“I’m king of the world!”
“Show me the money!”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”
“Go ahead, make my day.”

Memorable quotes from memorable films. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, movies of all types end up in our collective consciousness. In reviewing a list of movie quotes recently, I was impressed by how just one short phrase was all I needed to be reminded of an entire film. Such is the power of the movie experience.

I find it fascinating too how in a very short period of time, we go from knowing nothing about the subject of a film, to laughing, screaming, crying, and thinking about it. Typically in less than two hours. And regardless of the emotion, we continue to seek out the experience, again and again. (My kids can tell you about the favorite Dad position when watching a thriller or horror film - a blend of half watching / half avoiding. You want to see what’s around the corner or in the closet, but then again, you really don’t.)

I love watching movies (800+ Netflix rentals/downloads since 2003), and I especially enjoy watching movies with my family. There’s something about going through the experience together that makes it that much more enjoyable.

However, I do tend to draw the line between family and work. I feel movies have a great place in the home, but shouldn’t be used at work. And here’s why.

As popular as it is to use them in leadership development and training programs, I have a real problem when people do so. As mentioned earlier, I love watching movies; I think they’re a lot of fun. I just don’t feel they’re an effective tool for developing or educating people. If it were that easy, all we’d have to do is sit people in front of the television 8 hours a day (many people do so anyway), and show them training videos.

Essentially, I think many people confuse inspiration with effectiveness.

I can be temporarily inspired or motivated by watching a leader in a film (e.g. George C. Scott as General Patton in “Patton”, Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks [1980 USA winter Olympics hockey coach] in “Miracle”, Robin Williams as John Keating in “Dead Poets Society”, or Richard Dreyfuss as Glenn Holland in “Mr. Holland’s Opus”), but am I really changed by the experience of watching the selected movie clip?

And more often than not, the context is not relevant: Will I be leading an entire army, Olympic hockey team, or classroom full of English or music students? Also, I can possibly see the value of using historical characters, but fictional characters? The latter do essentially what the screenwriter wrote them to do, and I have a difficult time relating to the leadership “truth” of that.

Instead of using movie clips in your next leadership or management development program, why not look within your own organization for some exceptional examples? Surely there’s someone in your company who can share a story or two about what great leadership or management looks and, more importantly, feels like. And so what if they didn’t conquer a nation or win a gold medal? By your own leaders’ showing the blood in their veins about their struggles and challenges, your people will identify more with “one of their own” than with some famous actor (paid pretender) up on the screen.

And isn’t that what you really want? Your people looking at someone they work with, someone they know, feeling that maybe one day, they too could be speaking to a class of emerging leaders, sharing their stories about what leadership truly means.

So when it comes to examples of great leadership, let Hollywood stay in Hollywood. Find some of your own internal stars, and make them the “celebrities” they deserve to be.

As many readers know, I don’t have a whole lot of respect for “how-to” books on leadership and management.  I think they often convey a false sense of hope, in that by reading this book and following the author’s process, tips, advice, best practices, etc. you too will become the leader or manager you’ve always wanted to be (or that your organization needs you to be).

Like I’ve said before, self-help books continue to sell because they don’t work.

Knowledge only goes so far.  And when it comes to leadership and management development, the people that really make a difference, I believe, are those who struggle to make a change in themselves.

I’m not saying that you have to force yourself to struggle to become a better leader or manager, but let’s face it, if it was so easy to do, we’d have already done it.  Given that we might not be exactly where we want to be in our leadership or management abilities and that we’ve exhausted all quick and/or easy fixes, we are left with the hard work of getting from where we currently are to where we eventually would like to be.  Bottom-line, there is usually some real, honest struggling in becoming the leader or manager we yearn to be.

For whatever reason, our culture loves the story of a self-made person.  Particularly, in the business press, you find countless of cover stories of people who have been incredibly successful.  The focus is typically on the person, their struggles, what they overcame, and how they became a success against great odds.  For some, it was overnight.  For others, it was years or decades in the making.  In either case, the focus is usually on the individual.

