Leadership Alumni event

Institute for Public Service: Leadership Alumni Event, April 3, 2008:

Michael Burt “Voice, Leadership, and Execution”

This was an excellent presentation that including new thoughts and possible actions to improve my leadership ability. It is important enough I decided to make a special effort to repeat the information so I am more likely to use it.

Dr. Burt emphasized we Manage “things”, Leaders inspire people to act. (He emphasized you “manage” your mail, paperwork etc. People can be “managed” only if they decide to be managed.

Chart:

Stimulus -------Ability to Change-------Response

Thinking------Ability to Change---------Action

Means other persons can’t control your emotions.

Find “unique voice” (Referenced Jim Collins and having the “right persons on the right bus in the right place”.

Four Areas of Motivation/Leadership

1. Knowledge
2. Skills
3. Desire
4. Belief

To motivate persons need to know where they are on these areas-(i.e. do they need to work on knowledge etc.)

“Teams” expand disfunction unless the Team is motivated.

Should focus on “superstars” “8-10’s) improving, not on “1-3’s”-Spend your time and energy on the top 80% of the personnel (rather than the standard spending 80% of your time on the 20% who are troublemakers, underachievers etc.)

(I think he has a good point on looking at a person as to which area they may need support/education/training etc. and concentrating on making excellent personnel better.)

How to achieve BREAKTHROUGH:

-Change in the way Think

-Change in the way Act

-Change in the way Feel

(Nothing fails like success! Based on change due to “negative” (pain) pushing potential.) -“The enemy of “Great” is “Good”. (If “good” may not have incentive to become “great”.)

Confidence: “Memory of success”-Becoming successful through repetition.

FOCUS: (Too many priorities are like no priority): (I can identify with this!)

1. Determine what “Success” means to you.

2. Picture “Success”

Questions: What are we passionate about? What are we best at? What is our Economic engine (money?); What are our Beliefs

Set up a PLAN to help set priorities:

DAILY:

-Vision (look at what needed to reach goals)

-Relationships to reach

-Set priorities

Finding your Unique Voice

-Determine what your Passion (IMP. is “Heart” has to be in it)-

-Determine what deeply passionate about (interests etc.)

-What do you believe in?

Unique Voice: Determine your Passions, your Budget, your Spirit, your Talent
-In the middle of Passions, Budget, Spirit and Talent is your Unique Voice

Everyone in Organization must know the #1 vision of Organization (story about McDonals “service is our # 1)

-Note: to me this is significant and is a key item I learned in this season. Something I already knew, but just now I feel I have figured a workable way to implement this so it is a reality.

One of the greatest needs is to feel Understood.

OLD WAYS OF THINKING won’t get you to new levels of success

-Be Teachable.

-Obtain new knowledge

-Apply that knowledge.

Leadership:

-Find your Unique Voice first, and then inspire others to find theirs

-Community and Validity-The worth and potential in others clearly in the way they see themselves

HOW INSPIRE OTHERS

1. Affirm and validate
2. Model behavior
3. Illuminate the positive
4. Build up vs. tear down
(help them find themselves!!!)

Celebrate success!

ROLES OF LEADERSHIP

-Model (Mentor)
-Pathfind (create a shared vision)
-Empower (believe in and release talent and potential)
-Constant Growth
Help them become a transition person, from the old to the new-see the world through their eyes.

NOTE: I found this part to be inspirational and I am planning how I can use these concepts in improving the work performance of several personnel and reviewing the needs of some of the best personnel.

Management control:

-Leaders get people to want to get it done. Coaches “Monday gameplan, Friday scorecard, paints pictures (by words, not literally) of where organization is headed/stands, developes coaches.

Execution (infusion)
-Infusion of passion into other people
1. Eliminate (tasks etc that don’t need done)

2. Automate

3. Delegate

Two ways of looking at a situation:

-Change the situation

-Change the way you view a situation-
Eliminate “tiny thinking”

Overall this session was very valuable for me. It gave me some excellent concrete approaches I can use as well as some general concepts I can think about and implement.
I also have a book from the author I am reviewing for more ideas.

In accordance with some of the ideas I learned, I have set up my Planner to have “must do” tasks. Also, I am taking a different view of performance evaluations and general daily reviews and supervision. I am going to emphasize helping the employee reach their best. While I feel overall I do this, based on the information I learned in this session, I feel I can more effectively lead personnel by helping their realize their positive points, how to strengthen their weak points and especially focus on “leading” instead of “managing”.

(Below is from handout “Michael Burt’s 7 Core Drivers for recognizing and eliminating Execution Gaps)

1. Re-awaken and Re-establish

-Guiding principle: Responsibility for own self, past doesn’t necessarily restrict

2. Re-Imagine and Re-Create

-Guiding Principle: Must break with old ways of thinking and constantly re-create myself

3. Remove and Re-connect

-Guiding Principle: Walk the talk. Match internal thoughts with external actions.

4. Realize and become receptive.

-Guiding Principle: Admit I need to grow. Become humble and teachable. Constantly grow and learn.

-Not competing against others, but against own potential and “tiny thinking”

5. Re-Engage and Re-Position

-Guiding Principle: Understand for every action there is a consequence, positive or negative “reap what you sow”.

-Realize will be adversity in life, use adversity to re-engage my life and accelerate future progress vs. stagnation and paralyzing movement.

“change the picture or change the situation”

6. Reach-Out and Recognize

-Reach out and recognize Team or persons around me

7. Respond

-Guiding Principle: Between what happens to me and my response is a space, to that space lies my ability to choose my responses.

ACTION is necessary to accomplish dreams. ACT to translate goals into specific actions.

www.michaelburt.com