resources
* Opportunities for success
* Threats and associated risks
* Insight into competitors’ actions
* Internal strengths and the best ways to leverage them
* Constructive evaluation of internal weaknesses
* Helpful alliances
* How events affect employees
* Objective analysis of internal performance

Clarity is an analytical process. Leaders who possess clarity can see relationships and solutions where others see only confusion. Granted, leaders often receive expert advice on various topics, but ultimately they’re the people who draw diverse information into a coherent whole. A leader’s clarity successfully drives the organization’s strategy.

The analytical strength required for clarity can be developed in much the same way that athletes perfect a skill. The requirements are the same for both: practice, hard work and discipline. Like athletes, leaders’ training programs never end. As long as they’re focused on providing clarity to their organizations, leaders must continually sharpen their analytical skills.

As a leader, how can you do this? Here are some practical steps:
* Avoid passive activities such as sitting in front of the television. Passive activities slow down brain activity and encourage analytical laziness.
* Read a wide range of material and avoid falling into ideological ruts. Leaders seek out books that don’t necessarily mirror their own thinking.
* Question pronouncements of fact, especially when they’re asserted by authority figures. Leaders verify facts for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Skepticism and curiosity are useful tools.
* Strive for a constant state of learning. This doesn’t necessarily mean taking formal classes, but make a point of cultivating new ideas and deepening your knowledge of old ones. This keeps your mind limber and strong.
* Stay physically fit. Fitness reduces stress and improves clarity. Mental fitness and physical fitness are closely related for most living creatures.
* Become an active listener. Simply listening to what people say can provide a great deal of clarity in itself. People who want to impress others talk often; leaders talk less and listen more.
* Pursue creative outlets of expression. Whether you enjoy oil painting or hedge trimming, be creative in your recreational activities. Such creativity will enhance your clarity during normal working hours.
* Embrace unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. Learn to conquer your fear of the unknown. Leaders are masters of dissecting the unknown and making sense of it--and they don’t scare easily.

Get into the habit of analyzing facts from a unique perspective, drawing conclusions and making decisions. Don’t allow fear about the risks and challenges facing your organization to paralyze you. If a decision you make leads the company in the wrong direction, reverse course. “It’s common sense to take a method and try it,” observed President Franklin Roosevelt. “If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” These are wise words for all prospective leaders. As long as you can learn from your mistakes, they have value.

Communication

The best leaders are often known as great communicators. Communication is the vehicle by which a leader’s clarity is shared with the rest of the organization.
A leader communicates most effectively in person. Others are less likely to doubt their leader’s beliefs and commitments when he or she has the courage to voice them. Written policies, declarations, memos and e-mails can be effective but are best used as backups to a leader’s spoken words.

As with other aspects of leadership, communication skills can be learned. A number of distinct attributes characterize effective communication:
* It’s smooth, but spontaneous. A rehearsed speech often comes across as stiff and bureaucratic. Does this mean public addresses shouldn’t be rehearsed? No. In fact, leaders should continually practice and sharpen their communication skills, emphasizing a natural, free-flowing style.
* It’s appealing to each person. Leaders recognize that an organization consists of individuals. Everyone hearing the communication will inevitably analyze it in terms of how it relates to him or her personally. Thus, a leader helps each person understand why a course of action or decision is important.
* It’s convincing. Leaders must really believe in what they say and provide specific examples. The message then becomes personal, delivered directly from the heart. Everyone listening to the leader will understand why the message is relevant.
* It’s free of errors. Nobody’s perfect, but leaders in particular must get their facts straight before they speak. The communication should be grammatically correct, coherent and factual. A wise leader enlists the help of competent proofreaders and fact-checkers before communicating.
* It’s concise. A smart leader keeps his message streamlined. It’s worth noting that Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, considered one of the most significant speeches in U.S. history, is fewer than 300 words long. Now that’s concise.

Some people never develop clarity, but communication skills can be mastered with practice. Study communicators whom you particularly admire. Note the attributes that make them great speakers. Which of their traits can you cultivate in your own communications? Overcome your resistance and take every opportunity to practice in front of groups.

