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Devices and Desires: Five temptations and how to avoid them when building a winning team.
Leader's Edge, January/February 2007
Fast Focus
- The desire for self-preservation and popularity could be the downfall of a CEO.
- Choosing results over status and conflict over harmony could be the salvation.
Insurance agencies are unique businesses. They broker a product that is
a service that is a promise, something people purchase hoping they'll
never have to use. Sometimes the most frequent contact with a client
happens when that company is absolutely in trouble. Agency CEOs are
every bit as unique as their businesses. Some are fiercely independent.
Others seem like the best manager you've encountered at a Fortune 500
company. Often owners of agencies and insurance brokerages will be
pillars of their communities, but sometimes they will be as stealthy as
"the quiet company" we paradoxically hear about in its ads.
The unique nature of the agency business and the singular traits of its
CEOs might result in difficulty when considering how to diagnose an
underperforming company and coach its leadership in bringing it back to
health. In a cynical mood, one could say that there are so very many
ways to screw up a good business. Even in a hopeful mood, it must be
said that circumstances such as market conditions can thwart our best
efforts to succeed. You could go so far as to say that an agency's
prospects are more prone to circumstances beyond an individual's control
than many other businesses.
But we're not here to discuss insurmountable problems. Rather, I believe
it's more effective to recognize the commonality between our business
and others because that is where learning can happen.
Death by…Temptations
This message has been brought home to me very clearly in the writings of
Patrick Lencioni, one of my favorite authors. In The Five Temptations of
a CEO, Lencioni writes about the common pitfalls and problems faced by
business leaders. With this topic, he tackled a deep and sensitive
issue: CEO effectiveness. Being an effective, respected leader comes
down to just a few basic behaviors which, as he says, "are painfully
difficult for each of us to master."
But these are not the headline-making behaviors you might be expecting.
If you think the book's five temptations would include insider trading,
boardroom spying or fraud scandals, you would be wrong. That doesn't
mean this book, released in 1998 by Jossey-Bass, is not every bit as
relevant today as it was then. It is real-world, surprisingly simple
advice to help you ratchet up your effectiveness.
Temptation is a provocative word. In current society, it's more often
connected with tabloids than annual reports. But Lencioni uses
temptation to refer to the pitfalls or struggles that many CEOs grapple
with at one time or another. These temptations could lead to downfall
and failure just as surely as those other instances of poor human
judgment that land people under a sensational headline.
Failure, in this context, does not happen because a CEO has one or more
of the five temptations; it happens when a person hides behind those
temptations, does not bring them into the open, and does not get the
support of others who could help deal with them. In this sense, it is a
bit like leading a double life but without the trenchcoat, motel rooms
or damning cell phone records.
Dealing with the five temptations of a CEO requires the self-confidence
to put oneself under scrutiny and self-assessment. Although I recommend
that readers pick up and read this great book, I'll walk you through how
they apply to an agency principal.
Temptation #1-The Desire to Protect the Status of Your Career
Any busy CEO knows that he or she must set priorities and tackle the
most urgent things first. Just like the credit card company that asks
"what's in your wallet," I think it's relevant to ask "what's on your
list?" Lencioni's book tackles this issue as the first temptation. But
his approach is not a nuts-and-bolts discussion of how to figure out
which issues are most important. Rather, he wants to examine what's
lurking on your list that might be holding you back.
Today's executive must embrace the goal of getting results, he says:
bottom-line, measurable, financial success. Obvious, yes, but not always
practiced. A common pitfall is for a CEO to put protection of his or her
career above results. It is a complex problem, driven by ego, and it is
by far the most dangerous of all the temptations. Staff members are not
rewarded based on their contributions to results, but on how well they
can stroke the boss' ego.
Lencioni offers "The Simple Advice for CEOs" on tackling each
temptation, a phrase I'll use as well for each temptation. The "Simple
Advice" for temptation #1 is to always make results the most important
measure of not only the agency's success, but also of your personal
success. If you can't lead the agency toward results, step out of the
way. The future of your agency, your employees, your clients and your
shareholders is too important.
