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In a previous post, R.A.R.E. Leadership is Rare, I have described a style of leadership that is encapsulated in the acronym R.A.R.E. A RARE leader is one who has Respect for people and earns their Respect in return, has a positive Attitude, a Recognition of the contribution by others and Excels in his/her field of endeavor.

I find this way of capturing the essence of a style in an acronym very useful in trying to understand the mental model of people. You can make it into a game where the participants must come up with their own version of the name. Undoubtedly, some key words will be repeated but others may surface. As each new variant component comes into play, you can ask deeper questions about the selected word/phrase. For instance, another definition of a RARE leader could be: One who is Respectful, Active contributor with Relevant thoughts and opinions, having possessed a high Emotional Intelligence. Is Relevance a good (or better) attribute of a RARE leader? How about Emotional Intelligence?

With this in mind, let me propose 3 other leadership styles: SMART, QUIET and SAGE, just for fun.

SMART Leadership

SMART Leadership has 5 components which start with the letters S-M-A-R-T.

S = Self-reliance/Self-confidence – A smart leader relies first and foremost on him/herself. He/she exudes a self-confidence.

M = Maturity – A smart leader demonstrates a high level of maturity and understanding.

A = Adaptability – A smart leader adapts quickly to the changing environments.

R = Resourcefulness – A smart leader knows how to optimize the resources at hand and if they are limited, to leverage other people’s resources.

T = Trustworthiness  - A smart leader is perceived as Trustworthy by others.

A SMART leader is one who is Self-reliant, Mature in his/her judgment, can easily Adapt to different situations, is Resourceful and knows how to build Trust in others.

QUIET Leadership

QUIET Leadership has 5 components which start with the letters Q-U-I-E-T.

Q = Quality – A quiet leader focuses on Quality, not Quantity. She would rather do a few things right than too many things half-right.

U = Unflappability – A quiet leader is unperturbed under pressure. He makes decisions based upon his assessment of the true priorities, not on some artificial emergencies or urgencies.

I = Integrity – A quiet leader is true to herself, has a strong set of core values and is consistent in her actions.

E = Emotional Intelligence - A quiet leader has a high quotient of emotional intelligence.

T = Tranquil Force - A quiet leader is not known for the agitations yet he/she is relentless in the pursuit of goals and vision.

A QUIET leader is one who focuses on Quality, is Unflappable under pressure, possesses a high level of Integrity and Empathy, and is a Tranquil Force to be reckoned with. The anti-thesis of a Quiet Leader is someone who is always in fire fighting mode, trying to act as a hero and is quick to blame others when something goes wrong.

SAGE Leadership

SAGE Leadership has 4 components which start with the letters S-A-G-E.

S = Servanthood – A sage leader is a servant leader, the one who serves others.

A = Authenticity – A sage leader is real. He matches actions to the talks.

G = Gratitude - A sage leader shows a gratitude for life and for the people, for the haves and the have-nots.

E = Empathy – A sage leader has empathy for others.

A SAGE leader is one who Serves. He/she walks the talks and by doing so, is called an Authentic leader. He/she has a lot of Gratitude and Empathy for the people being served, Gratitude for those who recognize and appreciate his/her work, Empathy for those who are ignorant – it’s not their fault, the Sage Leader is often invisible.

SMART, QUIET or SAGE, each acronym represents a non-traditional leadership style. There are no big words like Power, Charisma, Ambition … in the lexicon. Yet there are many practicing leaders today who are smartly, quietly and wisely leading changes in all organizations. May you be one of them.

Feedback Requested

Do you think that these groups of attributes are representative of the respective leadership styles?

Can you come up with some other variants?

Do you have another acronym-based leadership style?

I would like to hear from you.

 

In the course of my professional life, I have a lot of opportunities to work with high level management. While many are great managers, few could be viewed as great leaders. You may recall that in my book, a great leader is not necessarily a charismatic figure but one who is admired by many. People trust them and would follow them unconditionally. One of them is Ted, a friend and a colleague when we both worked for an IT outsourcing company.

When you first came across Ted in a professional setting, the first thing that you noticed about him was his smile - big ear-to-ear, teeth-baring smile. It exuded warmth and happiness. If you were a newcomer to the group, Ted would be more often than not  the first person to greet you. Yet he was also known for his keen sense of discipline which was a product of his military background. He had a strong following among staff and you can see that their admiration and respect of the man were genuine. Many shed tears when he left.

