Why Leaders Don’t Learn from Success

You remember the cliche, success breeds success? Some recent research on decision making suggests that success can, in fact, breed failure by hindering learning at the individual and organizational level. Learning from success can present major challenges.  Gino and Pisano (April 2011) outline 3 interrelated traps: 

1) Fundamental attribution error: When we succeed, we think it was because of us. When we fail, we think random or external events conspired to derail us.

2) Overconfidence bias: Success breeds self-assurance and reinforces that we are on the right track. This overconfidence bias can lead to institutional arrogance and a “Not Invented Here” mentality.

3) Failure to ask why: This challenge involves the tendency to fail to systematically investigate causes of good performance: Leaders don’t ask the tough questions that can help them learn.

It’s always good when you read an article where there is a problem and a path forward toward a solution.  In this case, Gino and Pisano suggest five tactics  leaders can use to avoid these traps:

1) Celebrate but analyze your success: When a project is successful, leaders should lead investigation on reasons behind the success with the same rigor and scrutiny applied to failures.

2) Institute systematic reviews (After Action Reviews): Reviews should ask these questions: What did we set out to do? What actually happened? Why did it happen? What are we going to do next time? What are the top 5 things we would do again and the top 5 things we would not do again. The key is to ensure the same rigor for both failed and successful projects.

3) Use the right time horizons to gauge success or failure: By understanding the correct time horizons, you can prevent yourself from being fooled by randomness.

4) Replication is not learning: Six Sigma and TQM are great for determining root causes. Add to that by reviewing factors that are under your control as well as those that are affected by external events.

5) Experiment: Experimentation is a way to test assumptions and theories on what is needed to achieve high levels of performance. The right question for leaders is not “What is going well?” but “What experiments are we running?”

5 Key Thoughts and Principles of Leadership (Part 5 of 5)

This is the last in the series of key thoughts and principles of leadership from an interview with a CEO.  You can find the previous key thoughts and principles below:

Part 1: Know Who You Are     Part 2: Be a Listener/Listen Broadly

Part 3: Courage and Attitude   Part 4: What is your Philosophy of Leadership

5-COMMUNICATION-What do you believe in and how can you communicate that most effectively?  You say more by saying less. Be authentic and genuine. We all can learn a lot and do a better job with this.  Style never displaces substance.  you have to avoid the situation where your team says…”Pass me the hemlock please”.  You have to work on your communication skills all the time-you always can improve.  You deploy the right style with the right audience , then tailor the message-length, style, substance.

Are leaders and great communicators born or made? I get this question a lot.  I believe that lots of leadership skills that can be learned. Even if you are not wired that way-you can get over that.

Two questions you need to ask yourself:

1-Before you say anything that is emotionally charged, ask yourself “Is what I am about to say necessary?” I have to ask you…If you sit in meetings, how much commentary would not pass that test?    Ask yourself, “Will what I am about to say advance the discussion, add a new dimension that matters and is relevant and important OR is what I have to say a regurgitation of what others have said?”   If what you want to say needs to be backed up, it is necessary. But if it is argumentative for sake of disagreeing, you don’t do it. This works in families as well.

2-Is what I am about to say, kind?  I mean this in an exploratory and inquiry based way, not sugar and spice.  How you say things is more important than what you are going to say.  Will you say it in the right way and will it be constructive or destructive?  How many times have we seen a relevant point delivered in the wrong way?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Keys to Accelerating Your Team’s Effectiveness

Earlier, I mentioned my admiration for Jon Katzenbach on organizational culture.  Another person I follow is Rob Cross, who focuses upon social networks (Not social media-but the face to face social networks that all of us work within).  I ran across Rob from a trusted senior leader who recommended his work after noting, “the higher you go in an organization, the more your success lies outside of your organization.”

Cross and Katzenbach  (May 2012, “The Right Role for Top Teams”) suggest that the most effective teams, especially those within multiple organizational units set themselves up as hubs surrounded by spokes of formal and informal subgroups to address specific issues.  Here are three key findings:

  1. Invest in intentional informal networking: this is enhanced by specifically and intentionally building relationships among different subgroups during formal and ad hoc meetings and events.
  2. Deal with inevitable tensions and conflicts within the network by focusing on the constituent level (who in which subgroups have investments in a particular course of action and can sabotage certain initiatives who are also well connected to other subgroups).
  3. Make disciplined choices about when you need subgroups with real-team accountability and focus, and when the clarity and speed of a single-leader unit is better;

What are some tactics and strategies you have found effective in working with people outside of your immediate organization?

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 3 of 3)

My previous two posts have focused on trust as a leader.  I’ve focused on one of NC State’s Poole College of Management professors, Dr. Roger Mayer. Dr. Mayer’s research on trust focuses on three elements: ability, benevolence, and integrity. I have linked the previous posts on ability and benevolence.

The final leg of trust from Dr. Mayer’s research is integrity.  Integrity focuses upon dependability and consistency with values and principles that others find important.   Dependability and consistency is basically doing what you say you are going to do over a prolonged period of time.  Yet if you act dependably in ways that your team does not value, you lose integrity. For example, you lack dependability and consistency if you are flitting from one initiative to another to a third based on the latest book, article, or management fad you’ve read about.  At the same time, if you act consistently in a way that is contrary to what your team values, then you have little to no integrity in their eyes. This is a critical part of culture.

In future posts, we’ll share some specific examples from GEN Shelton and senior leaders from a variety of backgrounds (public service, private and corporate practice, collegiate, and youth).  I’m interested in your examples as well.

What was a situation where you saw a leader demonstrate one or more of the three legs of trust (ability, benevolence, and integrity)?

 

 

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 2 of 3)

Last week, I outlined Dr. Roger Mayer’s work on trust. He notes that ability is one key factor of growing trust as a leader (click here for part one on ability). In his work in executive education programs at NC State’s Poole College of Management, he notes that many participants want to learn how to create a culture of innovation and trust. He notes that while ability is critical, the second of three factors on growing trust as a leader is benevolence.

According to Dr. Mayer’s research, benevolence relies upon empathy and selflessness.    Empathy focuses upon the relationship between you and the other person. You have to take the time to learn about the other people on your team, their interests outside of work and what is important to them.

Selflessness focuses upon your intentions and motives.  Are you perceived as a “glory hound” or one who hogs the credit for any success? Do you attempt to shift blame if there are any negative impacts on the team’s work?

How have you seen some of the best leaders with whom you’ve worked demonstrate selflessness and empathy?  I look forward to your comments.