see what they can do

Once a year, all Navy ships undergo a thorough assessment, in which outside inspectors validate the ship's readiness. The ship as a whole and the crew's abilities and proficiencies are rated in twenty-four categories, on a scale ranging from basic Level One to advanced Level Four. 

The purpose is to determine who much additional training the crew needs to be ready for combat. But if you assume that the higher a ship's level, the less time it would spend training at sea, you would be wrong. In fact, regardless of its readiness rating, every ship spends the next six months training at sea. 
Thus there was no incentive to reach Level Four, and in fact, no ship ever did. Level One was the required minimum, and that was usually considered good enough. 

Then Benfold came along.

Originally, my goal was to reach an overall rating of Level Two, but when I recognized the enormous potential of my crew, I raised the bar to Level Three, much to the chagrin of those who saw it as a quantum leap in their labor and my hubris. 

I must also admit that, in addition to my noble motive of making the ship as good as it could be, I wanted to blow my archrival out of the water. Their assessment was scheduled to begin the basic Level One. The CO had no idea that we were laying the groundwork to shake things up a little. In fact, we were about to rock his world.

Our first challenge was finding enough senior people to supervise the twenty-four areas of testing. My combat systems officer hit me with the unexpected news that we had only twenty qualified people who were not involved in other critical operations. 

Thinking fast, I said, "Fine - pick supervisors from the next group down. You don't always need a senior person in charge. It could be a young, third-class petty officer."

"That's never been done before," he said.

"See what they can do," I said. "The alternative is to do nothing, right? Let's assign senior people to the most demanding areas and work our way down to the junior ones. If we don't get Level Three in some categories, so what? We will get Level One or Two. We have nothing to lose."

As it turns out, the third- and second-class petty officers were so honored to be chosen that they worked hard enough for several of their teams to outshine those supervised by senior people. The search-and-seizure team was particularly impressive. We assigned it to one of the ship's most junior sailors because we suspected he had the ability to honcho it. The outside inspectors protested, saying they could not validate the work of an important team that wasn't headed by a commissioned officer. But I insisted, and the young sailor did such a fantastic job that the inspectors ate their words and placed us at Level Four in that category.

Breaking out of our stratified systems to trust the people who work for us, especially those at or near the low end of the hierarchy, was a useful, progressive change. It let us unleash people with talent and let them rise to levels that no one had expected, simply by challenging them: Make Benfold the readiest ship afloat. In that context, how could we not have done well?


D. Michael Abrashoff
It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff. Grand Central Publishing. 2007. p.146-148

work/life balance

It’s essential that people work a sensible number of hours. If you’re putting in 50, 60 hours a week or more, then there will be people in your organization who will feel that they should, too. But that will create inner turmoil, because they will be torn between what they perceive as your expectations for them and the responsibilities and, indeed, desires they feel towards their families, and even their personal health.

Don’t force your employees to make a choice. Show them that work/life balance is so important that you practice it as well.

Morag Barrett

6 steps to great leadership. CIO. 8/10/2015

they’ll begin to wonder

The old adage “no news is good news” doesn’t cut it in a business environment. In the absence of feedback most of us will fill in the blanks and create stories as to how we are perceived, and whether we are valued. 

Unfortunately these stories tend to assume the worst, to be the bad news, and your employees will be looking for examples of your behavior that support their story – the case for the prosecution.

“He didn’t say ‘hello’ this morning – I knew he didn’t like me”

“She asked everyone else for their input into this project except me – She doesn’t value my opinion”

If you are of the opinion that others should act like grown-ups and recognize that if there’s a problem, then they can be sure that someone above them will let them know. That’s not leadership. That’s abdication.

Part of your responsibility as a leader is to let people know when they’re doing their jobs well. Sharing the good news and not just the bad news on a consistent basis. If you don’t tell them, then they’ll begin to wonder if they are. If they’re wondering, then it means that they’re not focusing on doing what’s right.

