Ah, leadership! Amazon alone lists thirty thousand titles on the subject, and there are thousands more on related topics, including leadership skills, habits of most successful leaders, leading in the time of change and leadership attributes. What's an entrepreneur to do? Many of these topics are interesting and some are useful, but the start-up world is different than the one a CEO of a Fortune 500 company faces. What leadership qualities will you need to start up and sustain your business?
This is what our entrepreneurs address in Chapter Two. I've often observed that relatively new entrepreneurs plunge in and don't think so much about leading others. At most, they look for a few trusted souls, classmates or former colleagues to get the ball rolling. There is so much more than pulling a few people together to being a successful leader.
I have been asked by a number of people writing articles and books what it takes to lead. How did I get into a position of leadership? There is no easy answer. I sometimes feel it's a bit like asking for the definition of pornography: I don't know exactly how to define it, but I know it when I see it.
I do know that the sense that one is a leader happens over time. My first realization came to me early, when my classmates selected me to be the publisher of the fifth-grade newspaper. Believe me, I had no illusions about being William Randolph Hearst. What I did know was that we had to write the articles, pay for copying them on the mimeograph machine and sell the paper to our fellow students. Our goal was to make enough money to pay for the class trip, no small task. I may have been the only person who would accept the responsibility for doing this.
Meeting my fifth-grade challenge led me to another in the ninth grade, when I was elected to be the announcer for the high school assembly. This was no small task either, as it meant having to engage the audience of ninth-through twelfth-graders, some twelve hundred students, to quiet down and pay attention to the afternoon programs. From this experience, I learned the power of my own voice and the artful use of the microphone.
From here, others came to expect that I'd step up to the plate. Ambition and ability intersected, and others knew leadership when they saw it. I was the valedictorian of my high school graduating class, and was voted most likely to succeed. Perhaps I just wanted it more than other students, and perhaps self-confidence helped me too.
I mention these factors that led me to become a leader in business because I really think these skills are learned along the way. People don't just show up and become leaders, though I do believe the ability to lead lives in all of us. I've been surprised in situations of high stress in business and life. Some people you would never think of as leaders in the group were the ones who stepped forward. They somehow got the "call" for leadership, the kind they possessed, which makes me believe we all have this ability under the right conditions.
The description of an effective leader has changed over the years. Qualities such as decisiveness, authority and strength are giving way to more collaborative attributes such as fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and mutual respect, among many other traits. So what it takes to lead is changing. Leaders still have to lead, but how they lead is changing with the times.
From Erika Andersen, you can learn about developing followers in "Lead So Others Will Follow: Six Tips," and from Laura Strong you can learn about time management in her article "Why 'Urgent' Is Not a Priority." Learn more about time management in "Get More Time to Think," by AlexAnndra Ontra, who cites some of the same thinking found in Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. Bettina Hein addresses with frankness an issue for women in her article, "How to Be Pregnant and CEO: Five Tips."
We are learning every day that people lead differently and that there is not one way to lead. We are also learning that women lead with different strengths from men. Neither is a better model, but as John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio point out in their book The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future, the attributes women have, including those of trust, transparency, inclusion and loyalty, are favored by workers around the globe. More on this can be found in my article "Leadership Requires More Feminine Attributes."
In the end, each of us must develop our own leadership qualities. As Bill George wrote in his book True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, leadership must be authentic. To be effective leaders, we must know our core values and our mission, and we must convey these in the most transparent way to gain the trust and following of others.
Lead So Others Will Follow: Six Tips
Erika Andersen
No matter what kind of leader you hope to be, you need to get people behind you. Here's how.
In the early years of a business, it's easy to neglect-or even forget entirely-the importance of being a leader. A friend of mine who started a consulting business fell into just this trap. He had a clear idea of what he wanted to do, and worked hard to make it happen, but it never really got off the ground. He and his partner weren't aligned. He hired people who didn't understand what was expected, and then didn't deliver properly. My friend put almost all his energy into logistics and dealing with clients. He didn't lead his organization.
In contrast, the most successful entrepreneurs I know recognize that they have two jobs: Build the business, and lead the people. Even if you only have a few employees, it's important to be a leader to whom they'll commit.
