Category: General

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Karen Tal: Strangers No More

An amazing leadership story is that of Karen Tal and her work launching the highly successful public school in Tel Aviv, Bialik-Rogozine.

Listen to Karen speak about the school and herself. http://www.tedxtelaviv.com/2010/07/18/karen-tal-thriving-on-turmoil/ 

I had the pleasure of meeting her recently; and Karen’s passion, commitment, and authenticity were palpable. You can also learn more about the school in the Academy Award winning short documentary “Strangers No More.”

Karen set out 7 years ago as a new principal to merge two failing schools in the poorest section. She brought strong belief that it is our duty to help all children to learn. She found within herself the courage to manage her own fears and doubts. She shared a clear vision with the teachers and school staff: in 5 years, the school will become an educational miracle where every student can increase his or her potential. She offered a challenge to the school, government agencies, and diverse partners: “Join me, support us, or I will support the closing of these schools.” 

Statistics show Bialik-Rogozine has more than succeeded by objective educational measures of retention, graduation rates, college admission, etc. Images of the diverse and caring community created for the 800 students from 48 nations and their families tell an even bigger story more.

Efforts are underway, working with successful entrepreneurs from the business community, to find ways to up scale this model of education and community building. Nothing could be more important as we confront the complexities of peace and harmony in an increasingly diverse and global world.        

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The Leadership Professor is back

It’s been a long year since The Leadership Professor has been active online. The reason: a time of major transition, change, learning, relearning, and settling into a new job, institution, city, home, life, and career stage.

The good news: not just surviving, but thriving and with a range of experiences that have deepened understandings of how and why we lead – and how we can (and must) better manage the inevitable stresses and strains in daily life.

From this last year, I am convinced more than ever that:

1. One person can change the world – and we’ll only solve those nagging, audacious problems when we each accept and act on that reality. 

2. The heart of leadership rests in the heart of the leader: we lead best when we find jobs that use our true talents and issues to which we can bring passion and energy.

3. We are stronger than we think – and accepting that gives us the courage to lead and the grace to manage the inevitable challenges along the way. 

As I prepare to work next week with a group of higher education leaders, I ran across a quotation from Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky (Leadership on the Line, 2002) that captures the essence of leadership: offering hope, insights, possibilities, encouragement, and learning. 

“The hope in leadership lies in the capacity to deliver disturbing news and raise difficult questions in a way that people can absorb, prodding them to take up the message rather than ignore it or kill the messenger.”

Onward!   

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Grow Your Brain: Lead Yourself to Increased Leadership Capacities

Research, published in the new book The Emotional Life of your Brain by Richard J. Davidson (with Sharon Begley), has good news. We can change our emotional styles and become more self-aware, attentive to context, and resilient – core skills for surviving and thriving in the rough-and-tumble leadership world. All it takes is systematic mental practice.

I’ll let you read the neurophysiology and brain science and just cut to the chase here. By thinking – and thinking alone – adults can expand areas of the brain to broaden their cognitive and emotional capacities.

This gives us more control than previously believed over what Davidson and Begley call the Six Key Elements of Emotional Style: our resilience in the face of disappointment, outlook on life, self-awareness, social intuition, attention, and sensitivity to context.

To quote the authors: “Mental activity, ranging from meditation to cognitive-behavior therapy, can help you develop a broader awareness of social signals, a deeper sensitivity to your own feelings and bodily sensations, a more consistently positive outlook, and a great capacity for resilience.”

Too negative an outlook on life or situation? Embrace the essentials of “well-being therapy” and focus on ways you can be more grateful, generous, appreciative, and upbeat. You’ll have significant growth in the brain areas used, giving you quicker and more automatic access to these positive responses over time.

Not very self- or other-aware? Slow down and ask yourself to focus on the feelings, discomfort, or concerns of another. It’ll increase activation of the circuitry involved in taking in pain and distress more carefully and broaden your capacities to see life more richly and compassionately.

Too self-aware and filled with the internal chatter and self-evaluations that keep you spinning your wheels? Learn to observe your thoughts or feelings non-judgmentally and choose to put them aside.

Mindfulness and meditation help here. [See the blog archives for past posts of mindfulness and the work of Ellen Langer.] With practice, you’ll develop the hard-wiring and self-control needed to pause, acknowledge a setback or disappointment, have a good laugh at how quickly your mind wants to perseverate and magnify a mere bump in life’s road, and stop yourself from spiraling downward.

