Dirtiest Election Ever: Beyond Obscenity to Articulate a Vision

In the recent “presidential” debate, just when we thought it couldn’t get any lower, sure enough one of the candidates made a vulgar allusion. (Yes, you had to have a dirty mind to catch it.) Of course the media are all atwitter. (Can Twitter be atwitter?) They run the clip over and over, pretending to be offended, but they run it ad nauseam.

So what? Move off the networks and onto the cable channels and the Anglo-Saxonisms flow regularly across the airwaves. But looking back to the really nasty election of 1800 and its parallels with 2016, what is the story when it comes to salty language and attack words? At the time Thomas Jefferson and John Adams faced off in what historians cite as the dirtiest election ever, what was the state of public discourse? In some ways it was as coarse as today.

Today, as in 1800, there were words people thought too rude for public discourse. But behind the scenes? There folks weren't as gentlemanly as we like to think, especially when talking among themselves. Adams’ surrogates claimed Jefferson was an atheist who wanted to turn churches into brothels. Adams’ irascible personality and weight were always fair game for “His Rotundness.” 

George Washington had a towering temper he usually kept in check. When he let it rip he could toss the verbal bombs with the best of them. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention sat with their pipes and port after dinner, they often swapped bawdy stories. One of their favorite games was inventing wilder and wilder sexual puns about Gouverneur Morris' wooden leg and his way with the ladies. James Madison was infamous among his contemporaries for his dirty jokes.

It's true they didn't throw the F-Bomb but they certainly came close. John Adams was no fan of Alexander Hamilton and in an 1806 letter to Benjamin Rush hurled this diatribe against Hamilton for his remarks denigrating George Washington.

Although I read with tranquility and suffered to pass without animadversion in silent contempt the base insinuations of vanity and a hundred lies besides published in a pamphlet against me by an insolent coxcomb who rarely dined in good company, where there was good wine, without getting silly and vaporing about his administration like a young girl about her brilliants and trinkets, yet I lose all patience when I think of a bastard brat of a Scotch pedlar daring to threaten to undeceive the world in their judgment of Washington by writing an history of his battles and campaigns. This creature was in a delirium of ambition; he had been blown up with vanity by the tories, had fixed his eyes on the highest station in America, and he hated every man, young or old, who stood in his way or could in any manner eclipse his laurels or rival his pretensions. . .

Pretty strong stuff...but not as strong as these "gentlemen" wrote under pen names in the popular press skewering one another and accusing one another of the worst intentions and even treason. Generally they lambasted one another with innuendo as well as direct attacks. It can be a delicious pastime to dissect their elaborate language and watch as they slip the verbal knife between the ribs and give a fatal twist.

Today it's so easy go for the obvious obscenity rather than the creative cut. In the 2012 presidential race, George Will wondered why Candidate Mitt Romney was embracing Donald Trump, whom he called a “bloviating ignoramus,” certainly an arcane insult the founders could have appreciated in their own rough and tumble elections.

Is this what we want to hear from our leaders? Has reality become reality TV? Are there any Leadership Lessons in all this? Perhaps a few:

·  Leaders control themselves: George Washington was prickly, thin skinned, and took offence easily. Yet his advice to himself and others was to show restraint of "tongues and pens." He kept his temper in check most of the time. He knew "losing it" on a regular basis causes people to disengage.

·  Leaders cultivate creativity: "Bloviating" is such a yummy word, I'm sure folks scurried to google its meaning (synonym for blow hard.) In our general anti-intellectual climate, leaders encourage their people to think and grow and become more articulate, communicate better for collaboration, without reducing everything to the lowest common denominator.

·  Leaders do not condone crudity: Leaders know language can offend like the bawdy stories and sexist remarks disappearing from most workplaces. Leaders insist on better communication not to be "politically correct" but to be inclusive; they need everyone engaged. Leaders foster serious, passionate debate and discussion to unearth the best solutions.

Just because the founding fathers weren't saints doesn't mean we do not honor and respect them. We admire them because, like us, they were all too human, capable of pettiness and backbiting, and sometimes behaving badly. We learn from them precisely because they made mistakes and then triumphed over their human nature.

This doesn’t mean we want this dubious name-calling, sexual-innuendo tradition to continue. When I watch fired-up candidates yelling insults rather than debating issues and policies, I flash on our sons as teenagers sitting on the sofa hurling barbs and punching each other. Normal teenage malarkey...but not the vision of leadership, functioning on the global stage or wrestling with intractable conflicts and seeking resolutions and peace. I hope we deserve better.