We've found that people look for six characteristics in deciding whether to align around a leader. "Followable" leaders are far-sighted, passionate, courageous, wise, generous and trustworthy. Here's what that looks like in the day-to-day of entrepreneurial life:
Being far-sighted means you see and share a clear and compelling vision of the future with your people-staff, partners, investors. You see past obstacles and difficulties and focus on moving toward the future you all want to create.
As a passionate leader, your followers know what you stand for, and that you'll stick to your guns even when the going gets tough. At the same time, you're open to hearing their questions and concerns. You are committed without being dogmatic.
Being courageous means you make tough, necessary decisions even when doing so is uncomfortable or risky. And if a decision turns out badly, you'll take full responsibility: Admit your mistakes, apologize and work to fix what's wrong.
Being wise means you combine curiosity and objectivity. Your team can come to you for counsel, because they know that you're reflective about important decisions and that you learn from your mistakes.
As a generous leader, you believe in your folks, provide balanced feedback, share credit and teach what you know. As a result, your people can take on bigger and bigger roles in helping you grow the business.
Being trustworthy makes you a rock and a haven for your followers. They know you'll always do your best to tell them the truth and to keep confidences. And they know, too, that you'll do everything possible to get the results you promise.
It's easy, when you're starting a business, to think that leadership isn't that important. Your staff is small, you're all in it together, and you're focused on just-getting-this-thing-off-the-ground. But in some ways, this is the most important time to show your leadership. This is when you can build a foundation of being the kind of leader to whom people turn and say, "I'm with you-let's go."
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
It's easy to get busy with the day-to-day logistics of running of a company, but establishing leadership is one of the main priorities successful entrepreneurs get busy with.
Define expectations, align goals and don't assume that everyone working hard will replace good leadership.
Bring your vision, passion, courage, wisdom and generosity and be trustworthy-your people will follow!
How to Lead from the Middle
Kay Koplovitz
You may think a good leader needs to be out in front. Not always.
Having been the founder and CEO of USA Networks for more than two decades, I was quite used to leading from the front, as many CEOs do. We know we have to set the vision, establish values, set strategy, build a team and achieve results. Like many of the CEOs I grew up with, I was quite used to leading from the front.
So, shortly after I became chairman of the board of Liz Claiborne (now Kate Spade), it was a surprise to learn that leading from the front was not what was required, or even expected. Though I was chairman, I was a member like every other board member. I had some special duties: to set meeting agendas, organize committees, communicate with the CEO, make sure the company met all of its public company obligations and, of course, make sure it met financial expectations.
It was 2007, and the company needed to adjust its strategy and execution to contend with market realities. Department stores were consolidating, and apparel companies were getting their margins squeezed. After more than a decade of rapid acquisitions, Liz Claiborne had too many brands. They desperately needed to be streamlined. I pushed an agenda forward with a rapid timetable to completion.
Apparently, in my zeal to move forward quickly, I stepped on a few committee members' toes. I realized I was making a mistake. During a critical discussion, I decided to drop back and let other board members take the lead. It is important to get all opinions on the table and it is essential to know who will be most likely to lead.
To my delight, dropping back to lead from the middle produced a very solid and executable plan. This became my method of leading through some very difficult years that followed during the most acute global financial crisis since the Great Depression.
This also recalls a reasoning I read in the book The Art of Possibility by Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and his wife, Rosamund Stone Zander. He reminds us all that a conductor plays no instrument, but needs to get every other member of the orchestra to play perfectly on tune and in tempo to make beautiful music.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
Leaders tend to lead from out front; letting other stakeholders take the lead is a way to lead from the middle.
When there are other capable leaders in the room, it is important to get all opinions on the table.
Much as an orchestra conductor does, leading from the middle can produce an executable plan.
Why "Urgent" Is Not a Priority
Laura Strong
How to keep urgent-but not important-tasks from taking over your day.
Setting priorities. Discipline in execution. These are the two things almost all entrepreneurs struggle with, whether they're in the start-up phase or are leading relatively mature companies.
One of the graduates of a mentoring program I participate in recently returned to share the lessons that had been most helpful to her, both professionally and personally. What was at the top of the list? I should have been able to guess: setting priorities and discipline in execution. Here are a few ways to increase your success at both.
Write a mission/vision/guiding-light/whatever-you-want-to-call-it statement.
