Leadership

I recently promoted someone on our team to becoming the new Vice President of Sales. What this means for me personally is that I am no longer going to be as active in the day-to-day activities of the sales team. Because of this new reality, here are three shareable leadership ideas – as it relates to passing on leadership to others – that I have been contemplating lately.

First, “the job of leadership is to awaken the possibility in others,” says Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. In the vernacular of B.I.B., to be someone worth following you have to be someone that allows others to lead. The sign of a good Dictator is the lack of upward mobility and social unrest. The sign of a good leader, however, is a thriving team after the new person takes charge. Things should get better, not worse, for possibility has been awoken.

Secondly, as John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). In other words, egotism must be set aside. This is infuriatingly difficult for type A, self-starting, entrepreneurially-minded leaders. But to be someone worth following you need to become less so others can become more. The irony here is that we celebrate and applaud when Steve Jobs comes back to save Apple (1996), and when Howard Schultz comes back to save Starbucks in 2008– praise the Lord, we had our first kid in 2011. Did you know that Starbucks stock was trading at $19.12 at Will’s birth and now trades over $90 per share? Coincidence, I don’t think so! — But wouldn’t those stories have been even cooler if someone else on their teams had stepped up? Someone they had groomed? Obviously, Apple has more than survived Steve’s untimely passing, but aren’t they largely still selling updated versions of the products he, and others, created?

Finally, the name of this post comes from a song on my 2020 Spotify playlist (Background, by Lecrae). Admittedly, I am not a huge rap/hip hop fan —an admission that probably does not surprises my audience, I know. But Lecrae’s lyrics always challenge me to walk more closely with my Savior. So, while I will quote some lyrics to close this post on leadership, keep in mind that the context Lecrae is referring to while reading them (his relationship to God). In my life, these words have dual meaning:

Selected lyrics (click here for all)

I could play the background…

‘Cause I know sometimes I get in the way.

So won’t you take the lead, lead, lead?

Its evident that you run the show, so let me back down

You take the leading role, and I’ll play the background

I don’t need my name in lights, (Aye) I don’t need a staring role

Why gain the whole wide world, if I’m just going lose my soul.

Praying the whole world would start embracing stage freight

So let me fall back, stop giving my suggestions

‘Cause when I follow my obsessions, I end up confessing

That’s I’m not that impressive, matter of fact

I’m who I are, a trail of stardust leading to the superstar…

The day after noticing that one of our plants had too many parts on the floor, and mentioning that observation to our plant managers, I saw an entirely changed environment. The plants were organized, the parts were contained, and things were back to normal.

One plant in particular had made significant progress. So, I decided to write them a private note explaining how much their effort meant to me. I also explained why the parts on the floor were so bothersome to me; that while it may sound incredibly crazy to others, but to me I saw some of person x’s healthcare on the floor, person y’s bonus, and all of our ability to invest in future machines, infrastructure, and everything else, on the floor. It simply is more than a plastic part, and even if was just that, that would be enough because plastic waste is a serious issue this day and age (I am not being glib, it REALLY is an important issue). I ended the email telling this team how amazing they are for taking just quick action.

I did not think much of the email after I hit send, until the Plant Manager pulled me aside the following morning. “Your email changed the entire tone of the plant this morning. Three people came up to me and asked if I saw Alex’s email.”

I know this puts me in a positive light, but that is not my intent. My intent is to share the realization that my words, a leader’s words, whether written or spoken, are dissected, internalized, and digested by everyone they impact. This means that as leaders we cannot be callous. Further, we cannot just point out what is wrong. We have to look for, and talk about, what is going right. This is so basic, easy to understand, and yet, hard to do because the subconscious works against us sharing something that feels like juvenile behavior affirmation (“good job class!”). Yet, what others hear is validation for their work, and even therapy for their soul, because they know what they are doing is having an impact.

This is also why adults can remember the exact hurtful words said to them decades ago, and also have affection for grade school teachers whose names they may not even remember.

Words simply matter that much.

Use them wisely.

November 27, 2019:

3:45 p.m.

My shirt has a little bit of what appears to be a grease stain from shaking hands with people in the tool room this afternoon.

I hope the stain does not come out.

I hope it reminds me to get out on the floor, look people in the eyes, and thank them for their contribution to what we are doing here.

I was out there because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am thankful for the people on our team. I struggle with how to show genuine thankfulness. Maybe they think I am just doing this because I read it in some leadership book? Maybe they think I am just doing what I saw my grandfather, and now father, do? Maybe they think my sisters and I are just trying to convince them that we care for them as much as Grandpa and Dad do?

In all honesty, I just want to do what’s right.

We wouldn’t have the company that we have without all the people on our team. I know my sisters feel the same way because we talk about the people when things get the hardest in the business. It is them, we tell ourselves, that makes all the hustle worth it.

I don’t know if wishing people a Happy Thanksgiving has a major impact. But I know it is the right thing to do.

And I know that the next time I see the stain on this shirt, I will be reminded to go out again on the floor.

Our team matters more to me than I can adequately put into words.