Jefferson, Adams, and the other founders showed us real leadership in tough times. They rose above their character defects. Can we do the same as we select a world leader?

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What's your idea: Can we joust without bloviating?

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(c) Rebecca Staton-Reinstein and Advantage Leadership, Inc.


Want to know more about the tumultuous fights at the Constitutional Convention and the election of 1800? Check out Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers

I started a companion video series during the 2012 elections that holds true today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbcLmL3HuHo 

Washington casts a long shadow... Do you?

The US celebrated President's Day this week with the usual patriotic events – giant sales at the malls. If you were out in the crush of traffic or just enjoying a day off from work it was easy to forget the holiday put together former February birthday celebrations for Presidents Abe Lincoln and George Washington. Today the holiday has become a generic occasion to honor all the US presidents…including the ubiquitous Abe and George ads hawking flat screen TVs and the latest fashions.

About once a decade, C-SPAN conducts a survey amonghistorians and presidential experts and ranks all the presidents. The 2009 survey findings are relevant and interesting for anyone anywhere who is a leader. Scholars use these leadership traits to rank the presidents:

• Public Persuasion
• Crisis Leadership
• Economic Management
• Moral Authority
• International Relations
• Administrative Skills
• Relations with Congress
• Vision/Setting An Agenda
• Pursued Equal Justice For All
• Performance Within Context of Times

Moving from the political to the organizational realm, you might want to exchange Relations with Congress for something like Relations with Stakeholders and you might want to add some other topics. For the most part, these are a good list of critical leadership traits.

How would you stack up? 

Would you be able to come close to the sort of scores George Washington racks up survey after survey? Washington's stature has grown and shrunk over the years. In his own time he was worshiped and vilified. Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin commented recently that she would find it difficult to really get to know him and he has certainly eluded most biographers.

Yet Washington was a personification of the American dream of the self-made man. As a teenager he began jotting down advice about how to conduct himself. He did not have the formal education of many of the other founders and often felt he lacked their polish with language. He engaged Alexander Hamilton and James Madison as ghost writers to turn his thoughts into the acceptable style of the day.

Yet, when army officers threatened rebellion in the 1783 Newburgh Conspiracy, he was eloquent enough on his own. Richard Norton Smith describes it this way…

None of this had much effect until the general retrieved from his pocket a congressional message promising early redress of legitimate complaints. He fumbled with the paper for a few seconds, then reached again into his coat to fetch a pair of eyeglasses. Begging the indulgence of his men, he explained to a stunned audience, "I have already grown gray in the service of my country. I am now going blind." Instantly, rebellion melted into tears.

Examine the areas where Washington rated number 1 with the scholars:

Economic Management

Moral Authority

International Relations

Administrative Skills

Are any of these areas where you excel? The international relations category may not be germane if your organization is not working globally. However, the other three are critical for any successful leader whom we would want to follow.

Economic management: Whether for-profit or not, in today’s economic climate, you must manage the finances of the organization prudently. You must invest in areas that will help you continue to grow and develop while eliminating inefficiency and eliminating unnecessary expenses.

Moral Authority: This is the essence of the Leader’s shadow. Who are you as a person? Do you perform with integrity? Are you trustworthy? Reliable? Do you care about people? Do you inspire people to be their best selves?

Administrative Skills: Can you manage people, processes, and priorities? Do you delegate, motivate, and coach people? Do you turn vision and mission into reality? Do you create a working environment where employees are fully engaged?

I suggest you spend a little time looking through the lists and see where your favorites (and not so favorites) score on each of the issues. Try to remove your ideological and political blinders and consider each president in his leadership role. No matter what country you call home, these attributes make a good checklist for leadership. What can you learn from them? How would your employees or peers rate you?

What shadow are you casting?

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© Rebecca Staton-Reinstein and Advantage Leadership, Inc.

Link to survey: http://tinyurl.com/7arjufg

(note: quote from Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Richard Norton Smith. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.)

I NEED YOUR HELP: I'm beginning research for my new book on the influence of leaders on their organizations (Washington's Shadow) and I'm interested in your experiences or ideas for case studies. Drop me a note: Rebecca@AdvantageLeadership.com  

Learn more about Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers (http://www.ConventionalWisdomCenter.com  and visit our Author Page on Amazon. (http://tinyurl.com/RSRpage )

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Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, Ph.D., President

Advantage Leadership, Inc.

1835 NE Miami Gardens Drive, Suite 152

North Miami Beach, FL 33179

http://www.AdvantageLeadership.com  

Rebecca@AdvantageLeadership.com

Are you casting a shadow like Washington or…?

