Leadership Trends and Realities

Approach to Leading and Winning - Step 6

Earl Cobb

Focused Leadership is a book which provides you a synopsis of the approach I diligently crafted, refined and applied in order to get the leadership results I desired over my 30-year career leading large and small organization in Fortune 500 companies as well venture capital backed start-ups. In Focused Leadership I have incorporated a series of informative and concise discussions regarding my leadership approach, which I now call the “10-Step Approach to Leading and Winning”. 

Step 1: Leading with Intention, Not Authority

Step 2: Envision the End at the Start

Step 3: Articulate Your Vision, Repeatedly

Step 4: Don't Allow Bumps in the Road Distract You

Step 5: Energize Others to Do Their Best

Step 6: It's Not All About You

I recall driving home late one evening after a long day in the office. I was about a year into my first major leadership role where I had the responsibility for multiple business functions. My responsibilities included sales, marketing, engineering, program management, purchasing, quality assurance, manufacturing and finance.

As I reflected on the day’s activities, I was somewhat amused by how I had chaired eight meetings which involved eight different disciplines and focused on eight different topics. Nowhere in my graduate management studies did I take a class that prepared me for this type of daily routine. I remember saying to myself, “So, this is what being a leader in a Fortune 100 is all about.”

It’s no secret that leaders today must balance many roles and serve multiple audiences --- all while communicating one primary vision. The levels to which you must “compartmentalize” and “juggle” can, at times, make you feel like a chameleon. It is also not a secret as to how “being the center” of all of that attention can easily lure you into feeling that all of the contracts won, products  produced, services delivered or profits earned are “all about you.” One of my most admired managers once shared with me that “A strong leader without a strong team is like a strong horse without a buggy. You can only carry what you can get on your back.”

Yes. The strategy that you provide is important to deciding what to do. The resources (facilities, equipment and capital) you obtain are critical to the process of enabling execution and getting it done. However, there is another --- and perhaps the most important --- piece of the puzzle that is essential to winning the contracts, producing the products, delivering the services or generating the profits. It’s the “people” that your organization hires to get the work done and the values by which they are guided.

“Our people are our most important asset.” You most likely have heard these words many times before. Yet, many leaders do not act as if they really believe these words. Over the years, I have grown to embrace these words as a clear expression of a personal value. I have learned that your values form the foundation of your leadership style. Your values permeate the workplace. Your values will largely govern your actions as well as your focus.

As an effective leader, you have an inherent responsibility to both “be the best that you can be” as well as to support efforts that will allow your people to be all that they can be. In doing so, it is important to occasionally remind yourself that, even though you are a critical part of your organization’s success, --- it’s not all about you.

Earl Cobb is the author of "Focused Leadership: What You Can Do Today to Become a More Effective Leader", and an American “rags-to-riches” success story. Through his hard work, dedication and faith, Earl has forged an accomplished career as a systems engineer, project/program manager, and gifted entrepreneur. He is also a highly respected senior management executive. He has enjoyed over twenty-five years of success within Fortune 100 companies including Honeywell, Inc., Motorola, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank. He is the former President and CEO of MedContrax, Inc.

 You can contact Earl at earl@richerlifellc. You can find his website at www.richerlifellc.com 

 

Approach to Leading and Winning - Step 5

Earl Cobb

Focused Leadership is a book which provides you a synopsis of the approach I diligently crafted, refined and applied in order to get the leadership results I desired over my 30-year career leading large and small organization in Fortune 500 companies as well venture capital backed start-ups. In Focused Leadership I have incorporated a series of informative and concise discussions regarding my leadership approach, which I now call the “10-Step Approach to Leading and Winning”.

Read Step 1: Leading with Intention, Not Authority

Read Step 2: Envision the End at the Start

Step 3: Articulate Your Vision, Repeatedly

Step 4: Don't Allow Bumps in the Road Distract You

Step 5: Energize Others to Do Their Best

As the leader, you have a powerful effect on your team. When you walk into a room, your team members feel either taller or smaller. Yet, many unfocused leaders are often not conscious of this important aspect and responsibility of leadership.

As a leader, you have more power than you think. Conversely, you will also get more out of what you focus on. When you focus on energizing and empowering your entire team, you will not only make your team members feel taller when you walk in the room, you will also reap the rewards of improved performance and increased commitment to the task at hand.

In my experience, you can easily energize your team members by maintaining a positive view of their contribution and proactively sharing this perception with them. This includes letting them know that you think they are smart and hardworking, expressing gratitude for their efforts, reminding them why their work is important to the mission and emphasizing the difference they are making to the organization.

Conversely, empowerment requires more focus, attention and involvement. First of all, empowerment is more than delegation. It is also more than just sharing your power and your authority with others. Empowerment involves determining the level of power and authority you are willing to give and the level that your team members are willing to accept.

However, the independent entrepreneurship and initiative gained through empowerment will lead to higher levels of team member energy, contribution, commitment, engagement, innovation, productivity and involvement in decision making.

Within the framework of the Focused Leadership approach, proactively energizing and empowering your team is a powerful catalyst for maximizing team member contributions and achieving maximum performance. Then, you must provide the coaching and tactical direction required to obtain the desired results.

Be mindful of the 21^st century reality that working comprises a large portion of our lives. I have always believed that making work as enjoyable, rewarding and productive as possible is the role and responsibility of a focused leader.