This statement will identify the goals that will help your company to succeed. It should cover what your company does, how your product or service is unique, and who you are selling to. Here's how to write a decent one:
Write in plain English. You don't need to post it on your website or proclaim it from the mountaintops. (And I doubt you need a consultant to write it for you.)
Allow enough leeway for the business to grow and pivot, but not so much that the company is trying to be all things to all people.
Get key staff involved to make sure you are all headed in the same direction.
After testing your statement for a few weeks, use the final draft as a guideline for allocating resources.
Remember: You wrote the mission statement. If you need to, you can change it.
Articulating your mission can help you mobilize resources and assets more effectively. Often, these statements force entrepreneurs to confront their time management skills-or lack thereof. When it comes to achieving success for the business, what is your most valuable skill set? Do you spend most of your time using those skills? Are you willing and able to surround yourself with people who complement your strengths?
Learn to predict the future and avoid distraction.
The time management matrix of urgent vs. important tasks (said to be based on a concept from a Stephen Covey book) has been the topic of a number of authors, including some who focus on entrepreneurs.
Here's how it breaks down:
If something is important and urgent, accomplish it now.
If something is urgent but not important, try to avoid it.
If something is important but not urgent, plan for it and get it done.
If something is neither important nor urgent, skip it. Why waste your time?
Obviously, you need to spend time on things that are important. Urgency does not in itself deserve your attention. Things that are urgent are time-sensitive by their nature-but that's it.
Less obviously:
Important items are guaranteed to move from "Not Urgent" to "Urgent" if you don't make sufficient time for them.
Urgent things often feel important, even if they are not.
When you know what to look for, you'll discover that distraction due to urgency is everywhere. The real devils here are the items that are not important but appear urgent, because time sensitivity is easily mistaken for importance.
By knowing your mission, positioning your resources accordingly, and learning to recognize those things that truly require your attention, you can keep the "urgents" from taking over your day.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
Know what you want to accomplish and align your human capital and resources toward meeting that goal.
Learn how to differentiate between what is urgent and important from what is urgent and not important. Prioritize accordingly.
It's best to schedule time and plan to accomplish your important but not urgent tasks so they don't become important and urgent.
Get More Time to Think: Four Tips
AlexAnndra Ontra
When's the last time you gave yourself some time for quality, focused, creative thinking? Start here.
Without a doubt, the explosion of the Internet and mobile technology has made business faster, more efficient and less expensive. That's the good news. The bad news is that all this speed and accessibility creates an awful lot of clutter, mental and otherwise.
When a client emails you with a request, the typical reaction is to stop what you are doing and respond. The problem with this is that our brains are not dual-core processors! It's been proven in study after study that we are incapable of truly multitasking. We must stop one task, even if it's only for a very short time, to pick up another.
Rather than making us more efficient, the constant interruption of emails, IMs and calls is pulling our mental and physical resources from bigger, more strategically important projects. As a result, we are constantly left with half-finished or barely started micro projects. We're constantly busy, but we're not devoting any time to quality, creative, focused thinking.
Unfortunately, our jobs require that we be accessible. We cannot ignore our client's or boss's request, and ultimately we expect the same speed of response from our underlings. So the challenge lies in balancing the two: think-time and real-time. Here a few tips that I use to help keep a focus on the big picture for my business, while remaining accessible.
Set accomplishments for the day.
Take ten minutes in the morning to consider your goals for the day. Ask yourself what you want to achieve. If you have a meeting, set your own mental goals/objectives and envision that outcome. If you have to make sales calls, do the same. Knowing what you want to accomplish allows you to create a realistic to-do list.
Identify tasks that are best completed offline.
Treat yourself to quality work time where you can focus and be creative: time away from email, away from IM and away from the phone. Block out the time on your calendar beforehand and let your colleagues know you will be busy.
Manage interruptions.
There is nothing wrong with politely saying, "wait."
Open-air offices may foster collaboration, but they also encourage colleagues to wander into your space to discuss things of varying importance. You can judge the severity of the issue and then act accordingly. But you shouldn't constantly stop what you are doing just because someone asks you to.
Take a break.
A brief, planned change in your environment can do wonders for your productivity. Stroll around the block. Get a coffee. It will help your mind and body to refresh, recalibrate and focus.