Headlines bombard us about executive pay, the tax code, and growing disparity between rich and poor. Pundits pontificate "They should or shouldn't do this." We react based on our own point of view.

But what about a leader stepping forward and taking action?

I was chatting with such a leader the other day. (I can’t reveal his name or other identifying particulars because they are not public yet.) He’s the top official of a small city suffering like so many others in this economy. Revenues are down, demands from residents and businesses are still high, and layoffs and service suspension have become the norm.

Of course he’s fighting back looking at ways to keep the city viable, growing, and innovative. He is trying to keep morale high for city workers who must meet demands, enforce codes, and keep the city running.

But this guy is going the extra mile at a time when it’s out of fashion. He floated the idea among the department heads and managers about taking voluntary furloughs…days off without pay. No big fanfare, no announcements in the local papers, no breathless reports on the local news. Just an idea. "Let's make a small sacrifice to help our city through a tough time."

He was the first to sign up to ease the city’s budget woes. He knows the pain people are suffering because in another recession he was laid off from his city job. So far a couple of department heads have also stepped forward and more are expected to do so as word spreads.

Now the cynics among us are saying, “of course it’s no big deal. He can afford it and will probably take a nice vacation. It’s just symbolic.”

I disagree…not just because I know the guy and he’s sincere. He’s taking a concrete action and setting an example for the rest of the city leaders. He’s walking the talk…something people say is important.

The official is employing "Shadow of the Leader."

Shadow of the Leader is an observation that people in authority through their likes, dislikes, treatment of others, language, personal preferences, beliefs, and values shape the culture of the organization. Employees watch the leader for clues about what’s important.

Although the idea is not new, the first systematic study was done by Larry Senn in his 1970 doctoral dissertation. (In full disclosure, Shadow of the Leader was the subject of my own dissertation in 1979.)

Creating a culture is one of the most important functions of a leader. Whatever example he or she sets will determine whether the organization achieves its stated vision, mission, values, and goals or not. We take our lead from what the leader does, NOT what he or she says…human nature.

In his first inaugural address George Washington stated he would serve without a salary. Congress in its wisdom convinced him to take the salary based on the republican principle that an official who was not getting compensation would be prone to corruption.

It was Washington’s desire to stay above the fray, always display character and rectitude, and set an example for others to follow. He knew his every move would be watched and used to set a precedent for future presidents.

If we are serious about our visions, missions, values, and goals and about leading our organizations, whether a tiny team or a vast country, understanding the power of our shadow and stepping up to take the next right action is absolutely necessary.

So hats off to the city official and those who extend his shadow to help their city in a time of need.

What shadow are you casting?

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(c) Rebecca Staton-Reinstein,  Ph.D., President, Advantage Leadership, Inc.

Learn more about Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform and Progress Like the Founding Fathers and visit our Author Page on Amazon.

 

Pitch out those New Year’s Resolutions…NOW!

That’s right – dump the list…and the guilt that always follows when you don’t follow through. Sure, I know it’s important to make a plan. After all, strategic planning is a main focus of my business. I encourage people to make a plan and follow it. But that’s a very different scenario from our annual flirtation with resolutions.

Most plans and all resolutions are very light on methodical follow through.

When it comes to planning, less is more – fewer goals, fewer tactics. When Dolly Parton was asked about plastic surgery, she retorted,

“Honey, you’ve gotta nip it, tuck it, suck it or chuck it!”

Of course you need some goals; high-level descriptions of results you want. In business the Balanced Scorecard approach suggests goals in only 4 areas; financial, customers, employees, and processes. (Robert Kaplan & David Norton)

But even a limited number of goals won’t get you the results you need. For each goal, set at least one objective; a concrete description of results to accomplish a goal. Make sure they are SMART; Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time Related.
        
But goals and objectives don’t float out of the air. Their purpose is to fulfill a mission; what you are trying to do or be and for whom. The mission and your detailed plan are the basis for daily decision making and action.

Once all of these elements are in place, you can figure out how to achieve each objective, what activities or tasks you will perform. Most people start at this tactical level without all the detail in between. You can end up with a to-do list that keeps you busy…but…Busyness is not good business.

OK, full disclosure: My own plan in 2010 had too many goals and objectives. I didn’t accomplish some of them. But I had a plan, tracked my progress, and made adjustments along the way. The result was a very successful year. As I finish my plan for the new year, I’m following my own advice. I’m on a goals diet.

