The Drumbeat

Hello Friends,

I have been negligent in writing. I have no excuse! I used to have the energy and time to post twice per week. And now...well, I won't even count the weeks since I last posted. I guess I have been busy with things at work. I know, I know...who isn't? But my job here in Afghanistan is somewhat consuming. But it is also fertile ground for learning more about leadership. So, it is not for a lack of stuff to talk about. It is mostly from a lack of energy to put this stuff in writing.

This has been an amazing opportunity for me. As most of you know, I am deployed to Afghanistan, serving with the Army Corps of Engineers as the Commander (CEO) of a $5B construction company. We have an incredible workload and doing it in an environment where every project has a story. They are all difficult: rough terrain, many inexperienced contractors, and of course, the presence of bad guys who don't want this program to succeed.

But the bottom line is, we have to win. That means we've got to accomplish our mission. No matter what! We are climbing a mountain that is almost vertical, increasing our output in every part of our program. We have to find a way to push ourselves to levels we didn't think possible. We have to change our tactics, find efficiencies, and blow through obstacles that will undoubtedly be found along the way.

Our overall strategy is simple: Meet our commitments; deliver finished projects; and Build projects while building capacity within the Engineering and Construction community of this country. There are no excuses! Every day matters. Every person contributes. We have to do whatever it takes to get the job done!

My former boss and great mentor and friend, Randy Castro, called this a drumbeat. To accomplish a large vision or tackle an insurmountable task requires consistent focus on the main elements that contribute to success. There are many important tasks (projects). They all must be accomplished. But the team needs to know where their piece fits in the overall picture. They need to hear the drumbeat over and over. This is the vision and this is how we will get there!

Our teammates need to hear and understand this drumbeat. Why is it important? How will we get there? How does what they do...fit into the overall mission? How do they get in step with the beat of the drum? This is what I cover every single day with my senior leaders. It affects what we measure. It shapes our calendars and meetings. It is what I talk to my team about at every forum (town hall sessions, video interviews, emails, project visits, etc.).

It's a drumbeat. Over and over again -- this is what we are doing, this is where we stand now, and this is what we need to do to be successful, to accomplish the mission, to win! Meet our commitments; Deliver finished projects; and build projects while building capacity within the Engineering and Construction community of this country. Hear the drumbeat: boom...boom...boom! Always the same beat, same rhythm, and the same message.

So...what is your drumbeat? If you had to summarize what success looks like into short sentences, sound bites, or milestones...what would they be? Would your teammates know that is what is important? Would they be able to repeat the drumbeat. Truth be told, that is the goal. We should hear it wherever we go within the organization, everyone focused on the same thing. The drumbeat...over and over.

We can't be all over the place. As leaders, we must be consistent. The drumbeat is what helps people understand the vision, share our passion or our sense of urgency, and focus on those difference making contributions that add up to overall victory. It keeps people marching to the beat, everyone in step, all headed in the same direction.

As we head into 2011, let's do it with a drumbeat. I told you mine. You tell me yours! That is what it will take to overcome obstacles, find victories in this tough economy, and to keep people focused on the prize. Beat the drum -- over and over. That should make for a successful, prosperous New Year. Forward...march!!! Happy New Year everyone!!

Credits go to "Tim" for the image at the top of this post!

Un-confuse the Chaos

Have you seen this slide? No doubt some well intentioned military staff officer, likely one operating at an oxygen-deficit, came up with this slide to attempt to describe operations in Afghanistan. It's a beauty, isn't it? Does it look like your own vision slide? How about your project delivery process, customer relation model, or org chart? My head hurts!

Listen, warfare is chaotic enough. I'm not sure whose idea it was to try to reduce it down to a single PowerPoint slide. No doubt someone thought this would turn on light bulbs and provide an understanding of how victory would be achieved for the forces in Afghanistan. Really?

