A Leaderhip Urban Legend

There is an urban legend that goes something like this. A proud U.S. Navy aircraft carrier was sailing along one dark night when the navigator noticed a light directly ahead. He quickly notified the Captain who immediately got on the radio. Here is the exchange that followed:

Captain: “Unknown vessel, you are on a collision course to our position. Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.”

Unknown Voice: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.”

Captain: “This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.”

Unknown Voice: “This is a Petty Officer 2nd Class. Please divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South.”

Captain: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS NIMITZ, ONE OF THE LARGEST SHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES’ PACIFIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. WE HAVE ON BOARD AN ADMIRAL. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT IS ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP!!”

Unknown Voice: “This is a light house. It’s your call.”

This story incidentally turns out to be completely untrue (I don’t want all my Navy readers to write me nasty emails). However, it is a prime illustration of how a leader’s Ego can allow them to create a perspective of reality that could be damaging, in more ways than one.

Can you see the Ego?

Eckart Tolle describes the Ego as that voice in your mind which tells you that you are better, or worse, than someone else. In this story, the Captain’s ego clearly is at work because he is placing his perceived importance ahead of situational awareness.

This story came to mind recently when I was working with some senior executives to implement new operational procedures to support a new computer system. These procedures were developed by a team of Subject Matter Experts from across the company who worked for the better part of a year to ensure they were consistent across the company.

As often happens, the new system and related procedures meant that some people and, in some cases entire departments, would have to change the way things get done. (The equivalent of the “divert your course” request.)

One senior leader, however, was particularly adamant that the new procedures placed an undue burden on their team and therefore were unacceptable. When asked why, they insisted that financial reporting would be compromised and that they would not be able to effectively execute ongoing initiatives. This leader further went on to say that they were going to escalate this to the business unit Finance Leader if things didn’t stay the way they were. (The equivalent of the Captain’s rant about the size and importance of the aircraft carrier.)

I then explained that the new system and related procedures were actually requested by the company Chief Financial Officer, who is the Finance Lead’s boss. (The equivalent of the “This is a lighthouse” notification.)

Did it really have to get that way?

Why do some people respond to situations, changes, or a difference of opinion with such a visceral reaction? Think about your own experiences when you have seen someone’s ego at work in a similar fashion. What were the circumstances? What pieces of information did the Ego not see?

The Ego tends to trip us up when we face a situation from inside our own mind rather than from the circumstances of the reality of the situation.

Now, don’t be confused we all have an Ego. It’s part of our human packaging. Your Ego is the voice that tells you the new guy knows nothing of value because their experience comes from a different company. And your Ego is the voice that tells you don’t have the right to question decisions because someone smarter than you must have determined that this is the best thing to do, even if it doesn’t seem so. The Ego is also part of our lives for a reason. It helps us to get up and want to succeed. But when left unchecked, it can take us on a dangerous path: like towards a light house.

A leader’s responsibility is to be aware of yourself enough to recognize when the voice that you are listening to is your Ego. This Self Awareness is also the first step in Emotional Intelligence.

A leader’s responsibility is to get out of your mind enough to listen to the people around you and see the situation for what it is.

Only then can you accurately respond to your environment and influence those people to whom you owe effective leadership.

Get out of your mind and Lead

So, the next time you find yourself in a difficult position and are feeling the weight of leadership, ask yourself if the voice you are listening to is really your Ego. Be honest with yourself. Get out of your mind and be a Leader!

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Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence. This article and others from Dave can be found at: www.linked2leadership.com He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Nobody likes to give bad news. But sometimes, that is exactly what is needed, as long as it is honest feedback.

A true leader has the courage to say what is needed, even when that may be the last thing you want to do.

Who are you serving?

While leaders may think that they are being a “nice guy” by not giving someone who isn’t performing well the bad news, in reality they are only making things worse.

Unless you address the problem with the individuals in question, you are doing a disservice to the individual, to yourself, and to the overall organization.

The Pink Elephant Syndrome

A real world scenario

The cascading impact of Leaders who don’t address performance issues is something that I call the Pink Elephant syndrome. While this may sound like an unbelievable story, it is a very real set of circumstances that took place several years ago.