The sports world, and all of Chicago, were shocked when Walter Payton announced that he had a rare liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis in February, 1999. “To the people that really care about me, just continue praying,” a courageous, but noticeably emotional, Payton told the world that day.

I grew up watching Walter Payton highlights as I ate breakfast most mornings. I then imagined myself doing the things Walter did on the football field: stopping on a dime, plowing through a linebacker to earn a few more yards, or jumping high over defenders and landing softly in the end-zone for another touchdown. To me, he was and is, the greatest all-around football player to ever play the game. Who else can run, block, throw, catch, and even soar, like Walter Payton?

No one.

But Walter was also human. And on that day in February 1999, the human side of him was on display for the entire world to see. His voice shook, his tears flowed, and the emotion was palpable. I remember feeling incredibly sad myself, even talking about it with my parents at dinner that night.

As I think about it now, more than twenty-years later, Walter Payton’s press-conference announcing his disease to the world was the first time in my life that I saw vulnerability demonstrated so shamelessly on television. Payton was entirely real, and genuinely human. And, his example showed me that it was okay to be so myself.

Nowadays, I prefer to remember Walter Payton high-stepping his way to another touchdown rather than the aforementioned moment of him announcing his disease to the world. But it is no question that the latter had much more of an impact on my life than the former.

To be someone worth following, you have to lean-in to your fears, your thoughts, and even your emotions. We follow those who are this way because life isn’t about being put together, it is about being real. Life, after all, is messy and occasionally frightening. So, let’s smile when something amazing happens, laugh when we hear something funny, and cry when life throws us a punch.

Walter Payton did, and I became an organ donor when I turned 18 because of it.

Walter was someone worth following.

Are you?

Of course, you can video conference.

But, so can everyone else.

Not everyone can do face to face.

Not everyone can connect.

Not everyone can look someone in the eyes.

Not everyone can leave their family and go.

Not everyone can set aside every other distraction and commit to the person in front of them.

Of course, the project might be fine without the face to face.

But isn’t something more than the project at stake?

“I can’t sell you that,” said the agent in the Lufthansa Senator’s Lounge. I was traveling with two co-workers and my status only allowed one guest entry into the Club. Since we had a four hour layover, I was in the buying mood.

“I don’t understand,” I replied.

“You purchased your airfare through one of our partner airlines and my system only allows me to sell club tickets using a Lufthansa ticket code,” explained the agent.

It was shortly after 7 a.m. in Germany, middle of the night back home, so I thought I was hearing things.

“Really?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I cannot sell you an entry ticket, but you can come in with one guest.”

“And leave my other friend to fend for himself?”

We passed and had a wonderful breakfast, together, at a nearby restaurant that was happy to take our money.

This friendly agent is not the villain of this story. On the other hand, systems that make no sense whatsoever, are.

The question to ponder is whether there are things team members on your team cannot sell? Can, for example, a customer service representative sell when a buyer wants to buy? Can an engineer offer a design service, or a maintenance apprentice offer to get a quote on an item? The latter happened to us a few years ago, now we are debugging the mold and getting ready to run production.

Thank goodness our apprentice didn’t wait to follow the “sales system,” or “protocol,” that we (don’t) have. We would have missed our opportunity.

So, here is a good rule of thumb for team members: Use the brain God has given you and serve other human beings.

That’s it!

This isn’t rocket science after all.

And it apparently isn’t the airline club business either.

To be someone worth following, you have to know exactly where you are going. People do not follow someone who is unsure where they are going. While this seems like a basic idea, even elementary, I have discovered that it is much more difficult in practice. In fact, it is a leadership principle that many nod in agreement to, but only a few execute because it requires discipline.

Here are two examples of areas where knowing where you are going is vital.

The Organizational Direction

The leader must be crystal clear on where the company is headed and how it’s going to get there. While this is obvious, or should be, it isn’t easy. If you have ever found yourself with a bunch of executives in a conference room charged with the task of developing a unified strategic direction, you probably know that this isn’t easy. It is easy to have a general consensus at a broad level. For Hoffer Plastics, that may mean “let’s keep making custom injected molded parts,” but that is hardly specific enough. Better would be for the leader to stand up and say specifically where they think the organization needs to head. This can entail what markets you are going to participate in, geographical locations you are going to be active in, or it can have to do with internal rally-cries like implementing a new ERP system or improving organizational health. The point is that it has to be clear, compelling, and communicated frequently. In doing so, I have learned that following Simon Sinek’s advice to Start with Why is always the way to go because people need to know WHY this direction matters to THEM.

For instance, we decided a couple of years ago to go all-in on the development of a recyclable pouch. To do this, we had to work with a German UltraSonic company to revamp one of our proprietary products. This entailed making changes to a large injection mold that had just been commissioned with our previous (now out-of-date) design. I reminded everyone in earshot that we were doing this because we had committed to being stewards of the plastic parts that we develop. This meant that we aim to be better stewards of the natural resources we used while manufacturing parts. It goes hand-in-hand with our belief that the customer is the hero, and we are the guide. So, given that belief, we wanted to work with converters (pouch makers) who were serious about being better stewards of plastic, so that we could give new moms a product that was recyclable (baby food pouches being the primary targeted market). Thus, when the product designer flew over to Germany (something they did more than once), they knew what they were working on was not only important, not only mattered to them —designing parts that improve the lives of others is why they are on the team–but they also knew it was the decided upon direction of the company.

