I happen to be heavily involved in a book about followership as it pertains to leadership and one of the principles we’ve been discussing lately is that those in the followership role have an obligation to step forward and challenge the leader when necessary. This line of thinking spurred an exceptional vision call that I had with our team last Friday that centered around them challenging me more. Often times I have felt like my team is reluctant to challenge me because I am the boss, because I sign the checks. And while I would love to say that I have all the answers, I simply don’t.  I’m really making this up as I go. Aren’t we all???

The analogy I used to help my team to better understand my position was another film analogy.  Something I learned as a filmmaker is that if a director is dictatorial in nature, he creates a product that is only as good as himself. But if a director works to serve and nurture the department heads around him, they will take care of his film and create a product that is truly exceptional and complex; and ultimately far more incredible than anything the director could have accomplished on his own.

When I challenged my team to come forward and tell me what I was doing to get in their way, we found that a common issue among a few of them was micromanagement–feeling like I was over their shoulder. Simply having the conversation allowed me to invite them to challenge me in the moment the next time I was behaving in such ways with each of them.  Everyone feels things like this differently and this will give them an opportunity to help me to help each of them specifically.

Ultimately what I needed to do was give them permission to step into that leadership role and ask for what they need to do their jobs better and enjoy their time more. They needed an invitation. Some might say that they should have taken the initiative themselves, and I certainly would have respected it if they had; however, such issues are complex for employees and it takes time to build a certain level of trust and comfortability. Some of my staff have been with me for three years now and they understand that this company is like my child, and they respect that; so it is not that they feared for their jobs as much as the dialogue that they were having in their heads was that I had the right to behave in such a way.  It took me inviting the criticism to help them to understand their role in the system.  I want this company to be a machine that is created by all of these talented people pushing for what they feel is most important. That only happens when there is an environment where pushing back is acceptable, appreciated, and rewarded.  Consider your environment and whether or not you are leading your company to be as good as you alone can be, or as great as it can be with the exponential benefit of the greatest assets of each and every member of your staff.

Being in business today is tough, and the competition is fierce. Every day, I talk to corporate leaders who feel like they are stuck and swimming against a very strong current while their competitors are beating the pants off them at each and every turn. So much so that many leaders say they don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. Their reason for being a leader or opening a business years ago has faded and there seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

When asking the above question of a marketing guru, he or she may come back to you with some “band-aids” such as “Lower your price” or “Stand out more in the marketplace” or “Offer a special event” and so forth. Yet the main reason I see leaders lose their inspiration is because they are solving the easy issues and not tackling the big problems in their organizations. They shuffle papers or answer e-mails or hold a meeting, because those things are easy to do and they give a false sense of accomplishment. Anyone can do these tasks, because they are easy. It’s a true leader who can take a big problem and really tackle it.

Two years ago, I began working with a company on a very big challenge: getting the right managers in place and getting them trained up to a higher level of leadership. Sounds easy? Right? Well, here we are two years later, and we are still working on it, and it’s not easy work. It takes grind and grit. It takes coaching and mentoring. It takes giving feedback, both positive and negative. And it takes letting people go who just can’t cut it. This process is not only about developing people. It’s about changing a culture to a true coaching culture and sticking with it. The results have been tremendous, and we still have so much work ahead. I have felt the emotion of my client. I am there with him, working it out and supporting him every step of the way, because he is the real thing. He’s got what it takes to be a leader. He takes a big problem, and he embraces it and goes for it, and guess what? He’s inspired! Each time he experiences a success with a manager, he lights up the room, because he cares for the people on his team, and he wants the best for them.  He finds inspiration in watching other people succeed!  (And folks, that is what leadership is all about…if you are a leader, then the success of other people should be your main goal.)

When taking on a big problem, the key is to create a game plan and play the problem almost like you would play a game (and I don’t mean to diminish the importance of big problems.) The key here is that if you see problems as overwhelming and unable to be fixed, they will continue to fester, and your competition will walk all over you. BUT, if you take the big problem, sit down with the people you most trust and create a plan to solve it, you will find renewed optimism in your business, community or organization. Trust me, with the correct plan and the right people in place, you can find pleasure in solving the biggest challenge you have ever faced.

So, your time is here and now. Face the music, and face it boldly. You will be so happy that you did.

In the book, EDGE! A Leadership Story, we address several big problems and a major leadership crisis and show you how a superstar leader addresses them. The book will be on sale on July 1, 2008. We thank you for your support and encourage you to pick up a copy of the book on Tuesday, July 1.

How do you stay inspired when your business is struggling or your competition is beating the pants off you? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!

