Traveling Light Blog

As 2010 launches with projections of growth in most businesses, seasoned leaders who put retirement plans on hold are looking to the future again, and this means that starting this year, many mid-career leaders will be stepping in as their successors.

Likewise, bright careers that stalled during the recession will take off again as more opportunities become available.

The result: far more leadership transitions than last year. This will prove to be the first of several big waves of leadership transition, triggered by the retirement of the Boomer generation in the developed economies and the economic upswing in many parts of the globe.

So let the transitions begin! The success of leadership transitions will influence everything from customer retention to your employees’ morale and confidence in you. The transitions are going to happen anyway, so take the bull by horns and do them well.

1. Discuss the transition with your spouse, life partner or other key people you lean on for support in your life. If you’re a retiring executive, the many reasons for this are obvious. If you’re the successor, it’s essential to have support from the most important people in your life. The transition itself is going to take a fair amount of your time away from friends and family, and yet, you’ll need their support more than ever.

That level of need won’t change for quite some time. Immediately after the transition into your bigger role, you will find yourself stretched and likely spending more time at work for a while, and it is very difficult to predict exactly how long “a while” will be in any given situation.

Throughout this process, you’ll not only be managing the business, but managing others through a significant change, and this takes a level of time, effort, and skill that most leaders grossly underestimate. You’ll likely need a higher level of support from your personal support system.

2. Discuss the goals of the transitioning leader and of the successor. This is not one conversation, but several. The purpose is to set up the transition for success by understanding one another’s goals rather than working on potentially false assumptions about each other.

So many transitions have ended up as explosions or no transition at all, due to false, unspoken assumptions about goals. I am reminded of one of my late relatives, George, who hired a young man to groom into his successor, since he thought he should think about retirement “in a few years.” Thirty years later, the successor retired, while George continued to run the business! He ultimately didn’t retire until well into his 80’s.

While this is a comically extreme example, it does illustrate the importance of moving from more general visions (“I’d like to move on in the next few years” or “I’d like to step up soon”) to creating real, live goals.

This is too important to crank out in one sitting. You need time to reflect. You may find that simply hearing the other leader’s goals gives you another perspective, and influences your own goals more than you had imagined.

Unless the change has been triggered by an emergency, give yourselves the time you need for this step. You may find that you create a slightly different role for the successor than the current leader has had, or a massively different role, for that matter. You may find that you keep the role approximately the same. The only way to know is to talk through it. A successful transition will meet the needs of each person. A fair-to-middling one leaves one person’s goals unattained, and this often creeps into the business performance.

3. For the senior leader, privately share your successor’s name with each of your direct reports before communicating to the rest of the organization — and be prepared to have a delicate conversation about your choice. A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review wrote an article on challenges in succession planning. One of the findings that stuck with me was how many people live under the illusion that they personally are the chosen successor when in fact they have never been considered for promotion at any point in time.

In some cases, the senior leader did manipulate conversations, which is just plain wrong and a bad, bad idea. However, in many cases, the senior leader’s words carried so much weight, and the individual wanted a promotion so badly, he or she read meaning into statements that simply wasn’t there.

Once you know who your successor is, and the two of you have had your conversations, do your direct reports the courtesy of sharing your decision privately. No matter how long you’ve worked together, don’t assume you already know who will be disappointed. Many leaders have read these tea leaves wrong.

4. Create and communicate a shared vision for the organization, one that will be realized after the transition. Leadership transitions can be nerve-wracking for everyone involved. Remember the first time Steve Jobs tried to leave Apple? Complete disaster.

People remember these events from the news and often from their own bad experiences, so they have every reason to be nervous if you create no vision beyond the time when the current senior leader is in charge. It will feel like the organization is just going to fall off of a cliff once he or she leaves.

A solid vision, combined with a good plan, will help inspire faith, and faith goes a long way to inspire performance.

5. Determine the path forward. This is a poetic way of saying, “Make a plan and work the plan.” Treat it as a project that’s every bit as important as your biggest customer projects.

Unless the transition is prompted by a sudden event or emergency, ensure that the successor assumes more of the senior leader’s responsibilities every 3 – 6 months, with genuine transition of decision-making accountability and authority, too.

Put dates on your plan, and target how often you will revisit the plan to check progress and make adjustments. It’s not unusual for these plans to have a few adjustments along the way, so don’t let that bother you.

And a free bonus tip: if you can afford to slow down the pace of other changes during this time without negatively impacting the business, do it. For example, it is unwise for the current senior leader to hire new team members unless this can’t be avoided. The incoming leader needs the opportunity to build his or her own team, and employees generally do not respect leaders who hire them under the guise that they’ll be reporting to one person, only to be told a few months later that they’re now working for someone else who had been the planned successor all along.

