Byron's Babbles

Leaders are not responsible for always being right. However, one of my early mentors always taught me to see problems as opportunities. As he would say, “We’ve got an opportunity.” I never heard him say problem, obstacle, or challenge. And framed as opportunities they always became just that – opportunities for growth and success. Any great leader will share that they have made many mistakes along the way. Those same leaders will teach that it was the collective insight from bad decisions that taught them invaluable lessons. My mentor taught me to see opportunities in everything and anticipate the unexpected more quickly.

Randy Conley also taught us great leaders admit their mistakes in Simple Truth #42, “True Servant Leaders Admit Their Mistakes” in Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways To Be A Servant Leader and Build Trust, Making Common Sense Common Practice, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley, As Randy said, “In reality, admitting mistakes is one of the most powerful ways a leader can build trust. When your team sees you own up to your behavior, they see a leader who is genuine, honest, and authentic” (p. 109). The best leaders I’ve been exposed to are/were transparent with themselves and others, admitting when they were wrong so those of us looking on could also benefit from their learnings.

“Leaders erode trust when they spin the truth rather than being transparent in their communication” (p. 101). This from Randy Conley in Simple Truth #38: “Tell The Truth. Always. It’s That Simple.” in Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways To Be A Servant Leader and Build Trust, Making Common Sense Common Practice, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley. Conley also told us that sometimes leaders don’t tell the full story and reminded us that “…telling half truths is telling half lies” (p. 101). I’ve always believed that transparency translates into highly productive and effective organizations and work communities. Encouraged transparency eliminates confusion and builds trust.

Forbes defined transparency as “the practice of being open and honest with others, no matter how challenging it might be. For both personal and professional relationships to thrive, you need to eliminate the stigma that comes with being straightforward.” Organizations which emphasize community create a sense of belonging and foster transparency while reducing feelings of isolation. I don’t like to talk transparency without talking clarity. There are times when every piece of information cannot be shared, but clarity can be given. Transparency serves efforts to operate with greater clarity.

“Talking about what you are going to do is easy; actually doing it is what builds trust with others” (p.99). Randy Conley said this in Simple Truth #37: “Your Actions Speak So Loudly I Cannot Hear What You Are Saying” in Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways To Be A Servant Leader and Build Trust, Making Common Sense Common Practice, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley. Walking the talk is so important. I have a picture in my office of penguins that says “Walk the Talk: Take the initiative and lead the way. You can make a difference.” As Randy also told us: “When your behavior aligns with your speech, you are complete, whole, and acting with integrity” (p. 99). I have blogged about this before in Walk The Talk!

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” ~ Henry Ford

When we actually “walk the walk,” we take action and demonstrate what we’re saying by doing the things we talk about. When we take responsibility to come up with solutions to problems, and when we do, we are leading by example. It’s about accountability; a culture of accountability is the best culture to have. It’s about seeing it, owning it, solving it, doing it.

Loved this statement from Randy Conley: “It’s not hard to be authentic; all you have to do is be yourself” (p. 91). He went on to say, “Authentic leaders display humility, admit what they don’t know, walk their talk, own up to their mistakes, and do what they say they will do” (p.91). Can you imagine a world where everyone lived by that credo? Randy Conley told us that many leaders treat relationships like games in Simple Truth #34: “A Relationship With No Trust Is Like A Cell Phone With No Service Or Internet – All You Can Do Is Play Games” in Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways To Be A Servant Leader and Build Trust, Making Common Sense Common Practice, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley.

In my experience, when a leader is genuine, we know what to expect, and the opportunity to build trust begins. Trust is built through daily and consistent action. Bottom line is, the leader’s integrity becomes predictable. I try to model loving those we serve. An authentic leader is all heart. We must lead with compassion, kindness, and understanding of others. Truly authentic leaders consider what if feels like to walk in others’ shoes. Trust and safety are essential to a sense of belonging, and we all have a need to belong. Without this sense of belonging, we feel that our very survival is threatened. To create this belonging we must display humility, admit what we don’t know, walk our talk, own up to our mistakes, and do what we say we will do.

“I’ve observed many leaders manage people through fear and intimidation” (p. 89). Randy Conley said this in Simple Truth #33: “Fear Is The Enemy Of Trust” in Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways To Be A Servant Leader and Build Trust, Making Common Sense Common Practice, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley. Unfortunately, we have all probably experienced it. Conley also rightly pointed out that this fearmongering can take many forms. Many times this undesirable behavior is triggered by the leaders own fear and inadequacies. Leading from fear can create a toxic culture in which people play safe, avoid mistakes and lay low in effect creating an organization that does not grow due to mediocre performance and unrealized potential. I have experienced leaders leading by fear and it caused a profound impact on whether people in the organization felt connected, cared for and empowered, or pushed aside, constrained to make decisions and held back to voice their opinions. I’ve even experienced people getting yelled at for bringing up something they had observed or heard someone asking. The leader doing the yelling failed to recognize the importance of the perception in the field she was be made aware of. All she did was cause the person getting yelled at to say later, “I’m never giving her a heads-up again.” Clearly, the empress did not want to know she had no close! A team had been created that would do things they knew would fail because they no longer wanted to say anything for fear of being berated. Not a good community to be building.

The other thing I have noticed about fear-based leaders is that the best and brightest don’t advance. One, the bad leader does not want an “A” person to possibly be showing them up, so they advance “C” and “D” people. Instead, projects and promotions go to those who have “drank the Cool-Aid” and embrace the toxic culture and agree with whatever the leader says. Our job as leaders is to make those we serve feel secure. It is also important for us to love those we serve by keeping them safe and supporting them.