Steve (not his real name) was a Vice President of Marketing at a mid-sized company. Steve was a nice guy who enjoyed his VP title, which he had specifically negotiated to get. Steve was someone who thought more of his abilities than perhaps his track record would merit. His marketing campaigns frequently didn’t generate the kind of increased returns that they were expected to produce. Most of them managed to just keep the current customer base while the competition was making inroads into the market space.

In addition, his staff couldn’t stand working for him. They worked long hours and repeatedly had to make last-minute changes to marketing campaigns. Rarely did those last minute changes result in additional customer orders. Of course, Steve didn’t work late when his staff did. He would give the direction and either go home, or go back to his office, where it was common to see him sleeping at his desk.

Steve reported to the owner of the company, who never addressed Steve’s job performance, his poor team morale, or his tendency to sleep at his desk. The owner didn’t want to “be the bad guy.” So, these things just kept going along, year after year, in exactly the same way. Meanwhile, Steve kept getting annual raises and was told “keep up the good work.”

Changes are sometimes harsh

Then the company was sold. New owners came in and immediately gave Steve feedback that he wasn’t cutting it. While he had marketing experience, he wasn’t performing at the level expected of a Vice President of Marketing. They held him accountable for the results of his marketing campaigns. They told him that it would no longer be acceptable to find him asleep at his desk. Before long, he was on a performance plan that demanded results: or else.

I think you can see where this is going. Within a year, Steve was let go. But, the story doesn’t stop there. Unfortunately, during his time as a Marketing VP, he had also become quite accustomed to the salary of a Marketing VP. Steve had an extremely difficult time finding another job. When he applied for other Marketing VP jobs, it became clear that he really didn’t have the skills necessary for a job at that level and certainly at that salary. He stayed unemployed for over a year.

As a Leader, It’s not about you. It’s about them.

Admittedly, Steve had a role to play in it because he had very little self awareness and did little to improve himself professionally, which is one of the hallmarks of a good leader. But, I would submit to you that the company owner, who never gave Steve the feedback, is just as responsible.

As a leader, if you see someone isn’t performing well, and you don’t address it with them, then who is really at fault?

You see the problem. You know what needs to change. As a leader, it is your responsibility to fix the problem. Will the feedback make you unpopular? Perhaps. Will the feedback seem harsh? Maybe, depending on how you deliver it. But which is worse, giving someone honest feedback that makes them a better performer for you and your organization, or not giving them any feedback and leave them unemployed and wondering, “How things could have gotten so bad?”

As a leader, it’s not about you. It’s about people you are leading. You are there to get results from your people and to make them stronger contributors. If, at times that makes you unpopular or seem like the heavy, so be it.

If you want to lead the orchestra, you are going to have to turn your back on the crowd.

Promise yourself and your people, that you won’t let the Pink Elephant Syndrome happen to anyone you work with. There is one way to deal with the Pink Elephant Syndrome: that is to deal with it.

Are you facing the Pink Elephant Syndrome? Is there some difficult feedback that you should be giving? What could happen if this person never hears the feedback you are avoiding? Better yet, how much better could things be if the person you have in mind improves the things you haven’t told them?

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Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence.
He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Aren’t the Holidays great?

Like many people, I enjoy this time of year. It’s a time for sharing time with family and friends, a time for reflection, and perhaps most importantly it is a time to do things for others who may be less fortunate than us. In light of the spirit of serving others and the spirit of Christmas that embodies it, I thought I would share a leadership perspective that is applicable this time of year.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, there are many leadership lessons to be found in the Bible and in particular in the life of Jesus. In homage to the person who is the reason we celebrate Christmas, I’d like to share some lessons in leadership that I have taken from the life of Jesus.

Walk the talk. The most effective way to lead is by example. When the echoes of the words have faded, people will remember what you did more than they will ever remember what you said.

Embrace the value of everyone, not just those with position and title.

Work with what you have and make what you have work. Jesus didn’t complain that he only had a dozen people to change the world.

Don’t be misguided by pageantry and formality. Sometimes the most influential people come from the humblest of places.

If you’ve got something to say, say it. Polling the crowds and authorities to get their preferences will only dilute the message.

Speak to people in a way that they will understand. Leave the flowery speeches and language to the politicians.