The authors claim that locating the base of emotions at least partly in the brain’s seat of reason is a major break from conventional wisdom in psychology and neuroscience.

I’m thrilled their work affirms human capacities to develop the emotional and cultural intelligence needed for effective leadership in an increasingly diverse world. How do you want to lead? Respond? Be? Make it happen. That’s hugely empowering – and productive for us all!

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Tending the heart of leadership: A quick start plan

We know successful leaders lead from the heart – and that organizations benefit from the transparency and authenticity of their leaders.

We also know that stress and long hours on the job can take a toll on a leader’s heart, literally. Heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women in the United States. February is national heart-health month. 

The Leadership Professor doesn’t dish out health advice – she’s not that kind of doctor (and you’ll want to consult your medical professional on any health questions, concerns, or lifestyle changes you make). But she is willing to suggest you take a look at a new book and consider starting the “Quick Start Plan” from the Mayo Clinic. Mayo research has found it supports heart health.

Here’s the Mayo plan in an easy to remember form: Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8.  [That translates into advice to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, move at least 10 extra minutes, and get 8 solid hours of sleep every day.]

To quote the Mayo Clinic on their new publication Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life!: The Mayo Clinic Plan for Preventing and Conquering Heart Disease (from which the “Quick Start Plan” comes): the book “helps to distill doctors’ advice for a heart-healthy lifestyle into simple, practical steps, so it’s easy to take action right away” (from Sharing Mayo Clinic, Winter 2012, p.8).   

Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8.  The heart of leadership lies in the heart of the healthy leader. Spread the word!   

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Enjoy the work like Yo Yo Ma

I’m having a Yo Yo Ma day – and wish you one as well: a day of enjoyment for the work, passion for the purpose, and pride in the contribution.

If you need a little inspiration to elevate your work day, click here for a tiny desk concert. Friends of The Leadership Professor know her preference for Quarter Chicken Dark.   Onward! 

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Go beyond “lift and shift” to build new markets

The most recent Hay Group newsletter continues its series on the World’s Most Admired Companies. This edition focuses on PepsiCo and its drive for innovation and a healthier portfolio of products.  Take a read.

The Leadership Professor calls your attention to two key issues: 

1.  PepsiCo’s belief in the importance of personal development: “You can’t have business growth without personal growth.” Amen!

2.  Innovation and creative thinking – not simple “lift and shift” of the same old products to new markets – will drive Pepsico’s future. The company is hiring different kinds of folks to encourage new thinking and what Clayton Christensen calls “disruptive innovation.”

Interesting for us all to think how much of what we do to grow our programs and organizations is “lift and shift.”  What can you do to drive real innovation and creativity in your organization?

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PepsiCo: Driving hard into emerging markets

With nineteen billion-dollar brands, PepsiCo is home to some of the world’s powerhouse food and drink brands. In recent years the company has expanded internationally and is looking to emerging markets for growth. At the same time it’s moving to a more nutritionally responsible portfolio of products. SVP of talent management David Henderson outlines PepsiCo’s growth strategy and how it’s using innovation and people to reach its goals.

The 2011 World’s Most Admired Companies survey revealed a focus on growth, especially in emerging markets and for high-growth business units. How does that resonate with PepsiCo?

First, in developed markets we’re aiming to do more with less, unlocking operating synergies and freeing up investment capital for our emerging markets and nutrition businesses. Growing share in key emerging markets is our next priority: for example we just bought a very large market-leading dairy company in Russia which makes us the largest food and beverage company in that key market for us. Overall, we anticipate that emerging markets will grow from 30 to 45 per cent of our next revenue mix over the next five years. Our third priority is developing our nutrition portfolio, offering a more balanced portfolio of enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages.

Has recession affected your growth strategy?

Yes, in that commodity prices have gone up very significantly, consumers are spending less and retailers are consumed with the concept of value. So we’ve had to look internally and probably harder than ever before for operating efficiency, because it would be irresponsible to pass the cost of this on to the consumer. And also we’ve shifted the portfolio mix over that period.

"We’ve been really surgical and forensic around which markets offer the best growth prospects"

Another theme this year was innovation. What does PepsiCo do to drive and foster it?

