Two posts on Storytelling and Leadership

I found two articles by Andy Serkin that are great examples of how much of leadership involves the art of telling good stories.

Why Leadership = Storytelling

He also likes Elon Musk of Tesla. While the delivery isn't as strong as the material, he felt that the overall introduction of the Powerwall was successful. At the end, the audience cheered. For a battery!

Want a Better Pitch? Watch This.

Confidence

Original post:  Dec 3, 2012

Last week, I witnessed something extraordinary.

It is quite normal for leaders to be highly visible. These personnel are often extremely talented. They generally believe that no one else can succeed quite as well as they can. In many cases, they are right!

One obvious example of the charismatic leader in action is Steve Jobs. He was well known for dazzling presentations. His outsize persona often led to the blurring of the distinction between the man and his company.

While Steve Jobs was undoubtedly talented and certainly directly responsible for much of the success Apple enjoyed, there were also a number of highly successful lieutenants supporting the enterprise. As we have since learned, Tim Cook is a capable leader in his own right. While the company may head in a slightly different direction, there are multiple potential roads to success.

At a national sales meeting I attended last week, the senior leadership stepped away from the spotlight. They allowed their talented team to plan and execute a fantastic strategy. The meeting went extremely well. I think that victory ended up reflecting even more credit on the leadership's ability to build a solid team.

There are multiple roads to success. It is hard enough to succeed on your own. It is even more difficult to build a team that can do it together. The confidence shown in the team was repaid in full!

It's not about me, it's about we

Original post:  Mar. 26, 2012

Yesterday, I was at a friend's house. As our sons played together, we started discussing parenting skills. As the world continues to evolve around them, we both agreed that the ability to work in teams would be critical in the future.

That led me to thinking about life in our company. On a regular basis, we are often a member of multiple teams. There is a very interesting dynamic to groups. Even if you are the leader, you often are unable to declare a specific direction for the team. There are bound to be competing points of view and many other persons who will eventually have some say in the matter. They may not agree with what you think or how you perceive a problem. Inevitably, there are going to be compromises along the way.

Sometimes the problem is internal. I know that there have been situations in my own life where I felt very strongly that the team should take a particular direction. I was unable to convince the larger group and we headed down another path. It is extremely difficult to separate out the personal feelings of disappointment from the professional demeanor we are encouraged to maintain at all times. Still, I had to remember that the group was the decision maker in this situation, not me.

One of the key lessons I learned in the military was that it is the job of every team member to make the larger group as strong as possible. When you are in charge, you are supposed to take charge. When you are following, you are supposed to provide active input and do nothing to undermine the leadership. You are free to disagree up until the point a final decision is made. At that point, you accept the decision and do your best to make that decision work positively for everyone involved.

I'm not sure exactly how to teach that type of skill. I guess the easiest way for now will be to practice it myself.