Morag Barrett

6 steps to great leadership. CIO. 8/10/2015

people want to be magnificent

I think people want to be magnificent. It is the job of the leader to bring out that magnificence in people and to create an environment where they feel safe and supported and ready to do the best job possible in accomplishing key goals. This responsibility is a sacred trust that should not be violated. The opportunity to guide others to their fullest potential is an honor and one that should not be taken lightly. As leaders, we hold the lives of others in our hands. These hands need to be gentle and caring and always available for support.

Ken Blanchard
Situational Leadership® II, The Article. 2001

servant-leaders exercise the following traits

Servant-leaders exercise the following traits and practices in their roles. They:

• Understand the value of every human soul.
• Have an inborn or developed sense of caring for others.
• Are quick to volunteer to take pressure off someone else.
• Rush to the aid of someone who is going through an embarrassing or humiliating experience.
• Treat all people on a basis of equality.
• Do not feel that tasks they expect others to do are too demeaning for themselves.
• Are not offended by disruptions of people who are themselves going through emotional traumas or stress.
• Expect more from themselves than they do from anyone else.
• Are quick to compliment, give credit, and build up those who perform a given task.
• Judge people by their potential, not necessarily by one single negative experience.
• Do not take credit for someone else’s achievements and love to share credit for any of their own accomplishments.
• Get the facts before finding fault or criticizing another person.
• Help all people feel they had a real part in the success of a project.
• Detest practical jokes or statements that focus humiliation or attention on one soul.
• Always constructively criticize in private and compliment in public.
• Are absolutely honest in their work.
• Are equally fair with all under their direction.
• Are always willing to listen to both sides of a quarrel, discussion, or issue. They know it is a pretty thin pancake that has only one side. . . .
• Make themselves accessible to all, not just those with position or power.

True servant-leaders do not need a checklist of these character traits, for they live them daily. . . .

Vaughn J. Featherstone

The Incomparable Christ: Our Master and Model (1995)

As quoted in Principles of Leadership Teacher's Manual. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City. 2001

the humble spirit

One of the marks of great leadership always has been and ever will be the humble spirit.

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2014. Chapter 19: Leadership. 371

a good leader expects loyalty

A good leader expects loyalty. He in turn gives his loyalty. He backs up those to whom he has given a job. The loyalty extends to matters beyond the call of duty. He is loyal when honors come to those with whom he serves. He takes pride in their successes. He does not overrule unless he first confers with him whose decision he overrules. He does not embarrass an associate before others. He is frank and open with him.

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2014. Chapter 19: Leadership. 371.

harder to bear than criticism

Even harder to bear than criticism, oftentimes, is no word from our leader on the work to which we have been assigned. Little comments or notes, which are sincere and specific, are great boosters along the way.

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2014. Chapter 19: Leadership. 371.

I teach them correct principles

John Taylor, the third President of the Church, reported: “Some years ago, in Nauvoo, a gentleman in my hearing, a member of the Legislature,  asked Joseph Smith how it was that he was enabled to govern so many people, and to preserve such perfect order; remarking at the same time that it was impossible for them to do it anywhere else. Mr. Smith remarked that it was very easy to do that. ‘How?’ responded the gentleman; ‘to us it is very difficult.’ Mr. Smith replied, ‘I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.’”

John Taylor, “The Organization of the Church,” Millennial Star, Nov. 15, 1851, p. 339. As quoted in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2007. Chapter 24: Leading in the Lord’s Way. 

leading others with kindness

May 15, 1993, was a much-anticipated day for me. It was the day of the UCLA Book Fair, and one of the speakers was Warren G. Bennis, my favorite leadership thinker and author at the time. I had studied his books and could not wait to hear him speak in person. I got my ticket and arrived early on that hot day in hopes of snagging a good seat in the auditorium to listen to him. I even took my copy of his book On Becoming a Leader, just in case I met him and it wasn’t too awkward to ask him to sign it. But I knew that it was highly unlikely, especially as I saw the line to get into the auditorium grow and grow.

