Kevin Bowser

December 5, 2013

LEAD – an Acrostic

Everyone needs an acrostic every now and then to help us remember things or get a better grasp of concepts. So, today I present an acrostic to help us understand better how to lead.

L – Learn – Each of us must invest in ourselves in order to learn how to become a better leader. Although many folks are naturally gifted with leadership traits and tendencies, many are not so gifted. So it is imperative that we each develop ways to learn from other recognized leaders in our contemporary culture. And we must cultivate a good historical knowledge of leaders from our past. Read about leaders such as Jack Welch and George Patton. Do not necessarily get distracted by some of their personal or family foibles. But rather focus on the public leadership that they displayed.

E – Earn – Each of us must earn the right to lead. We must lead in the little things first before we can expect to be given great leadership responsibility. You don’t often make it from the mail room to the board room in a week. But, you will earn the right to lead through time and through trial and error. Unfortunately many in the younger generation have never experienced trial and error. They have grown up in a culture where everyone is a winner. And you are given a ribbon for just participating. The ribbon is conferred upon you and not earned by your efforts. Leadership is earned. Continue reading “LEAD – an Acrostic”

November 21, 2013

Somebody is Watching You

Somebody is watching you. Somebody is always watching every little move you make, every step you take, every vow you break. (Wow, I broke into a lyric there for a second.)

Such is the stuff of thrillers and horror movies. But the same is true of the daily and the mundane.

Someone is always watching you.

As a leader, do you understand the power of your influence?

Do you know the ramifications of what you say and what you do?

Do you grasp the implications of how you do what you do?

Leaders have tremendous impact on the lives of the people that they lead. This is true in business and it is especially true in our personal lives. A good leader can make a person feel as though they can accomplish anything. On the other hand, a poor leader can destroy the self-esteem of those they are called to lead and serve.

As a leader you are always being watched. Consider that today and be careful.

Photo credit: dayglowill / Foter.com / CC BY-NC
Photo credit: tk-link / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

November 7, 2013

Leadership Inaction or In Action

I am contemplating the examples of leadership that are prevalent today and instead of being shining examples of Leadership In Action, with a space between “In” and “Action”, I seem to find that they are pitiful examples of Leadership Inaction, without a space between “In” and “action”. Is it a little bit hokey and a play on words? Yes, it is absolutely. But, unfortunately, it captures the state of leadership in our nation and in our culture today.

Many of us who are working for a living and trying to be productive members of society are observing ample instances of inaction by our elected leaders. When it seems obvious that taking a stand is necessary and the appropriate thing to do, instead for the most part we hear the sound of crickets from our elected political leaders.

But as much as I want to blame these elected political leaders, I can’t. It seems that what “sells” is that which is most pleasing to the ears of the listener. And, as a free market capitalist, I can’t blame them for selling a product that so many appear to want to purchase. Inaction sells.

But inaction has a tremendous downside. It has the effect of sucking life and courage from those of us who would lead. Consider what the great businessman and philanthropist Dale Carnegie once said: Continue reading “Leadership Inaction or In Action”

November 4, 2013

What Qualities of Manliness Stand the Test of Time?

Cosmopolitan Magazine began its publishing life as a quality family oriented magazine. Unfortunately it has evolved into a “Grocery Store Checkout” magazine that is chock full of what celebrity is being physically altered and what is their favorite food or sexual activity. None of which I am particularly interested in.

However, in August of 1902, a man by the name of Rafford Pyke wrote an article entitled, “What Men Like in Men.” In 1902 you could title an article that way and no one would laugh or even consider the double entendre that it would surely produce if it appeared today. Especially in a magazine like Cosmopolitan has evolved into. Don’t Google Rafford Pyke unless you are looking for the depressing story of his life, the realization that he himself did not act in an honorable manner, and the discovery that Pyke was not even his real name.

Consider what Pyke says: “If you were to ask the average man to tell you offhand just what qualities he likes in other men, he would probably boggle a good deal over his answer. His first impulse would be to say, “Oh, I don’t know!” which is with men a convenient formula for avoiding thought upon unexpected or (to them) uninteresting topics. A little later, after turning the matter over in his mind, he would give you a catalogue of qualities to which he would be willing to swear. His list, however, would bear a strong resemblance to the “hundred-best-book” lists made my persons who sincerely believe that they are expressing their own literary preferences, but who are actually indulging in a bit of intellectual pose. Just as these individuals mention the books which they feel they ought to enjoy reading rather than those which they really read, so the average man will name a number of qualities which he thinks he likes, rather than those which in his heart of hearts he actually does like.”

It was much easier for Pyke to determine what men disliked in other men. And the character or quality that they disliked was that of being or acting like Continue reading “What Qualities of Manliness Stand the Test of Time?”

October 28, 2013

Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche

Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche was a a bestselling tongue-in-cheek book satirizing stereotypes of masculinity very popular that was published the year that my wife and I got married. I confess that I wasn’t much of a reader at that time. So, my only real exposure to the book was from pop culture and from listening to what commentators and other pundits had to say about that book.