I loved the comment from the military brass when they saw this slide. The sentiment was that when they understood this slide, they would have no difficulty winning the war. You got it, General. No war was ever won with sexy visual aids. And no vision has ever been achieved without leaders who can clearly articulate what they are doing and why. This ain't it! Send that trooper back to the drawing board...literally. And let's find a way to keep it simple.

When it comes to vision, the leader's job is to create order out of chaos, to "un-confuse" the situation, to help people see clearly how victory will be won. Yet, sometimes I think people no more understand what we are putting forward as our grand strategies than the great warriors in Afghanistan got where this slide was taking them. Whether it is in combat, health care, or the execution of whatever project we are working on, we need to devise simpler strategies and communicate them in more straightforward ways.

We can do better. I DO like the idea of putting our strategies on paper. My team will tell you that I love to pick up the markers and head to the whiteboard. But when we do, it must make things more clear, not less. Let's agree to these points when it comes to creating and communicating through visual aids:

-- Sketch out your vision, ideas, or master plans on paper or a dry erase board. If you can't do it...don't think it will make more sense when you try to digitize your ideas.

-- Make sure visuals are clean, simple, and easily understood. Check with those whose job it is to implement your plans. If they don't get it...your visuals probably don't add value.

-- Everything doesn't lend itself to PowerPoint! Why not try writing out a few paragraphs or putting together a white paper for more complicated issues? What did we ever do before Bill Gates?

-- If things look this complicated on paper, they probably are even worse on the ground. Most of us mice will not be able to navigate this sort of maze to find the cheese!

Look...many of our strategies and processes are confusing enough. Let's not add to the chaos with crazy slides, multiple arrows, and infinitesimal details. Slides like this produce a different kind of "vision" -- blurred! Find a way to help people see straight and "un-confuse" the situation. That's Leader Business.

Update: Friends...I know I have been delinquent in updating this forum. As many of you know, I am working hard to finish up on Leader Business, the book. I'm almost there. If you have the time, energy, or the intellectual curiosity...drop me a note and I will send you a brief excerpt so you can see where I am going. It is a rough draft, but you will get the idea. I'd love your feedback!

Hope is Not a (communication) Method

You know, nothing challenges a team like a lack of guidance from their leader. Nothing frustrates like spinning wheels and putting energy into things that are later suggested to be all wrong. Really boss? That input would have been helpful weeks ago. Had we only known what you wanted, this task would have been easy. Nice to know now. Grrrrr.....

I've witnessed a number of instances lately of leaders putting their respective teams into SPINCON LEVEL 6 (the highest spin level! Ha!) because they are failing to provide the necessary early input that they owe their people. I have seen too many leaders who mistake cheerleading for the need to provide competent, proactive, mission-focused requirements. And there are simply too many leaders out there who sit back and HOPE for positive results without providing their teammates the same thing they want from their own leaders -- enough early guidance to get going and the freedom to operate within KNOWN parameters.

Are you familiar with the axiom, "If you want it bad, you'll get it bad?" It implies that you can only put so much demand on the system (or people) before you negatively impact their outputs. Want an answer right now? You'll get one...but it may not be a good one!

The Leader Business corollary I have been struggling with lately goes like this: "If you don't tell people what you want...you'll get exactly what you asked for!" All too often the reason people don't meet our expectations is that we haven't shared those expectations with them...or anyone else! Understanding why our teammates are not delivering should start with deciphering what exactly we have asked from them. If we haven't asked, then we should shoulder the majority of the responsibility when they come up short! THEY AREN'T MIND READERS!!

As leaders, I think we need to regularly examine ourselves and ask if we are providing our teammates sufficient guidance. Do they understand WHAT is required of them? Do they know the key elements or metrics they must meet? Have they acknowledged any constraints we have provided them regarding timeline, resources, priorities, and alternatives to consider...or avoid?

