Lee Ellis's Blog, page 320

Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, December 12, 2014

“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” – C.S. Lewis

 

Giving Back Emphasis – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation

Today, we want to give special emphasis to an organization that Lee supports – the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF)

Based in Washington, D.C., the VVMF is the nonprofit organization authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1980 to build a national memorial dedicated to all who served with the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, today known as The Wall, was dedicated in 1982. Two years later, the bronze Three Servicemen statue and a flagpole were added to the site on the National Mall. The dedication of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, to remember and honor the women who served in Vietnam, took place on Veterans Day 1993.

Since the dedication of The Wall, VVMF has pursued a mission of preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War. For more information on this worthwhile organization, click here.

On This Day in Leadership History, December 7, 2014

Pictured left to right: President John Adams and President Thomas Jefferson

On this day in 1796, John Adams was elected to be the second president of the United States.

Ever wonder about Adams’ personality type? Read Lee’s fascinating article on his comparison between Presidents Adams and Jefferon—it may surprise you!

Click Here

 

Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, December 5, 2014

“In leadership, be hard on the issue and soft on the person.” – Dr Henry Cloud

A Recent FAQ – “So the lessons you picked up in the POW Camps came as much from watching others as…”

A Frequently Asked Question from Lee Ellis – “So the lessons you picked up in the POW Camps came as much from watching others as reflecting on your own experience, is that correct?”

Lee’s Answer – “I’m watching different styles of leadership, as a junior-ranking guy, and watching how different people respond in different ways. They say values are more caught than taught – I was just catching certain mindsets about leadership that were very important.

You couldn’t pretend there, for instance. Whatever was there was real. Whatever you said, you were going to be put to the test.

Seeing that, and seeing the sacrifice, I said as a leader I must be willing to do the very best you can, but I also have to be willing to sacrifice and not be afraid.

I’ve always wanted to be a leader. I’ve always wanted to be in charge. In the POW camp, I wasn’t, so I was always thinking. I learned a lot by watching these guys and how they did it. In the Air Force, I was a leader for most of my career after I got back. I had a chance to put some of this stuff to the test, and I found it worked – not because I was the smartest guy in the room, but because I had good leadership and was surrounded by good people.”

Please share your comments in this forum – we’d love to hear your wisdom, too.

Seasonal Changes in Leadership: The Critical Benefits of Developing Next Generation Leaders

By Lee Ellis

The change of seasons brings to mind changes that we see in work and leadership. As seasons come and go in your work cycle, consider how older leaders shift into part-time roles in the organization and how younger leaders assume new levels of responsibility and leadership. While it’s a life process that naturally occurs in all industry sectors, the best leadership transitions occur with those young leaders that have been developed and equipped to assume their new roles. [Tweet This]

With this in mind, it’s a good time to pause to think about think about the seasons ahead and grow your younger leaders.

Choosing Leaders in the Military

When speaking about my POW experience and the lessons learned there, a common question from the audience is how we chose our leaders in that situation. That’s a great question because the burden of leading in that cauldron was often painful, always unpredictable, and not a position that most people would want. Fortunately we didn’t have to compete or debate about who would take command; in remote situations like this, it’s clear military policy that the senior person (based on rank and date of promotion) takes charge and everyone else follows.

In normal conditions, the military is constantly training and grooming every person for higher leadership responsibilities.

The heavy turnover from reassignment, separations, and mandatory retirement at the twenty- to thirty-year window makes succession planning a vital part of normal military planning and operations.

But many civilian organizations don’t see a pressing need, and many don’t have a system in place for developing and evaluating leaders. Do you have a vision for developing leaders? Do you see the need and are you willing to invest the time and energy in this process?

Short and Long Term Benefits

Developing leaders does take time and money, but it also has great short term benefits such as -

Having a built-in system for instilling the values and leadership principles that are important to you.
Building relationships in workshops and classes to enhance functional collaboration and break down silos.
Gaining better trained leaders at every level.
Creating higher morale and better retention among top performers.

Long term benefits are even more strategic because research shows that hiring from within is the way to go especially at higher levels. Developing your own pool of leaders from which to choose managers, directors and executives reduces your risks in several ways –

You’re maximizing “the known” and minimizing the “unknown” of hiring.

You know these folks and have seen them perform under stress.


They already know you and their working environment.

Corporate values and expectations
Organizational history
Customers, community, and competition

Granted, there are times when you may need to bring in an outsider to stir the pot or tap into a resource you don’t have on board. But when you do, the risks go up.

Hiring is one of the most difficult and expensive challenges leaders face. [Tweet This]

If you search the web, you’ll see that the estimates for the cost of a bad hire run from 30% of the individual’s salary to three times their annual salary. In some cases, it could be much more when you consider the energy lost to the executive teams and the opportunity loss of not having the right person on board.

Intentional Leadership Development

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve been fortunate to work with some great organizations. The best ones usually put considerable effort and resources into developing their next generation of leaders at every level from first line supervisor to the executive level. What about your organization? Do you have a focus on growing your on leaders? What programs and processes do you have in place to make this happen? If so how will you evaluate it and if not, who will help you build and grow it?

Remember, you must be diligent in planning ahead to have the best leadership transition possible. This season of the year is a good time to be grateful for the energetic young leaders in your organization and plan ahead for equipping them for the future.

LE

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As president of Leadership Freedom® LLC, a leadership and team development consulting company, Lee Ellis speaks and consults with Fortune 500 senior executives in the areas of hiring, teambuilding, leadership and human performance development, and succession planning. His latest book about his Vietnam POW experience is entitled Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton. Learn more at www.leadingwithhonor.com.

The Key to Great Team Development – A Leader’s Tool

Would you agree that one of the foundational principles of building a great team is mutual awareness of each other’s natural behaviors, strengths, and struggles? This information about your team members is powerful!

Lee’s newest assessment service, Leadership Behavior DNA, can provide this insight and more.

Check out what it takes to offer these services in your organization by reviewing training options – Click here

On This Day in Leadership History, November 30, 2014

On this day in history in 1782, peace talks between British and American diplomats got underway in Paris earlier in May 1782 and continued into the fall. In September, the American negotiators (John Jay, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin) discovered that the French foreign minister had sent his secretary on a secret trip to London. Now convinced of French duplicity, Jay, Adams, and Franklin let the British know that they were willing to negotiate unilaterally–that is, without French interference.

After two months of difficult negotiations, the British and American diplomats signed the Preliminary Articles of Peace ending the Revolutionary War on November 30, 1782.

Until a definitive peace treaty was signed, the United States was still technically at war. British and French fleets continued to fight on the high seas and in the Caribbean, but no land actions took place on the North American continent. A very difficult but important leadership scenario in our nation’s history.

16 Things Emotionally Strong People Don’t Do

In this article, “16 Things Emotionally Strong People Don’t Do”, the Mark and Angel Hack Life Blog answer this base element of honorable leadership related to emotional intelligence and maturity –

“So I was wondering, what do emotionally strong people NOT do? The reason I ask is that I’ve spent a lot of time implementing positive habits in my life, but I haven’t really focused on removing any (parallel) bad habits.”

Click here to read some things emotionally strong people don’t do – please share your comments!

Thank You Leaders in the Retail Industry!

On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, let’s remember the leadership and workers in retail today who are working long hours. Many of them are choosing to lead and serve with honor, and we’re grateful for these leaders today. Thank you retail service industry!