August 2008

DOG DAYS OF LEADERSHIP

BONES OF CONTENTION
Looking to avoid contentious relations with your employees and customers? In Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Blink, he reports on Wendy Levinson’s research. She reviewed hundreds of recorded conversations between a group of physicians and their patients. Roughly half of the doctors had been sued, half not.

Levinson was able to clearly differentiate between the two groups based solely on their conversations. The surgeons who had never been sued spent more than 3-minutes longer with each patient than those who had been sued. They were more likely to make “orienting’ comments, such as “First I’ll examine you, and then we will talk the problem over” or “I will leave time for you questions.” This helps patients sense they are being acknowledged and will be listened to. These doctors were more likely to engage in active listening, saying such things as “Go on, tell me more about that,” and they were far more likely to laugh and be personable during a visit.

Interestingly, there was no difference in the amount or quality of information they gave their patients; they didn’t provide more details about medication or the patient’s condition. The difference was entirely in how they talked to their patients.

Further research showed doctors that sound dominant fell into the sued group. Those whose voices sounded less dominant and more concerned fell into the non-sued group. In the end, it came down to a matter of respect, and the simplest way that respect is communicated is through tone of voice.

Application Question: What does your tone communicate to those you work with and serve? Do you practice active listening? Would your be judged dominant or concerned? Are you inadvertently creating contentious (and possibly costly) relationships?

BEST OF SHOW
In one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books, Leading At A Higher Level, He defines leadership as an influence process. The book notes that while leaders can be successful in the short run by emphasizing goal accomplishment, what tends to fall by the wayside is the condition of the human organization. Those leaders don’t always take morale and job satisfaction into consideration. Focusing on results may work in the short-term, but can be extremely costly long-term to organizations.

Blanchard reported that in organizations where leading at a higher level is the rule rather than the exception, leaders do four things well: (1) They set their sights on the right target and vision. (2) They treat their customers right. (3) They treat their people right. (4) They have the right kind of leadership. This means leaders who seek to be serving leaders instead of self-serving leaders. In Blanchard’s model, once a vision has been cast, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter and encourager to the people who report to them.

To develop a leadership point of view, Blanchard has an in-depth series of queries he takes the readers through. To jumpstart you, answer for yourself the following questions: (1) What are the core values that guide your behavior? (2) What are your beliefs about leading and motivating people? (3) What can your people expect from you? Remember, leadership is not something you do to people; it’s something you do with people. (4) How will you set an example for your people? People learn from your behavior, not from your words.

“I’d rather see a sermon,
than hear one, any day.”
Edgar Guest