Credibility

Like beauty, credibility is in the eye of the beholder. One person might find a leader credible, while a different person won’t. Although neither determination is necessarily correct, both are legitimate because they’re perceived as such. Perceptions are facts--at least to the perceiver.

Leaders must acknowledge credibility’s capricious nature. Because no one is capable of universal approval, wise leaders will aim for a credible middle ground by appealing to a wide audience. Results and behavior both influence credibility.
Nothing builds credibility like positive results. Leaders who can demonstrate success inspire confidence and trust in others. Positive results particularly impress when they relate to an endeavor the organization is currently pursuing, but a leader can garner credibility from an almost limitless list: new products, gained market share, games won, goals scored, donations received, legislation passed, etc. In fact, successful leaders often move from one field to another--for example, a trusted business leader who wins an elected office. Even without political experience, business success lends credibility to the new endeavor.

Past results might get a leader in the door, but the ability to consistently achieve results sustains credibility. Leaders must take actions that produce positive results, and they must let everyone know about them. These announcements should be low-key, factual and generous in acknowledging others’ roles. The point is not to brag about achievements but to maintain credibility and prepare for continual positive results.

Leaders’ behavior is constantly scrutinized. Every action is analyzed for flaws and errors that cast doubt on their credibility. Although this isn’t particularly fair, it’s a fact leaders must understand and manage. They’re held to a higher standard than everybody else.

People have vastly different standards for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Behavior that can damage credibility includes the following:
* Illegal activity. Sometimes even an unsubstantiated charge is enough to damage credibility.
* Sexual indiscretion. This includes extramarital sex, aggressive flirting, suggestive remarks and blatant interest in pornography.
* Recreational drug use
* Excessive alcohol consumption. Depending on the environment, even moderate consumption can harm credibility.
* Offensive or insensitive language. This includes dirty jokes, profanity, derogatory statements, insults and racist remarks.
* Self-serving decisions and actions
* Lying and spreading misinformation
* Inconsistent or unfair treatment of subordinates
* Indecisiveness
* Irreverent or sacrilegious actions
* Tattoos, body piercing or unusual hairstyles
* Frequent emotional outbursts
* Unorthodox hobbies
* Unusual viewpoints
* Flamboyant dress

Obviously, not all of these are equal in import. Some are legal issues, others moral or ethical, and some simply matters of personal choice in a free society. However, they can compromise credibility, depending upon the observer. Leaders must decide whether their behavior will harm their credibility. Some of the items listed are private issues, but keep in mind that they, too, can affect credibility. And credibility affects that most elusive of leadership qualities: character.

Character

Character consists of those inner qualities that guide and motivate us. Strong character enables leaders to choose the right fights, make the right decisions and reach their goals. While credibility focuses outward on other people’s perceptions, character concerns internal qualities that only the leader and his or her closest confidants can really perceive.

Like other elements of leadership, character can be studied and improved. It’s the most difficult element to change, though, because much of it is hardwired into a person’s psyche. Many leaders act upon character qualities without realizing it. Character resides in the mind and heart, operating on both conscious and subconscious levels.

Character revolves around three basic components: leading for the right reasons, acceptance of responsibility and humility. Let’s look at each of these and explore how someone might use them to develop their own leadership abilities.
People have a wide range of reasons for wanting to lead, and not all them are good. The best leaders want to lead because they believe they can raise their companies to new levels of success and in doing so, benefit everyone in the organization.

Exceptional leadership focuses outward and concerns what the leader can do for the organization. Of course, leaders are often well-compensated for their efforts, but the compensation isn’t why they wish to lead. They’re dedicated to excellence and improving the lives of those around them. Does this sound contrary to the way many leaders behave? Unfortunately, it is.

