“You Always Say ‘Ni Hao’ to the Pretty Girls”

Snow, who is a pretty girl herself, was my translator and valued assistant during my trip to China for a pipeline conference and exhibition.   ‘Ni Hao” was one of the few Chinese words I could say easily.  It means “hello” or “how are you?”   The pipeline exhibition had several large exhibits of the companies of PetroChina, Inc.  Each of these exhibits were staffed by what I called the women of PetroChina.  All dressed identically and they were the hostesses for the exhibit.   In fact, there were at least four hostesses at every event we attended.  Each time, they were wearing identical red suits. (more…)

Posted May 29th, 2010 in China Travels 2010

How to Be a Leader Who Inspires

High performance teams have high performing individuals.   A leader of a high performance team is one who inspires, teaches, develops, and coaches.   As we consider each of those leadership functions, what does it take to be a leader who inspires?

I believe there are seven steps to consider:

1. Point to a greater purpose that energizes people.
2. Promise your genuine involvement, and fulfill your promises.
3. Provide general direction, then allow the team to plan and implement.
4. Present the message genuinely, using a variety of media.
5. Prevent poor results by clarifying the goals and roles.
6. Praise good results and celebrate the accomplishments of the team.
7. Prepare next steps, knowing that inspiration is a process, not a project.

The Latin word “inspirare” means “to breathe into.”   For a leader who wants to breathe the challenge to high performance, let’s modify the definition:  to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence. We want to move people to action, and action at an exalted or higher level.

When John F. Kennedy said the United States would put a man on the moon before the sixties were over, that was a greater purpose.  A pipeline company which says “no errors, no spills, no leaks, no accidents,” has a great challenge, if it has a record of errors, spills, leaks, or accidents.  Since every person on the team is energized by different things, the inspiring leader needs to connect the purpose to the individual.

Your people need to hear how you are involved in achieving the purpose.  Then they need to see that involvement regularly.  This is the “walks the talk” stage.  There is nothing more inspiring than a leader who makes and keeps promises.  The leader who makes and then breaks promises is defeated when the first promise is broken.  One of the reasons leaders don’t promise is that there is little intent to keep the promise.  No wonder it is difficult to inspire.

Has someone ever given you a challenge, and then trusted you to figure out how to meet the challenge?  That is inspiring.    A leader wants to provide a general direction, and then should only provide enough guidance so the team or individuals can create and implement a plan.  The micromanager does not inspire.

A leader communicates often and well.  In my operational excellence work, a colleague told me that I said the same thing everywhere I went.   That is true, because while the message was tailored to the audience, the message was similar.  “No errors, no spills, no accidents” is a good mantra for operational excellence.   It was presented genuinely and personally.  The purpose of high performance teams is the same, whether it is 1990 or 2010 or any time.   Craft your message, deliver it often, and tailor it to the audience.   And use a variety of media, excluding e-mail and PowerPoint as much as possible.  No one has ever been inspired by an e-mail!

Clarity is the process of making something transparent.  When the team can see the purpose, experience the trust, understand the goals, know the roles, and perform the necessary actions well, good results can be obtained.   This is the most difficult step, yet ultimately the most inspiring and rewarding for the team and the leader.  Just like hazy product causes quality problems, cloudy goals and roles cause confusion and frustration for a team and a company.   Transparency builds trust and commitment.

How often does your team achieve good results?   Do you look at each day, or each month, or each quarter, or each year?   Most of the team members perform repetitive work, doing similar tasks over and over again.  This often dulls the self-appreciation of the individual’s contribution to the team purpose.    Every day should be celebrated, or maybe every shift for some workers.  A celebration once a year with executive leaders is appropriate; a regular celebration with an inspiring team leader is better.

If a leader wants to inspire all the time, it is a continual process.  Breathing takes place regularly, doesn’t it?   If we are to breathe life into the team regularly, then we need to think ahead and prepare next steps.   Once a leader inspires team members a few times, you will find that others begin breathing life into the team.  That will be inspiring to you.

Go forth and inspire!

Posted May 19th, 2010 in Leadership

Real Men Climbing the Great Wall

Alex told me that you cannot be a real man unless you have climbed the Great Wall.   There were several times while climbing that I was willing not to be a real man.  But we soldiered on with hundreds of people from preschoolers to old guys puffing cigarettes while climbing.  Some of the women climbers were in high heels.  I guess it was just a Sunday stroll for the Chinese.  It required several rest stops for me, but we made it!   Notice how much more exhausted I look than Alex.

When we reached the tower that marked our stopping point, there were many people taking pictures of their friends.  Some of the people wanted to get their pictures made with me.  I’m wondering if they told their friends later, “I cannot believe this old, fat American could climb the Great Wall.”  That is what I have been telling my friends.  When we reached the top and looked down, I understood why it was so difficult.  It was very steep.

The wall is an amazing feat of building a fantastic structure across mountains by manual labor.   I found out later that Mao Zedong was the first to remark about being a true man only if you have climbed the Great Wall.  I recommend the experience highly, but take it slowly if you are not from China.

Posted May 5th, 2010 in China Travels 2010