While I was waiting in line, I noticed an elderly gentleman who seemed lost or disoriented in the heat, so I asked him if he was okay. He said that he really wanted to hear Warren Bennis talk but didn’t know where to go. I told him that he was in the right place and that the long line was to get into the auditorium. He said that he didn’t have a ticket but hoped to get in somehow. I told him the event was completely sold out but that if he held my place in line, I would go ask if there was the possibility of a standby list.

The person at the door told me that there was some overflow and that the man could just go in with me. I went back and gave him the good news. When we entered the auditorium, we saw Warren Bennis way up on the stage talking to some people.

The man said to me, “Let’s go talk to him.”

My response: “Uh, no. C’mon, you’re going to get us kicked out. Let’s just sit down!”

But he insisted, so I followed him up to the stage, just waiting for security to tackle us. Suddenly Warren Bennis looked up and saw the man, hurried over and brought him up on stage, and hugged him. I soon realized that the older man was his brother and that they hadn’t seen each other for years. His brother then pulled me onto the stage to meet Warren Bennis! He told his brother how I had helped him outside and how he might not have been able to get into the auditorium if it weren’t for me. It was completely untrue, but I loved hearing it. Warren Bennis then hugged me and thanked me. He saw my copy of his book On Becoming a Leader and asked if he could sign it for me.

Now, the point of the story is this: As he signed my book, Warren Bennis said something that I will never forget. He said:

You know, I write a lot about the characteristics of leaders and how they need to examine their lives. I don’t write as much about how they need to care for those who follow them. The first principle of leadership should always be leading others with kindness.

Mark A. Bragg

"A Master Class in Leadership: One Day with the Savior," BYU Speeches. February 7, 2023

bumpy and uneven

We need also to be careful about being too quick to complain about institutional and individual imperfections in the Church. For instance, before we complain about someone else's insensitivity or errant authoritarianism, we need to examine meekly our own leadership style. It would be well to accept that in a church which oversees some of the processes of repentance, inevitably this perfect and emancipating doctrine is sometimes imperfectly administered. 

Life in the Church means experiencing leaders who are not always wise, mature, and deft. In fact, some of us are as bumpy and uneven as a sackful of old doorknobs. Some of the polishing we experience is a result of grinding against each other. How vital submissiveness is in such circumstances, especially if the lubrication of love is not amply present. 

In a church established, among other reasons, for the perfecting of the Saints - an ongoing process - it is naive to expect, and certainly unfair to demand, perfection in our peers. A brief self-inventory is wise before we "cast the first stone." Possessing a few rocks in our own heads, it is especially dangerous to have rocks too ready in our hands.

Neal A. Maxwell

Not My Will, but Thine by Neal A. Maxwell. 2008. Deseret Book. p. 79, 80

the applause you get

Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.... When managers focus only on organizational indicators of vitality – such as profit – they have their eyes on the scoreboard, not the ball. Profit, a key aspect of organizational vitality, is a byproduct of serving the customer, which can be achieved only by serving the employee. So profit really is the applause you get from taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.

Ken Blanchard

Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations (Revised and Expanded Edition). FT Press, 2009. 

your leadership doesn’t matter

Leadership is about going somewhere. If you and your people don’t know where you are going, your leadership doesn’t matter. 

Ken Blanchard

Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations (Revised and Expanded Edition). FT Press, 2009. p.17

receptivity

Receptivity is the willingness to listen to and work with someone else to make an interaction productive. Think of receptivity as a line on a graph. As we engage in conversation, the other person’s line may move above or dip below a minimal level of receptivity. Sometimes, he is highly involved; sometimes, not at all. It can change from moment to moment. 

Effective communication depends on raising receptivity as high as possible. If we do nothing to budge low receptivity, we lose the lively interplay of ideas, insights, debate, and the weighing of options that characterize quality discussion.

