The Face of Leadership

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." -- King James Bible



The history of the world is the history of war. "...these things must come to pass..." Some support, some decry, some discuss. Most are like writers and celebrities; they just talk, they don't do anything. Some people answer the call. I am proud my son is one of the latter.

You Lie -- Bye, Bye...

An article in the February 21st Ann Arbor News describes a case of an employee being fired for lying to someone about something he did while on his own time. Both the alleged act and the lie occurred off the employers premises and on the employees scheduled time off.

This stemmed from an apparent "dine and dash" case where Deontae Turner and several friends left a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant without paying for a meal. The dishonesty part occurred sometime between being stopped by police and discussing the incident with his employer.

Turner was not quoted in the article. His boss, Gerald Champagne said "This is an unfortunate situation." and "In addition to the crime that was allegedly committed, there was matter of untruthfulness."

At this point some may question whether an alleged petty crime and dishonesty while away from work might warrant termination. Nothing in the article pointed out prior misbehavior. Most people charged with misdemeanors might wind up with small fines or community service hours for such an offense. But losing one's livelihood?

I applaud Mr. Champagne's quick, decisive action. Perhaps another employee might be allowed such an indiscretion, but Mr. Turner is different. He was at the time an off duty police officer for Van Buren Township where Chief Champagne obviously believes in doing what is right.

Society has a right to demand great leaders who will stand up for integrity, especially in such a sensitive job as law enforcement. It is a difficult thing to address employee misbehavior, even when it is occurring in the workplace, in full view. Van Buren Township has reason to celebrate and take pride in its PD, and all its honest, dedicated employees.

When Posters Attack!

I am always dissappointed when I see internet comments become personal and destructive. This means I spend a lot of time dissappointed.

Recently someone posted a poetic tribute about the people who devote their lives to public safety. The emphasis was on the fire service and brought out some thought provoking points about a vocation most of us are only vaguely familiar with.

The first two responses pointed out the post belonged in the off topic portion of the bulletin board.

It turned out there was a lot of support for the post and the mudslinging was at full speed in record time. Several pages later antagonists were still justifying their remarks, with no end in sight.

In management training we stress the advantages of making our comments based solely on observable behavior. On the internet this would be a tremendous skill as well.

Almost every post contains some form of assumption. The assumptions are usually about the intent or motivation of another poster. This leads to a volley of counterattacks and defensive posts which add little to the original intent of the thread.

The same thing happens at work when a supervisor assumes an employee’s motivation. Instead of pointing out an employee has been late for work a certain number of minutes during a certain period of time, there is a tendency to accuse him/her of laziness.

The problem is one cannot prove laziness. Absence during work hours on the other hand is an observable behavior and may be addressed.

If we could learn to talk to each other at work and in social settings in terms of observable behavior, we would find ourselves in a more civil society. There is plenty of room for speculation, kidding, teasing, and otherwise expressing our opinions. It’s just not appropriate in formal settings such as when admonishing others.

A good rule of thumb is: reserve opinions for light or positive moments; remain factual when a serious remark is in order.

If you participate in bulletin boards or even when you write email demonstrate leadership by being a voice of reason.

Qualities of Leadership

According to authors Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, the quality of a leader is determined by three factors: character, tasks, and relationships.

Character is comprised of

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Courage
• Proper values based on absolute truths
• Faith
• A humble spirit
• Patience with others
• Discipline
• Self-mastery

Tasks are

• Acceptance of responsibility
• Work ethic
• Availability
• Willingness to invest time
• Tenacity
• Perseverance
• Execution

Relationships include

• Accepting people
• Approving of people
• Appreciating people
• Seeing the good in people
• Encouraging people
• Caring for and about people
• Putting others first
• Seeking win-win arrangements
• Helping people accomplish tasks
• Living the “Golden Rule”

The characteristics listed here are discussed thoroughly in Brady and Woodward’s Launching a Leadership Revolution. The lists seem to be an excellent place to begin considering our individual ability as leaders.

I intend to discuss these items further in future blog entries. In the mean time, just thinking about them is important. The book contains suggestions about how to assess your own leadership status using their Trilateral Leadership Ledger ®. It is an interesting exercise for anyone in a position of influence – or who aspires to be.

Somebody Help Me!

What is the definition of "Leadership?"

This question has haunted authors and philosophers throughout history. If you have a definitive definition, please add it here.

Some have posed that leadership differs from management in that leadership is more art and management is more science.

President Eisenhower said "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
Our purpose here is to not only sharpen the definition of leadership, but to provide examples and teachings to enlighten leaders