A few years ago we started a process called ‘Innovation and Growth Planning’, where we moved from a three to a five-year horizon to help drive breakthrough innovation. Then to support this we brought in people from outside to disrupt our dominant logic, for example hiring a chief scientific officer from a pharmaceutical background. We changed our operating model from ‘lift and shift’ – where we transfer successful products to different markets – to a faster-moving mode where a globally matrixed organization has R&D ‘hardwired’ in and a multidisciplinary global nutrition group drives new innovations.

What challenges have you had spreading this culture of innovation and keeping it alive?

We’ve a few of examples and failures where innovations cannibalize other products, taking share away from more profitable products. But if you accept that more of your growth is going to come longer-term from innovation and more of that is going to be breakthrough (farther out) innovation, inevitably your failure rate is going to go up. So we have to build a culture that’s more risk tolerant. You’ve got to almost encourage people to forget what has made them successful in the past.

"You need ‘keepers of the flame’ and a few mavericks in there who are really going to shake things up"

Employee involvement was another characteristic of Most Admired Companies this year. What does PepsiCo do in this area?

This comes right back to the heart of our performance management systems. We have a model of performance management in PepsiCo which is geared fifty per cent on business results and fifty per cent on people results. And that’s true for every manager from the CEO of the company right through to first level supervisors in the organization. For example our ‘Manager quality performance index’ uses a set of twelve very simple questions that are consistent right across the organization. They’re heavily geared towards how effectively the manager is in engaging with the employees on his or her team. We baseline the manager’s performance and then we’ll track that over the twelve month period.

Building on this point, enabling employees to succeed is something Most Admired Companies have focused on. How does PepsiCo approach this?

"Our philosophy is that you can’t have business growth without personal growth"

In fact, they’re inseparable. When the business is growing and you’ve got employees that are themselves growing professionally it’s a very powerful combination and one can really drive the other. For us the most effective formula has been one of continuous learning and development through the organization. We also segment our talent, for example based on who’s prepared to be mobile and who wants to stay where they are. It helps us better manage both personal life and professional life considerations.

Are there generational issues or any other new issues that you’re keeping an eye out for?

Talent scarcity is an issue. R&D is one of the hardest areas to recruit into because there’s such demand for companies that are looking. There’s just not enough talent coming through into the market at the right skill levels.  In emerging markets, the talent is less bonded to the company because there’s greater demand. This scarcity is a constraining factor on our growth. Voluntary attrition has dropped very significantly, so there is an aging demographic in a lot of organizations. Too many leaders will be exiting the organization in the next five to ten years. And it also means we need a delicate balancing act between continuity and potential.

PepsiCo was number 26 on the 2011 FORTUNE World’s Most Admired Companies list.

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Jeremy Lin: A Teaching Case on Succeeding in a Complex World

I love the Jeremy Lin story – the humble, smart, sudden NBA superstar for the Knicks who until a few weeks ago was sleeping on his brother’s couch and wondering his future with the sport he loved. [If you need to catch-up on Lin-sanity, check out the Washington Post story on how his talent went unnoticed for so long or one of the many New York Times sport columns.]

This is a great basketball story – a living remake of the movie classic “Hoosiers.” It’s an American morality tale of hard work, immigrant family, humility, following a dream, and success against the odds. It’s also a teaching case about how to succeed in an increasing complex world.

Forbes columnist Eric Jackson identifies 10 lessons from Jeremy Lin to enrich our lives and work. Let me post and discuss.

1. Believe in yourself when no one else does. Only the 4th Harvard grad to make it to the NBA. One of only a handful of Asian-Americans to make it. Sent to the Knicks D-League team in Erie, PA 3 weeks ago. Already cut by two other NBA teams before. It’s easy to lose heart in the face of defeat – but where will that get you?  Look where faith took Jeremy.

2. Seize the opportunity when it comes up. Lin got to start for the Knicks because they had to start him: too many injured and missing players. Lin made the most of it. Opportunities arise when we least expect them. Will you be ready to make the most of them? Be strong and confident to rise to the new  challenge? How can you cultivate the inner strengthen needed for that? It’s not easy to sustain confidence in the face of rejection.  

3. Your family will always be there for you, so be there for them. Lin only got his contract guaranteed by the Knicks a few days. His family has been his support: they pick him up when he gets down on himself and make him “continue to believe.” If you want your family to believe in you like that, you’ve got to be there for them when they need it.

