Are you a Manager or a Leader?

Leaders exist at every level of an organisation, whereas Managers are hierarchical pinnacles. By its nature, the role of a Manager is that of control, unless that manager is a Leader. There is nothing wrong with being a Manager as long as it is where you wish to be.

So which one am I (one might ask)? In order to better portray this, I'll use a real example, that I observed yesterday while shopping for clothes. I asked one of the 2 charming shop assistants why he seemed rather low-key. He told me this short story. 

He said that the other shop assistant who is his manager (Store Manager) hired him, some weeks ago, as he was recommended by her husband. He was doing very well from the outset, so the creative Store Manager moved against convention and decided to pool the Store Sales and effectively share her commission with him, while he ramped-up his sales. It created an amazing harmonious, effective, positive, pleasant and rewarding environment for both; a great place to work he added. That lasted about 3 weeks.

Then, the morning of my visit, the pair received a call from the Store Manager's supervisor who asked them to promptly stop that practise. "You are meant to be competing"........... 

The shop assistant is totally disincentivised and is now wondering if this organisation is aligned with his value systems or whether he will just be there and just collect the salary.

Hierarchically, the Supervisor was "enforcing" the organisational edict of how people participate in their internal commission scheme. The Store Manager was incentivising her staff.

The point is that as managers we often forget the purpose of the process, in this case the commission process. Obviously it is, to incentivise the team and individuals specifically, to achieve better organisational results. We seem to fail to realise that the best results are achieved through effective and happy teams rather than through dogma. As a manager this individual was using his position to enforce company policy. As a Leader, he failed, as this achieved the opposite outcome to the intent of the policy/process.

So the answer to the question "Am I a Leader or a Manager?", seems straight forward to me. Am I an enforcer that utilises my position to control outcomes, or am I unleashing that Leader quality within each individual in my team to achieve results that eclipse my industry competitors?

In our definition, Leaders are those that create Leaders and Leadership starts with one owning the responsibility of taking a Lead in their own life! Whether you know it or not, you are a Leader! Leaders exist in all walks of life. They are mothers, CEOs, volunteers, spiritualists, care-givers, receptionists, and the list goes on. However not all these role players are Leaders.

http://www.aldogrech.com

Who's Your Boss?

not relevant but interesting

As a leader, this is a key question to keep in mind.

It is my observation and opinion over the many years that I led businesses, that there are 2 types of businesses, those that focus on the customer and those that focus on the shareholder. Now many will argue that these are not mutually exclusive, and maybe so. However. I believe that in most cases that I have observed, this is a valid statement.i believe that there is only one Organisation that is effective and meets the test of time and that is the Organisation that focuses on the customer. I also happen to believe that the Organisation that focuses primarily on its customer is better serving its shareholders.

The focus on shareholders is usually a short-term view of an Organisation. It is usually a 3 monthly cycle of achieving certain results. Where, if results are not met, the Organisation is severely punished. In order to meet these short term results, so called leaders resort to anything including getting rid of core staff (often not the ones that are obviously bringing the results, but are the hidden jewels, alas), selling core assets and diverting the Organisation away from its true vision, merely to keep investors happy. I use the word merely quite purposefully. As I believe the shareholders are best served if these decisions are not made, if they want long-term "success".

I am not saying that recalcitrant employees should not be addressed appropriately. However, getting rid of employees, merely for short-term results achievement, is tantamount to throwing away the baby with the bath water! This is a different issue and the subject of a separate article.

Shareholders are best served if the Organisation stays focused on its customers; it's vision, even as times get tough and as shareholders want blood. Of course, one needs to stay relevant and the business of a leader is in fact to continually measure the Organisational one page business plan against market ensuring its validity. However, once validated and/or trimmed, a true leader stays focused on the customer and not the short-term blood thirst of the shareholders. Shareholders operate out of fear and a true leader knows this, and is able to stay on course while managing shareholders expectations.

However, back to the original hypothesis. As a leader there is a key choice to make; the customer, or the shareholder. And this is not about politics and rhetoric. It is about conviction.

Practically, what does this mean?