If we can’t get that synergy going, we will be far less successful as leaders engaging in activities that depend on good communication, such as motivating, coaching, or training. So, it’s worthwhile to work on raising receptivity…

A good technique for creating interest is to actually answer their question, “What’s in it for me?” by making a benefit statement. Take the time at the beginning of a discussion and at other appropriate moments to state what the benefit will be for them to participate.

“Karen, I’m glad I caught you. I did an inventory check at the warehouse. I want to talk about it because I think we can solve your shortage problem.” The other person’s ears perk up. Something to solve my problem? I’m listening!

That’s fine if it’s good news. What if the topic is unpleasant? Keep finding the benefit. Suppose you are a team leader and must talk to a member who monopolizes discussions, and runs roughshod over the views of others? You might say “John, I’m concerned about the way you approach out team discussions. If everyone were allowed more of a chance to contribute, your ideas would be better received and have a greater chance of being adopted.” A positive outcome is stated up front as a reward for John’s willingness to work out the problem. That makes more sense than, “John, you’re being a loudmouth, and people are complaining about it. So, knock it off.” Receptivity will be a lot higher in the first conversation, even though the statement in the second may be just as accurate.

Ann Buzzotta, Larry Gross, and Les Muckerman (the research and development team of Psychological Associates)

Leadership Through People Skills® Workshop Prework – Article 2: Communication by. 

what not to do

When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, it was producing a random array of computers and peripherals, including a dozen different versions of the Macintosh. After a few weeks of product review sessions, he’d finally had enough. “Stop!” he shouted. “This is crazy.” He grabbed a Magic Marker, padded in his bare feet to a whiteboard, and drew a two-by-two grid. “Here’s what we need,” he declared. Atop the two columns, he wrote “Consumer” and “Pro.” He labeled the two rows “Desktop” and “Portable.” Their job, he told his team members, was to focus on four great products, one for each quadrant. All other products should be canceled. There was a stunned silence. But by getting Apple to focus on making just four computers, he saved the company. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do,” he told me. “That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”

Walter Isaacson

The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs - Harvard Business Review the Magazine. April 2012.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader - Our potential

One of the great teachings of the Man of Galilee, the Lord Jesus Christ, was that you and I carry within us immense possibilities. In urging us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Jesus was not taunting us or teasing us. He was telling us a powerful truth about our possibilities and about our potential. It is a truth almost too stunning to contemplate. Jesus, who could not lie, sought to beckon us to move further along the pathway to perfection.

We are not yet perfect as Jesus was, but unless those about us can see us striving and improving, they will not be able to look to us for example, and they will see us as less than fully serious about the things to be done.

Each of us has more opportunities to do good and to be good than we ever use. These opportunities lie all around us. Whatever the size of our present circle of effective influence, if we were to improve our performance even a little bit, that circle would be enlarged. There are many individuals waiting to be touched and loved if we care enough to improve in our performance.

We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all around us as our brothers and sisters. If our sample of humanity seems unglamorous or so very small, we need to remember the parable Jesus gave us in which he reminded us that greatness is not always a matter of size or scale, but of the quality of one’s life. If we do well with our talents and with the opportunities around us, this will not go unnoticed by God. And to those who do well with the opportunities given them, even more will be given!

The scriptures contain many marvelous case studies of leaders who, unlike Jesus, were not perfect but were still very effective. It would do us all much good if we were to read them—and read them often. We forget that the scriptures present us with centuries of experience in leadership, and, even more importantly, the fixed principles upon which real leadership must operate if it is to succeed. The scriptures are the handbook of instructions for the would-be leader.