When people resist you it is likely done because they are afraid of something. Address the fear and the change will come more easily.

They lied and spoke badly about Jesus behind his back. Don’t kid yourself into thinking it won’t happen to you at some point. If what you are saying and doing is meaningful, someone is going to talk bad about you, don’t take it personally.

There is strength in people that is often unseen. Find a way to tap into it.

Be where you are. Be in the moment. Don’t waste time focusing on what you wanted to do or where you would rather be.

May your days be merry, your holidays be happy, and your leadership be as effective as it could possibly be.

Merry Christmas.

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Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence.
He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Be Honest

How many people woke up this morning and said to themselves, “I’m going to be completely non-productive today.”? How many people went into work this morning committed to finding a way to make mistakes? The answer is nobody. Nobody goes into something hoping to fail. So, why do some people flourish while others struggle? The answer is leadership. And people deserve good leadership.

Ivy League Stars Can Fall

Let me tell you about James. (I’m not using real names here.) James was a star student at a private prep school. He was awarded the highest honors that the school could give. He was captain of several athletic teams and received top honors there as well. After prep school he was accepted to an Ivy League college where he also excelled both academically and athletically. It seemed like James was destined for greatness no matter what he did. At his first job out of college, James began working for Brad. Brad is a hands-off manager. In fact, his hands are so far off you might think that he is absent. James receives minimal guidance and direction. The only time Brad gets involved with his team is when his boss takes an interest in what is going on in the department. When James is given projects to work on, he does them and does them well. But, on any given workday are as likely to see him surfing the web as you are doing anything for work. So what happened? How did this Ivy League star fall so far?

The answer is leadership.

People genuinely want to do good work and to be recognized for it.

In exchange, they will work hard to do what it takes to get the job done, if only the person in charge can connect with them and will lead them. If someone isn’t doing well at work, 90% of the time it is because they aren’t sure what is expected of them or they don’t possess the competency to do the job at that point in time. In either case, it is the responsibility of the leader to address it by making sure the expectations are clear, the skills and experience of the individual align to the work at hand, and the desired outcome is reached. Ken Blanchard calls this situational leadership and does a good job of illustrating it in his One Minute Manager Series of books. Specifically, in “Leadership and the One Minute Manger” Blanchard says,

Everyone has peak performance potential – you just need to know where they are coming from and meet them there.

So, did James suddenly tell himself that he was just going to coast in his career? Did his new job reveal that James is not capable of mastering the requirements of the job? Not likely.

Servant Leadership

What happened is that James came face-to-face with self-appointed authoritarian royalty. Leaders like Brad are more focused on fitting themselves with the crown of authority than they are working with their people to help them achieve great things. Sadly this is an all too common story. The most effective leaders are those who have realized that they will be far more successful if they find ways to help their people to be successful. This is called servant leadership.

Servant leaders find it hard to work with people while wearing the crown of authority because the crown tends to fall off when you bend down to help somebody.

In what ways are you a servant leader? How are you helping people achieve the performance potential of which they are capable?

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This post, as well as others from Dave, can also be found at http://linked2leadership.com/author/dhasenbalg/

Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence.
He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Did you ever just have to get it off your chest?

Recently I was having a detailed, rational, intelligent conversation with a colleague about leadership. Okay, to be honest, it was really more of a bitch session about their boss. But isn’t that the way that leadership is really evaluated in the proverbial trenches? People will talk about their leaders with friends, co-workers, family, pretty much anyone who will listen. It’s one thing to be talked about. There is nothing you can do about it; it’s inevitable. It’s another thing entirely to be bitched about. I believe that leaders can control whether or not their people take complaints to this level.

Believe me, this was a true bitch session.

In this conversation, the main complaint was that the people who worked for the leader in question were constantly caught off guard. They didn’t know from one day to the next or one situation to the next exactly how the boss was going to react. It created an environment of unpredictability. This unpredictability led to unproductive behaviors, like always having to “CYA” (cover your actions).

Why is it that some leaders, whether consciously or inadvertently, foster an environment where your people really don’t know what to expect from you?

I was able to share with my colleague a lesson I learned as a young U.S. Army officer.

