Yep, I heard it again. A new client, a CEO, told my team prior to our first work session, “I want my life back. I love working, but I’ve got to stop working 90-hour weeks. Something needs to change around here.”

Sounds logical and completely reasonable to me, but how do you get your life back if you are the only person who knows your job? Worse yet—how do you do that if you are the owner, CEO, or a senior manager? Who can do your job?

As I have observed over the years, being a CEO is hard. Being the top dog is tough and it’s lonely. For publicly held companies it’s even worse since Sarbanes-Oxley Act went into effect in 2002. There are more reporting requirements, more involved board members, and more people watching to confirm personal and professional integrity and ethics are in play.

How do you find someone to takeover some if not all of your job responsibilities in the near or long-term? How do you do this when more executives and prospects don’t want the job?

• Develop more leaders throughout your organization and not just at the top
• Create more “depth” and not just single-position strength
• For more information/solutions, read my book: Something Needs to Change Around Here: The Five Stages of Leveraging Your Leadership

Now, let this Dragon Lady of Accountability™ ask you: If you’ve been working 90-hour workweeks, how much of that time are you spending developing others? Let me guess. None. Hardly any. If, on the other hand, you had been spending dedicated time to developing skills in your other managers, supervisors, and front-line staff, you would not feel (or be) so out of control. You would feel more in control because you would be leading a team who knew what was expected of them, individually and as a whole.

Get your life back by developing skills in others and by developing leaders throughout your organization. Get your life back by working with your team to develop systems, processes, and procedures that help all of you gain greater control now and in the future. When you create an organization others want to become a part of and where your team members are happy, that’s when you will get back to a life you can enjoy.

Copyright 2004 & 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

Be smart. Be strategic. Be realistic. Identify just one thing at a time to enhance. Just as Curly, in the movie City Slickers indicated, the secret to life is THE one thing each of us believes is essential. So pick just one leadership “thing” at a time to enhance. Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t buy into the theory that it’s wise to throw as much onto your team as they can tolerate to test their mettle. That’s just asking for chaos and for your team to burn out. Be smart. Be strategic. Be realistic.

So pick just one thing. Identify one leadership skill that, if understood and implemented regularly by all of your managers, would generate real benefit. What basic skill would help them and their team members? The skills you identify don’t need to be sexy; they need to be key skills needed by your managers to help their team members. Basic skills such as the following are great ways to enhance leadership skills – one step at a time:

1. Say “Thank You.” Encourage your managers to acknowledge the contributions and positive behaviors of their team members regularly. Often team members only hear from their managers when they do something wrong. Why not communicate regularly to enhance those relationships?

2. Communicate status. Coach your managers in how to share information on a regular basis to help team members understand things such as: How is the company doing? Is the company meeting its targeted goals and objectives? What challenges are anticipated? Share with your team members information that allows them to better understand why the ebbs and flows of pressure and workflow occur. Share information with them so they can be part of the conversation — and part of the solution.

3. Ask for input. Teach your managers how to comfortably and regularly ask their team members for their input, ideas, and solutions to problems. Though this sounds basic, if team members haven’t been asked before, they’re hesitant to speak up and won’t trust their managers’ sudden interest in their ideas – so they won’t offer any. It takes time. It requires building trust. It requires solid leadership. But it produces incredibly strong, collaborative teams who solve problems and produce more.

Identify just one thing. Identify just one leadership skill that would help your managers and help your team members. Identify just one leadership skill that will help you help them. Be smart. Be strategic. Be realistic. It  will take time and it will be met with resistance – by managers and team members alike. However, that’s part of leadership and it all starts with just one idea at a time.

Copyright 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

Pretty sobering isn’t it? However, for anyone paying attention to the news for the past several years, this should not be new information—just a reaffirmation of more challenges coming our way as employers. So how do we confront it?

(1) Provide an environment our employees want to be a part of—now and in the future. We need to continue to create business environments our employees want to come to and participate in on a regular basis, versus a job they do not look forward to each and every day. If they dread coming to work, they certainly will stop coming when they can retire or some other company lures them away with more money. We can improve our work environment for our employees through a number of ways depending upon what our respective organization and employees need.