*Have you ever wondered why people say what they say and do what they do?

*Would you like to know how to get your employees to be more effective and efficient?

*Have you ever wondered why your team seems to clash at each and every turn?

*Are you communicating based on what’s good for you or great for other people?

Understanding yourself and others, and realizing the impact of your personal behavior on the people around you is the foundation for both personal and business success. The DiSC Assessment (Personal Profile System) has unlocked the door to effective communication and productive relationships for over 40 million people worldwide through a quick online assessment. With the DiSC, a business or organization can ease frustration and conflict, improve communication and build highly productive sales forces and teams.

I will just tell you now. I am an equally high D (Dominance) and I (Inspirational.) I have a tendency to be very direct, and I don’t mess around. I take risks, and I don’t run from a conflict or a crisis. I put myself right in the middle of it and do what I can to get it worked out. Some people love and respect my style, and other people just don’t like it, and I do my best to be careful around people who are super-sensitive. I so respect my friends who talk with me about my style in a way that is helpful, and I do work on my communication every day (and I beat myself up for it on a regular occasion.)

Over the last few weeks, I have had multiple calls from people wanting to run DiSC assessments on their employees (I don’t know what’s going on really, but as with all blogs, I write about what people are asking about.)  People love the assessment, and so do I (I have used the DiSC with each client I serve, and everyone in my family has taken the DiSC, so we have lots to talk about with all.)  So, today, I want to share with you what I believe to be the three most important benefits of using a tool like the DiSC.

Improve Effectiveness

Communication is only successful when both the sender and receiver understand the message being conveyed, and when the message is misunderstood and gets garbled is when productivity heads south. A leader can significantly enhance personal effectiveness by honestly evaluating their own communication style and the styles of team members. They can then make changes in communication approaches and select management strategies which will maximize effectiveness and minimize delay, procrastination and time wasting efforts.

Enhance Listening

The most effective leaders know when to be quiet, when to listen and how to listen (the how part is where it gets really tricky…most people think they are great listeners, but more often than not, they don’t really know how to listen based on the communication style of the speaker.) Each communication style not only speaks a bit differently but listens in a unique way. As an example, if you are speaking to someone who is a high “S” (Supportive Style), she listens with empathy and support. If you are speaking to someone who is a high “D” (Dominant Style), he is listening impatiently, waiting for the bottom line. Knowing how someone listens can help you shift your communication to increase your effectiveness with the listener.

Strengthen Team/Client Relationships

The DiSC is a great tool to help you invent new methods for sharing communication clues on your team and with your clients. Each member of your network will not only have a unique communication style but will be bringing cultural biases and world views to your project. In working with teams, I encourage each team member to share their DiSC as well as photographs, stories and work histories with each other in an open format. This approach can be the basis for more discussion later on and can build a culture of support for the toughest of teams.

If you are someone who is interested in using the DiSC in your company, or you are an independent consultant who would like to start using the DiSC with your clients, feel free to check out more information on Learn About the DiSC.

The Absence of leadership is often felt by a company, but not recognized. I was recently talking with a friend in a high up position with a national non-profit and she is stuck in an environment that is demotivating, where everyone is playing in their own sandbox and not interested in helping out the team unless it advances their own career or reputation. We started discussing the absence of leadership and how, often, the players in the system mostly recognize the symptoms of a pained structure, as opposed to the core issue, which is that bad leadership acts like a cancer that slowly deteriorates and eventually destroys the organism.

Not understanding the root of the problem, people set out to put band-aids on all of the wounds, hoping that a bit of neosporin and a bandage will stop the bleeding. This kind of environment is a dangerous one, where often the remedies attempted can sicken the structure, worsen the disease, and kill the body more quickly.

This is where intentional followership is as important as strong leadership. Followers who are intending to be leaders need to step up to the plate and challenge the leadership. Often times the leader is working in a vacuum, not recognizing the illness either and just letting the organism get sicker and sicker. If more people in the system were aware of the “bad leadership effect”, they might be comfortable to step in, step up and be an active part of the solution.

My point here is that having the conversation of what the role of other members is in the company is imperative. If they think that their only job is related to their title, you probably won’t find them stepping up any day soon to challenge the individual in the leadership role. But if they are frequently challenged to question and to fight the fights they believe are worth fighting, the environment can truly be healthy and strong.

Any creative entity (body, company, film, manuscript) is made up of what has most strongly been fought for on its behalf. If it is only as good as the vision of the leader, it will inevitably be weaker than it could potentially be if everyone in the system was fighting for what was most important to them and challenging the leader to raise his or her own game.

We have a great list of teleclasses coming up in July.

Check out the full list here.