How can an apparently unassuming and caring person with no hidden agenda be viewed by people around him as a true leader? I’ve learned of his secret one day over a great meal of ostrich (done rare) and grappa (served cold). In his words:

"My friend, this meal is excellent … The meat is cooked just right, I mean almost rare. By the way, RARE is also one of my favorite principles. I live by the RARE principle and I try to share it with others."

Anticipating my question, he continued:

"Rare means Unique. Rare means Precious. All the things we consider "Rare" are unique and precious like diamonds for example. As leaders, we practice Leadership and since true Leadership is unique and precious, it is RARE."

He went on to describe to me what I now call Ted’s RARE Principle of Leadership.

RARE Leadership Defined 

RARE Leadership has 4 components which start with the letters R-A-R-E.

R = Respect – Have Respect for others and earn their Respect in return.

A = Attitude – Have the right Attitude – as the common saying goes: Attitude will bring you Altitude, a leadership position.

R = Recognition – Show a gratitude for the work/contribution/devotion of others. It is also said that Gratitude is the Attitude.

E = Excellence – Get things done consistently, mainly with a strong sense of Discipline and Urgency.

E also has other meanings: Enthousiasm – Empathy – Emotional Intelligence (and Emotional Wake) - Effective Listening – Execution and Empowerment which are key elements and essential for a leader.

A RARE Leader is someone who treat all with Respect and earns it in return, inspires others through positive Attitude, ready to Recognize the worth of others and exudes Excellence in his/her field of endeavor.

In Search of RARE Leadership

How many times that you have encountered such a RARE leader?

What impact such leaders would have on the organization?

Are you one of them or in the process of becoming one?

What is keeping you from being one?

I like to hear from you.

[Note.- This post is dedicated to Ted Papadakis, a great friend. He doesn't blog and shies away from the limelight but his impact on people is undeniable. You can find his profile at LinkedIn.]

 

In the course of my daily interactions with people, I am keenly aware of the difference between Reality (or my version of it) and Perception (other people’s versions). So naturally I am wary when hearing people interchangeably use words or phrases with slightly different meanings. One example that I have written about in the past is the notion of Lean = Efficient = Optimized. Another one that I came across recently is Honesty = Integrity.

In my previous post On Integrity, I have stated that Honesty is not Integrity. That statement has brought a few protests. One pointed out that even the dictionary I referred to defines Integrity as Honestness, Honesty (last entry - from WordNet 3.0 © 2003-2008 Princeton University). So let me clarify a litlle bit more.

While I believe that a person of Integrity is by and large a honest person, Honesty (or at least the most commonly understood version of it) doesn’t do justice to the notion of Integrity.

Why?

Because Honesty alone is a limiting Value. Being honest starts first with being aware of oneself. Yet how many of you could confidently say (and honestly believe) that what you convey to others is the Truth (the pure, unvarnished Truth) and not your own Perception of the truth because of some inner mental model that you are not even consciously aware of?

Because Honesty without a certain level of Emotional Intelligence quotient (EQ) could be hurtful or harmful. In Quality of Life Therapy, a book about "Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy", this notion of high-EQ Honesty is defined as:

"The Emotional Honesty principle is defined as a deep awareness of and honesty with oneself about what is wrong in a relationship (…) and, when deciding to share concerns (…) to express concerns in a honest, but considerate, compassionate and respectful way that preserves the relationship as much as possible."

It talked about Honesty in a personal relationship, but we can extrapolate the principle to all types of relationships.

Let me guide you now through an excerpt from a wonderful book about Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge, which is now in its 4th Edition (2007). This particular section is about "Clarify Values" and it describes the qualities of most admired leaders. There is no mention whatsoever of the word Integrity.

"Name an historical leader whom you greatly admire—a well-known leader from the distant or recent past whom you could imagine following willingly.

   Who is that leader? In our research we’ve asked thousands of people to do this. Although no single leader receives a majority of the nominations, in the United States the two most frequently mentioned are Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. (…)

   What do leaders such as these have in common? Among these most admired leaders, one quality stands out above all else. The most striking similarity we’ve found—and surely it’s evident to you—is that the list is populated by people with strong beliefs about matters of principle. They all have, or had, unwavering commitment to a clear set of values. They all are, or were, passionate about their causes. The lesson from this simple exercise is unmistakable. People admire most those who believe strongly in something, and who are willing to stand up for their beliefs. If anyone is ever to become a leader whom others would willingly follow, one certain prerequisite is that they must be someone of principle. Famous figures from history, of course, aren’t the only leaders with strong beliefs on matters of principle. All exemplary leaders share this quality no matter what status they may have achieved. It could be a leader in your local community, one down the hall from you, one next door—and also you. The personal-best leadership cases we’ve collected are, at their core, the stories of individuals who remained true to deeply held values…" [Note: some phrases are colored by me for emphasis].