• Clean up the place. This sounds petty to many, but I can’t tell you the number of times I have had to strongly recommend to clients that before they spend any money on consultants and other experts to fix their employees, they would increase their return on any such investment if they first cleared away the gathered clutter, bought filing cabinets, threw away broken equipment that was stockpiled in corners, organized their inventory and supplies, and hired a janitorial service to regularly clean the facility—particularly the restrooms.
• Hold all employees (including ourselves) accountable to abide by the Values of our company—day in and day out. Again, this sounds touchy-feely to some of you, but after working with various organizations for 20 years, I have seen the attitudes and focus in employees shift positively when they know and understand what standards of performance and behavior they will be held to and then are.

(2) Provide continuous, serious training to our current employees to keep them engaged, in step with technology, and learning new aspects of our business’ operations. A recent study by Korn/Ferry showed that 51% of the executives surveyed indicated they were at least “Likely” to choose a different career field, because it provided the possibility of learning something new. Other studies are also indicating that more people nearing retirement are planning to continue to work, at least on a part-time basis, to keep engaged, learning, and current. Given this, doesn’t it make sense to provide additional opportunities for our employees to learn new and challenging skills with us instead of having one of our competitors hire them away?

Again, there are no easy answers. But if we start to prepare now for the serious challenges ahead, our employees can (and will) collaborate with us to find strong solutions to the shrinking labor pool.

Instead of simply saying “Yes” which I could have, (I mean I AM The Dragon Lady of Leadership Accountability™ right?), I said, “Terry, you’re human, but you are the president of the company. If just seeing me causes you to feel guilty, you’ve probably known you’ve not been doing your job lately: You’re not leading your team as they need to be led. And, Terry, you know what? You’re not alone. If leading effectively during tough times were easy, there’d be many more successful organizations out there.”

After he answered a few more of my questions, it became clear to Terry that he’d not only allowed a few of his key leadership responsibilities to drift away; he’d allowed them to jump off the tracks!

- Are you and the management team reviewing your strategic plan regularly? No

- Are you still meeting with the management team regularly to keep them informed of company issues and to allow them to communicate across departments to develop better working relationships? No

- Since you’re not meeting regularly with the management team, how are you letting them know what you expect of them to help address the financial and management issues facing the company?  Well, email of course and I connect with them one-on-one as I can.

- Are you still working with the managers in developing their skills so they can cover for one-another and for you? No

- Are you still focusing on training to develop your employees and management team to build skills and talent deep and wide within your organization? No. I stopped that because we’re losing money.

I stopped asking questions, the guy felt like a heel. He knew he’d slipped into a reactionary role instead of acting as a leader. He was pulling away from his management team when he needed them more than ever. In talking with Terry, it wasn’t my intent to embarrass him, I was simply curious as to how he, his team, and the company were doing. After all, I’d spent three years working with them. However, just by seeing me and answering a few questions, Terry “looked in the mirror.”

So here’s my challenge for you, if I were to bump into you within the next few days and ask you the questions above, what would you see in the mirror? Are you leading effectively?

Copyright 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

1 – Your personal life isn’t personal. Before a recent presentation, “Ruth” shared that her boss, the CEO, really should be the one to attend as he doesn’t have a clue how to lead. He’s a jerk. Morale is terrible, etc. During my presentation I discussed the importance of  leaders modeling the organization’s values. As I did so, I noticed a change in Ruth’s demeanor.  She became quiet and thoughtful. The next day she called me, “Your talk made me take a hard look at myself. You see I’m in a relationship with another senior manager here and….he’s married. We keep it quiet, but I think it may bother a few members of my team.” Yes Ruth, I think it might. It probably bothers the CEO too, but he isn’t addressing the “issue” and therefore the “issue” continues to be a point of frustration for employees — even though it’s a personal matter. As a leader, be clear on this fact: Your personal life is NOT personal. If you plan to hold your team members accountable to your organization’s values, ensure there’s little in your leadership and personal behaviors they can judge you negatively on – because they will.

2 – Don’t over use your position power.  As leaders, every now and then we need to say, “No, I want it done this way” to move things along for the good of our companies. We can do this because, we’re the boss. However, when we over-do it and use our “position power” too often, we end up demoralizing our team members and cause them to shut-down on us. Without meaning to, we cause the teams we’ve been working to develop to stop developing. During a coaching call a few weeks ago, Robin shared a frustration: Even though he’s the designated successor to the General Manager, his ideas for organizational enhancements are routinely shot down with comments such as, “That’s not a bad idea, but you’re not the General Manager yet and you’re not an owner so just table it for now.”  Ouch! That’s not even a tad bit subtle! If employees need to be part of the ownership team before their ideas will count, that’s your right. Then let them know that. However, if you keep asking for ideas and input, but then shoot down their  ideas because the employees don’t have the “authority” to share ideas--stop asking for their input!

