#12 We Need Surgery

Yesterday I read a post by Adriana Huffington.  It really resonated with me so I decided to make it the topic of today's blog.  The following is her post from June 8, 2011:

Reacting to the latest round of depressing jobs numbers, the president said that it is just like "if you got hit by a truck, it's going to take a while for you to mend." Being hit by a truck is not a bad metaphor -- but he left something out. If you get hit by a truck, you are taken to a hospital for major interventions. When you are wheeled through the emergency room doors on a gurney, people react; they move purposefully and quickly; machines are brought out; desperate measures are taken. But that's not at all what happened with the economy. Instead, the economy got hit by a truck, was wheeled into the ER, and those in charge largely left the patient to heal on his own while they went into a back room to talk about the long-term building plan for the hospital. You know what might help speed along the mending? Surgery.

I could not agree more.  We have been fiddling while our governmental institutions are collapsing around us (remember Nero)? 

While I believe that Governor Brown is attempting to do something on the state level -- most of these changes are minor -- reign in cell phones, collect past travel and salary advances (if the employees are still working) hold the line on hiring, and consolidate DPA and SPB.  While all of these are good, we need a much more drastic approach to fixing the total dysfunction inside most governmental organizations.  We need to surgically remove the malignancy that has been eating away at these structures of government for the past decade.

It is the cancerous leadership which has metastasized within the structures of many departments.  This has allowed for patronage hires; the total disregard for established rules or policies; the lack of accountability for those that have committed fraud or have serious conflicts of interest --  or serious ethics violations and major self-dealing.   No one is accountable for anything anymore -- it is truly stunning to me as I spent so much of my adult life working in government and being accountable. 

Adriana Huffington is right -- WE NEED SURGERY!

#11 Who's Zoomin' Who?

In 1990 Aretha Franklin released a song with the above title.  It refers to a man who thinks that he is hustling  her or working her over -- she knows what he is doing and she, in turn, is hustling him (or conning him like he is conning her).  I like the title of this song because it says so much.

A few blogs back I mentioned M. Scott Peck and his thought on the ultimate incivility -- when someone pretends that you are their "new best friend" when in reality they are treating you like a thing to be used, to get what they want from you.  

Well, what about those employees who are always flattering their bosses?  They say things like, "you are so pretty, you are so smart, you are so handsome, love your dress, hair, blah, blah, blah".  You can fill in the blanks.  They offer up flattery in order to score "brownie points" (hence the term brown nosing--well, maybe part of the reason for that term) from the higher ups.  Most people are very susceptible to this type of flattery -- let's face it, it feels good -- until you understand that they want something from you (or the boss) -- a promotion, recognition, being part of the "A" team -- whatever.  Everyone wants something for themselves. 

The problem with these interactions or transactions -- the one who acts like your new best friend, or the one who is offering up the flattery -- neither is based on anything that is real.  There is no honest, true relationship that is formed here; there is no authenticity.  It is all based on someones self-centered need for the other.  When things at work, or in life, get tough and start to fall apart, these false relationships also begin to crumble.  You will find that either party is expendable and can be "thrown under the bus" by the other in order to protect themselves.  There is no loyalty. 

In our very narcissistic world, it is easy to get caught up in all of this falseness -- it surrounds us and it is hard to escape.  Insincerity is modeled for us daily as a way of achieving success; however, always be aware of  "Who's Zoomin' Who?" 



 

#10 Quiet Leaders

Have you ever noticed that there are co-workers of yours who are just busy going about the business of their job?  They work efficiency and effectively.  They take the time to teach and train other employees.  They readily share their knowledge.  Often times these employees are not in any chain of command -- they are the quiet leaders in an organization.

Many highly effective employees are these quiet leaders.  They do not seek recognition and they do not do what they do for recognition or to get ahead.  They are competent within themselves and they do not step on others just to get a promotion. 

These quiet leaders within organizations are often the glue that holds a group together.  While others are off grandstanding, hoarding information and politicking, these employees are keeping the wheels on the train and are busy accomplishing their part of the organization's mission.

The sad part is that unless one really pays attention, most executive leaders to not know that these workers exist or how valuable they are.  When I used to work, there was a Division that was so well managed  --  they were exceedingly productive, had very few personnel issues and all worked well together.  The executive leaders often said that this Division "ran itself".   As the HR Director, I was amazed.  I knew that nothing ran itself.  The fact was that these leaders were focused on their goals, were unassuming, shared with, trained and acknowledged their employees' contributions.  They did it so well that it looked effortless -- but it was not.

