How are founders like pandas?

Where can you go that is crazy different and extreme?

OK. Break’s over.

Now click for some of the best leadership advice available that will help you move closer to that swing.

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A couple of days ago KG sent me a link to an article questioning previous research, which found that bosses asking questions engender positive reactions and asked me what I thought.

But a 2015 study suggests that there’s one glaring exception to that phenomenon. According to the findings, men in leadership positions wind up looking less competent when they ask for other people’s help.

As usual, I found KG’s thoughts well worth sharing. I include mine mainly to add clarity to the flow.

Me: With regards to the “clever experiments” I don’t think a bunch of MBA students, who are often all-knowing and judgmental, are a good guide to managing an age-diverse team.

KG: Possibly, but as I’ve remarked in the past, the general culture appreciates “strong” leadership. See Bush II or Trump as examples. Or Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison.

Me: True, but leadership still plays out within each specific culture and doesn’t always travel well. Also, your examples are the top dogs; there are leaders at every level and I don’t believe it plays out the same.

KG: Within a culture, little dogs follow top dogs. If the top dog displays certain behaviors, then the little ones will follow suit — we’ve all seen this in organizations.

The issue is that if it is expected that leaders are more than other humans, then we have a false view of leadership.

It is good for stroking the egos of those who are in leadership positions, but it leaves them exposed and ignorant. It should be unnecessary to appear as a demigod to be an effective leader in any culture.

In certain situations a leader must cut through and make decisions, either with limited visibility or high risk. In addition, there are many situations (especially if the group is in crisis) that a dictatorial style may be necessary. These, however, should be limited both in time and scope, because if they are prolonged they will end up damaging collaboration and initiative.

The truly great leaders, both from history and present day business, are those who are good at asking questions and keep asking questions. Genghis Khan was known for his insatiable curiosity and desire to learn, and he was also the most successful military commander in history.

In effect it is our laziness and fear that makes us want to create demigods — beings who know better, with more power and understanding.

We want them to tell us what to do, rather than having to think ourselves, because thinking takes work and research. It is simply easier to hand it over to someone else who “knows better.”

Having done so, we are surprised when our leaders are corrupt, their promises broken and our lives affected negatively.

Can we continue to absolve ourselves of responsibility? Isn’t a leader just another human being with the same levels of fallibility and constraints that any other?

Maybe they are in different areas, but I have yet to meet another human that is good at everything or sees everything.

And even if these people exist, they will still be constrained by their perspective, which is determined by their position in the organization, background, etc.

Only by humbly asking questions, and daring to do so, will a more complete picture emerge.

This is because everyone has a piece of the puzzle, and sometimes this has to be cajoled out.

This is the true art of leaders, because the great ones then make decisions with better information and achieve better results.

It’s amazing to me, but looking back over nearly a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written. Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time. Read other Golden Oldies here

A [2006] survey (no longer online) done by ICR yielded interesting, but certainly not surprising, results.

The survey asked the question, “How often does your boss ask for your advice on solving a problem at work?” The result? Those at lower levels were asked substantially less.

Heck, that wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s had the experience of watching their management bring in high-priced consultants who end up telling them the same thing their own workers had been saying knows the frustration.

It’s been 25 years and I still remember an IT buddy from Bechtel saying that the only difference between the solutions his group presented to management and what the consultants presented was the quality of the report’s paper and the dog and pony show that went with it—oh, yeah, and the more than $100K that it cost.

But I understand. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is for a senior executive, or a Harvard/Sanford/etc. MBA, to have to ask questions of people who barely finished high school? After all, why ask the grunts who actually do the work when it’s much more pleasant to have lunch with someone on one’s own level to discuss the situation and brainstorm solutions in a civilized setting?

Of course, not every manager or MBA thinks that way, but enough do that, “…45.7% of employees earning less than $25,000 annually reported never or seldom being consulted, compared with just 24.7% of those earning more than $75,000.” (Makes me wonder what the 24% who don’t get asked did to alienate their bosses.)

Interestingly, age has no effect on who’s asked.

It’s much easier for management to tell their investors and the media how much they value (asking = valuing to most employees) their people than to actually listen to them—that would mean walking their talk and probably changing their MAP.

And everybody knows that’s it’s far easier to talk, than it is to walk, let alone change.

Flickr image credit: Ron Mader

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.

Brainteaser interview questions. Google was famous for them.

So they must be a good idea because Google only does smart stuff — right?

Wrong.

According to Laszlo Bock, Google’s SVP of People Operations, they are worthless in terms of predicting how someone will do on the job.

In fact, many of them were banned more than a year ago.

The lesson here is that following the leader — even a leader like Google — isn’t necessarily the smart way to go.

Image credit: HikingArtist

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Stupidity is rampant; from the five billion dollar valuation of Cynk, which has no revenue, to these idiotic interview questions, which were recently banned.

Why would investors buy illiquid stock in a company with no revenues?

What does knowing how many piano tuners there are in the world have to do with being a productive contributor?

There was a time when both these scenarios would have been greeted with you’ve-got-to-be-kidding laughter, but times have changed.

Cynk’s valuation is the result of its claim to sell introductions to famous people.

The interview questions were Google’s, and, as we all know, Google only does smart stuff.

These examples prove that jumping on the wagon to avoid missing out or because an idea/action is sourced from/endorsed by a name brand isn’t always a smart way to go.