Leadership hypocrisy isn’t hard to identify. Leadership hypocrisy is behaving in ways that don’t pass the good old newspaper test: “Would I be embarrassed if what I just said or did appeared on the front page of the newspaper or was blasted all over the internet?” As leaders, we’ve all done things that could be defined as hypocritical. However, if we’re effective leaders, we learn from our mistakes. We realize our most impactful teaching moments occur when we simply model the behaviors we expect of others. We do no less than we ask of others. We’re not hypocritical; we’re leaders.

Copyright 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

Her question honestly stunned me for a moment because of its simplicity and its importance. If we, as business owners, do not know which positions in our company are key, how can we ensure we have those positions properly staffed, trained, and supported now and into the future? If we do not have our key positions solidly staffed and operating effectively, what might we anticipate about the rest of the positions in our company?

From the perspective of most consultants and businesses, key positions are typically those positions that sit in the C-Suite: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), and chief of anything else, as well as other members of the executive and senior management teams. From my perspective, a key position is any position within an organization that has no double. Basically, any position within your company that you only have one person filling the slot. This could be your CEO, your Director of Sales, your Office Manager, your Maintenance Supervisor, or your Mechanic Level 3.

My definition of key positions obviously creates more key positions, but for any organization to do effective organizational and employee planning, you need to take into account all of those situations where one person currently holds all the knowledge of his or her position. If he or she leaves your company, you do not want your organization held hostage because no one else knows how to do that job—be it the CEO’s or the Maintenance Supervisor’s.

It is crucial that all key positions be reviewed to ensure employees (in key positions) are:

1. Documenting critical procedures (i.e., not limited to procedures that only this position handles or knows how to do).
2. Identifying and training a handful of other employees on the critical procedures to ensure others know how to do or at least know how to access the information to do these critical procedures.
3. Identifying and developing others who could step up or step into their position when promotions occur or if needed for an unanticipated reason.

Key is not a label exclusive to the folks working in the fancy offices. So, who exactly is key to your company? That’s easy—a key person is anyone who holds the (one of a kind)(one and only) key to running any area of your business.

Copyright 2006 & 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

I’ve written the above because earlier this week, I observed “great leadership” behaviors by one of my clients. This particular business owner would never call himself “a great leader,” but he’s become one over the past few years. When I first started working with him and his management team several years ago, he had a good company: good reputation, good customer base, sound finances, but the company was weak in business processes and management depth. During the ensuing years, this client team has steadfastly devoted time to developing processes and talent. The leadership team subsequently identified challenging, but (they determined) appropriate opportunities for growth and expansion. They articulated a vision that has provided focus for the leadership team.

During our monthly coaching call this week, my client said, “Our company needs to build volume to allow us to accomplish our vision. Given my connections and understanding of this industry, this is where I can best serve the company next. My managers have the skills to run operations. They’re ready. In fact, I think I’ve been doing them a disservice by not moving on before this. I need to support them and serve this company differently now.”

I consider those thoughts and actions the thoughts and actions of a great leader. There is no ego in play here. There is no need to hold onto any particular position, title, or long-held set of “leadership” tasks or responsibilities. This business owner has simply identified what the company and team need next to allow them to move as seamlessly as possible into their future. And, he’s realized he can clear those roadblocks more quickly and effectively than traditional techniques. This business owner has realized – as the company’s leader – it’s his job to clear the roadblocks that are going to hinder his team – and his company’s – success.

So what type of manager or leader are you?

• Are you a good manager who manages an efficient organization?
• Are you a great manager who develops people and processes to run efficient organizations?
• Are you a good leader who identifies opportunities and a vision? or
• Are you a great leader who leads by identifying and clearing roadblocks for your team so they can pursue the opportunities and achieve the vision you’ve targeted?

What type of manager or leader does your team need?

Copyright 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

Yesterday after giving a speech on leadership, I had lunch with several business owners. All of their businesses generate revenues of $5Million to $50Million in annual revenues. These are small but substantial businesses with 50-200 employees each – not solo-entrepreneurs.