4. Find the system that works for your style. Context is everything in leadership – no one is perfect in all situations. Lin isn’t Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant (whom he out-scored the other night, by the way). His style of distributing the ball didn’t work with his other NBA teams. It’s perfect for the Knicks. Know your strengths and find the job or organization that’s a good fit. If you don’t, people will overlook what you bring to the table.  Amen!

5. Don’t overlook talent that exists around you. You may have a Jeremy Lin working for or around you now. Pundits say Jeremy wasn’t helped by others’ stereotypes: he’s from Palo Alto High and Harvard. He’s Asian-American. Don’t let assumptions blind you to your other or others’ talents. My own belief: we are all capable of much more than we now show with the right opportunity and support.

6. People will love you for being an original, not trying to be someone else. I love the Judy Garland quotation: Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

7. Stay humble. In interviews, Lin shows humility despite the media frenzy. May we all have the grounding and executive presence!

8. When you make others look good, they will love you forever. The Knicks are playing well because they are playing better as a team – and have been working harder to share the ball since Lin. Lin praises his teammates to the media. Take note!

9. Never forget about the importance of luck or fate in life. To quote Eric Jackson, “Whatever you believe in, be grateful for it.”

10. Work your butt off. Lin was ready to seize his opportunity because his skills were strong from a lot of hard, hard work. Hard work is not glamorous – but there are no short cuts in today’s tough, competitive world.

I add a #11 to the list:

11. Choose hope. Hope is the most powerful form of human motivation. But it is not wishful thinking. Real hope is informed by persistence, hard work, patience, and courage – as seen in the Jeremy Lin story. The New York Times quoted one of Lin’s favorite verses: Suffering produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:3-5). 

Sustain faith in yourself, passion for the contribution you want to make, and the hope necessary to find the right place to make it. Onward! 

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What we need to learn to succeed

A respected colleague (and my former professor) Richard J. Light (Carl H. Pforzheimer Jr. Professor of Teaching and Learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of the book “Making the Most of College”) names five things that successful people say they need to advance their work and careers in today’s global world.

1. the ability to synthesize information

2. the skill of writing extraordinarily well

3. the ability to do research on many different topics

4. the ability to speak at least one foreign language

5. an understanding of other cultures.

I think Light’s got it about right. How do you measure on each?  What are you doing to enhance your capacities in areas where you need to grow? 

In talking with executives recently who wanted to know where to begin in taking their education and executive development to the next level, I made a simple suggestion: read, read, read.

Cognitive development is guaranteed – and you’ll increase your reading speed and comprehension with every page. Seeing your progress on both is satisfying, as our Executive MBA students can attest. You have control over the delivery system and focus of the content – read when you can and what you want.  And continuing to form new neuronal circuits are vital as we age and for responding to an increasingly complex world.

Want a good suggestion for your next good read?  I suggest: America and the Crisis of Global Power by Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter. It’s a book you won’t want to put down – and probably shouldn’t.  [Here’s a review to give you a sense of the reasons why.]

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One Billion Women

For those who don’t follow my tweets ( http://twitter.com/#!/JoanGallos ), this is exciting enough for a full write-up so please read on. [Check me out on Twitter if you want links to the articles reporting the story.]

The world of business and commerce has finally learned what women and micro-finance enterprises (like my personal favorite, the U.S.-based microloan agency called FINCA) have long known: invest in women. Women are reliable (and they repay their loans). They share the fruits of their economic success with their families and communities. Their success drives down illiteracy and mortality rates and supports the education of their children. And, as folks at the Economic Summit in Davos this month reminded us, their nation’s GDP goes up when women’s economic well-being does. Economies that engage women develop more quickly and out-perform those that don’t.