Why is it the squeaky wheel gets all attention -- even if negative?   These types of employees are like children, they will get attention one way or the other.  The quietly effective people have no need to get this level of attention -- however, on occasion they do require validation.  

Hopefully your leaders are acknowledging these unsung and unseen quiet leaders.  If they are not occasionally acknowledged for their contributions, they may just take all of their expertise and contributions elsewhere.  Then everyone will soon notice that the wheels are beginning to come off the train....unfortunately, often times it is too late. Take a look around, become aware of those people that help and support you -- maybe you too are one of them --

So here is a big shoot out to all of you quiet leaders -- maybe others do not see you, but I know you exist.  Thank you for all that you do!

# 9 Doing The Right Thing

I took some time off recently to just play and have fun.  I needed to relax, renew and regenerate myself.   I am typically a positive person; however, I have to admit that from time to time I grow disheartened  about our collective ability to lead and govern ourselves.  As so often happens, just when I am at my lowest, something comes along to replenish my faith in our innate goodness as people and in our ability to do the right thing.

Who knew that by watching "60 Minutes" last Sunday night, my spirits would be lifted and my faith would be restored by being introduced to Staff Sergeant Sal Guinta.  Sergeant Guinta is the only living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War.  For 15 months nearly four years ago he was in many hellish fire fights in Afghanistan.  As he said, the only peace that he and his unit could get was in their dreams. 

He and his unit lived an uncertain life every day.  Yet the worst of the worst happened when they were overrun by the Taliban.  Their sergeant was killed and they heard over the Taliban radio that they -- the Taliban -- wanted a body.  He witnessed his friend get shot and the Taliban start to haul him away.  Sgt. Guinta refused to let that happen.  He ran into the middle of enemy fire -- wounded or killed the Taliban carrying away his friend -- enough so that the Taliban fled, allowing Sgt. Guinta and others in his unit to get to  their friend.

Unfortunately, their friend could not be saved.  However, Sgt. Guinta and others, who cared about the wounded soldier, were with him when he died -- their friendly faces were the last thing that he saw before passing away.  Because of his actions, their friend's body was able to be sent back to his family in the States, not left somewhere in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Guinta appears to be a very humble person who when faced with the very worst possible situation, did the right thing.  He does not see himself as a hero -- he is uncomfortable with all of the attention that has been bestowed on him.  He considers himself just a mediocre solder -- many others have given more -- but yet he finds himself in the limelight.

Perhaps he is just the right person at the right time to be in the limelight.  He is an ordinary guy who was just going about his business (of fighting a war) and did it in the best way he knew how.  He did not do it for glory or for accolades -- he did it because it was the right thing to do.

Sgt. Guita seems to represent so many of us workers.  We employees, for the most part, just want to go to work, learn our jobs, and be able to do the right thing.  No glory or limelight needed -- just the self- satisfaction of doing a job well done.
  

#8 The Destructive Side of Power

Wow, last week I did not know how timely the post regarding power was going to be.  Especially the sentence "The skills that lead to obtaining power deteriorate once power is obtained".  That seems to be particularly true of our former governor and the former head of the IMF.  Both men have made the headlines lately and both held positions of great power and prestige.  So I thought it might be instructive to talk a bit further about this whole power, bully, confidence issue.

How is it that they could fall so far so fast?  The how is that they thought they that were invincible.  They had paid staff and attorneys surrounding them helping to insulate and isolate them from their reality.  These staff ran interference for them, spun stories and kept their secrets just that -- secret.  We have seen the same story over and over -- here on a local level with the Realtor Michael Lyons and on a national level with Tiger Woods.  People in positions of power lose all sense of themselves and in reality, they truly believe that they are too big to fail.

We see some of these same characteristics  in our everyday leaders in government and other organizations.  These leaders have surrounded themselves with "yes" people.  These staff provide the same isolation and insulation as the outside high priced hired guns.  These type of leaders only tolerate people who are loyal to them  (or pretend to be) -- no matter what.  Loyalists reap the rewards, while other employees with a wealth and depth of knowledge are pushed aside.  Civil service is not so civil anymore. How is this patronage system working in state governmental organizations and other institutions?

Has anyone noticed that our institutions are failing as a result of this very self-centered -- what's in it for me leadership style?  Everyday there is some expose on another state department:  CalPERS, State Teacher's Credentialing  Commission, and the Military Department to name a few.   Believe me there are many more departments that haven't made the headlines -- yet

As Marcus Breton so eloquently wrote in the May 11, 2011 edition of the Sacramento Bee regarding  Governor Schwarzenegger, "We willingly chose celebrity over capability.  We chose slogans over beliefs; being photogenic over experience; being opportunistic over smarts...he continued with "Every day, individuals, small businesses, corporations and governments are run off the rails by people with their eyes open".