And personally, that celebration of the individual who overcame great hardship can be a great disservice to many, if not most, people.  For it often creates the impression that if this person can be a great success on their own, then you should too.  (To add insult to injury, articles will often include things like “Bob’s/Mary’s 10 Tips for Great Leadership”, as if all you have to do is pattern yourself after Bob/Mary, and you’ll be that great leader or manager you’ve always wanted to become.)

Instead, I would like to see cover articles on people who have helped other people become great successes.  In my experience, most people don’t have enough inside themselves to make it totally on their own, notwithstanding all the stories we like to read and hear about to the contrary.  I don’t think this is indictment of people, as it is a reality of the human condition, yours truly included.

Instead, I believe most benefit significantly from there being at least one person (and often times you don’t need more than that), who shared their desire to be greater than who they presently were, who truly believed they could become that person, and who advised and coached them along the way.

In light of what we’ve all been through these past few years, struggling is almost a badge of honor, because if you’re struggling, that means you’re still in the game, still have the courage to find a successful way forward.  Being a leader or manager is tough enough these days without having to do it all on your own.  Whom do you have in your corner who will help you become the leader or manager you want to be?

Today more than ever, companies are looking for leaders. Not the kind to fill management or leadership vacancies. They’re looking for employees, whether or not they have people under their direction, to step up and demonstrate a greater ability to contribute. They’re looking for people to lead in terms of what they bring to the table each and every day.

In a different time, one might have argued that this stemmed from a short-term focus on corporate profits, from a desire to extend corporate profitability at the expense of the employee. Today, however, the increased expectations flow from an intensely competitive marketplace. If you feel the pressure of your boss’s hand at your back, it’s likely being placed there by your customers.

And so what’s an employee-cum-leader to do?
Answer: Give people one hand to shake, and one throat to squeeze.

First, make it easy and efficient for people, both customers and colleagues, to work with you. Particularly given the inter-dependencies at work these days, no one has the patience for being delayed or frustrated. That’s the “one hand to shake”.

Second, be a leader and take full responsibility for the work you need to get done. Commit fully to getting it done exceptionally well, and similarly, commit to fixing it immediately and completely when it’s broken. That’s the “one throat to squeeze”.

Consider the following:
Both my electric company and my cable company make it relatively easy to do business with them, which when things go well, means it’s easy to pay my bill (”one hand to shake”). Now should I lose power at my home, with one phone call, I can found out from the electric company what went wrong and when service should be restored (”one throat to squeeze”). But if I lose cable service, the cable company can tell me only what went wrong; they can’t tell me when service should be back. Isn’t that kind of important for the customer to know? Don’t they have cell phones in the field? Aren’t they a communications company? Why is it impossible to get a simple answer? Personally, that’s too many throats to squeeze.

If your company is still in business, at this point it’s likely made most, if not all, of the requisite structural changes in response to the economic decline. If it’s like most companies, payroll has been trimmed, and there are few expectations of ratcheting up hiring plans anytime soon. Employees are expected to deliver exceptionally well to customers, both internal and external. And are expected to do so for some time to come.

No one needs the runaround, and no one has the patience for “not my job” or “I only work here.” Bottom-line, if your people can’t give your customers one hand to shake and one throat to squeeze, you’d better forget it. Because sooner or later, your customers will.

Have a comment on leaders or individual contributors who step up during tough times? Click here, and share your comments.

One clear impact of this recession is that people, businesses, and leaders are getting back to basics. People are questioning, and in some cases are being forced to question, what’s important in their lives. Businesses are examining their business models, delineating between what used to work in the past, from what must work in the future. Leaders are focusing on performance now more than ever. Their staff and resources have been cut, and the margin for error in their leadership ability has been narrowed dramatically.

So now’s not the time for distraction.