While we can't (and shouldn't wish to) slow down the progress of business technology, we certainly can slow ourselves down long enough to make some good decisions about how best to spend our days.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
Technology is great, but, more than ever, we are bombarded with emails and other communications that require our attention. It can be challenging to have time to think about issues that require more of our brain than a simple reply.
Manage your time for responding to emails; schedule "thinking" time and create goals early in the morning for what you want to accomplish that day.
Prioritize the importance of what is in front of you with what really needs your attention and react accordingly.
Leadership Requires More Feminine Attributes
Kay Koplovitz
So Proves the Latest Global Leadership Study: The Athena Doctrine
Leadership in the twenty-first century requires more of the attributes held by women. Thanks to the herculean efforts of two highly regarded researchers, John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio, we now know this to be a fact. The team interviewed sixty-four thousand people in thirteen countries, men and women alike. The results are undeniable. The female traits of collaboration, flexibility and nurturing are winning out in a world that is becoming increasingly more social, interdependent and transparent.
Why is this study in leadership called The Athena Doctrine? Athena was the Greek goddess whose strength as a warrior came from wisdom and fairness. These are two of the leadership attributes highly valued by people around the globe who participated in this extensive survey. The macho paradigm of the past-dominance, strength, assertiveness and decisiveness-is giving way to the more open, creative, communal and flexible traits found more frequently among women.
In an era where the world is flat, according to author Thomas Friedman, communication may be with people next door or around the globe. The next great idea, company, movement or invention is as likely to come from Alexandria, Egypt, as from Alexandria, Virginia. Communication skills have become so important in the world in which we live, and women excel in communicating and socializing ideas, and are more open to opinions and comfortable with the dialogue.
Athena Doctrine authors Gerzema and D'Antonio take pains to document their leadership survey findings, with many stories from around the globe that support them. Of course, there are differences among nations, but the trends are extremely clear.
Corporate leaders would do well to take the findings of The Athena Doctrine to heart. In companies today, with social media in rapid rise and communication among employees a given, leaders have to inspire the rank and file and accept two-way communication as a skill they must possess. I believed when I led the USA Network (now USA Networks) and The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) to prominence at the end of the '90s, that good ideas, critiques of company processes and understanding what works and doesn't work in the company could come from anyone at any level in the company. Maybe I was a bit ahead of my time, but now that I've read The Athena Doctrine, I realize that my leadership came more from my core beliefs, shared more by women than men. I was surprised by a comment made by my male COO that he thought I ran the company like a woman, and he was glad I did.
It was an open, collaborative, yet decisive era that drove our networks to the top of the competition.
This leads to the conclusions presented in The Athena Doctrine. The best leaders have a combination of traits held by women and men. That a combination of strength, decisiveness and authority when combined with flexibility, collaboration, creativity and openness, are the leadership qualities the best leaders for the twenty-first century will embody.
I agree.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
People want leaders who are important, respectful, collaborative, trustworthy, open and flexible-attributes they assign more to women than men.
Strong, bold, decisive, authoritarian are attributes most often assigned to men.
A combination of both attributes is often most productive in creating superior results.
Five Ways You Can Promote Women's Leadership
Kelly Fitzsimmons
You don't have to sign a petition or lobby anyone. Instead, try showing that you care.
There I was, hand stretching high into the air with a gesture that screamed, "Pick me! PICK ME!" Was this third grade? No. I was a CEO in my twenties attending a Harvard Business School program. I was the youngest in the room by twenty years and one of three women.
After that first day, a gentleman approached and asked me to grab some coffee. He was kind, funny and eventually got to his point. "Why not let some other people share their experiences?" he asked.
I would love to say that I was grateful for his mentorship. But truthfully, I was mortified. I ended up learning a good deal that week, particularly about my own need to look smart.
When reflecting back on this incident, I think about the other women in the room. Why didn't they intervene? They never made eye contact, let alone approached me. Instead of taking action to help me, they created distance.
To be clear, I understand and respect why those women looked away. I too worry about how other women's actions will reflect on me. With so few of us at the table, the actions of one woman can be over-representative and reinforce ugly stereotypes.
So the question isn't whether or not we take action. We all take action-even in our silence. The question is whether or not we step in and help, even when our approach may be uncomfortable or even embarrassing.