Now, this is a fine line. Note that the focus above is on WHAT to do. Good guidance is empowering, not overbearing. It enables success by freeing people to operate with the confidence that they understand where they are going and any restrictions to their actions. Good guidance provides clearly identified and defined tasks. Goals, objectives, and parameters are similarly presented early in the planning stage. But just across the line is over-control, suppression of good ideas and initiative, and authoritarianism. Good guidance focuses on WHAT, not HOW. Leaders ensure the team clearly sees the goal line while allowing them to determine how to get there. This is the source of empowerment, inspiration, and initiative.

Our teammates are counting on us. We need to shape their efforts early, before they get started. This is so often THE MOST important element of our communication with them. Do they understand their requirements? Do they know what tools they have to work with? Do they understand the mission? Good leaders know they must give sufficient guidance to their team. They reinforce this guidance regularly to ensure everyone understands their vision and the tasks that enable it. They do not HOPE for success without providing the necessary shaping of people's actions that comes from this dialogue.

What are you waiting for? If you don't think you have done so lately...have this conversation with your teammates. Make sure they know your intent. And if you fail to tell them...don't be upset with the outcome. You'll get exactly what asked from them! We can't HOPE for good things from our teammates. Real leadership demands much more. We owe them the sort of guidance that empowers people to solve problems, generate options, and make things happen, that focuses clearly on WHAT so they can determine HOW. Isn't that what YOU want from YOUR boss? That's Leader Business.

Synergy - Part III

T-shirts don't make a team. Neither do cheers, logos, posters, or the most talented individuals in a particular field. Ask the Los Angeles Lakers, the 2009 NBA Champions. After a long drought in which the best player in the game never could get back to the top, it took much more to create the conditions for success. It took SYNERGY!

Synergy as we have described it can be reduced to a simple math equation: 1+1+1>3. The whole is made greater than the sum of the parts. Leadership is the action verb (made greater) that enables this possibility.

For the Lakers (or any other team), greatness was not achieved until the sum of the parts was actually made greater. That took leadership -- from the coaching staff, from the front office, and most importantly, from the players on the court. And if you follow the sport as closely as you follow this blog (ha!), you know that the synergy that we saw in this year's Laker team (or last year's Celtics, or any other championship team in any profession) validated the formula for synergy that we have been talking about on this page:

Synergy =Common vision and goals +Big TEAM, little me +Interdependence +Accountability.

And while we described each component in the last post, here are a few final thoughts on this important leadership deliverable:

While jerseys do not a team make, leaders must be aware of the need to build a unique brand around their team of teams (they are, after all, the LAKERS!). Use cross-training and developmental assignments between organizations to foster a better understanding of new acquisitions or within subordinate units who otherwise might not have reason to interact. Build a new brand. Celebrate team accomplishments and organizational progress toward the common vision.

Synergy is only possible when everyone is involved and is forged by leaders who get 100% from every team member. Mergers and acquisitions almost universally come with baggage – suspicions and concerns generated by ignorance of the potential for the new team of teams. Barriers must be knocked down, stove pipes eliminated.

Leaders must model the behavior that values the contribution of every single team member. Identify excess capacity and determine how to make it available to those who are over tasked. Think of your organizational diversity as an opportunity. How might someone in human resources help with an engineering design? Who better than a salesperson could serve on a process design team? And how can a superstar like Kobe Bryant subordinate himself to the goals of the team while making those around him better?

Synergy is fueled by communication and cross-talk. Economies of scale, opportunities for cross-selling and cross-promotion, and a better use of shared resources will not generally identify themselves. Leaders must constantly “wire brush” the organization to bring these issues to the surface. Constant dialogue about best practices and lessons learned, coupled with teammates held accountable to one another, will drive growth across the board. The total can exceed the sum of the parts - many times over.

If 1+1+1=3 - that’s not synergy. That result was achievable in the organization’s formerly independent state. Of what value is a merger, acquisition, or organizational growth that shows no value added? Bigger is not better. Better is better.

The leader’s job is to create synergy, to add value. Make the new condition, the newly combined business unit, or the organizational team of teams better than its former, independent state. That kind of measurable growth does not occur by itself. That’s where you come in. That's what it took for the Lakers to win the championship this year. And that is why creating synergy is...Leader Business.