The customer-centric leader understands that the Organisational best asset is the employee. They do everything to ensure that everybody is on board and on purpose. They ensure that training is provided for all to stay on purpose and eliminates those that refuse to adopt the vision and are not on purpose. These are not necessarily recalcitrant employees. However, sometimes, there are valid differences of opinion and there is no place for an employee with opposing views of objectives. This is like letting a cancer grow. An on-purpose Organisation is unstoppable, profitable and has longevity built-in; it can whitstand down-times and maximize profits in good times, better serving its loyal shareholders.

I would not call CEOs and Managers of shareholder-centric organizations leaders. They might be brilliant in delivering great short-term dividends. However, the organizations they build are not sustainable long-term, have tragic customer satisfaction levels and have limited longevity. They are the heroes of investors but create organizations with low morale high staff turn-over and as a result unsustainable. In the long-term, this is bad news for loyal investors and create cronic down-turns as they do almost anything (as shown in the GFC) to ensure short-term results. They might be Managers, CEOs, great analysers, politicians; often charismatic, but not Leaders.

Unfortunately, these individuals are the yardstick for our youth and this is a sad indictment for our civilization that has placed money as a god above all gods.

Obviously, investors are by nature transient and they pick and choose, dropping perceived hot potatoes for the new short term money making opportunity. This is sometimes good for the investors hip-pocket, but always bad for business.

Apple is a great example of my views. Its share-value has been savaged even as it enjoys, unparalleled customer satisfaction, unparalleled profits, unparalleled growth of liquid assets unparalleled equity for a company of its size and has effectively created 5 new global product categories; simply because it has not met shareholder expectations! Absurd...

As a Leader, it is your choice. Choose wisely as true deep-in-the-heart conviction, alignment and happiness is worth much more than the short-term financial reward. And be clear that choosing the customer over the shareholder is a sure guarantee of investor return, almost and oxymoron!

CxO has proven alternative methodologies to turn your Organisation into a sustainable, long term, great entity. http://www.CxOconsulting.com.au. Aldo Grech is the managing Partner and Leader of CxO.

The Winning Curse

News is often full of fallen heroes; fallen to drugs, crime or bribery. Leadership is not the same as management or winning at all costs. Leadership is about being the best of who we are, leading by example and in the process creating other Leaders, not followers.

Hero worshiping is creating serious anomalies in our society and there is a need for our prime caregivers and education systems to re-frame and redefine how we are motivating our youth and what success means.

Ego is not the same as self-worth and self-respect. Ego is the opposite!

In my opinion Ego is the result of self-denial, where the value of oneself is so low, that from a young age we start comparing ourselves with others to create an avatar of ourselves that becomes our Ego; that we manipulate like a chameleon in every aspect of our life (friendships, relationships, work, play, etc) in order to cover-up that innate sense of worthlessness. This is exacerbated by the emphasis of our care-givers, from a very young age, where we are compared with others and where others (winners!) are established as yardsticks of success. Being individuals, we never match those others that we are compared with and that which we are taught to revere and thus starts the process of creating our fake avatar, the chameleon.

In this process, depression is a very likely path as we learn to suppress that who we are while we act in behaviors that make us appear to be successful, as defined by others. That suppression leads to depression.

And depression is not even the worst outcome. Performance enhancement drugs, bribery and crime often are outcomes that destroy our lives and those of those around us.

Our newspapers are currently full of devastating news like Pistorius, Lance Armstrong, extensive doping in Australian sports, and other fallen heroes/organisations.

The issue, is that instead of looking at this as an epidemic of our times, driven by our trained focus to "win at all costs", we look at these disasters as individual cases. Doing so, we continue making a bad situation worse.

The answer is simple but not so easy to deploy. It is simply about motivating our young to explore that which motivates them from the inside and for them to feel contented and loved for simply being who they are; rather than the unnatural pressure from day one to be better than the Jones's, to make more money, to drive better cars, wear set brands, etc...

And there is nothing wrong with aspiring to having the best that this world has on offer, and more. The difference is the motivation that gets us to achieve these, that needs to be internalized rather externalised; meaning, motivated from within rather than motivated by comparing ourselves with others.

Whether you are a mother, a school teacher, a manager or an orator, be a Leader and inspire others by motivating that beautiful energy that lies within them that will yield astounding results to themselves, your family and your organisation.

In our definition, Leaders are those that create Leaders and Leadership starts with one owning the responsibility of taking a Lead in their own life! Whether you know it or not, you are a Leader! Leaders exist in all walks of life. They are mothers, CEOs, volunteers, spiritualists, care-givers, receptionists, and the list goes on. However not all these role players are Leaders.

http://www.aldogrech.com

True Leaders Redefine Success

As a reader of my musings, you would know my definition of Leadership. Please refer to the bottom of this page to refresh yourself.