But do you see the connection? "Unwavering commitment to …": is that the same as "steadfast adhenrence to …"? "Stand up to their beliefs": is that similar to "Moral courage"? "Remained true to ...": is that another way to say "being whole"? You bet.

The authors do conclude a little bit farther: 

"To act with integrity, you must first know who you are. You must know what you stand for, what you believe in, and what you care most about."

Back to Honesty. 

It is certainly one of the "deeply held values". But what do people expect from a honest person? Truthfulness and Sincerity. Just the facts. There is no need for internal struggle between right and wrong. There is no need to examine the consequences of "telling the truth" or "calling a spade a spade". That’s the stuff of making choices based on moral soundness, of Emotional Honesty, and of Integrity.

What do you think?

This post is the first in a series called Points Of View (POVs). Together, they form a personal body of opinions on popular Leadership and Management subjects.

It’s not difficult for me to pick Integrity as the first subject for POV. This is a word that stays in my mind every single day of my professional life and if I need to choose only one word to put on my tombstone, Integrity it will be .

What is Integrity?

Let me start by citing a few standard definitions of Integrity which I get from The Free Dictionary: 

in·teg·ri·ty (n-tgr-t) n. 1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. 2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness. 3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness. [Middle English integrite, from Old French, from Latin integrits, soundness, from integer, whole, complete; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

and

Noun	1.	integrity – an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting; "the integrity of the nervous system is required for normal development"; "he took measures to insure the territorial unity of Croatia" unity, wholeness state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" completeness - the state of being complete and entire; having everything that is needed incompleteness, rawness - the state of being crude and incomplete and imperfect; "the study was criticized for incompleteness of data but it stimulated further research"; "the rawness of his diary made it unpublishable"
	2.	integrity – moral soundness; "he expects to find in us the common honesty and integrity of men of business"; "they admired his scrupulous professional integrity" character, fibre, fiber - the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions; "education has for its object the formation of character"- Herbert Spencer probity - complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles; "in a world where financial probity may not be widespread"; "he enjoys an exaggerated reputation for probity" honestness, honesty - the quality of being honest

Source: WordNet 3.0 © 2003-2008 Princeton University

Can Integrity be quantified?

"Integrity is a core value. Core Values are non-negotiable things. They act as the beacons in dark hours/stormy nights to guide you through dangers and tough times, when you need to make a difficult decision (e.g. politically incorect or ethically challenged). Core Values demonstrate you as a person (who you are, your belief system, your philosophy …).

… Integrity is unconditional and non-negotiable, either you have it or not – there is no such thing as having 80% integrity."

Do we need Integrity in the workplace?

"Of course", you would say. However, this is more than just a rhetoric question. We may argue, in principle, for the merit of a workplace infused with people of high Integrity. But our hiring and promoting practice says otherwise. It’s rare to see an organization systematically seeking out these people. On the contrary, so much focus is put on Experience and Knowledge, with little thought about Integrity. That’s how we ended up with the fancy financial tools such as mortgage-backed securities and their subsequent debacles.

It’s rare to hear about Integrity from corporate executives such as Dee Hock, the former CEO of Visa International and the creator of the Chaordic Organization concept. When asked about the criteria for hiring or promoting people in an organization, here was his answer (1):

"Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity;
second, motivation;
third, capacity;
fourth, understanding;
fifth, knowledge;
and last and least, experience.

Without integrity, motivation is dangerous;
without motivation, capacity is impotent;
without capacity, understanding is limited;
without understanding, knowledge is meaningless;
without knowledge, experience is blind.

Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities."

It’s sad to see that the common practice of hiring or promoting people in today’s organizations does just  the opposite. It’s even sadder to hear that those financial institutions in distress must continue to pay exhorbitant bonus to the so-called experts to retain their so-called experience and knowledge.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject. Is it relevant in this challenging economic situation? 