Synergy - Part II

Wearing the same shirt does not make you a team.
-- Buchholz and Roth

During the time I was serving as a trainer at the Army's National Training Center, the Army formed a new combat organization within its fighting Brigades – the Special Troops Battalion (STB). Created by joining signal, intelligence, engineer, military police, and other specialized units under a common command, this new team's leaders faced a daunting task - build a team of teams out of these diverse functions; combine these dissimilar units into a cohesive, fighting organization – and make them better than when they operated independently. The mission – create synergy.

Many STB team members were challenged however, to embrace the promise of this new organization. They were encumbered by memories of life as independent entities. They could not yet comprehend the advantage of replacing independence with interdependence. They did not know the potential greatness of the new team. They had not yet seen the value of working, fighting, and succeeding – together.

STB leaders quickly realized that it took more than a common headquarters for combat units to fight as a team. Commanders quickly recognized that t-shirts and logos did not create synergy. Accomplished team builders know that much more is required. Successful mergers and acquisitions, in the military or in business, do not happen by themselves. Nope…that’s the leader’s job.

Synergy can be reduced to a simple math equation: 1+1+1>3. The whole is made greater than the sum of the parts. Leadership is the action verb (made greater) that enables this possibility. Making teams better, adding value, is the role of the leader. That makes it Leader Business.

As I indicated before, it was in the "heat of battle" at the Army's National Training Center that I learned these critical elements for creating synergy (another math equation!) --

Synergy =
Common vision and goals +
Big TEAM, little me +
Interdependence +
Accountability.

Common vision. Common goals.

Leaders must create the common purpose for which the team will fight – together. Groups, no matter how mature, must have a reason for working together that makes sense to all team members. Without a shared vision, organizational tendencies are to form stovepipes, build up barriers, and focus on themselves.

Synergy comes from teams and team members who are truly committed to working together. Leaders must forge the overarching organizational vision that describes the intended end state. Whether through mergers and acquisitions or when brought about by combining functions within existing organizations, the tendency will be for teammates to believe that “it was working fine before the change.” What they cannot know and what leadership must uniquely transmit is – “compared to what?”

Leaders provide the vision of how great the team can be under these new conditions. As is always the case with “the vision thing,” leaders must believe it themselves and then share it (frequently…and with passion), first with internal customers (get your team to believe) and then with everyone else.

Recently, I led my own team through a major transformation. The reasons NOT to change were plentiful: we were doing well, reaching all of our goals; we would lose our brand identity through the proposed changes; and the new organization would be so dysfunctional given the diversity of skills on the future team that the product would be of lesser quality.

I heard it from all sides and struggled personally and professionally with the pending change. But all issues paled in comparison to the importance of providing the best service to our customers. A shared vision that recognized that it was about those whom we served, not about us, was the reality we needed to embrace.

Discussions about how we would work together, about how we could be a better team and better serve our customers, enabled by the strength of our new diversity, and about how we could each grow, personally and professionally, quickly took hold within the organization. We became a better team – and our customers were better for it. It started with a vision.

BIG TEAM – little me.

Synergy is created when team members subordinate their personal or small unit goals to those of the bigger team. They must have the belief and understanding that they are successful only if the team is successful. The old way of doing business must be replaced with a new way – better and fully integrated into the higher organization.

Emphasize team goals at every opportunity. Use team rewards to highlight the benefits of working together. Reward behaviors that demonstrate the desired corporate mindset.

Leaders must balance the need to work as a team while still sustaining the competitiveness that drives subordinate teams to do their best? Sales teams need to push each other for the big goals. But the top prize is reserved for when the company achieves its intended results. Teachers should strive for individual recognition – yet take greatest satisfaction in their school’s “Exemplary” status.

Synergy is achieved by teammates who seek ways to do their best while striving to make each other better. Streamlined processes and cost savings are realized by team members who look outside themselves to help others. Information and lessons learned are shared. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Interdependence.

