Christian Anschuetz - Executive Portfolio and Blog

Truth-Tellers Wanted

We have all probably heard that it is always a good idea to have at least one staff member that is a truth-teller; that person that always says it like they see it.  I was reminded of inadequacy of this statement while listening to a gentleman that was visiting this old concept when an attending member of the crowd spoke up and strongly disagreed.  The audience member's response was that he would always keep the truth-teller, and fire the rest.  He had no time nor place for anyone but those that spoke the plain, and sometimes painful truth.

Now here was a man I could understand and relate with.

The point?

Every leader needs to surround himself / herself with truth-tellers.  And once that not insignificant feat is accomplished, must work to ensure that the environment, the policy landscape, and the leader's very actions support ongoing and continuous honest and direct discussions.  For feedback is often hard to both give and receive, but we must learn to accept it, be thankful for it, and thus promote a clear tolerance for even those, and perhaps especially those facts that are the hard hear.  For not knowing the truth is almost always more painful and dangerous in the end than knowing the facts upfront

Truth-tellers wanted.  Liars, misleaders, and those that spend more time "managing up" vs. leading need not apply.

Embrace Your Inner Maverick

The best leaders challenge the concept of "business as usual" and drive positive change.  Often this change comes with great discomfort as both firms and individuals rarely embrace transformation, especially when established norms are tested.  As a result, many leaders that challenge an organization's "conventional wisdom" are often labeled maverick. 

If you are part of an organization and are willing to critically examine the status quo, even if it is with the sincere interest of creating positive outcomes, you too may be called a maverick.   If that happens, welcome the title.  Embrace your inner maverick.  Take pride that you have the courage to challenge the "elephants" in your firm.

The Power of Belief

Long have we heard about the power of the human mind. Many believe the power so great that we can even heal ourselves by willing it.  Most certainly attribute a wide array of benefits by simply thinking, or visualizing, the desired outcomes; from sports to academics the technique of visualization is widely practiced.

Few things illustrate a point better than a story, or in this case, a joke. As evidence, I give you the following bit of humor called One Marine:

A large group of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand-dune. "One Marine is better than ten Taliban".  The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune whereupon a gun-battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence.

The voice then calls out "One Marine is better than one hundred Taliban". Furious, the Taliban commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge gun fight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.

The voice calls out again "One Marine is better than one thousand Taliban". The enraged Taliban Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannon, rocket and machine gun fire ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence.

Eventually one wounded Taliban fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander, "Don't send any more men, it's a trap. There's actually two of them."  

While this is intended to be humorous, make no mistake that United States Marines believe they are that effective, that fearsome. They work, train and fight with the unshakable conviction that they are an irresistible force. And while many factors contribute to this real ferocity and effectiveness on the field of battle, the belief in themselves, their undeniable certainty in their strength and prowess, is core to the reality they create; namely, that they are the most revered and feared (by their enemies).

This post isn't about the Marine Corps though.  It is about the power of belief. Imagine if we successfully instilled such strong convictions in our colleagues in the workplace.  Imagine if the people we worked with truly believed they were a force in the marketplace and that they were the very best at what they did. 

Imagine the results.   

When Great Isn't Good Enough

Some time ago I sat with Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great, at a round table to discuss what qualities differentiate a good Chief Information Officer (CIO) from a great one. Given the task to list the most critical five differentiating traits, the group of 12 CIOs set to work. A few minutes later Jim queried the table.

The technology leaders gave their responses; good communicators, business acumen, technical proficiency, governance and the ability to align with the business, and other similar responses were listed as the key ingredients for that great CIO. Awaiting my turn, and happy to go last, I presented an alternate vew, namely that the qualities that result in a great CIO are no different than those necessary for a great CEO, CFO, COO, and so forth.  Or more specifically, vision, self-awareness and the ability to meaningfully connect with people and rally an organization around a common goal is what makes great executives.  Is it not obvious that the best CXOs are the best leaders?  And isn't great leadership based on the same fundamental traits and principles regardless of position or role within a firm?

If you have read Good to Great you know that Jim deliberately shies away from claiming that leadership is core to moving a firm from good to great. Only Jim could tell us why that is, but I suspect that he feels the term leadership is too soft, too ambiguous to attribute to greatness. Or, perhaps it is partially a marketing move, as shelves are filled with tens of thousands of books on the topic of leadership.  What I do know is that Jim and I had a spirited conversation on the topic.

As I left the discussion I bade farewell to Jim. This great author and mind shook my hand and said that he was sorry to hear that I was unable to make a subsequent discussion so he could "disagree with me some more".

In that, Jim and I were aligned.