Consider some of the right reasons for leading. These include:
* Carrying out a positive vision for the organization
* Reducing organizational risk
* Ensuring long-term survival
* Making improvements
* Outperforming competitors
* Removing obstacles
* Enhancing clarity and creativity
* Helping the organization’s mission evolve as the company grows
* Holding oneself to unimpeachable standards
* Challenging oneself to be the best
* Providing a positive future for one’s family
* Being a role model

Some of the wrong reasons to lead include:
* Stroking one’s ego
* Impressing people
* Getting rich
* Settling scores and acting on grudges
* Fulfilling a sense of entitlement
* Elevating one’s social status
* Enjoying special perks and privileges
* Benefiting a subset within the organization
* Helping friends at the organization’s expense
* Imposing extreme ideologies contrary to the organization’s mission
* Attracting members of the opposite sex

Only the leader truly knows the reasons for his or her desire to lead. Others can speculate, but all leaders must look within and honestly appraise their motivations. If they fall into the “wrong reasons” column, leaders must seriously evaluate their fitness to lead. When these negative motivations manifest themselves in a leader’s behavior, credibility is damaged.

Responsibility

No greater responsibility exists than leading others. Many people rely on leaders and their ability to assess situations fairly and accurately. Successful leaders understand and accept this responsibility. It might sometimes require them to make decisions that don’t necessarily benefit themselves but that will benefit the organization. True leaders are no strangers to self-sacrifice.

An eye-opening exercise for leaders is to list all the people who depend on them: employees and their families, suppliers, customers, stakeholders and others. Any leader who isn’t humbled by this exercise hasn’t fully grasped the depth of the responsibility involved.

Leaders are responsible not only for the people they lead but also for their own actions. Many leaders ignore this responsibility, however, and become detached from the ethics of their own actions. In their minds, they’re bigger than life. Their actions become less important than pursuing their objectives. Failing to act ethically eventually derails them. For this reason, humility is another attribute that leaders must cultivate.

Humility

Leaders are not perfect. Even the best have flaws like everybody else. This is a fact, though you wouldn’t know it from the way many leaders act. They’re showered with money, perks, privileges and praise, and they begin to think they must indeed be perfect to merit all those rewards. This means trouble.

All leaders must have a healthy confidence in their abilities, balanced by a sober understanding of their own failings. A leader’s strengths won’t shine every day of the week. Leaders are only humans, not deities; they’re stuck down here with the rest of us.

Leaders who lack humility will exhibit a number of dangerous traits, such as:
* Denying facts that run counter to their policies
* Reluctance to take advice
* Selective data interpretation
* Exhibiting anger toward views that challenge their own
* Unwillingness to change course, even when evidence suggests the need to do so
* Cultivating sycophants
* Discouraging risk-taking and the entrepreneurial spirit
* Willingness to lie and deceive in order to bolster their positions
* Inability to laugh at themselves
* Lack of accountability for their own behavior

Leaders who lack humility will eventually destroy their organizations. In the short term, they might propel their companies to outrageous heights, but inevitably hubris will plunge them, and those counting on them, into chaos. Mark Mendenhall of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga refers to this phenomenon as the “Icarus paradox,” after the figure in Greek mythology whose wax wings melted when he flew too close to the sun. All leaders must fear the sun’s effects on their own wax wings.

Hubris is a poison that spreads from the leader and infects the entire organization. Smart, independent-thinking people defect, leaving only “true believers” or those too tired to fight. The healthy dynamic of dialogue and debate disappears, and the organization becomes stilted and inflexible.

Every leader must guard against this. How? Luckily, the same activities that breed clarity also tend to generate humility. True wisdom, which is the pinnacle of clarity, recognizes how little one really knows. When a leader begins to perceive this, humility follows naturally.

The leader’s journey

Leadership represents a lifelong journey. It must be pursued with discipline, persistence and great personal strength. Mastering clarity, communication, credibility and character are the necessary first steps. Integrate these qualities into the activities you face daily. If you consistently practice them, you’ll grow into a true leader, and your organization will achieve many of its goals as a result.

Shakespeare and Leadership

Based on a cursory inspection, Hamlet would seem to hold great promise as a model of leadership. After all, the guy was Prince of Denmark, a job ripe with leadership potential. When you hold a title like king, queen or prince, it's usually a sign that leadership is in the cards for you.

Shakespeare gives us a flawed hero in Prince Hamlet, though. He's a fellow who can barely lead himself, let alone anybody else. Can we still derive leadership principles from him? Of course. His flaws and virtues alike provide valuable discussion points. But before we delve into them, let's review the storyline.