Consciously or subconsciously, most people will refer to success in terms of money, winning or corporate hierarchical achievement. In any case, it refers to making more or being more in reference to others.

I believe, this emanates from a human condition of less-than, of inadequacy, fear and shame that puts us on a never ending path of futility, chasing that which will not bring us true happiness. True success, I believe is being the best of who we can be in those areas of our passions and essence, when we are in our element. Somebody defined success as "wanting what I already have!"

When we use externals as measures for success, all we are doing is punishing ourselves be establishing success criteria that refer us to third-parties, a formula for unhappiness. If the measure of success is money, then if we do not have enough, we have failed, and how much is enough anyway. If the next promotion is the measure of our success, then, if a third party chooses not to promote us, we are placing the measure of success in the hands of another. If we define success as winning a race, then there are endless permutations that will give us, or not, the result we expect, and so, again, we place our success in the hands of others or third party conditions.

Now, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with money, winning or corporate achievement. However, if we link success (and happiness) to these outcomes, then we are handicapping ourselves.

Leadership comes from deep within us. It is the externalising of that gift that we were born to be. It is that childlike energy that does not fear or even understand the concept of being shamed or being ridiculed. It is based on self-respect and the respect of the opinion of others, and does not conclude that the opinion of others, if different to ours, makes us wrong... just different. Diversification is the essence and colorfulness of humankind.

It is also that confidence that allows us to accept 3rd party opinions of us and is able to dispassionately take from it that which serves us and discount the rest.

A true leader, motivates themselves and others by expecting the best of themselves and others and creates environments where mistakes are a positive element of progress. They do not pejoratively compare and understand that the richness of the differences are what makes their environment an enjoyable success.

In our definition, Leaders are those that create Leaders and Leadership starts with one owning the responsibility of taking a Lead in their own life! Whether you know it or not, you are a Leader! Leaders exist in all walks of life. They are mothers, CEOs, volunteers, spiritualists, care-givers, receptionists, and the list goes on. However not all these role players are Leaders.

http://www.aldogrech.com

An Intersection

Depression or Mid Life Crises are the intersection for Nature and Nurture! Enough said for now........

If You Are Not Enjoying It, Stop Doing It!

Statistics about unhappy employees vary significantly from 19% to 60% plus, as do the perceived reasons why. But even at 25%, independent of the reason, this is a significant number of people who spend most of their day engaged in stuff they do not enjoy.

As an example, according to Gallup Q12 survey, "26 percent of U.S. workers 18 or older are extremely satisfied with their work, 55 percent moderately satisfied, and 19 percent are dissatisfied by their work. That 19 percent represent 24.7 million U.S. workers who are not committed to their jobs, are working below their potential and don't plan to be with the company in a year. They also miss more days of work and report having high negative stress." [Dissatisfied workers: a multi-billion dollar industry. By John Burke, Bankrate.com]. That is, 74% not completely satisfied.

"It comes as no surprise to learn from a study published this week that, although Britons are twice as rich as they were in 1987, they are no happier," according to The Telegraph!

Happiness is a simple equation!

It is my observation that apparently, we spend a large portion of our day involved in activities that do not give us pleasure and at worst give us great displeasure, and in an effort to justify this we do even more of what we do not enjoy to earn more money. Examples include overtime and taking on even more responsible roles in environments that make us very unhappy.

Of course we need that extra money to buy more of those things that "promise" to make us happy. Bigger car, bigger house, more houses, more cars, travel, more gadgets we do not need, branded fashion items that tell the world that we have made it, etc. These are just a few examples.

So the equation is simple. We spend our life in a viscous cycle, doing those things we do not enjoy to generate enough money to then do those things that have that allure of happiness, as marketed in movies, songs and those pesky product ads.

The equation is simple mathematics that patently points-out a better way. It goes like this:

Place all the excesses in your life on one side of the equation. Come-on you know what they are, I mentioned some of them above. Be absolutely merciless about this and no, you cannot hide that extra iPad mini when you already have the 2 previous generation iPads sitting in that drawer, include them! Once you have ruthlessly included everything that is not absolutely necessary in your life, (including travel), then sum the yearly costs of these and deduct them from your collective salaries of your household. Take a lower paying role that makes you happy. (See "Your passion and purpose" section below).