The book was an attempt to refer to or suggest that a man who is a dilettante, a trend-chaser, an over-anxious conformist to fashionable forms of “lifestyle”, and socially correct behaviors and opinions, one who lacks the traditional masculine virtue of tough self-assurance is therefore NOT a real man. The book’s humor derives its’ message from the fears and confusion of contemporary 1980s middle-class men about how they ought to behave, after a decade of various forms of feminist critique on traditional male roles and beliefs. The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 55 weeks, and sold over 1.6 million copies at the time.

It is a shame that that book had to be written. It never would have been written had there not been a glaring blemish on traditional manhood and manly behavior. Recently we have seen a spate of more books that are an “encouragement” to men to return to some man’s view of what a man really is.

I will not take this opportunity to debate the merits of either book. But I will offer this thought as some additional fodder for consideration. Continue reading “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche”

October 15, 2013

George Washington on Leadership

We have studied George Washington since first grade. We think we know a lot about him. But I am not sure that what we think we know is really historically accurate. I hope that there is more to George Washington than that silver dollar and that cherry tree.

Washington was many things. And he was indeed a leader. He was the ideal man to lead the newly formed American Continental Army and then later to lead the newly formed United States as the nation’s first president. He developed his leadership skills from an early age and a distinguished military career. He further honed them as a business man and entrepreneur. Those leadership skills and abilities made him the wealthiest man in America by many calculations. And his leadership was ultimately tested in his later military career as he took a rag-tag militia and forced the greatest military in the world into surrender. But his testing and trials were not over as the nation elected him to be the very first president.

What can we learn from Washington’s leadership style and skills? Several things come to mind for me today. Consider the following. Continue reading “George Washington on Leadership”

October 12, 2013

Leadership Means Sometime You Have to Push

Leadership means sometimes you have to move large groups of sometimes inanimate objects such as people and institutions in a forward direction. As a leader you are often a “pusher”. But you have to remember that when pushing people – somebody is going to push back from time to time!

Although there may be more, there are at least four approaches:

Consider the Swift Approach

Some leaders believe that it is incumbent upon them to move swiftly when they come into a new position. They are often heard to say things like; “You gotta strike while the iron is hot!”

Let’s call these leaders “Hares”. [I’ll bet you can already guess the next group, can’t you?]

These leaders are not bad. They are not necessarily impatient as you may suspect. They just feel a strong mandate and see now as an opportune time to move. They feel that it is incumbent upon them to lead with speed.

One of the problems with this style of leadership is that those who employ it often do not take the time on the front end to build consensus among the other leaders and among the followers. And that mistake can poison the potential for change in the coming days.

Consider the Slow Approach

Some leaders err on the side of moving way to slowly. They believe that their followers will only respond to Continue reading “Leadership Means Sometime You Have to Push”

October 6, 2013

Looking Funny On A Horse

I have said many times that love a great and pithy little quote. And I stumbled upon this one the other day from Adlai Stevenson.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (5 February 1900 – 14 July 1965) was an American politician and statesman. He was noted for his skill in debate and oratory. He served as Governor of Illinois and he was twice an unsuccessful candidate for President of the United States running against Dwight D. Eisenhower (in 1952 and 1956). Under the John F. Kennedy administration, he served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Here is a quote attributed to him:

“It is hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.”

The quote above has been written about recently in a book by Ron Gaddie entitled, Born to Run: Origins of the Political Career. In that book Gaddie examines the political careers of nine different individuals who ran for political offices at a variety of local and state levels. I do not intend to review the book here. Rather, I want to look at the quote and explore its message to us as leaders.

What does the quote say to you from a leadership perspective? Continue reading “Looking Funny On A Horse”

September 5, 2013

How to Conduct Team Briefings

Earlier in the week I discussed team briefings and the importance of communications in the process. But I really didn’t address the mechanics of conducting the team briefing. So, today, let’s focus on that.

As the Leader You Must Commit to a Structure and a Process It doesn’t necessarily be a super-formal process. But, people must understand what to expect when they attend one of your team briefings.

Ensure that you understand what is going on in the organization and that you have been properly briefed yourself. Make sure your team leaders know what’s happening at various levels, and with various other teams, throughout the organization.
Provide training or coaching on how to conduct effective team briefings.
Recognize and reward supervisors and managers for conducting effective team briefings.
Brevity is the soul of wit. If you can’t say it in 15 to 30 minutes, then a team briefing is not the right vehicle for a more complex message. Continue reading “How to Conduct Team Briefings”

September 3, 2013

Team Briefings

We have many communication options these days – phone calls, faxes, emails, text messages, and so on. Sometimes it seems as though traditional, face-to-face meetings are disappearing. It seems that the more options for communicating that we have available, the less real communication occurs.

I am probably one of the only guys at my place of employment without a Bachelor of Science degree. Most are engineers. My degree is a lowly Bachelor of Arts degree. And it is in Mass Communications. However, I have leveraged it fully throughout my career. And one of the things that I recall about the communication process is that it has 3 parts and not just 2. We often think of the “sender” and the “receiver”. But we often forget the all important ‘feedback”. And unfortunately, feedback is extremely hard to discern outside of face to face communication. And even then it is hard to discern.

So, for On the Team Tuesday, let’s look at Team Briefings and what role we have as leaders in that setting. And let’s consider the characteristics and benefits of well run team briefings. .

The basic characteristics of a team briefing are as follows: Continue reading “Team Briefings”