The commanding general of one of the posts where I was stationed in the early 1990s was Major General Thomas A. Schwartz. (He subsequently went from wearing those two stars to four stars.) Shortly after taking command of the division he shared a leadership technique with all of the officers on the post that I have taken with me and still use to this day.

Just remember the acronym T.I.P.S. I will paraphrase here and embellish the key points.

T.I.P.S.

Talk to your people

Keep them Informed

Be Predictable

Be Sensitive to their individual needs

Talk to your people. Find out what is really happening. You can’t learn much of anything if you aren’t talking to the people you are trying to lead. More important than just talking is listening to what they are saying. That is why God gave you two ears and one mouth. You are supposed to listen twice as much as you speak.

Keep them Informed. Let your people know what is happening. Let them know what you think. Admit to them the things that you don’t know. You may be surprised how much mileage this will get you with your people.

Be Predictable. Don’t make them guess. If they don’t know what to expect from you, they won’t trust you. If they won’t trust you, they won’t follow you. And, if they won’t follow you, then you can’t lead them. If that happens, you are no longer a leader but, rather, a box on the org chart.

Be Sensitive to their individual needs. Contrary to what some people may think, leadership is not a “one size fits all” model. The leader who interacts with everyone exactly the same is guaranteed to mis-communicate with 75% of their people. Take a minute to understand what drives your people, what they respond to, and how best to utilize their talents and abilities.

Thanks to General Schwartz for sharing this leadership model. I hope you can use this model to improve your own leadership style.

What are you doing to make sure that you are communicating effectively with ALL of your followers? Are you using these same techniques with your boss(es) and peers? What sort of feedback mechanism do you have in place to insure that you are hitting the mark as an effective communicator? Let me know how it works for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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This post, as well as others from Dave, can also be found at http://linked2leadership.com/author/dhasenbalg/

Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence.
He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Recall the Scenario

In my last article I introduced you to a scenario where two people, Ben and Chris, are very different types of leaders. At the end of the article I asked for feedback about some leadership elements at play. Thank you for all who responded. Much of the feedback was empathetic (“Are you writing about [fill in the name]? Because ‘Ben’ sounds exactly like them?”)

Other feedback was critical (“I would say that neither of them are leaders, they are just control freaks.”) It’s not easy when you are forced to choose between two imperfect options. But, that often is reality, isn’t it? What you can do to keep your sanity and make the best of things is to understand the natural laws of leadership that are at play in the situation that you are facing and adjust accordingly.

As a leader, you will likely find yourself in a situation where you are in charge of someone who is challenging or difficult to lead, as was Chris in the outlined scenario. You will also likely find yourself working for someone who isn’t the strongest leader, as is Ben. In either situation, the question to you as a leader is this: Are you going to allow the inadequacies of another to determine your own success as a leader?

As a leader, you have the responsibility to demonstrate your versatility and adjust to the situation, both up and down the organization, to ensure you are as effective as possible.

This is why it is helpful to understand what I call the Natural Laws of Leadership.

Natural Laws of Leadership: Empowerment Though Inaction

Just as there are laws of nature (objects will fill fall to earth at the same speed, water will follow the path of least resistance to the sea, smoke rises, etc.), there are also natural laws of leadership. Despite our best intentions and desires, we can’t change these laws. They simply exist.

Leadership is an inherently interpersonal endeavor. Because of this, the natural laws of leadership intrinsically deal with people’s behavior. One of the key natural laws of leadership at work in the scenario described above is the Law of Empowerment Through Inaction.

Let me describe it this way. A person looking to get something will find the easiest way possible to get it. They will follow the path of least resistance to reach their goal. It’s human nature. Ask any parent of a child who wants some candy how it works. The child will go to the parent who they feel is most likely to agree to the request. They will even work one against the other to get the answer they want. The same thing is true of people in a professional setting. Look at the way the staff has learned to adjust to Ben’s micro-meddling in the previously described scenario.

The converse of this behavior is also true.

Any behavior, however inappropriate or unacceptable, will be continued until enough pressure is applied to force the behavior to change.