One of those few goals is to make more planning and process resources available. I’ve already accomplished my first objective; convert a 30-day email mini-course coaching program on strategic planning into a very accessible e-book. It’s now available on Amazon Kindle…

30 Days to Creating a Strategic Plan that Gets Results is packed with the coaching advice I’ve given my successful clients; practical, proven tips, techniques, and strategies that get results and help you face the inevitable challenges of implementing a plan in a dynamic environment.

What’s in it for you?

• Increased results from your efforts significantly.
• Be more productive and effective.
• Show vastly improved financial performance.
• Fulfill your core mission with greater impact and less wasted activity.
• Engage employees fully to accomplish defined goals.
• Delight customers, consumers, constituents or clients who recognize you as the best source for products or services.
• Do more with less in any economic environment.

Invest in yourself and your work for a prosperous and happy year. Get the results you want with no resolutions, no guilt, and no wasted effort.

Enjoy your success…Enjoy your results.

 

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(c) Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, President, Advantage Leadership, Inc. Rebecca@AdvantageLeadership.com

 

Available on Amazon:
30 Days to Building a Strategic Plan that Gets Results (Kindle eBook)
Success Planning: A 'How-To' Guide for Strategic Planning (Soft cover manual)
Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers (Hard cover business book)

     Visit My Author Page on Amazon

http://www.advantageleadership.com/

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WATTS HUMPHREY -- A Giant Passes from the Scene

This is a sad day for everyone who has been engaged at any level in the wonderful world of software. Watts Humphrey, who just died at 83, pioneered the development of many of the processes that assure and ensure software quality. He is probably best known as the father of the Capability Maturity Model -- an approach that has had more impact than any other. Watts understood all along that IT and software engineering aren't about technology; they are about people and processes making technology a tool for solving problems.


His official obit from his long-time base in the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (http://tinyurl.com/2vffpgt) is headed: Watts Humphrey Succeeded in Changing the World of Software Engineering. "Changing the world of anything is an outrageous commitment," Humphrey said in an interview in early 2010, discussing his decision to come to the SEI. "I knew I couldn't do it alone, and I wanted to be in an environment where I could work with folks and do that."

As the pioneering innovator behind several important software development processes, Watts Humphrey more than met his promise to change the World of software engineering. His contributions go well beyond methodology and the many awards and accolades he received. For decades, his work inspired software engineers and his colleagues and friends worldwide. (Jared Cohon, president, Carnegie Mellon University.)

But Watts' legacy is not just for us techie types -- in fact, what made him so successful in "changing the world" was his strategic leadership, that is the ongoing focus of this blog. Watts embodied the qualities that any leader in any field can adopt.

Vision: After years of pioneering work at IBM as a leader of a mammoth, global software engineering group, Watts saw with great clarity what needed to be done to move developing software solutions to business problems from a black art to an engineering discipline. He believed in the power of harnessing technology in a disciplined way.

Translate vision to reality: Watts was not one of these leaders who float along at 30,000 feet on his visionary quest but whose feet never touch the ground. He could turn his vision into practical processes that gave individuals a clear road map to daily practice.

Inspiration: Because Watts' vision was so clear and because he could translate it into reality, he inspired generations of folks in the software field by making us want to implement his ideas. His style was easy going but compelling. I still have handwritten notes from the many times I heard him speak and lead seminars -- and I still pull them out and use them in my work.

Caring: At the end of any keynote, presenters like Watts are always mobbed by enthusiastic people. Some busy themselves with packing up their notes and computer, distractedly hand out a few cards, and slip away. Others believe they have a captive audience to continue pontificating or shamelessly trying to drum up consulting gigs. Watts was different. He talked with each person, no matter how new to the field and naive, as if he or she were the only person in the room. He shared. He was warm and encouraging. No matter how long the line, he was patient and engaged.

Commitment: His commitment to changing the world of software engineering was authentic and not grandiose. Many in the field believe they have the keys to better software solutions and don't mind telling you how great they are, how wrong others are, and how following them will get you to the promised land of zero defects. Watts simply told stories about how real people had succeeded in putting processes in place to improve results. His commitment was to the people that toil away in Cube Land day after day, trying to support their organizations with technology; the Dilberts of the world. Watts’ commitment was not to aggrandizing himself.

Great Management: Long before the Gallup organization published First Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently (FBAR,) Watts wrote a little volume called Managing Technical Professionals. In it he lays out how to adapt and adopt our understanding of human psychology to bring out great performance in people. FBAR simply confirmed with extensive data what Watts had learned from his experience as a manager and leader. Whether you manage technical or non-technical people, it is still one of the best handbooks for day-to-day working with people. (Of course FBAR is a necessary resource too.)