The play begins with some of Hamlet's friends spotting a ghost while guarding the king's castle one night. The ghost has the appearance of Hamlet's father, the recently dead king. The guards discuss what they've witnessed and decide that they should ask Hamlet to come see the apparition. Hamlet is mystified by the story and agrees to stand watch with the guards the following night. The ghost makes an appearance, and Hamlet learns that the apparition is truly that of his father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by none other than Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, who subsequently married Hamlet's mother and became the new king. The ghost charges his son with a heavy but unambiguous task: avenge his death by killing Claudius. Despite this clear objective, Hamlet spends his time doing everything but carrying out his
mission.

What can Hamlet teach us about leadership? Following are the principles illustrated by the prince's behavior.

A leader must take action based on credible information

Hamlet learns what he must do, but he then spends the remainder of the play avoiding the inevitable. He doesn't seem to know how to go about carrying out his responsibility, and he doesn't even try to develop a plan. He just frets and does nothing. Hamlet is paralyzed, which is something a leader should avoid at all costs. In a crisis situation, a leader must always choose one of two options: take action or seek more and better information. Hamlet does neither.

Some readers might say that Hamlet's information wasn't credible. After all, it came from a ghost. However, the ghost was seen and described by multiple people, so it wasn't a hallucination. The ghost's statements have credibility because they reflect an intimate knowledge of the events surrounding the murder of Hamlet's father. The ghost provides details that would only be known by the murderer and the victim. It's insider information from the afterlife, so to speak. Hamlet has no doubt about the ghost's truthfulness. He believes the information implicitly, but he can't translate the information into action.

A leader must mobilize people

The action leaders take is typically the work of multiple people. In other words, leaders can't do it all alone. They provide the overall objectives and motivation, enabling others to rally around their cause. But Hamlet refuses to assemble a team to assist in carrying out his objectives. The castle guards, each of whom saw the ghost, would be well-prepared to assist in the effort. Each of them also holds Hamlet in high esteem. Hamlet could easily have recruited his guard friends to assist him in getting the job done. Given the fact that his cause involved killing a sitting monarch, he needed all the help he could get.

Without mobilizing people in support of his cause, a person can be a crusader, a visionary or even a genius, but he or she will never be a leader. The single most important element of leadership is motivating people to follow. Followers understand and believe in the cause and are put into action by the leader. Hamlet's cause is a deeply personal one, and it would be temp-ting to say the job is his responsibility alone. All leaders have a deep personal connection to their causes, though. Hamlet fails the test of leadership because he refuses to rally people around his cause.

A leader must stay focused

Great leaders are almost maniacal in their focus. They seize upon their causes and refuse to let go, closing out all other distractions. Hamlet is likable because he doesn't stay focused. He's just like us. We relate to his inability to overcome his many distractions and carry out the important task before him. Think of the big project you've been putting off for longer than you'd like to admit--and it doesn't even involve killing somebody! Given that perspective, who can't empathize with Hamlet? His many distractions make for fascinating reading. Here are just a few of the digressions that keep Hamlet from approaching his task as a leader should.

He flirts with insanity. Insanity generally isn't a positive attribute for a leader. Followers want to believe they're headed in the right direction, and insanity rarely leads there. Hamlet takes this course from the start. It's apparently a diversionary tactic so his true aim of avenging his father's murder won't be suspected.

The first evidence of Hamlet's supposed madness is found in his scene with his girlfriend, Ophelia. Hamlet appears in her room with disheveled clothes and bizarre behavior, expressing his love for her in a dramatic manner. Shortly thereafter, he completely reverses course and tells her, "Get thee to a nunnery." Hamlet's attitude toward Ophelia swings like a pendulum. This is consistent with his strategy of depicting himself as unstable, but it absorbs time and energy that could be better spent.

He passes up an opportunity to kill Claudius. Hamlet encounters Claudius praying in the castle. Hamlet is armed, and they're alone. This would seem a perfect opportunity to avenge his father. Hamlet rejects the opportunity, though, because Claudius is praying. He believes Claudius' soul will be purged clean if he dies praying, and he'll have a clear path to heaven.