Synergy is only made possible through team members who replace independence with the newness of interdependence. Organizations whose members are mutually dependent on each other’s unique skills, experiences, and capabilities are more inclined to work together toward a common, higher goal. They are also less inclined to grow in size and scope versus leveraging unused capacity elsewhere in the organization.

The Department of Defense is working hard to force its services to embrace interdependence, a concept known as “jointness.” Does the artillery need a new howitzer when aviation – Army, Navy, or Air Force - can service those same targets with existing weapon systems? Does the Army need more bomb disposal personnel when the Navy has world class capabilities available to do this mission? Difficult concepts with high stakes, interdependence is the only way to get the most out of a military force with as many commitments as ours.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is another example of a large government organization wrestling with the need to create interdependence. Current budgets no longer afford each regional organization to create fiefdoms known as “districts” with full functionality whose sole focus is internal - district goals and district customers.

Now, regional and national centers of expertise are available to each Army Corps district, with designs for projects in one district completed by teams with unique capabilities in another. Business processes have been modified to reflect the elimination of stovepipes and local behavior. Not only does interdependence make better business sense, it produces a better product and leads to a more satisfied customer. The Army Corps is working hard to do more – better – with less. That is synergy.

Leaders must grow interdependent organizations who share everything – resources, customers, skills, people, and facilities. It is only in doing so that the new organization is made greater than the sum of its parts.

Identify unused capacity and determine how it can be applied to help the team. Cross level resources and capabilities between subordinate teams to meet higher level goals. Build bridges and bonds between mutually dependent sub-organizations that will create an effect that exceeds what could be done individually.

Accountability.

Synergy is only realized when the team is literally, measurably, actually made greater. The parts must function together to make a better product – cheaper, faster, more sustainable, more reliable, safer…better. True synergy must result in increased revenue or higher market share. Economies of scale must be realized. Customers, internal and external, must see progress.

Teams do well what a leader measures. Develop metrics for the team and for each subordinate organization that can be used for mutual accountability. Create an environment where subordinates are free to “look outside their cubicles” while holding each other accountable for meaningful, quantifiable advancement.

Team members must be accountable to one another to ensure a better team. This is only possible when they understand each other and appreciate how they each uniquely contribute to their success - and the accomplishment of team goals.

Education programs such as new employee orientation and formal and informal professional development help grow teammates who understand the team of teams. Peer reviews provide perspective on subordinates who work well within the team concept. Sharing best practices across functional areas will help make each component of the whole better than if it were operating separately.

Subordinates who understand that their success is only enabled by the success of every team member will begin to think outside themselves to help, and hold accountable, others. Salesmen will give constructive feedback to manufacturing partners. Marketers will interact with operations folks like never before. Peers and subordinate organizations that formerly had little interaction will develop productive, mutually beneficial relationships.

Nope...T-shirts won't make a team. Without common vision, interdependence, accountability, and the subordinating of self to something bigger, 1+1+1 will equal 3 (or less). Leadership is required to add value to this equation and to make individuals function as a TEAM. That makes creating synergy...Leader Business.

Whack-a-Mole Leadership

Are you familiar with this game? You try to hit the little critter when he pops his head up from the hole with a large mallet. The pattern is random and the moles keep coming -- sometimes one at a time, sometimes several at once. They pop up -- you WHACK 'em! It's fun!

Are you familiar with this brand of leadership? You race from crisis to crisis. You go from one initiative to another. You dabble in the management flavor of the day (empowerment, strategic planning, communication, lean six sigma, outsourcing, metrics) but never really make any progress. Something pops up, you put a lot of energy into whacking it. Sometimes you hit it...sometimes you don't. It's not fun!

Whack-a-mole leadership is very frustrating to teammates who can never understand where they are being led, nor gain a sense of strategic priorities and organizational vision. They never seem to accomplish anything nor see any meaningful progress. As soon as they accomplish something (whack the mole)...something else that is seemingly just as important pops up -- and they race to whack it.