Yes, you might think this a naive concept, but stay with me, read on...

Statistics track perceived realities, which are not necessarily real!

There is much new understanding about family-of-origin and related psychology. Leaders like Pia Mellody and Shirley Smith have done a lot of good work in this area, that I believe are branches of Carl Jung's work that also led to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular psychometric instrument. Jung considered individuation, the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining their relative autonomy, to be the central process of human development.

It is my view that statistics deal with the conscious. In statistics, people are asked for their views and on the basis of the results, conclusions are drawn. So, for example, if you ask an unhappy employee why they are unhappy, there is a high likelihood that the responses would include; not enough money, bad manager, company culture, etc... It is highly unlikely that they would respond, I am unhappy in this job and effectively most jobs in my career because I made a bad career choice, or because I am compromising myself for money. Probably you are thinking right now, what a whole lot of victim talk. Well maybe, but I beg to disagree.

Such is the brainwashing that goes-on from the early days of our lives, (effectively rail-roading a naturally perfect human being into an unhappy corporate creature), that in most cases, we unconsciously follow the beaten path and subconsciously hate most of our existence. Because it is subconscious, we are not aware of it and merely see the symptoms such as, depression, suicide, alcoholism, addiction, crime, etc. But even then, we make the person wrong, give them drugs or lock-them up and pretend all is OK. Again, this is all happening at a subconscious level and we are not aware of this pretense and our Ego (conscious self) feels OK about itself.

Your passion and purpose

But don't despair, there is a better way. Back to our simplistic and even naive equation above. For it is easy to postulate that there is a better way without recommending options/visions. Play along with me for a while, even humor me.

In my introduction, I suggested that in your equation, you should eliminate any non-essential expenses including travel, luxury cars, etc... Now here is the clincher.

It is simple but not easy!

The trick is to separate your passion from your Ego stroking. What I mean is in those things that you found so difficult to remove from that equation to bring your costs down, which are the ones that are truly your passion. How do you know? Those things that are truly your passion, give you that beautiful childlike warmth, you smile when you think of them. Your whole being lightens-up when you think about them. They are not about how others see you (Ego), they are about how you feel inside, independent whether others know about it. Once you have found that gem(s), engage yourself in them, whole-heartedly. It gets even more challenging,; you might get a sense of guilt (as if you do not deserve these little luxuries) and often, this sabotages our life and keeps us slave to our corporate-centric existence. But stick to it. Talk about it with those people who you know will support this part of you. Engage with people and associations that are aligned with your passion. Do it for more than 30 days in a row, independent of what "noise" comes-up to distract you. When you start doubting yourself, make a few calls to those that support you. Fake it till you make it.

For example, if Travel is your thing, do research as if you are going travelling. Start a Blog. Give free advise to friends. Join online travel sites that require feedback and write your thoughts.

Eventually, it will become your new normality. Before you know it, it might even become your new line of work. It might even mean you have to give-up your day job... Who knows. Have faith.

Is that what you really want for your kids, or is that your fear that you are imposing on your kids?

Reading this, parents will certainly feel a level of dismay, even anger that somebody would consider suggesting, in an article aimed at Leaders, that we should eliminate basic luxuries and consider earning less! "And how do I pay for my children's education" I hear you say in exasperation. "I have to give my kids the best education money can buy if they stand a chance in this cut-throat life we live in!" you might add. Well you might not say these exact words, but if you do or even if you feel this type of sentiment, consider the last statement in quotes. Is that what we are training our kids for? Is this really the best future we can hope for, for our kids, the next generation. Or is this extreme focus on "education" coming from our fears. Again, unfortunately this happens at a subconscious level. At a conscious level we are thinking that this is the best future we can plot for our kids, logically! We love our kids and want the best for them. Get in touch with that childlike voice inside you; the one that knows where your passion lies and ask that voice, what the real future you wish for your kids looks like. I am sure the answer will be something like, "I want my kids to have a happy, fulfilled life, full of everything they desire".

But then, immediately, fear comes-up, Ego takes over with statements like, "Grow-up, this is not real, this is just a romantic childish notion".