He hides a corpse. Another interesting diversion is the hiding of Polonius' corpse. Hamlet makes a game of this, making puns and refusing to disclose the hiding place. Although this presents many opportunities for displaying his wit, it doesn't forward his cause.

He arranges the deaths of two meddlers. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern accompany Hamlet on his trip to England. They carry a note demanding Hamlet's immediate execution. Hamlet discovers the note and rewrites it with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as the objects of the death sentence. This reveals Hamlet's resourcefulness and cunning, but it also shows that he's prone to inaction unless faced with an immediate threat. Nearly anyone can rise to action when faced with imminent destruction. Leaders strive for great acts before their enemies rally against them.

He passes time in a graveyard. Hamlet and his friend Horatio stroll in a graveyard and muse about the ultimate end of all humankind. Hamlet reveals a profound understanding of the nature of life and death. Ultimately, it's just one more in a long line of distractions.

He participates in a fatal fencing match. Claudius arranges a sword match between Hamlet and Polonius' son. The match is supposed to be good clean fun, but as with all situations organized by Claudius, the true intent is much darker. Why does Hamlet even agree to participate? He's confident about the outcome and reveals that he's the more skilled swordsman. So why does he bother? His objective is to avenge his father's death, not entertain the king's court with a show of strength.

It's worth noting that Hamlet is directly responsible for the deaths of three people other than Claudius. Yes, he finally does get around to killing Claudius during the play's final act, but his triumph comes only minutes before he himself is killed. In fact, Hamlet's tardiness in carrying out his objective results in the deaths of seven people besides the one who clearly deserves to die. The play ends with a stage littered with corpses. Hamlet's procrastination literally proves deadly.

All people who aspire to leadership must practice their powers of focus. This is easier for some than for others. For those who are easily distracted, organizational skills go hand-in-hand with focusing skills. Being organized often helps to remove distractions by dividing the day into smaller, more manageable intervals. Plan and carry out each piece of the day, and politely shun the diversions that prevent you from carrying out your objectives. Don't become a robot, but avoid Hamlet's tendency to let every event become an excuse for not doing what you set out to do.

A leader must be wary of competitors

Hamlet has every reason to suspect the worst from Claudius. Before the ghost ever speaks to him, the prince develops a deep disdain for the upstart king because of his hasty marriage to Hamlet's mother. Hamlet considers Claudius a despicable character very early in the play. Once Hamlet learns that Claudius actually murdered his father, he should have been prepared to expect anything from the man. Despite clear evidence of Claudius' treachery, Hamlet allows the king to manipulate him in two significant ways.

First, he allows Claudius to send him on a sea voyage to England. Any reasonable person would suspect this to be a one-way trip leading to a grave in a foreign country. Hamlet takes the trip anyway and only barely escapes death. He should have known that his adversary would do anything at this point to rid himself of the threat that Hamlet posed. Some readers might say that Hamlet is truly insane at this point and in no condition to judge Claudius' motivations. But Hamlet's biting wit makes it clear he has a grip on reality, even if he's ignorant of Claudius' rather obvious intent.

Next, Hamlet agrees to participate in a fencing match with the son of someone he accidentally killed. Guess who arranged the fencing match? Claudius, of course. Again, Hamlet should have been suspicious of this event, given the treachery of its organizer. He has already learned of Claudius's involvement in his near-death experience on the way to England. The message is clear: Claudius wants Hamlet killed as soon as possible. Nonetheless, Hamlet agrees to participate in the fencing match, which features poison-tipped foils and poisoned wine goblets. Claudius, revealing his awareness of how unassuming Hamlet is, says, "He, being remiss, most generous, and free from all contriving, will not peruse the foils..." [Act IV: Scene 7, line 134]. Hamlet is too trusting to check the swords for signs of foul play. It's admirable to be trusting, but leaders can't afford to trust their adversaries when all evidence points to treachery. The poisoned sword results in Hamlet's death.

Alas! Poor Hamlet. Poor leader. Shakespeare may not have had leadership in mind when he wrote the play, but we can mine it for lessons nonetheless and prevent our own leadership efforts from turning into a tragedy.