Trust me. Whack-a-mole is no way to run a team. The moles will keep coming and no one wins. Morale suffers and the team will not produce.

There is a different approach, a style that avoids the pitfalls of whack-a-mole leadership. You see it exhibited by mature, strategic thinkers and executive leaders in all walks of life who know the following:

-- Set priorities and stay on them.

-- Identify what is important and stay focused. Don't be distracted by every little mole that pops up if it does not contribute to the strategic success of the team.

-- Be consistent and be yourself. Don't follow every flavor of the day.

-- Think ahead. Think strategically. Know where the next mole will pop up and be in position to whack it. Be proactive instead of reactive.

-- Be a calm and steady presence for the team. Protect them from the "urgent" distractor-moles sent down from HQ and keep them headed in the right path.

Whack-a-mole leadership is no way to run a business, lead a team, or govern in politics. Mature leaders understand the importance of picking up the mallet every day and consistently hitting the critters that matter. They set a winning vision and stay with it! Morale soars and the team wins. That makes it Leader Business.

New Year - New You!

OK...so let's spend the next few days really putting some energy into goal setting for 2008. Regardless of how successful you were this year, there is another level! You can do better. And if you are like me, there are many areas in which improvements can be made.

Before you start working on 2008, take inventory (AAR) of how you did in reaching your goals for 2007. Did you achieve any of them? If so, which ones...and why? Focusing on what made you successful and what you need to do to incorporate these positive lessons into your 2008 goals is critical. Similarly, which goals did you come up short...and why? Learning from your setbacks can turn a negative into a positive.

Finally with regard to last year's goals, did you write them down? Did you share them with anyone else? Did anyone help you as an accountability partner? Could any of these be contributing factors for why you might have come up short? Have no fear. These too can be turned around to make 2008 your best ever!

Vision. The very act of envisioning a better future is a powerful first step in setting your goals for next year. Where do you want to be at the end of the year? What will you look like? What does success mean...and how will you feel when you achieve it? Start with the end in mind and imagine the new you!

Goal Setting. Make your resolutions in a broad range of areas: Family / Home; Spiritual; Financial; Work; Education; help for others. Be bold and stretch yourself. If your goals don't make you a little uncomfortable, then you probably are not pushing hard enough! Make sure your goals are specific (I will run at least 3 times per week, at least 15 miles, and complete at least two half-marathons -- my goal! -- versus...I will run more in 2008). Make sure they are measurable (specific goals usually are!) and you can chart progress. Be realistic...but be BOLD!

Accountability. OK -- here is the hard part. If we are going to have any success toward achieving what we just came up with, we need to write down our goals...and share them with someone else. Find an accountability partner, someone who can be honest with you, whose feedback on your progress can offered, and accepted, without compromising your relationship! Share your 08 goals with your spouse or girlfriend (if you think she'll last through the year!), lifting buddy, or anyone else with whom you feel comfortable. Share them with me if you like! Then review them regularly -- at least quarterly, preferably monthly. Chart your progress and hold yourself accountable for moving forward toward your vision!

Good ideas for 2008.

-- Develop a "stop doing" list. Jim Collins (see his article here) suggests that among our best New Year's resolutions is one that might simplify our lives and help with time management. What could we stop doing in our personal and professional lives that has low return on investment or we are neither passionate about or good at? What might we stop doing in order to free up time to pursue our 2008 goals?

-- Can't think of good goals? Here are a few good lists to benchmark yourself: Bootstrapping Blog; Top 10 List; USA.gov.

-- Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Workweek) suggests that goals be in the categories of things we want to be (be a great cook, be fluent in another language), things we want to have, and things we want to do. Turning each of these into specific actions is a good place to start building your goals list.

I wish you great things in the next year. Be bold and audacious and set the bar high! Tell me how I can help you achieve success in 2008! Hooah!