Investing in women is a win-win-win – and these understandings is moving into the boardroom in big ways for what Newsweek recently called “a corporate revolution.”  And I quote:

“Now a corporate revolution is at hand, one that is moving beyond philanthropy, making women partners in business at all levels. . . . On Feb. 1, some of the most powerful companies in the United States (Accenture, Coca-Cola, Ernst and Young, Goldman Sachs, and others) are signing on to a worldwide campaign to bring women into the economic mainstream. The Third Billion Campaign is being launched by La Pietra Coalition – an alliance including corporations, governments, and nonprofits – to enable 1 billion women to become members of the global economy by 2025. The campaign title comes from the notion that over the next decade, the impact of women will be at least as significant as that of China’s and India’s respective 1-billion-plus populations.” (Newsweek, February 6, 2012, p. 12)

Some companies are ahead-of-the-curve on all this. Unilever has had a bottom-of-the-pyramid strategy for years that includes women. It has, for example, invested in 45,000 poor Indian women in 100,000 villages with micro-financing and training supports. In fact, 5% of its current profits in India flow from these efforts. Or Avon has 6 million women in 100 countries running their own small business – the life blood of the corporation. Companies like this demonstrate that bringing women into the economy translates into all the benefits to the women and their communities and families mentioned above – but also increased profits, new markets, better product education for new consumers, and product improvements for the company. It’s smart business to support women entrepreneurs at the grassroots level. Others have now pledged to take up the charge. 

And the Three Billion Campaign doesn’t stop with poor women in developing nations. Data is there to suggest it’s time for companies to address the lack of women in senior leadership and on boards. A recent survey by the New York-based think tank on women and careers Catalyst, for example, found a significant and strong correlation between gender diversity in a company’s leadership ranks and that company’s bottom-line. More women, better results. 

Reading this brought great pleasure. It also took me back to a recent experience, serving on a women in leadership panel with Gloria Steinem. In preparation, I went back and reread some of Steinem’s earlier works (which were so revolutionary at their publication almost half a century ago). I thought about a world where simple consciousness raising seemed shocking to one where some of the largest and most powerful corporations and agencies are pledging significant support — $20 billion, for example, by Walmart – so that 1 billion women will reach their economic potential.  

We have come a long way – and by 2025, will be a giant step closer to a fair and equitable world for men and for women.  Nice!  Very nice!    

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Remembering Gordon Lamb

I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you.

(“For Good” from the Broadway musical Wicked)

………………………………………………………

Dear Colleagues:

On a very sad note, I’m writing to let you know that former Interim President Gordon Lamb passed away Monday, with his wife, Nancy, at his side.  On behalf of our entire university family, I have extended our deepest sympathies to Nancy and his family. He is survived by Nancy, three sons and five grandchildren.

Dr. Lamb achieved national recognition as a leader in higher education. The University of Missouri System owes a debt of gratitude for his outstanding service as interim chancellor at UMKC from 1999 to 2000; as interim president of the system from 2007 to 2008; and as executive vice president during President Gary Forsee’s tenure.  Although he retired from the system in March 2009, Dr. Lamb continued to serve as a higher education consultant and even for a brief period as interim president of Central Missouri University. 

Our esteemed colleague’s contributions to our university were far-reaching and continue to stand the test of time.  As interim president, Dr. Lamb established The Missouri 100, a presidential advisory group promoting the role of the university in the state’s future and its reputation worldwide. He also built a statewide coalition of public universities and community colleges to address the state’s growing health care needs—which resulted in the Caring for Missourians initiative.

Dr. Lamb also was an ardent and tireless supporter and protector of academic freedom.  He once wrote, “Though any of us may take issue, from time to time, with the manner of teaching or the subject of a class discussion, we understand that the latitude given to faculty is important in the search for truth and the ability of faculty to lead students to a critical awareness and understanding of the subject.”  He also publicly advocated for the application of the same principles to academic research.

Prior to his appointment as interim president, Dr. Lamb was senior vice president for EFL and Associates, an executive search firm with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. He also served as interim chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and subsequently as president of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago from 1986 to 1995. Before his Northeastern presidency, he served for nearly 12 years at the University of Texas-San Antonio as vice president-academic affairs and founding Director of the Division of Music.

Gordon authored numerous books, articles and musical compositions. As a music professor and choral conductor, he conducted concerts and festivals in 17 states and across Europe. In addition, he received several awards, including the National Award for Teacher Education’s Most Supportive President or Chancellor from the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.

Gordon’s passion for quality public higher education translated into a long-lasting legacy of more than 40 years of important contributions for which we are most grateful and appreciative.  We will miss him.

Sincerely,

Stephen J. Owens

University of Missouri System Logo

University of Missouri System http://www.umsystem.edu (573)882-2011