Purpose Into Practice:

Administrivia

Who am I?

The purpose of this session

What we'll do this morning

• First, we'll consider what it is to lead
• Then we'll look at some ideas that can help when we want to lead
• Finally, we'll try the ideas out

For every complex problem, there is a simple solution...

...and it's wrong.
(H.L.Mencken)

Let's consider what it is to lead

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

(Dwight D. Eisenhower)

A leader is
someone who...?

Why be a leader?

Everything about us was once a dream...

Your dreams don't need to be big to make a difference

Leaders need people

What is a team?

Team:

• A group of people who recognise that they need each other to achieve a common goal

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team

Trusted by others

• We show we have integrity
• We show we have credibility

Integrity

• We keep the promises we make

Credibility

• We make promises we can keep

TRUST IS MEASURED IN TERMS OF RISK.


How much I trust you
=
How much I am prepared to risk with you

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

Leaders make decisions

"The buck stops here."

(Harry S Truman)

A leader faces a choice -
AND THEN DECIDES

A leader consults with a few people-
AND THEN DECIDES

A leader consults with everyone - AND THEN DECIDES

Make better decisions

• We are clear about the specific choice we face
• We know (and are prepared to explain) our key criteria
• We consider at least three alternatives
• We clarify the risks we are choosing to accept
• AND THEN WE DECIDE

We will never have all the information
we need to make a decision.

"If you have less than 40% of the information you need to make a decision, you're shooting from the hip.
If you wait to get more than 70% of the information you need, the decision will usually have passed you by."

(Colin Powell)

(Usually) a fast bad decision is better than no decision at all.

"When placed in command, take charge."
(Norman Schwarzkopf)

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

Leaders set direction

Direction inspires

Nothing great was
ever achieved
without enthusiasm


(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide up the work and give orders.

Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."


(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Where should we go?

• We begin with WHY..
• Then HOW...
• Then WHAT...
• (Simon Sinek)

"Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life...

...or do you want to change the World?"


(Steve Jobs' pitch to
John Sculley to join Apple)

GM

• "We aim to make customers for life..." (WHY)
• ...by making the World's best cars and trucks... (HOW)
• ...with compelling designs, flawless quality and reliability, and leading safety, fuel economy and infotainment features." (WHAT)

NHS Scotland

• "... people...have a fairer share of the opportunities, resources and confidence to live longer, healthier lives.." (WHY)
• "...reduce health inequalities and improve health.... (HOW)
• ...(we) influence policy and practice...and promote action across public services to deliver greater equality and improved health for all ." (WHAT)

My Marketing Dept

• "...offer the best customer experience in financial services (WHY)
• "...by listening and responding to customers... (HOW)
• ...we deliver people, process and technology projects across the organisation to improve performance against customer feedback ." (WHAT)

If we don't want
to set a vision, we can
focus on outcomes:

"By the end of X, we will have achieved...?"

"I'm helping to
put someone
on the moon."


Janitor, the
Apollo Space Programme

Know what we want.

Know why we want it.

Say that we want it.

What do you want?

Why?

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

Leaders set standards

"The standard we walk past...

...is the standard we accept."


(David Morrison)

Set the standard

• The standards we set are expectations for the performance we want, based on outcomes
• These standards should line up with the outcomes we want
• The standards to which we pay attention are the only standards our teams will adopt consistently

What standards?

• Standards for performance - WHAT our team will do or deliver
• Standards for values - HOW our team will do or deliver
• If we have to compromise, compromise on performance standards

High expectations are key to everything

What standards will you set?

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

Purposeful action

Thinking purposefully:

How will this get us closer to our goal?
What difference do we want to see?

Nothing yields data like action

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

What we'll do this morning

• First, we'll consider what it is to lead
• Then we'll look at some ideas that can help when we want to lead
• Finally, we'll try the ideas out

Others have to see us as leaders

How we speak, and what we do, shapes how others see us

Leader language

How we speak as leaders is more than thumping the table

Leader language

• We agree
• We thank
• We picture the future
• We want
• We summarise
• Imperative
• We ask specific, open questions
• Conversational judo

We agree

We thank people

We ask "what will that look like?"

We say we want...

We summarise

We use the imperative

We use specific, open questions

Specific open questions

• What, precisely...?
• Where, exactly...?
• How do you know...?
• Why do we think this...?

We use conversational judo

Conversational judo 1

• Ask what the issues are
• Note each issue
• Don't defend, argue or probe
• Ask "what else...?"

Conversational judo 2

• When issues run out, go back to the first one
• Ask "When you said this, what did you mean...?"
• Don't defend, argue or probe

Conversational judo 3

• For each clarified issue, ask "What will we do about this?"
• Then ask, "Who will do this? By when?"
• Doing this turns vague issues into specific actions

Leader language

• We agree
• We thank
• We picture the future
• We want
• We summarise
• Imperative
• We ask specific, open questions
• Conversational judo

How we speak, and what we do, shapes how others see us

Leader behaviours

What we do has much more impact than what we say.

(Stephen R. Covey)

What leaders do

• Pay attention
• Praise, praise, praise
• Value time
• Initiate
• Write the notes
• Walk, not run

We pay attention

We find reasons to praise, often

We value our time, and that of others

We choose to act: we initiate

We find things to fix

We write up what was agreed

We walk, not run

What leaders do

• Pay attention
• Praise, praise, praise
• Value time
• Initiate
• Write the notes
• Walk, not run

A leader

• Someone trusted by others to be the person who takes decisions about the direction and standards of the team, so that the team takes purposeful action

Leader language

• We agree
• We thank
• We picture the future
• We want
• We summarise
• Imperative
• We ask specific, open questions
• Conversational judo

What leaders do

• Pay attention
• Praise, praise, praise
• Value time
• Initiate
• Write the notes
• Walk, not run

What we'll do this morning

• First, we'll consider what it is to lead
• Then we'll look at some ideas that can help when we want to lead
• Now, lets try the ideas out

Using the ideas

• Trust: make and keep small promises
• Find things to initiate or fix (with others)
• Work out what you want
• Start using leader language
• Get into the habit of praise
• Think about your personal standards for performance and values
• Start training your boss / tutor

Trying the ideas out

• We lead for the first time
• We don't have an ideal team
• We have a new boss
• We have a useless boss
• We lead something scary and important
• We want to use the ideas when we leave here today

What can we do to show we can be trusted to lead?

What standards will we set?

What questions do you have?

Mike Bird
mike.bird100@me.com
07918884845
@bird_mike