For more information on managing a key leadership transition, contact us at lighten@selbygroup.com.

Apparently I’m 22 years younger and I just robbed a liquor store near my parents’ home. Imagine their surprise when they opened the newspaper and saw this: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/man_woman_arrested_in_hazel_de.html.

Who knew I led a double life?

I’m now honored to be the president of the global professional association for people who use the MBTI® and other personality instruments in their work. The Association for Psychological Type is a global association serving a diverse community ranging from seasoned authors, researchers, and consultants to new practitioners and even some members who don’t use psychological type in their professions but wish to deepen their self-awareness and effectiveness with others.

Do any of these descriptions fit you? If so, check us out at www.aptinternational.org.

We offer our members an extensive, private on-line archive of articles about how to use psychological type in your work, research reviews, resource reviews, and commentary.

New articles are also available to our members throughout the year through our proprietary publication, The Bulletin of Psychological Type.

Our members also receive substantial discounts on our on-line training, and have the opportunity to join a local chapter and our virtual chapter.

If you purchase resources or take training from a private company, did you know you can probably get a discount by being a member of APTi? Several top organizations are partners with us and offer exclusive discounts and other special promotions to our members.

The resources are substantial, and the community is dedicated to assisting one another in our professional growth. Will you consider joining us?

“I’m stumped. I brought Chuck into Cisco as top talent, a process improvement expert with a great track record at other companies. I know he’s high potential, but he’s really struggling, and he’s frustrated, and he’s not getting the results that he’s capable of. I’m afraid we’re going to lose him to a competitor. I’ve never had this problem before and I don’t know what else to do. Can you help?”

That was my introduction to Chuck Trent. As you can see by the fact that names have not been changed to protect the innocent, Chuck is no wimp who hides out. He started working to help support his family at the age of 12, he flew helicopter missions in Vietnam (medical and combat), he taught Los Angeles SWAT teams, and perhaps the scariest challenge of all – he’s supported seven kids! Now that they’re grown with kids of their own, I simply refer to Chuck’s family as The Cast of Thousands.

When I met Chuck, he was a man who had never experienced a big failure at work. Setbacks, sure. When he got back from Vietnam, the economy was terrible and no one wanted to hire vets so he swept buses for a living, and he’s had the usual setbacks we all suffer.

But those were situations largely beyond his control. This was different. Chuck had been brought into the fast-growing barely-controlled chaos of Cisco in 1999 for his talent in standardizing and optimizing complex processes.

I was there, working with many different groups in the company, and I can attest that they needed Chuck’s talent in the worst way. But it seemed that everything he tried to do stalled out. The star was producing average results and besides the pain to the business, it was deeply painful for him personally.

He was so exasperated that he told his boss he was beginning to question if he’d made the right decision to come there, because he just didn’t feel he could be successful there, and he didn’t know why. It felt like there was a “secret sauce” he needed to take advantage of the many opportunities there, and he was having a really difficult time understanding the culture.

Luckily, Al wasn’t about to let such a plum hire go off to the competitors, and he asked Chuck if he would like to work with a coach who could bring in an outside perspective and help him break through the blockades.

Before I share what Chuck did to break through the barriers and achieve his potential, I’m going to share what I saw Chuck do that so many people never do: he put his ego on ice. Open yourself to the tough feedback you need to hear to reach your personal best. The funny thing about putting your ego on ice and dropping your defenses is that, ironically, you get stronger by allowing yourself to feel the vulnerability.

In fact, what I learned interviewing Chuck’s team, peers, and internal clients was that Chuck brought specific strengths to the table, and lots of them. The challenge was not at all in what he did, but in how he was doing it.

And now, Chuck Trent’s seven tips to be an effective leader:

1. Connect with the right people. This requires you to find out who the right people are. It’s not always who you think it is. Think about everyone who might be significantly impacted by your project, initiative, or plan.
2. Adapt to people of different personality types. Chuck had taken the MBTI® several times before, but we dug much deeper. Not only was Chuck able to bring more of his true self to the role, he made concentrated efforts to get to know others and adapt to their personalities. As Chuck puts it, “It was the difference between hitting a brick wall and having a light bulb go off.”
3. Build relationships at the lower levels to get to the higher-ups. Build strength with your peers. Sometimes you have to go sideways to get to the ultimate decision-maker.
4. Learn how others learn and process information, and then adapt to them. Chuck asks directly and finds that many people know their learning styles and will tell him. In other cases he observes closely until he figures it out. How is this person responding to different types of data? Different presentations? Chuck is visual and dynamic, always drawing pictures and diagrams, but one of his largest client groups is highly verbal and structured in their style. He noticed that they all still used bulleted Power Point slides to convey important (and sometimes unimportant) information, so he started doing exactly the same thing when meeting with them. He found that they worked better with him that way and he got better results.
5. Don’t expect people to connect with you before you connect with them. Do the outreach.
6. Give to them before you ask for anything.
7. Pick the battles that you fight. How much does it cost you to be right?