The Vital Performance Metrics

The leader must also clearly know and communicate what constitutes a successful outcome for a team-member. Given that we work in a day and age where more data is available than ever before, what metrics matter most? I ask these questions because I often hear leaders sound vague in their appraisal of their direct reports. There is a lot of “I feel like so and so is not doing a good job,” (or the reverse!), instead of “based on these metrics, so and so is doing a great job.” See the difference? It is the leader’s job to do two things here. First, decide what those metrics are (It should go without saying that these metrics should be something the direct report has control over). And next, they have to communicate exactly what these metrics are to their direct reports. I like to do this by writing Key Result Areas, which outlines what success looks like in PLAIN ENGLISH (emphasis on PLAIN ENGLISH).

For example, for our Director of Operations I might write a large goal of “reducing waste” as one of their 3 goals, and then spell it out with very specific bullet points: “A winning outcome will be our internal PPM (parts per million defects) being 20% less than 2018” (I’d actually give that exact figure in a private KRA!). I won’t stop there, but will list another 4-5 bullet points as to what winning looks like. The point here being that knowing what the end goal is (reducing waste), and what the specific outcomes are needed to win, this team-member and I will have clarity on that direction we need to go to ensure success.

Whether it is the direction of the organization, or what metrics matter to individual performance, a leader needs to communicate with crystal-clear clarity. So, our aim should be to become the “Waze” of giving directions towards success.

Then we will be someone worth following…

Every Wednesday this October, I am sharing one thought or idea from Dr. Henry Cloud. I wouldn’t be the leader I am today without Dr. Cloud’s books, teaching, and guidance from afar. This content comes from the EntreLeadership Podcast. Not only do I listen to the EL podcast every Monday morning at the gym, I strongly believe you should as well. The content is simply can’t miss material!

Accountability

Early in his interview with Alex Judd, Dr. Cloud has a different take on accountability. Rather than fixating on the fact that something wasn’t done, Dr. Cloud instructs leaders to ask why it wasn’t done in the first place?

If you are like me, you might dismiss this advice because it seems simple.

It isn’t.

Getting to the root cause often takes asking simple questions over and over. Asking why something was done might uncover a problem you did not know you even had.

My encouragement this week is to ask the questions the smart leaders won’t allow themselves to ask because they’re “too obvious,” or “too basic.”

The next time someone on your team does not get a task done in time, uncover what held them back from doing so.

Next Wednesday, I’ll share what Dr. Cloud thinks is the one question every team-member asks before following others.

Please subscribe to Bald in Business so that I can send encouragement directly into your mailbox.

This week’s #Baldinbusiness post of the week examines partnerships and was written on an airplane after a week in Europe developing partner relationships. Tip of the day: Always reflect in real-time. I have found that writing down my reflections make them last.

What makes a good business partner?

I asked myself this question over the summer as we have been exploring different international partnerships. What follows are some ideas that I jotted down during that process, which as I write is still ongoing.

You will notice that very little of what follows has to do with the “what” of the partnership (i.e. injection molding for our industry). This portion IS important in any industry, for you want to partner with someone capable. But capability does not make a good partner, it only makes a partner capable in that given field. So without further ado, here are some of my thoughts —Feel free to add your own in the comment section.

I always want to examine a potential partner’s worldview. For instance, how do they talk about challenges? Are they always the victim? Or do they talk about conflict, event defeat, from a personal accountability standpoint? For example, are they blaming policies, the President, bad luck, or their team? An occasional rift aside, a pattern here is problematic because the first time something goes wrong in the partnership —and things always go wrong at some point —they will blame you!

If the person has any kind of authority, how do they talk about people that report to them? Do they belittle them? Do they come across as someone sitting on a throne? Depending on your views, and your company’s culture, that may not be a deal breaker. For me, however, it is because it does not coincide with our core values of family, integrity, service, and trust. And make no mistake about it, two partners with dissimilar core values will NOT thrive together.

Another indicator of values is how they talk about their spouses, assuming they have one, or their loved ones. Do they represent the best of those not present, or the worst? Again, this is most likely how they will represent you, and your company, when you are not there. And 90% of the time, you won’t be there!

Finally, pay close attention to how a potential partner behaves when they are not necessarily “on” (while driving, at dinner, etc.). This is where they may potentially let the guard down and show you their true character. Do they obsess over the smallest slight on the road? Are they committed to working hard, or partying hard? Are they self-controlled, or do they spill the beans?

The trip I was on when I created this list was with a potential partner who is an incredible human being. They spoke about others with grace, worked hard, and were a tremendous host to our team. Their expertise was apparent when we visited their plant. But more importantly, I witnessed them shaking hands with everyone, and knowing the names of everyone. It not only felt like “us,” but I also liked being around this person. And that’s the last point of this post…

Don’t become partners with someone you do not like. Whatever you are partnering in will, at some point, have challenges. So, is your partner someone who will make those challenging situations more challenging? Choose wisely.

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