And yet, if we want more successful women leaders, we need to step up to the challenge. And it is in that spirit that I have pulled together five things you can do today to help women succeed:
1. Step forward
If you are embarrassed by a coworker's action, arrange a private time to talk. In all likelihood, she's not clueless (like I was) about the misstep, and would welcome your support.
2. Ask questions
No one wants to be lectured. Ask simple, open-ended questions: "How do you feel after yesterday's presentation?" or, "What came up for you when you received the feedback?"
3. Listen
Once you ask a question, make room for the response. Staying silent is hard for me. I've found it helpful to silently repeat the mantra "I have no idea what she is going to say next." It keeps me curious and out of my head.
4. Be kind
It's easy to provoke shame accidentally. Use personal stories about your own mistakes to show your own humanness. "I remember this one time at my first board meeting, oh my…"
5. No advice, unless she literally begs you for it
I realize that this may sound contradictory, but any advice you are willing to share is for you, not the recipient. Your role is to show up and be supportive, not to dispense wisdom.
A leader is simply someone who is willing to take the first step. By having a willingness to step forward into the discomfort and make ourselves available to listen, we become leaders.
These actions may help your colleague as well-raising her up-but that is secondary. These steps are for you, first and foremost.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
Being a leader to women can be as simple and as difficult as stepping in to help, especially when another woman behaves in a way we don't want to be associated with.
There are too few women leaders, so we need to bring others along. Step forward with empathy and kindness, and share your own missteps.
Resist the urge to dispense wisdom! No lectures or advice, just support. By taking this step, you become a leader and you lift yourself and your fellow women up.
How to Be Pregnant and CEO: Five Tips
Bettina Hein
It's absolutely possible to be pregnant, or a new mother, and a CEO at the same time. Some words of wisdom from someone who's been there.
All of a sudden, Marissa Mayer and I are about to have something very significant in common. At the age of thirty-seven, she is both the CEO of Yahoo and pregnant with her first child. I'm a year older, and the CEO of Pixability, a video marketing software company. Eighteen months ago, I gave birth to my daughter, Louisa. Here's what I've learned:
Don't believe what they say.
I've had investors, family and the general public wonder aloud whether I was being reckless to attempt both a baby and a post as CEO at the same time. But thanks to brain chemistry, having a baby is likely to improve your performance as CEO. Childbirth strengthens the area in your frontal cortex that governs executive function, important stuff such as planning, problem solving, verbal reasoning and multitasking. Hugely helpful.
Babies are simpler to manage than tech companies.
As an analytical person, I like to sink my teeth into hard problems. A tech company is a pretty complex equation. Solving an equation for multiple variables while they change dynamically is what I do for a living. As it turns out, healthy babies have precious few variables: food, sleep, diaper, boredom and that's about it. You'll figure it out pretty quickly.
Don't take less than six weeks off.
I'm a hardcore workaholic. I was convinced that I'd be back in the office a few days after Louisa's birth. I simply couldn't do it. There's a reason most European countries have a legal ban on women working for six weeks after childbirth. Your brain may be ready to get back to work, but your body needs time to shrink your uterus and get back into fighting form. It just takes time. That said, I did give my first public speech three weeks after Louisa was born.
Take the baby to the office.
After six weeks at home, I felt like I was in baby prison. I was really anxious to get back to my team, so I started taking Louisa to work. This was a really positive experience. For the first year of her life, Louisa came to the office every day at lunch so I could nurse her. I started telling people: It takes not a village, but a tech company, to raise a child.
Keep your priorities straight.
This is the hardest part. As CEO, you have to keep your focus on what's important. Society tells you to prioritize your baby above all. People are depending on you for their livelihoods. So who wins? Some days, I've left the house in tears because Louisa holds out her little arms, reaches for me and screams like I'm never coming back. But I had to make a meeting. On other days, I've canceled an important investor or customer meeting because I had been up all night with her. My advice is to step back regularly and see if, in the grander scheme of things, you are being true to both roles. If you're able to do this, the math will work out for both sides in the long run.
KAY'S TAKEAWAYS:
How women's amazing chemistry affects our brains makes it absolutely possible to do a good job while being pregnant or a new mother.
Give your body at least six weeks to physically recover before going back to work full time.
Prioritize and be creative. You may have to miss a meeting once in a while or bring baby to work for a period of time in order to stay true to both sides.