Blind stupidity is best avoided through individual, critical thinking.

In other words, that’s the best way to avoid being dressed like the emperor.

Image credit: HikingArtist

Want to empower your team (spouse, kids, friends, others)?

Try channeling billionaire Marc Benioff, cofounder and CEO of Salesforce.com.

When someone shares a problem, skip the advice.

Ask leading questions instead.

The kinds that help the person think through the effects, reactions and repercussions of proposed actions/solutions.

Questions that don’t include what/why/when/how you would do whatever.

The secret isn’t the questions, it’s the fact that Benioff isn’t directing the answers, isn’t even interested in having an opinion and getting his way. He’s also not interested in solving the problem for his employee.

Leading questions sans ego help clarify both the question and the answer.

Amazing how empowering interaction with an authority figure can be when that person gets off their dignity and doesn’t need to vest their own ego in the solution.

Flickr image credit: Rich Anderson

Wayne Jackson, CEO of software security firm Sonatype, has a favorite question he asks when interviewing.

“Can you tell me about a time when you almost gave up, how you felt about that, and what you did instead of giving up?”

My favorite question is also a three-parter, but looks at company instead of self.

“How did you/your team do X, did you agree with the approach, what would you have done differently if it was your decision.”

Both questions address the most important issue of an interview, how the candidate’s mind works, i.e., how she thinks.

Getting insight into how she thinks trumps any other information you can discover during the hiring process.

Understanding how a person thinks gives you insight as to how she will interface with the team, approach her work and handle challenges as they arise.

How she thinks is also key to how well she’ll fit your culture.

And cultural fit is the key to productivity, engagement, happiness and everything else.

Hat tip to KG Charles-Harris for sending me the Inc article.

Flickr image credit: bpsusf

What do you look for in your candidates?

How important is college?

Do you focus on GPAs?

Google homogenized it’s workforce by using an algorithm that measured people in terms of their similarity to current googlers (but I think that has changed).

Some managers are so naïve/dumb/lazy that they hire based on Klout scores.

EMANIO created a hiring manifesto to define its approach.

Some people think certain questions are the secret to good hiring, and while they are useful they aren’t silver bullets.

However, good questions asked correctly can tell you how the candidate thinks, which is far more valuable than where they went to school, previously worked, position held or even current skills. This is especially true if your goal is to increase creativity and innovation.

For those bosses who think that hiring is a waste of time, not to mention a pain in the patootie, I remind you that the only thing more important than acquiring talent is keeping what you have.

And if doing a good job isn’t enough, keep in mind that as a boss (any kind/any level) your reviews/raises are a function of your team’s performance not just your own.

For more how-to-hire knowledge read my Insanely series.

Flickr image credit: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner

Way back in 1710 a philosopher named Berkeley posed a question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Berkeley never answered it, but since then the question has been pondered, debated and formed the basis of millions of late-night, bottle-of-wine discussions.

While there’s still no answer to Berkeley’s question, I have a 21^st Century variation to ask you.

If a moment of your life doesn’t result in a picture did it happen?

It seems that many people respond “no.”

Think about it.

stock.xchng image credit: Rusty Clark

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Ask any recruiter or manager who has been around for awhile and they’ll tell you there is only one guarantee when it comes to talent: supply and demand are always at odds.

The danger is highest for those to whom hiring is newest and founders can be especially vulnerable.

Obviously, founders and others in a startup are excited and high on what they are creating or they wouldn’t be there.

And therein lays the danger.

In the heat of competition from other startups and the excitement of converting the candidate to their vision interviewers forget or avoid asking certain questions.

Worse, if the candidate is super-hot or possesses badly needed skills interviewers often avoid asking anything that might spoil the deal or turn the candidate off.

But it is of little use to hire even extraordinary talent if they don’t stay or bring in someone who will trash the culture and tear the team apart.

Which questions are most often ignored?

The tough questions, which are, by definition, any question to which you don’t want to hear the answer.

Simply stated, tough questions are the ones that bring a negative answer when you want a positive one and vice versa—in effect killing the deal.

Here are some sample tough questions and their potentially deal-killing answers:

• Q: Does the project turn you on?
  A: Not particularly.
• Q: Then why are you here?
  A: I heard I could make a lot of money and get a ton of stock options.
• Q: What do you find attractive about the position?
  A: The perks are awesome.
• Q: Do you like our location?
  A: Well, it’s about an hour from where I live.
• Q: How soon after accepting can you start?
  A: I’m in the middle of a project and would have to finish, and I’d like to take a couple of weeks off—say, about three or four months.

Money questions are often a minefield.

• Q: What kind of compensation package do you want?
  A: Well, I just got a raise, a promotion, and a large stock grant and currently I have six weeks of vacation, and I’d like to improve on that.
• Q: Our salary range goes to $100,000.
  A: Oh, I’m currently making 95 and have a review due in a couple of weeks.

The important thing to keep in mind about tough questions is that if the response kills the deal or raises serious red flags you are better off to know it sooner rather than later, before you spend time crafting an offer or having to contend with a hire who damages the company.

There are other important benefits from asking though questions.

Bringing potential problems out in the open gives you the opportunity to solve them, but first you have to identify them.

Finally, the discussion itself is valuable.

You learn more about a person’s priorities, ethical structure, style, and personality when discussing difficulties and solving them is the beginning of the bond that is the basis for the most productive relationships.

Image credit: HikingArtist