Which is why I’m somewhat amused, and maybe just slightly annoyed, when I see articles, postings, and other contemplations that seek to find leadership lessons in extraneous yet still alleged leader exemplars. Recently I’ve seen blogging on leadership and management lessons learned by studying Susan Boyle, a 48-year-old singing surprise from Scotland, who appeared on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent”, and who’s been seen more than 80 million times on YouTube. I also saw a posting asking “What leadership lessons can we draw from Captain Kirk in the latest Star Trek movie?” Frankly, these are really no different than books that tout the 101 leadership lessons from [insert the name of your favorite high profile multinational business leader here].

These times are not the times to be looking outside for guidance. Most of us are not singing phenoms, or starship commanders, or heads of multinationals.

It’s back to basics. Start by looking inward.

In the end, the one person you know you get to sleep, shower, eat, work, and live with is you. It’s not Susan Boyle. Not James T. Kirk. Or The Donald. Or Jack Welch. For better or for worse, we have just ourselves to deal with.

So the question we need to ask ourselves is not, “What would Susan or Jack do?” But instead, “What the heck do I need to do?” Let’s get back to basics. What are your customers telling you? Your direct reports? Your peers? Your boss?

What one thing, not 10, not five, not even three…just one thing, if you were to focus on right now, would have a major impact on your performance? If you know what it is, do it. If you don’t, starting asking. Now.

And stay focused on it…for a long while. It could be several months. It could be a year. Real growth, real change takes time. We all know that. But sometimes watching science fiction movies or reality TV characters is a lot more entertaining than getting back to basics. And reading about leadership is certainly a lot easier than doing it.

Next year there will be another Susan Boyle, another popular summer movie, and another business guru touting his innumerable leadership lessons. Hopefully you won’t get distracted by trying to divine the multitude of leadership lessons found within a context that is irrelevant to yours.

Stay relevant to your boss, your customers, and to yourself. Stay focused.


What have you learned not from Susan Boyle or Jack Welch, but from yourself? Click here, and post your comments.

Issue:  Corporate Extravagance & Excess during an Economic Crisis
Leadership Lesson: Values flow from the top.  Period.  People grow numb listening to platitudes and well worn speeches.  Look at what you say and how you act on a daily basis.  What would your employees say about your integrity:  “No question, he/she’s got” or “She/he likes a more flexible truth”?  Put what you regularly say and do on YouTube for all to see: You comfortable with that?

Issue:  Bernie Madoff’s $65 Billion Ponzi Scheme
Leadership Lesson: Never confuse your wealth with your integrity.  It may be commonplace to keep score by assessing the size of your portfolio, the profits you bring to your division, or the sales you close in the month.  Those are important, and have notable impact in very tangible ways.  However the presence or lack of your integrity will always precede you.  Moreover, you have far greater control over it.

Financial performance may vary, and what goes down may come back up.  However, once you’ve lost your integrity, you never recover.  Beyond the direct damage done, you’ll also take innocent bystanders with you, like friends and family.  Guilt by association can have far-reaching unintended consequences.

Issue:  GM’s Uncertain Future
Leadership Lesson: Stay relevant.  Never lose sight of your boss, your industry, and your customers.  All are likely to change during your career, and your challenge is to stay relevant to all of them during that period of time.

What are your boss’s goals and why?  How is your industry changing?  Is it being threatened?  How will you survive if it doesn’t?  And what are your customers saying?  Is your company’s offer still relevant for them?  And is the work you do relevant to satisfying their needs?  If not, what will you do about that?

Focus on staying relevant first; then you can figure out what you need to do, and what skills or capabilities you’ll need to add.

Issue:  Companies are Contracting; Layoffs and Unemployment are Rising
Leadership Lesson: Many people have been promoted but without a formal title change, and their responsibilities and workload have increased.  It used to be that a job change often meant a title change.  The world, industries, and markets change far too fast now for businesses to keep up.  Job descriptions are outdated as soon as the ink dries.

Don’t wait for a change of title to know that your role has changed, expanded, shrunk, transformed, etc.  Be alert to the changes around you, and ask yourself how it all affects your role, your work, and your value to the firm.  If your firm has had layoffs, ask yourself what invisible promotion did you just receive.

If experience is the best teacher, what other leadership lessons have you learned from the recession? Click here, and share your thoughts with other readers.