Here are some highlights and posts that you should read.

Leadership

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

Value

1. What Value Do You Bring?
2. Do you add Value? – The CAD Manager Position
3. Do you add Value? – More on the CAD Manager Position
4. Do You Add Value? – Your Expertise
5. Do you add Value? – With Creative Thinking
6. Do you add Value? – Providing Structure
7. Do you add Value? – Through Determination
8. Do you add Value? – with Enthusiasm
9. Do you add Value? – Intuition

It takes some time to get to know your team members.  Take the time to listen actively to what is being said and who is saying what.  Active listening takes effort.  You are just no listening for what is said, but also for what is not being said.  Listen to see the following:  Who speaks first and last.  Who gets quiet when others speak.  Who participates and who does not and when they are doing each.  Who continues to restate their point even if others are not listening. Who is trying to summarize. Who is working to achieve unity.  Who is stubborn.

By actively listening you can quickly figure out who will work with you, how they will contribute and who will put up roadblocks.  You will learn how to work with each of them to avoid the negatives that they may bring.  You can approach each person or topic using the flexible and creative styles that you may have in your talent mix.

Don’t go in with one way of getting things done. Avoid placing all of your efforts into one type of interaction.  Work with the team to get past the road blocks that may arise.

How to work with or against differing personalities

Let’s say that one person on the team comes in with a predisposed perspective as to the conclusion of the topics that you need to discuss.  They already have their mind made up and they are trying to bully their way to a quick conclusion.  They just think that the team is inconvenient demand placed on them by management in order to make it seem democratic.  They may say “We all know that ABC is the answer so lets cut to the end and be done.”

I would suggest that you ask a lot of questions to get the entire team thinking about the outcome.  Ask about the pros and cons of the ABC answer.  You could say “ABC may be the answer and it has viable components, but we really should take a full look at the question so that management knows that we have done our homework”, then start asking questions.  Get the team to start talking and they will soon uncover some area that has not been fully explored.  Once you uncover something, the team will start discussing other options and you may get past the “quick answer” perspective.

There are many more personalities that are involved in teams.  I have just scratched the surface.

The TV show “Survivor” has been broadcasting for quite a few years that gives us some examples that are rather bad on how to work in teams.  The show often gives glimpses into the sidebar meetings and clandestine little chats that make and break alliances.  Members of one tribe plan how to take out their own members.  Convincing each other that the “other” person must be ousted.

While this Reality TV pioneering show shows the bad side of working in teams, that does not mean that these short meetings prior to the main meeting are always bad.

Working in teams does not mean that all of the work happens during the meetings. Sometimes it is the conversations and negotiations that happen between meetings that make progress.  Smart managers realize this and use it to their advantage. They seek out allies to strengthen support before the meeting starts.   They also try to defuse any conflict or disagreement with private informal meetings with those that may disagree.  By doing this they may avoid problems during meetings or make more progress faster by building alliances.  Even though there are many negative examples on the TV show “Survivor”, it is an example of how team members work outside of the formal meeting times. You don’t want to use the backbiting and underhanded techniques that are so obvious on that show.

Moving a team may take more of the sideline campaigning than some are use to.  But taking the time to divide up the team and find who is with you and who might be working in another direction is valuable.  This gives you a perspective on when items will be easy to get agreement on and the ones where you may have trouble.  Knowing what you are up against will streamline meetings by moving faster on those areas when most agree and slowing down for those areas that need greater review.

Having discussions outside the meetings can backfire if you appear to be working the system to your advantage.  If you go too far and start making final decisions outside of the meetings, others will soon figure it out and push back. Not because they disagree with the conclusion, but maybe just because they think the process is rigged.  You need to move toward agreements but not settle them.

By discussing things apart from the meetings you can make more progress or you could shoot yourself in the foot. Be careful when doing this.

Teamwork is just what the name implies – Teams and Work. Teams take Work.