___________________________________________________________________________________

(1) This quote is extracted from the sidebar of an article in Fast Company, entitled "The Trillion-Dollar Vision of Dee Hock" by M. Mitchell Waldrop.

 

Recently, there is a flurry of news articles and blog posts about Lean and IT. Forrester sent out an invitation for its upcoming Business & Technology Leadership Forum (October 8-9, 2009) entitled "Lean: The New Business Technology Imperative". Glenn Whitfield pondered about "Do Lean or Be Lean?" in Lean & IT and Chris Curran proposed 2 Lean schemes (Quick Fix and Deep Dive) in The Skinny on Lean IT. On my part, I did mention in a previous post that "Going Lean" is one aspect of Optimization and a potentially misleading one. This post will expand on the notion of "Lean" and explain why it is potentially misleading.

LEAN according to the initiated

I purposely put LEAN in capitals to denote a specific business concept developed by Toyota, the Japanese automobile maker. Toyota has given the word "lean" a special meaning though its application of a highly tuned, highly optimized manufacturing system. Its apparent success has spawn a strong following, not only in the manufacturing industry but also in health care, service and IT. LEAN has become over the years a widely accepted best practice in creating quality products and customer value, similar to Six Sigma and the like.

According to the Lean Enterprise Institute, a non-profit organization which "… helps companies transform themselves into lean enterprises, based on the principles of the Toyota Business System", the core idea of LEAN is:

"… to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with less resources.

A lean organization understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste.

To accomplish this, lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets, and departments to customers.

Eliminating waste along entire value streams, instead of at isolated points, creates processes that need less human effort, less space, less capital, and less time to make products and services at far less costs and with much fewer defects, compared with traditional business systems. Companies are able to respond to changing customer desires with high variety, high quality, low cost, and with very fast throughput times. Also, information management becomes much simpler and more accurate."

If you are familiar with the Optimize – Align – Grow cycle described in earlier posts, you would see that LEAN is the closest to Optimization and I have nothing but admiration for LEAN and respect for its true practitionners.

Lean according to the uninitiated

For those who are not familiar with Toyota LEAN Business System, the word "lean" has a different connotation. It would evoke a thrifty, economical, meager mindset according to the Free Dictionary:

lean ² (ln)

adj. lean·er, lean·est

1. Not fleshy or fat; thin.

2. Containing little or no fat.

3. a. Not productive or prosperous; meager: lean years.

    b. Containing little excess or waste; spare: a lean budget.

    c. Thrifty in management; economical: "Company leaders know their industries must be lean to survive" (Christian Science Monitor).

When juxtaposing "Lean" with IT in the business context of an economic recession, it evokes a meager workforce, a pared down budget and a frugal management. A Lean IT in this context doesn’t project an image of a strong fighting force ready to engage and win when the time comes.

The danger of misinterpretation

When a prominent industry analyst such as Forrester proclaims that "Lean" would be the trend for the coming months (Lean: The New Business Technology Imperative), it creates a worrisome situation. Worrisome because Forrester is influential. Worrisome because its stance is misleading. For a more detailed analysis of Forrester’s Lean approach, I like to refer to an excellent article by Glenn Whitfield, entitled "Lean & Forrester’s Business Technology Forum". But to give you a taste of what’s in store, here is the very first sentence from the Forrester invitation flyer:

"Everyone wants to be Lean these days, whether it’s when stepping off a scale in the morning or when reviewing the cost of running a successful business."

Notice that Forrester associates 2 things with Lean: weight (personal) and cost (business). Simply put, Be Lean and Stay Lean means one thing: Cut Cost by Losing (IT) Weight.

Again, if you are familiar with my point of view on Optimization, cost cutting alone doesn’t "cut it".

Conclusion

LEAN is good. LEAN (Toyota) is proven as an Optimization method.

Lean is also misleading. It gives a negative connotation to the current state (fat, bloating) which is not true to the majority of IT organizations and to the end state (meager, thin, thrifty) which is not desirable over the long run.

Blindly proclaiming and following "Go Lean" quick fixes is dangerous. In the name of fat trimming, one may inadvertently cut into the muscles of the organization.

What should we do?

Have a tempered view: trim fat but also reinforce muscles. On diet but also exercise. Focus on the physical appearance but also pay attention to the mental one.

Last but not least, don’t forget to build up your Strength and Stamina. It involves more that just "Stay Lean".