We are beginning to see the aftermath of this self serving power -- state government and other entities are beginning to deteriorate -- they have been "run off the rails".  Can we as workers and taxpayers really afford to continue to tolerate this leadership style?  I personally think not.  Let's not be hoodwinked by false charm and false promises anymore.

#7 Power and Confidence

I am sure we have all heard the saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Apparently that is true.  When Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote the book,  "Too Big to Fail" about what lead our financial system to nearly collapse, he was not talking about the financial institutions themselves, he was referring to the leaders of those institutions -- those leaders all felt that they personally were too big to fail.  What is it about being successful and powerful that leads people to have, as I used to say, a "head that can barely fit in the room".

Sometime ago I was reading an article in Psychology Today written by Hara Estroff Marano, and it is his contention  that the real meaning of power in the 21st century is the ability to change another person's state of mind.  This ability to influence others attests to the near-magical social power of confidence.  Think Bernie Madoff.  He pulled off the ultimate con job, over and over again -- getting many people to invest their money with him.  Why did so many smart, wealthy people invest with him?  It was his extreme confidence and power. 

The author further contends that we, as Americans,  do not want to acknowledge that every interaction has power dynamics built into it.  If one pays attention when they walk into a room, they can see who has the power -- but one must be attuned to this.  He also states "The thing about power and its kissing cousin, confidence, is that they influence you with or without your consent".

Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at University of San Francisco, contends that when people lack confidence, they always pay too much attention to what others may think of them.  But for those people who have power -- it takes them in the other direction -- it makes them uninterested in others' evaluations of them and it leads them to pursue their goals without obstruction.  He further asserts that how we treat powerful people compounds the matter.  We are less critical of them, more flattering to them.  All these actions conspire to make the powerful person really confident.  Those individuals who are socially intelligent -- good at connecting with others -- generally acquire power and this feeling of being powerful changes people, often for the worse.

Power turns people into "raving sociopaths," says Keltner.  It distorts the way they see themselves.  They have a hard time seeing the world from other people's points of view.  They judge others less accurately.  They interrupt others.  They speak out of turn.  Their behavior becomes insensitive -- often in a costly fashion.

Those with this overinflated sense of power, often take excessive risks, stemming from over confidence.  Keltner further notes, this is the central paradox of power.  The skills that lead to obtaining power deteriorate once power is obtained.

Does this sound like some of our leaders? They cannot listen to wise counsel -- it is their way or the highway and they truly believe that if they think it, or say it, IT MUST BE RIGHT -- even though there are so many signals to the contrary. Our government and our governmental  institutions are the worse for having these overconfident, yet ineffective leaders.  We must train ourselves to truly see them for who they are and elect and appoint those individuals without this sense of confidence, power and entitlement.

#6 What Happened to Blog #5?

Last Thursday, May 12, 2011, I posted a blog titled Bullies – Life Imitates Art.  It was posted for a nanosecond as several followers read it before the site went down.  When Goggle Blogger came back up, it was no where to be found.  (Note to self –copy all posts and save in Word).   I am recapping in a Cliff Notes version the following so that everyone can be on the same page:

A.  Bullies are everywhere -- The Apprentice; Survivor; The Real Housewives of (insert name of city); political pundits, etc.

            1.  All promote bullies and/or alliances; “winning at all costs” and vanquishing of the other. 

B.  Because these bullies win, do we believe that they really have strength?  Do we confuse bullies for strong decisive leaders?  If they had real strength (of character, or within themselves) would they need to be bullies?

C.  Characteristics and actions of Bullies

            1.  Threatened by others, insecure or immature; shout or verbally abuse others, single out others for unjustified criticism or blame, exclude others from participating, and/or ignore or criticize someone else’s contribution/work. 

             

F.  Not a Winning Strategy for an Organization or Employees within the Organization

            1.  Some employees go underground; stop contributing – just show up every day and don’t (can’t) care about job or the organization

            2.  Other employees leave the organization (years of wisdom and institutional knowledge lost)

            3.  Still others decide to be loyal – loyalty is rewarded – leaders buy their loyalty with promotions – often for employees who are not qualified.

G. Time to acknowledge that some Leaders (whether in organizations or the political arena) are bullies and to stand up to their bullying tactics.

            1.  Every bully needs a victim – we all need to stop being victims – strength in numbers can stop them from continuing their seemingly "winning ways".  

Thanks to those of you who have commented -- keep them coming!