When you create the team and pull together the members, you stand a better chance of success, but it still takes work.  What happens when you are placed on a team that you did not create? Teams that have been created by others can have even more troubles.  Sometimes management just throws together a team of people based on job title or availability.  When this happens you get a blend that was not tuned to each other and may even have conflict between members that has nothing to do with the others on the team or the topic of discussion.

When this happens a smart manager refines their approach to working with others. They adjust and tune their processes so that they can maximize the productivity, contribute as an individual and bring cohesion to the team.

Good teams work toward a common goal. This may seem like a commonly understood perspective, but I have seen teams drift off track and loose sight of the goal and some that do not agree on the goal at all. So I suggest that everyone first discuss the goal and output of the team.  What questions are we going to answer?  What output are we creating?  These should be the first questions asked and the ones that are reviewed from time to time to see if you are still heading in the right direction.

Good teams share common methods. They are not little robots,programmed to do just one thing, but they do share a common approach to getting things done.  Teams may not start this way, but they need to agree on how the goal will be reached.  Some teams have subcommittees.  Some do everything together.  Some teams do everything in the meetings and nothing outside and some task groups or individuals to work between meetings.  But the teams that operate the best are those that first agree on how they will tackle the process of reaching the goal.  Sometimes the process is defined up front and other times it is defined as you move forward.  Either way works as long as the team understands who is doing what.

Good teams document the process and the results. The goal is not the only milestone that is achieved as teams progress along.  Many landmarks are passed as teams move toward the goal. Many processes are defined as you move along.  You need to write these down in some form of minutes.  It may be formal or informal, but you need to document what is a greed to so that everyone stays on the same page.  Writing it down and distributing it causes you to clarify and review as you go.  Everyone contributes and reads the minutes or notes from a meeting and they are verified so that all agree to the decisions that are written and not just what they think was said.

Good teams work as a team. Another obvious statement, but so often not applied.  Every member of the team stands or falls on the collective outcome of the team.  But many bring personal agendas and goals that counteract that effort.  Those team members can work contrary to the overall goal and seek individual goal, departmental goals or even seek to avoid the main goal.  It all happens as others are working in one direction, others are moving in the opposite direction.  Ferreting out these silent agendas may be tough, but they need to be uncovered and addressed or corrected.

Table of contents for CADD Manager Journal - December 2009

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

What makes a leader?

Another perspective that leaders have is that they take ownership of the planning, process and outcome.  They share the planning and processes and seek to insure that the outcome is positive.  They act like they are owners of the outcome.  They act as if success or failure were personally affecting them (which it does). They act as if the money it takes to purchase was their own. They think and act as if the company was theirs.

Leaders share success with the team.  When success is achieved, the team gets the credit.  When praise is given they step back and allow the team to soak it in.  When there is success, a leader step back to allow the accolades to flow to the team..

Leaders strive to not pass the buck or place blame when things go bad.  When failure occurs, they take the blame.  They may not have caused the failure personally, but they step to the front when blame is occurring to accept the critique and protect the team.  When there is failure, a leader step forward to take the brunt of the critique.

Taking ownership does not mean “my way or the highway”.  Owners seek the best for the whole.  Issues that have no owner soon flounder.  Issues that have a controlling owner soon alienate the team from wanting to participate.  You cannot just dictate and give orders.  That does not work with most people.  They want to contribute and be part of the process.

Even though you are the “owner”, you may want to let others decide. Be willing to accept the decisions of competent people who are closest to the issues at hand.  Let those that have more skill or knowledge that you in a specific area have more influence on the decisions.  Teamwork is where leaders need to excel.

Table of contents for CADD Manager Journal - December 2009

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

What makes a Leader?  Some perspectives need to be in place…

I start with this one, but it is not necessarily the first or most important concept. It might be, but I don’t really know. You might think it is and you may not.

Leadership is not about you.