The Vision of a Child

A small child sat at her desk, diligently completing her assignment to draw a picture for the class. Her teacher saw how hard she was working and the attention to detail that would no doubt be on display in the final work. The child's excitement was pouring out onto her paper with each stroke of the colored pencils.

When the teacher could wait no longer, she asked the child what she was drawing. "I'm drawing a picture of God," the child answered. "Well, no one knows what God looks like," the teacher responded. The child hesitated for a moment, and then gave this jaw-dropping explanation: "Oh...that's okay. They will know what He looks like when I am done!"

OK...what about you? Do you have a vision so clear that you can't wait to put it on paper? Can you see it with HD-like clarity? And are you ready to share that vision with others, despite the doubters?

In business and in the military (as in coloring), leaders must have the vision of this small child. They must be able to see the picture taking shape in their "mind's eye." They must be able to articulate the big picture, to energize others with a shared passion for completing the picture. And they must not be afraid to take on the big challenges, to go where others before them have not.

Keep coloring, my friends! And when you are ready, put your pencils down and start sharing your picture with others! That's Leader Business.

Be Going Somewhere

This is the 7th and final in a series addressing the key elements of a leadership philosophy. I call them the “7 BEs of a Leader.” Before assuming a new leadership position, Army pre-command training includes time to create one’s personal leadership philosophy. This is a great exercise, one that I have done deliberately many times. I have found that articulating my beliefs, my core values, and what exactly makes me tick are critical elements to share with my subordinates. Doing so, from the beginning, eliminates uncertainty – with subordinates and those whom I serve (customers, stakeholders, etc.) - and helps define the culture and leadership climate that I seek to create. It, like me, is a work in progress. So let me know what you think.

Nothing makes a bigger difference in the life of a ship and her crew than a Captain who knows where he is going. So be going somewhere.

Successful leaders have personal and professional goals and daily take steps toward their achievement. They carefully craft a shared organizational vision, embraced by the team, and tell it over and over again – with passion, energy, and commitment.

This is what leadership is all about: knowing where you are going and inspiring others to go along with you. So figure out where that somewhere is and step out. Be bold, take risks, and give people something to get excited about. Look over the horizon and determine what it will take to sustain success. Then position your team and yourself accordingly.

John F. Kennedy said we were going to the moon. Then he led a nation to that end. Martin Luther King, Jr. said he had a dream. Then he sacrificed and inspired a generation. Ronald Reagan told the Soviets to tear down the wall. Steve Jobs said he’d change the way people listen to music. Leaders know where they are going. And then they roll up their sleeves and turn dreams into action.

Ask my kids what leaders do and she’ll tell you they “tell people to do stuff.” Leaders give regular guidance and direction – each an opportunity to align the team with the vision. Each decision is an opportunity to tell the team, “We can’t build this work of art, this company, this team, without you and your unique contributions. This is where we are going…will you go there with me?”

That’s what kind of leader I want to be. I want to always get better, to strive to be the best, to position my team for greatness now and into the future. I want to take the bold risk that excites people, that gets them out of bed in the morning ready to do something truly meaningful. I want to be going somewhere.

That’s my leadership philosophy. This is how I try to approach each new job, each opportunity to serve. These are my “7 BEs of a Leader:”

· Be Yourself
· Be Positive
· Be Mindful of Others
· Be Situationally Aware
· Be Your Best
· Be Fit
· Be Going Somewhere

Do you have a leadership philosophy? Have you written down those things that you believe and that define who you are as a leader? If not, take the time to do it now. Identify those things that characterize your belief system and shape your personal leadership style.

Where are you going? Who are you taking with you? A true leadership philosophy begins with vision and requires leaders of passion (be positive) who recognize the unique contributions of every team member (be yourself), who care genuinely for every teammate (be mindful of others), who have the sixth sense of situational awareness, who lead by example in lives and careers of balanced fitness and who truly aspire to greatness (be your best). Is that your vision for yourself and your organization? Does that sound like your leadership philosophy? It should. That’s Leader Business.