Therefore, as a leader, one of your jobs is to recognize and respond to behavior that shouldn’t be continued. Part of a leader’s job is to put up the appropriate level of resistance (organizationally, interpersonally, within a team, etc.) at the right place to drive the right behavior and outcomes. If a leader fails to do this, the net effect is no different than if they were to officially endorse the undesired behavior.

What is tolerated and accepted is perpetuated and becomes the norm.

This likely explains why Chris, in this scenario, continues to demonstrate unprofessional and dysfunctional behaviors. This also clearly illustrates, in very real terms, the Law of Empowerment Through Inaction.

Stay Tuned for More

I’ll introduce more of the Natural Laws of Leadership in the coming weeks.

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This post, as well as others from Dave, can also be found at http://linked2leadership.com/author/dhasenbalg/

Dave Hasenbalg is Chief Operating Officer of Customized Solutions, LLC and does coaching and public speaking on Leadership and Operational Excellence.
He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Have you ever had front row seat to watch a good initiative fail? It can be breathtaking. Literally.

Several years ago I was given the challenge of driving a major initiative in a Fortune 500 company. Our goal: find ways to significantly increase revenue and to reduce expenses in one of the company’s business units.

Several of subject matter experts were taken out of their “day jobs” and gathered to form a team. We took the charge and ran with it. After about 4 months of intense research, analysis, and voice of the customer assessment the team had identified half a dozen opportunities that had the potential to generate tens of millions of dollars of either savings or additional revenue.

About that time there was a change in leadership in the sponsoring organization. Uh oh…

The new leader wasn’t convinced that new initiatives stemming from detailed customer research was the right direction, and preferred to make smaller, more incremental changes in another part of the business unit. Of course, the decision wasn’t made as clearly as that. It really occurred slowly over the next two months and came in the form of multiple, smaller course adjustments, like redeploying key team members and delaying important go/no-go decisions.

It essentially died a slow, painful, and dreadful death. It took our breath away.

Eventually a skeleton crew was all that was left of the once proud team and the only remnants of the savings were the two simplest initiatives that were the easiest to execute and least politically risky. The team was sent back to their “day jobs” exhausted, disillusioned, and cynical. Leadership lesson here: Don’t do this. It’s really short-sighted and the “soft costs” cost way more than you can ever know.

Stick and the Streamer

Does this sound like an initiative you have experienced? What happened? Among other things, this illustrates the fact that many leaders fail to acknowledge the reality that any decision they make takes time to execute. In fact, it takes an exponentially larger amount of time and effort to execute than it took to come up with the plan in the first place. And the larger the scale of the initiative, the longer it may take to execute. I call this the “stick and streamer” effect.

Picture if you will a stick and to the end of that stick is fastened a streamer. If it helps, imagine the ribbon that is used in rhythmic gymnastics. Use this tool to represent the stick and streamer model for leadership.

The stick represents the leader. The streamer represents those being led.

Notice how the smallest flick of the wrist (a leader’s decision) has a much larger proportional impact on the streamer (the led). The same thing happens in every organization. It takes time for each action to make it to the end of the streamer. The more severe the shift in direction, the longer it takes to ripple to the end and get the rest of the team in line with the new direction. The impact to those at the end of the streamer is also more significant. Paradoxically, the smoother and more subtle the action, the more alignment there is between the stick (the leader) and the streamer (the led).

As a former U.S. Army Officer, there is a helpful rule of thumb that each new lieutenant learns that might also help in using this model. It’s the one-third/two-thirds rule. In short the rule says that the leader should take 1/3 of the available time to plan for a mission and then allow his unit 2/3 of the time to prepare and execute the mission. Stated another way, it is going to take your team at least twice as long to execute your initiative as it took you to plan it.

So, when it comes to making your own leadership decisions, remember the lesson from stick and the streamer. You can make decisions, but allow your team the time to execute and make that decision successful.

In your leadership role, do you really give enough time and patience in allowing ideas to blossom and grow to their desired potential? Do you build correct expectations into your plans so that that you are communicating realistic time lines to your superiors? Do they gives ideas enough time to grow and mature? Or are you or your leaders cutting  ideas time lines down and not providing that needed time frame to engage and fulfill the dream? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Please share!

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This post, as well as others from Dave, can also be found at http://linked2leadership.com/author/dhasenbalg/

He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it