Energize Other to Do Their Best

   

Earl Cobb is the author of "Focused Leadership: What You Can Do Today to Become a More Effective Leader", and an American “rags-to-riches” success story. Through his hard work, dedication and faith, Earl has forged an accomplished career as a systems engineer, project/program manager, and gifted entrepreneur. He is also a highly respected senior management executive. He has enjoyed over twenty-five years of success within Fortune 100 companies including Honeywell, Inc., Motorola, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank. He is the former President and CEO of MedContrax, Inc.

 You can contact Earl at earl@richerlifellc. You can find his website at  www.richerlifellc.com 

 

Approach to Leading and Winning - Step 4

Earl Cobb

Focused Leadership is a book which provides you a synopsis of the approach I diligently crafted, refined and applied in order to get the leadership results I desired over my 30-year career leading large and small organization in Fortune 500 companies as well venture capital backed start-ups. InFocused Leadership I have incorporated a series of informative and concise discussions regarding my leadership approach, which I now call the “10-Step Approach to Leading and Winning”.

Read Step 1: Leading with Intention, Not Authority

Read Step 2: Envision the End at the Start

Step 3: Articulate Your Vision, Repeatedly

Step 4: Don't Allow Bumps in the Road Distract You

Although I spent only five years directly practicing my craft as an electrical engineer, it is my engineering training that laid the foundation from which I see and manage my world. However, coming in at a close second are the tactical planning and project execution skills I developed during 10 years of program and project management assignments.

One rule that I would establish with my program teams at the onset of each new challenge would always be “let’s not allow bumps in the road to distract us.” In the tactical world of leadership, it’s all about knowing where the trees are located but not getting lost in the forest. A good project or business plan will include all of the activities required to successfully achieve its objectives. The plan will also take into account all of the known “bumps” that may be encountered along the road to success.

But, experience has taught me that it’s the “known-unknowns” which surface at the worst times that create the most distraction and add the most risk to completing all aspects of the project on schedule and within budget. From my perspective, “known-unknowns” are things that are predictable but not predicted and not accounted for in your current financial or human resource plans.

I have found that the best way to be prepared to minimize the distraction and potential impact that may be caused by tactical surprises is to maximize communications at all levels of your organization. The sooner you, as the leader, are aware that something unsuspecting is lurking, the sooner you can assess the potential impact and adjust all activities that might be affected accordingly.

I recall being told by a mentor and seasoned program manager that “the most welcomed partner of anything which has a mission of causing havoc to a set of the best laid plans is the lack of open, honest and timely communications among all who are involved.”

Step-4 of the Focused Leadership approach to becoming a more effective leader emphasizes the need to create a workplace environment which clings to a robust culture of open, honest and timely communications.

Don't Allow Bumps in the Road Distract You

Earl Cobb is the author of "Focused Leadership: What You Can Do Today to Become a More Effective Leader", and an American “rags-to-riches” success story. Through his hard work, dedication and faith, Earl has forged an accomplished career as a systems engineer, project/program manager, and gifted entrepreneur. He is also a highly respected senior management executive. He has enjoyed over twenty-five years of success within Fortune 100 companies including Honeywell, Inc., Motorola, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank. He is the former President and CEO of MedContrax, Inc.

You can contact Earl at [email protected]. You can find his website at http://richerlifellc.com

Approach to Leading and Winning - Step 3

Earl Cobb

Focused Leadership is a book which provides you a synopsis of the approach I diligently crafted, refined and applied in order to get the leadership results I desired over my 30-year career leading large and small organization in Fortune 500 companies as well venture capital backed start-ups. InFocused Leadership I have incorporated a series of informative and concise discussions regarding my leadership approach, which I now call the “10-Step Approach to Leading and Winning”.

Read Step 1: Leading with Intention, Not Authority

Read Step 2: Envision the End at the Start

Step 3: Articulate Your Vision, Repeatedly

If you are at the very top of your company, leading a team or unit of a large organization or leading a small group of individuals toward a destination, they all think you know where you are going.

Articulating your vision is an instrumental part of being a leader. Having a vision in your head and your heart is just simply not enough. Many people have visions that they keep to themselves. But, as a leader, your vision for your organization and how your team will achieve its goal must be shared.

Research has shown that a well-crafted and skillfully articulated vision can even draw more commitment from a team than just charisma alone. But, it’s only when you take the time to share your vision with your team that you will find the support and commitment that cannot be found otherwise.

A skillfully articulated vision enables your team to be aligned with you. The leadership vision goes beyond a written statement. It permeates the workplace and becomes manifested in the actions, beliefs, values and goals of your organization. However, you must continually enforce and reinforce your team’s movement toward the vision. This is why Step 3 of the Focus Leadership approach to leading and winning emphasizes the need for you to articulate your vision, repeatedly.

Earl Cobb is the author of "Focused Leadership: What You Can Do Today to Become a More Effective Leader", and an American “rags-to-riches” success story. Through his hard work, dedication and faith, Earl has forged an accomplished career as a systems engineer, project/program manager, and gifted entrepreneur. He is also a highly respected senior management executive. He has enjoyed over twenty-five years of success within Fortune 100 companies including Honeywell, Inc., Motorola, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank. He is the former President and CEO of MedContrax, Inc.

You can contact Earl at [email protected]. You can find his website at http://richerlifellc.com