As with post-holiday weight loss, improvements like this are best taken one step at a time, so instead of trying all seven tips today, pick one that resonates with you and start with that, adding the others as you gain comfort and ease.

A big round of applause to San Francisco State Executive MBA Program Director Dr. Aaron Anderson and his students for their impressive questions during my recent visit to their Organizational Behavior class. I’ve worked with people who already had their MBA’s for many years and not had questions this tough. Way to go! You’re all going to do just fine.

I meant to get a photo with these dynamic future leaders but wound up chattering away with students all through the break, until it was time to start the class again. Anyone surprised? Oh, come on, anyone?

Despite the weak economy, or perhaps because of it, there seem to be quite a few parties this year.

As a leader and representative of management for your company, it’s important to strike a tone that is festive without appearing to lose sight of the larger contex – that we are very early in the recovery and it’s been a tough year for many employees.

Remember that all eyes are on you, even in non-office settings – perhaps even more so in non-office settings where your behavior will be seen as “the real you.”

Corporate holiday parties and their sibling, the corporate-sponsored charity event, remain one of the weirdest hybrids of work and play that I have ever experienced. They’re a veritable minefield in which if you perform well, absolutely no one will remember you, and if you perform poorly, everyone will remember you for years to come – for all the wrong reasons.

In the spirit of ensuring the former and not the later, I offer this simple advice to avoid awkwardness and create a pleasant atmosphere, without excess effort.

Nobody really cares what you do for a living or what projects you’re working on. Yet, in American culture, like work-a-holic lemmings, we instinctively ask, “What do you do?” This is a particularly sensitive subject this year as many employees and spouses at the event may be part of the 10% of unemployed Americans – and the numbers aren’t much better in many other countries, either. Resist the urge to open with the familiar, “So what do you do?”

Become the greatest conversationalist they’ve ever met in their entire lives by not asking about work. Try, “What interests you outside of work?”, “What are you doing these days for fun?”, “What are your kids up to?”, or anything else that invites conversation on a subject of interest other than work.

Follow-up questions help, too. (“You do scrapbooking with your friends. I didn’t realize that was a group hobby. How did you become interested in it?” “So your teenagers are budding Emo-Punk t-shirt designers. Wow. I’ve never heard of that. Tell me more.”)

Don’t bolt from conversations with lower-ranking employees the minute you see a prospect, C-suite executive, or other prestigious individual. With few exceptions, you’ll not only be laughed at by the people you abandon, but you’ll be laughed at by the VIP’s, too. A holiday party is not the place to corner them with your great idea or product. Say hello, engage in brief conversation, offer to introduce them to others, and move on.

Introduce yourself to every person at your table, and talk with each of them at some point during dinner, including the spouses, who will speak highly of you forever simply because you steered the conversation away from endless droning on about the office.

Bonus points if you remember names and introduce people to each other. Here’s a great trick for remembering names. Kirk and I swear by it, and we both do much better with names now that we’re using this trick. As soon as you are introduced, say the individual’s name, as in, “Pleased to meet you, Kate.” Then use it two more times early in the conversation. The repetition makes it stick in your head.

And Now for my Favorite Tip for a Sit-Down Dinner

When you sit down next to the CEO, avoid eating his or her food by remembering that your bread plate is to the left and your drink is to the right. Cue yourself by forming an “o” with your index finger and thumb. On the left hand, this forms the letter “b” for bread, and on the right hand, the letter “d” for drink.

Try it now. See? Nifty, huh?

Don’t worry about getting caught doing this. It’s a sure-fire conversation starter. For example, the person next you just might say, “Ah, I see you read Traveling Light, too…”

As we near the end of 2009, I would like to wish each of you a wonderful and restful year-end. We’ll all need to rest a bit after the rollercoaster of 2009 and what promises to be a very busy 2010 as the recovery moves along and the strongest players grab market share and deepen their investment in business and leadership development.

In the spirit of following my own advice, the Selby Group office will be closed December 16 – January 3. I will be available by cell phone through December 20, but expect some delays in my response time.

Today I feature what has become an annual tradition – how to survive and even excel at that most awkward of leadership situations, the holiday party.

Even if you were fortune enough to have your company’s holiday party cancelled “due to the economy” (translation – “any excuse to skip this awkward evening will do”), you will no doubt have at least one event to attend which crosses business and social lines.