During my presentation, I had noticed most of the audience members taking notes, nodding, or otherwise paying close attention to my comments on strategic planning, leadership styles, and organizational development. So it was again ironic, when many of the individual questions they asked of me during lunch were questions that clearly indicated they were operating as entrepreneurs not business leaders. They were behaving as doers – not leaders. All but one of the business owners is intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. All but one said they often feel as if they’re hamsters: Always running to play catch-up just to keep up. When I asked my lunch mates collectively, “So why are you in business? Why are you doing all of this work? What’s it all for?” Only the one owner answered confidently, “I’m creating a business I can pass on to my children, so they can live the lifestyle they want.”  The others’ responses were along the lines of, “We need to make money so we can retire some day.”

I understand that last sentiment. However, it’s not enough if you want to be an effective leader for your company.

• Effective leaders realize creating a business is more than simply providing quality products or services so you make money. That’s expected.
• Effective leaders realize creating a business means creating a strong, viable entity that can survive without the founder or owner being intimately involved day-to-day or involved at all.
• Effective leaders realize creating a business is about what the employees need so they can work with purpose and effectively to serve the customers and the changing market.
• Effective leaders realize creating a company is thinking of the company as something separate from themselves. They need to view their businesses as entities others will want to take ownership of and engage with. They need to create a vision, a future for the company. It’s hard to do that when you’re the business.

So in reality, even though they were nodding and taking notes during my speech, most of the business owners I met didn’t really understand the importance of strategic planning or succession planning. They understand the idea, but not the necessity. They understand the concepts of leadership, but deep in their guts they just don’t “get them.”

Until business owners create a clear vision of what the future of their businesses will be, they’ll continue to play catch-up just to keep up. Instead of leading, they’ll continue to be deeply involved in the day-to-day operations doing things their employees should be doing. And, from my experience, they will never stop wondering: “Why am I doing this? What’s it all for?”

Copyright 2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

Needless to say, when new clients hear my response, their troubled facial expressions often indicate they are thinking, “She’s trying to sell us additional services we really don’t need.” No, I am not. But I am trying to save you money and time. These days nobody can afford to do a lot of unfocused, wasted work.

Think about it for a minute—what is succession planning?

• Succession planning is not figuring out who is going to step into someone else’s position when that person retires.
• Succession planning is really determining what skills, knowledge, behaviors, and values you will need in key positions in the future to ensure your organization continues to grow and succeed according to your strategic plan.

Therefore, doesn’t it make sense to have a very clear strategic plan in place so you know what skills, knowledge, behaviors, and values you will need? Then you will be able to determine what key positions you will need. Once you know what positions you’ll need, you can develop specific position descriptions that define what skills, knowledge, behaviors, and values the individuals who will fill those key positions must develop or possess.

By focusing on developing the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and values of individuals who may move into key positions, you will, by default, create an organization that takes a more holistic approach to succession planning and employee development. Instead of the traditional succession planning process (i.e., plugging a person into an empty spot), you will create a pool of individuals who possess much broader-based skills and knowledge, and who also exhibit the behaviors and values held dear by your organization.

So you see, you can’t develop your future leaders and key positions until you know what type of organization you expect them to lead. And you can’t plan for succession options until you plan your organization’s future.

Succession Planning Reminder: First determine what you need—a true strategy for success.

Copyright 2006 &  2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com

This organization takes their leadership development program very seriously. They have invested a lot of time, effort, money, and other resources into it. The program and its participants are closely monitored not only by their managers, but also by the senior and executive management teams. It truly is impressive how dedicated the management team is to providing solid training and development opportunities to staff members who have shown leadership potential.

The interesting part of this process has been that several participants have indicated they were surprised they were nominated, but they are grateful to whoever nominated them. That’s nice. I believe it is a rather odd approach to nurturing talent and I haven’t been able to get a clear explanation as to why this anonymous nomination process was developed in the first place. I believe this organization may have even more employees with hidden talent and promise who are waiting to be discovered. But, because no one has told the employees directly that they have potential, the employees don’t realize it or nurture it.

I’m a firm believer in the old saying: Catch people doing things right. When you acknowledge positive performance and behaviors right away, you help the employee understand what Good or Excellent means and how it feels when they achieve gold-star results. You help them uncover unrealized talents and you help them recognize their own potential.

So if you have employees who have demonstrated leadership or other skills, tell them. Don’t assume they know. Recognize them, their talents and their potential. You may just uncover your organization’s next leader.

Copyright 2007 &  2011 – Liz Weber, CMC – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com