So whether you're a techie who was touched directly or indirectly by Watts and his breakthroughs or whether you're just trying to be a good manager and leader, spend a little time investigating and learning from this giant...he did change the world for the better...and the world is a little diminished today with his passing. Luckily we can all access and learn from his legacy which will be with us a long time.

Farewell, Watts. We will miss you and we will never forget you and what you have done for us.

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(C) Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, President, Advantage Leadership, Inc.
Author: Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers

Strike up the band for leadership

Learning from great leaders including the US founding fathers is the constant theme of this blog. Today, I want to depart and tell you about a close-to-home example that everyone could learn from.

My husband plays clarinet in a community band. It's a mixed group of professional musicians, many of them retired, students, people who only began to play an instrument recently, and those who have played for decades. The average age of the players is probably around 70. From September to June they play a 2-hour concert once a month in a local community center to an enthusiastic audience. They specialize in marches and show tunes.

For the last few years my father-in-law and I sit in the audience and enjoy the show, tapping our feet to the peppy pieces and singing along to familiar songs. It's pleasant and we have a good time. But...the music isn't always that good. Often in the past it lacked a certain energy...a certain polish.

This past Sunday the band blew our socks off and played for 2 1/2 hours and had us all applauding and begging for more. People were out of their seats and very excited.

So what was different? Well, the band had a new conductor. That was the only difference...and what a difference it was.

• Energy and Focus: The new conductor, although a few years older than the previous one, had a spring in his step, a smile on his face, and an energetic conducting style. It wasn't flamboyant but it was active. Great leaders do that. They exude energy and focus. In fact, new research underway at MIT is measuring this to demonstrate the difference between the merely adequate and the great leader.
• Engagement: As the new conductor put the band through its paces, he made eye contact with different sections, subtly bringing them in, building their sound or lowering their volume. He engaged with individuals and sections to bring out the best in them. Great leaders do that. When they are talking with you, you are the only person in the room. Your own energy level increases and your performance moves toward your true capabilities.
• Highlighting Achievement and Talent: The new director composed a program with the usual marches and show tunes but with a twist. Each one highlighted a particular section -- the brass, the winds, the drums, etc. Each tune gave a whole section the opportunity to strut their stuff and shine in front of the audience. He also had several pieces that featured individual members up front soloing and demonstrating their unique talents. Leaders are proud of the talents of their teams and want them to shine. Great leaders don't have to be the center of attention or the best at everything.
• Making the best with what you have: The community band has a diversity of talent. Some members aren't very good while a few are outstanding musicians. But what makes such a band possible is that everyone is there because they want to be. They enjoy playing music whether they are particularly good at it or not. The former band leader used to spend a lot of time fussing at people, trying to get them to play better. The new director talks about the music with them -- its meaning, origin, and subtleties. Leaders do that naturally. They get everyone focused on a goal -- in this case, playing a particular piece of music as well as possible. They have a clear mission -- bring enjoyment to the community through their music making. He keeps them focused on the goal and mission -- they do their best on their own to meet those.
• Challenge the Team to Excel: The former conductor would always include at least one or two 'serious' pieces -- usually a little slow (even draggy.) All they managed to do was highlight the lack of talent in some players when the tempo slowed and individual instruments were harder to hide in the ensemble. The new conductor had a different approach that both challenged the players and, again, got the best out of them. First, he lengthened the program by about 20 minutes, adding more pieces. Second, he had one more challenging piece, still in the genre the band does best. The band was a little apprehensive but they came through with flying colors -- or rather soaring sound. Their energy was a little lower by the end but still higher than all of last season. Leaders help their teams build on their strengths and remind people of the confidence they have in them.

By the end of the concert my 96 year old companion was jumping for joy. "I can't believe how good they sound. They were terrific." And they were. Same players, same audience, same instruments, same sort of music, same hall -- Leadership -- a good band leader -- made all the difference.

His transformation of the band reminded me of a quote from Dr. W. Edwards Deming about work and leadership:

Why are we here? We are here to come alive...to have joy in our work. 

The band leader brought joy to his players, the audience, and to himself. Strike up the band for your own leadership.

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(c) Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, president, Advantage Leadership, Inc.

For more about learning from great leaders, check out Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers, available at http://www.conventionalwisdomcenter.com/

Learn more about how Rebecca and her team can help you develop your own strategic leadership and that of your team at http://www.advantageleadership.com/