Temptation #2-The Desire to Be Popular
How many times have you failed to hold a direct report accountable for
not delivering on a performance commitment? Sales manager didn't hit the
goals? CFO short of promised expense efficiencies? IT leader didn't
implement new technology on time? The list could go on.
A chill wind can blow through after you come down hard on the failures
of those you're counting on to help produce results. Do you let them off
easy, justifying that good morale or fostering a team mentality is more
important than demanding performance? Is that sound management practice,
or is it rationalization?
Too often, a desire to be popular will drive a decision on whether to
demand responsibility for your employees' shortfalls. The simple advice
from Lencioni is to work for long-term respect, rather than affection.
Don't look for a group of buddies around your conference table. They're
not your support group, they're an assemblage of responsible executives
who must perform in order for the firm's goals to have any meaning.
Temptation #3-The Desire to Make "Correct" Decisions, to Achieve
Certainty
The worry about being absolutely certain you are making a correct
decision can be a paralyzing thing. The way to resist this temptation,
says Lencioni, is to make clarity more important than accuracy. A CEO
who is clear and follows through will earn more respect and command more
decisive action than one who allows for gray areas. People make
mistakes, and some decisions will inevitably be wrong. But learning from
those decisions and being secure enough to risk being wrong will propel
your agency forward more surely than the paralysis of avoiding decisive
action.
Temptation #4-The Desire for Harmony
It's much more pleasant to run a company that's firing on all cylinders,
where every plan and action are undertaken on time and on budget and the
everyday stress is a manageable part of the routine. But does that sound
like a company that is working hard enough to maximize its financial
results? Sounds more like a firm that's coasting than one expending any
real effort.
Sometimes the effort comes, Lencioni says, through a bit of conflict. As
he pointed out in his book, Death by Meeting, the most useful
discussions arise after conflict is created. Harmony has the effect of
resisting a passionate interchange of opinions. In other words, the best
ideas often come when we push ourselves a bit to lay all knowledge and
perspectives out on the table. Not all opinions need to be accepted, but
they all should be considered.
The simple advice, says the author, is to "tolerate dischord." Encourage
your managers to air their differences with passion. Respond positively
to constructive criticism, and reward a challenging remark. While
personal attacks are unacceptable, conflict is healthy if it allows
people to express their thoughts without worry of retribution.
Temptation #5-The Desire for Invulnerability
What's your personal kryptonite? Is it the possibility that you'll lose
credibility in front of your staff? That, says Lencioni, is what brings
some CEOs down, even if they've been able to avoid the other four
temptations. A CEO has power and wants to keep that power. Vulnerability
is seen as a glowing green substance that weakens you in front of the
mere mortals around the table.
How is a CEO in danger of being seen as vulnerable? By allowing people
to challenge his or her ideas. So even if your managers are engaged in a
lively debate and constructively criticizing the agency's problems, they
may not be comfortable taking that debate up with you because they
perceive that you wouldn't tolerate it. They imagine what your position
will be on an issue, then take up places around that position in the
debate. Thus, you are insulated.
What would be the remedy for your concern over losing credibility with
your staff? Trust them. By taking Lencioni's simple advice of choosing
trust over invulnerability, you will be able to enter the debate and
encourage your managers to challenge your opinions too. You will be
trusting them with your reputation, and they will respond with respect
and honesty.
Overcoming Temptation
By now you might want to tackle these issues one by one, examining your
actions in light of these ideas. Lencioni suggests addressing the five
temptations in reverse order because of the sequential impact the
principles will have on each other.
5. Choose trust over invulnerability—it builds productive
conflict.
4. Choose conflict over harmony—it creates clarity.
3. Choose clarity over certainty—it enables accountability.
2. Choose accountability over popularity—it fosters results.
1. Choose results over status—it delivers the ultimate measure of
success.
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