  

  

Jesus: The Perfect Leader By President Spencer W. Kimball. From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977. Ensign. August 1979.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader - Wise Use of Time

Jesus also taught us how important it is to use our time wisely. This does not mean there can never be any leisure, for there must be time for contemplation and for renewal, but there must be no waste of time. How we manage time matters so very much, and we can be good managers of time without being frantic or officious. Time cannot be recycled. When a moment has gone, it is really gone. The tyranny of trivia consists of its driving out the people and moments that really matter. Minutia holds momentous things hostage, and we let the tyranny continue all too often. Wise time management is really the wise management of ourselves.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader By President Spencer W. Kimball. From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977. Ensign. August 1979.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader - Accountability

Jesus taught us that we are accountable not only for our actions but also for our very thoughts. This is so important for us to remember. We live in an age that stresses “no-fault insurance”—and “no fault” in other human behavior as well. Accountability is not possible, of course, without fixed principles. A good leader will remember he is accountable to God as well as to those he leads. By demanding accountability of himself, he is in a better position, therefore, to see that others are accountable for their behavior and their performance. People tend to perform at a standard set by their leaders.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader By President Spencer W. Kimball. From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977. Ensign. August 1979.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader - Responsibility

Jesus knew how to involve his disciples in the process of life. He gave them important and specific things to do for their development. Other leaders have sought to be so omnicompetent that they have tried to do everything themselves, which produces little growth in others. Jesus trusts his followers enough to share his work with them so that they can grow. That is one of the greatest lessons of his leadership. If we brush other people aside in order to see a task done more quickly and effectively, the task may get done all right, but without the growth and development in followers that is so important. Because Jesus knows that this life is purposeful and that we have been placed on this planet in order to perform and grow, growth then becomes one of the great ends of life as well as a means. We can give corrective feedback to others in a loving and helpful way when mistakes are made.

Jesus was not afraid to make demands of those he led. His leadership was not condescending or soft. He had the courage to call Peter and others to leave their fishing nets and to follow him, not after the fishing season or after the next catch, but now! today! Jesus let people know that he believed in them and in their possibilities, and thus he was free to help them stretch their souls in fresh achievement. So much secular leadership is condescending and, in many ways, contemptuous of mankind because it treats people as if they were to be coddled and cocooned forever. Jesus believed in his followers, not alone for what they were, but for what they had the possibilities to become. While others would have seen Peter as a fisherman, Jesus could see him as a powerful religious leader—courageous, strong—who would leave his mark upon much of mankind. In loving others, we can help them to grow by making reasonable but real demands of them.

Jesus gave people truths and tasks that were matched to their capacity. He did not overwhelm them with more than they could manage, but gave them enough to stretch their souls. Jesus was concerned with basics in human nature and in bringing about lasting changes, not simply cosmetic changes.

  

  

  

Jesus: The Perfect Leader By President Spencer W. Kimball. From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977. Ensign. August 1979.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader - Understanding others

Jesus was a listening leader. Because he loved others with a perfect love, he listened without being condescending. A great leader listens not only to others, but also to his conscience and to the promptings of God.

Jesus was a patient, pleading, loving leader. When Peter drew his sword and smote the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear, Jesus said, “Put up thy sword into the sheath” (John 18:11). Without being angry or perturbed, Jesus quietly healed the servant’s ear (see Luke 22:51). His reproof of Peter was kind, yet firm.

Because Jesus loved his followers, he was able to level with them, to be candid and forthright with them. He reproved Peter at times because he loved him, and Peter, being a great man, was able to grow from this reproof. There is a wonderful verse in the book of Proverbs all of us need to remember:

"The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

“He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” (Prov. 15:31–32.)

It is a wise leader or a wise follower who can cope with the “reproof of life.” Peter could do this because he knew that Jesus loved him, and thus Jesus was able to groom Peter for a very high place or responsibility in the kingdom.

Jesus saw sin as wrong but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner. This permitted him to condemn the sin without condemning the individual. We can show forth our love for others even when we are called upon to correct them. We need to be able to look deeply enough into the lives of others to see the basic causes for their failures and shortcomings.

Jesus: The Perfect Leader By President Spencer W. Kimball. From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977. Ensign. August 1979.