Leaders are not in it for themselves.  This does not mean that there are no personal rewards for leaders, but that the main focus of a true leader is not on themselves and what they can gain.  A leader looks to make progress in several areas and the premiere one is not themselves.  They may look to progress a movement or a cause.  They may look to advance understanding of an issue. They may seek to encourage others to excel.  All of these can be part of a leaders motivation, but self aggrandizement should not be at the top.

People who move into a leadership position with an attitude that they will  reap personal rewards may be in for a shock. The rewards are great as you see the team succeed or plans unfold with success.  But leadership is often a tough, thankless job.  Leaders are often misunderstood or thought to be focused in the wrong direction.  Those who disagree with them may become more vocal.  Anyone who thinks that leaders have a great job have not been in their shoes.

Leaders are “others” focused.  They look for ways to promote others.  To help others succeed.  To move others along in their quest for leadership.

Table of contents for CADD Manager Journal - December 2009

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

Leaders look farther down the road than others. By constantly forcing themselves to see farther, they get a better perspective on what might happen tomorrow and beyond. This perspective allows them to present the future to others.

What is vision? It is just painting a picture of where you could go. It is taking into account all of the talents, resources and knowledge of a group and pointing them in a direction that best fits their ability and the needs that they are trying to fill. It is looking at where you are now, where you could be and then providing a possible plan to get there.

During this process, a leader points in a direction but remains flexible and agile enough to change direction, if the situation calls for it. Sticking to a plan that is flawed is not well advised. Staying the course when the landscape changes is not being responsive to the situation. Leaders must constantly review the vision to see if it is on track and still the best goal.

Leaders restate the vision constantly. New members of the team need to know the target. Those who have lost their focus need to be reminded. The entire team needs to concentrate on the same effort and result. Only then can a leader keep things moving. Leaders take the time to reaffirm the group goals, provide progress reports, check the status of all areas and continue to peer into the future to maintain a long range view of what can be done.

Table of contents for CADD Manager Journal - December 2009

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

Leadership is a much needed quality that most people are looking for in others. They want political leaders, sports leaders, business leaders, spiritual leaders and so much more. But what about that quality in us? Are you a leader? Do you have leadership qualities? I am speaking on the subject of leadership at Autodesk University. So I present some of my thoughts here.

What makes a leader?

There are many list of traits and qualities that leaders possess. Some are very formal. Some are kind of random and not really presented in an organized manner. I don’t really think that any one quality of leadership stands first or second. Some rank them as if you could get a top ten list. I have produced lists, but no top tens. Every time I create a list I think I can get them in a specific order, but when I look again – the order changes.

Others may make lists in specific order and I appreciate that. I have no problem with writers attempting to place things in order, but with leadership it is hard to do. This is because leadership is a complete package. It is the combination of many qualities that make the whole. Every leader has a different mix. No one list is the consummate, complete or exhaustive collection. Even if there was a list like this, no one would embody the entire list at all times.

Leaders are flawed. A leader may excel in an individual trait at one time and just to fail at that same trait at another time. What makes leaders succeed is the overall collection of traits they possess and the percentage of positive times they exhibit that trait. The greater percentage of collective positives makes them a leader.

Whenever I look at a list of traits that someone makes for leadership, I see areas that I need to improve, areas that feel fairly good about and areas which I continue to fail at over and over.

So what makes a leader? A leader is usually either one because of desire or need.

Leadership may begin with a desire to be one. A desire to improve. A desire to work at it. This desire may come from inside you, or outside. But a desire is there. Leaders want to be leaders. This goes beyond just being a better “You”. It is a call toward making an impact on others.

Leadership may come from a need. Someone needs to lead and you may be stuck doing it. This may not be a great reason, but it happens. The first (a desire to lead) is better than the second. I do not think that this is really leadership. It is more akin to management. Someone needs to make sure something gets done. It could be leadership, but if you are pressed in to service, it is most likely management skills that got you there.