No matter what the event, you are the representative of the company whether you want to be or not, you lucky devil. Today’s abbreviated article guides you in making this event passable or even a pleasure through effortless and engaging interaction – plus a sure-fire icebreaker for the dinner table.

Thanks for another great year in the Traveling Light tribe!

Success and Happiness,

Jennifer

Maybe you’re familiar with the Fox Sports show, The Best (Bleep) Sports Show Period, or as they call it at Fox Sports, “Best D%*m.” I had a little trouble following the conversations around there until I figured this out. I thought they were always excited about something, but wondered what it was since they never seemed to add a noun after the adjectives. However, that’s a story for another day.

I also thought it would be neat if there were a “Best D%*m Business Book Period” show for leaders and consultants. How handy would it be to have all of the latest business books scaled down to a handful of winners, with color commentary by, I don’t know, maybe a former CEO, Dr. Phil, and a reporter from the Financial Times?

The only problem with my idea is that the show would be a cure for insomnia, given how incredibly dull, vague, and repetitive business books tend to be. I admit without guilt that I’ve started more than I’ve finished, since most of the key points have already been made in the first 10 pages.

So imagine the tremendous pride I felt when my colleague, friend, and Selby Group affiliate Sharon Richmond wrote Introduction to Type and Leadership, a focused, tight, insightful, and research-backed book on how your personality type affects your leadership. It’s the Best D%*m Leadership and Personality Book Period. Buy it. Read it. Do what she tells you to do. Go be wildly successful. Simple. Ahhhh….

Give me 10 more authors like Sharon, a retired CEO, Dr. Phil, and a Financial Times reporter, and I just might make that show work after all.

I’ve heard of graduate students cracking under the pressure – but graduate student wives? Three nights ago, I had a nightmare that Kirk fell in love with his financial calculator and apologetically left me to marry it. The psychologists who read this ezine will have a great time with that one. As for me, I’m happily counting the eight months and four days until he’s done and I don’t have to worry about that husband-thieving financial calculator anymore!

If you missed the Association for Psychological Type Conference in Dallas, you can order the CD’s at http://www.aptinternational.org/Publications/Conference-Recordings.aspx. This includes my concurrent session Personal Fulfillment and Financial Security: Hidden Secrets to Have BOTH.

Want a chance to not miss it this time around? If you’re a facilitator, trainer, or OD consultant, read on. I have personally seen Jill facilitate, and it is amazing.

THE BAY AREA ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPE EXTENDS A SPECIAL INVITATION TO THOSE INTERESTED IN DISCOVERING “SO WHAT?”

Meaning Making – debriefing skills for facilitators and trainers.

This is a special workshop presented by Jill Chivers, APTi board member and internationally known consultant from Australia.

Friday, November 13, 2009: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
CPP, Inc. Office
1055 Joaquin Road, 2nd floor. Mountain View, CA 94043

Debriefing skills are essential for any facilitator. This session will explore the essentials of creating meaning and lasting value out of group processes, exercises, games and activities.

If you’ve ever conducted a workshop or training session and were left wondering what it all meant, then you can be sure your participants have, too. If you can’t help participants discover what the implications and applications are, the value of group processes, activities and games is vastly diminished if not completely lacking.

This workshop will help you guide participants through the crucial questions of “so what?” and “now what?”

This session takes us through a process starting with…

Pre-Briefing – where it all starts. If you set it up from the beginning, it makes it a lot easier to debrief it at the end…. then into

The Process – an effective model to take your participants along the journey of learning: from doing to reflecting to sharing to interpreting to applying…. followed by

Debriefing – processes, resources, questions, facilitator-centric essentials. An

exploration of some of the many and varied tools at your disposal

Exercises will be used to bring out the magic of the content.

$45.00 per person (includes refreshments)

Preregistration is recommended. Checks and questions can be directed to Julie Wright at 2314 Sweetwater Drive, Martinez, CA 94553; jcw42002@yahoo.com; 415-264-0217 (cell).

Jill Chivers (ESFJ) is passionate about and skilled in working with people. Jill’s work with people has included the front line through to CEO level and people with diverse backgrounds and cultures. Jill designs and delivers impactful and innovative learning initiatives and events that lead to real shifts in how people think, feel and behave.

Her extraverted and energetic style is engaging, and Jill has received repeated feedback that she creates a safe and open learning space that motivates.

Jill has an MBA and is certified in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) both of which she uses in unusual ways. Jill is a Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) through the International Association of Facilitators; and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Facilitators

Jill has created the unique downloadable video program, I’m Listening Now, (http://.imlisteningnow.com) which provides a listening ear whenever you need it.