Childish is not the same as childlike. Childlike is our passion and purpose. Childish is the fear that requires to build that Ego that protects us in this big bad world. I just remind you that most of the Leaders we have come to admire are high-school drop-outs; Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, etc... They just followed their childlike passion! Isn't that what you want for your kids, abundant happiness and financial abundance... And that might well be a corporate career or not! Either way, as long as thet innate passion and purpose is respected and encouraged, the objective is achieved.

Now let's get honest

OK, we all want to be seen to be successful, right? Wrong! This is the crux and the answer.

The need for external promotion of "I have a Mercedes (and I am not knocking car-lovers, it is my passion too), so I am successful," is actually a camouflage for insecurity and fear. Fear is at the base of Ego. The opposite of Ego is purpose and passion. When one is in their purpose and passion and as Sir Ken Robinson calls it, our Element, one does not need to externally promote how successful one is. One just is! In our Element, we are happy, content, complete and those around us see it, feel it and benefit from it. The alternative is what society seems to have chosen; to be a slave of the tax system and those banks that continue to rob your money away.

As a Leader, whether that is a Leader of an organisation or a mum, it is your responsibility to act now to bring real lasting happiness to yourself, your organisation or your family.

Your choice.

In our definition, Leaders are those that create Leaders and Leadership starts with one owning the responsibility of taking a Lead in their own life! Whether you know it or not, you are a Leader! Leaders exist in all walks of life. They are mothers, CEOs, volunteers, spiritualists, care-givers, receptionists, and the list goes on. However not all these role players are Leaders. http://www.aldogrech.com

Did Scalextric Predict How We Would Be Getting Around in the Future?

As a child one of my favorite toys was my ever growing Scalextric. I begged, borrowed and exchanged my other toys with others that would prefer them to their Scalextric tracks, so that my small oval doughnut shaped track became a snaking trail of tracks that weaved its way through most of the rooms in my house to my mum's chagrin and dismay!

Scalextric for those of you too young to remember them, were little electric slot cars that used a slot on a track so 2 kids could compete in a race to the death. My favorite car was a Porsche that I had tweaked with my secret formula of weight distribution and brushes to make it hug the track and go faster around corners!

So what (do you say), has this got to do with today's (future) methods of getting around.

Well, I am sure you have heard of the EV (Electric Vehicle). I am passionate about cars and very interested in EV's. I have followed the death and rebirth of the EV with much passion and interest. I believe it is the way of the future if we want to preserve our beautiful planet.

However, like you, I agree that there are 3 things that need to change to make an EV a true option:

• Accessible cost of purchase
• Green Electricity
• Range (the ability to cover similar kilometers for a charge as a fossil-fuelled car is able to do on a tank full).

The first 2 points are merely a matter of economies of scale and customer choice (many countries already have a choice for residents to purchase non-fossil fuelled electricity).

Range
In an EV, there is a motor that is propelled via batteries that then require charging, more-or-less every 120Kms. The absence of charging stations every 100 or so kilometers, makes it rather difficult.

Well, here is where Scalextric comes in. In Scalextric, the slot on the track achieves 2 things in one go. It helps guide the car on the track, which in the case of a car, the driver does and it also provides electricity to propel the motor that turns the wheels. And no, I am not proposing we cut a slot along all our roads. However, there are today very effective technologies readily available, prospected by Mr Nikola Tesla, way back around 1893, that provide a very effective solution. It is called "Wireless Power Transfer via Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonances". To put it simply, in this scenario, roads would be built with an embedded technology that transfers electricity to the car through electromagnetism that in turn powers the motor that turns the wheels. Just like that, no wires, no plugs, just endless supply of green electricity; wherever there is a road surface. And no, there is no risk of electrocution!

And if you do not believe it can be done or that it is in the far distant future, just look at this; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w8E34xvYis

So what is delaying the roll-out of such roads? Good question. The simple answer is the self interest of strong Petrochemical lobbyists!

The technology is here today. We all should be writing to our local politician, incessantly to invest in and support "Road based wireless EV charging".

Be a leader in your community and speak-up for Green Transport.

In our definition, Leaders are those that create Leaders and Leadership starts with one owning the responsibility of taking a Lead in their own life! Whether you know it or not, you are a Leader! Leaders exist in all walks of life. They are mothers, CEOs, volunteers, spiritualists, care-givers, receptionists, and the list goes on. However not all these role players are Leaders. aldogrech.com