The Art of Leadership – Vancouver

Date: September 30, 2014

Name: The Art of Leadership – Vancouver

Presenters: Dan Roam, Dr. Vince Molinaro, Hayley Wickenheiser, Charles Duhigg, and Rudy Giuliani

The Art of Leadership conference is held in Vancouver and they are bringing 5 top leaders in different industries to share their views of leadership. Many businesses need integrated people and strategies to achieve sustainability and performance in the business world today. The Art of Leadership will provide leaders the tools and techniques to implement their business to the changes in any culture. Ron Tite, the host and the moderator of this conference, will help leaders to learn the innovative strategies from these top leaders.

Ron believes leadership in this generation consists of health, simplicity and design. Moreover, leaders need to set goals, keep positive and be collaborative to achieve the excellent.

“Technology leads leadership”

Dan Roam, the international bestselling author of “Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures”

Dan Roam emphasizes leaders can solve leadership problems with simple pictures. He defines leadership as the power of picture or the power of using visuals. Visual is defined as “if we can see, people can see”.

Any problem can use visual blue print to breakdown the complexity of problem. Each part of the blue print can act as different tiny problems. For example, making Boeing 787 uses visuals and separate many parts for different countries to build and assemble. Dan believes leaders should do everything with pictures because leaders can compose common language through pictures.

Pictures are considered as common language around the world. If something is wrong, picture can help leaders identify or seek the root of the problem.

Pictures help us lead

Many leaders are bounded by paragraphs and business reports. Leaders should have visual thinking to discover and communicate with their teams. Visual thinking consists of “Clarify”, “Create”, “Convince” and “Compel”. In addition, Dan believes leaders should clarify the problem, create the solution, convince people, and help people compel the solution.

“To lead requires vision, vision requires picture”

A different leadership approach

Visual thinking is not about being artistic, it is to convince. Dan believes the visual thinking unwritten number one rule is whoever best describe the problem is the one most likely to solve it.

“Whoever draws the best pictures gets the funding”

In 1974, Laffer drew a simple parabola diagram that represents the 40 years of the backbone of American economy policy. This shows sometimes words are not able to do what picture or vision can explain. In our minds, everyone has two engines. The first engine looks at the detail and the second engine connects all broad information together. In the current education system, there is no tool to help in our brains on visual.

People are walking, talking, vision-processing machines and the visual mind never sleeps. The second engine is always running all the time. If the visual mind is not interested in the topic, they will force to check out, which will lead to a lack of miscommunication.

6 x 6 Rules

There are 6 principles that leaders need to follow in order to use visual to solve problems.

1) Who, What	->	Portrait
2) How many	->	Chart
3) Where	->	Map
4) When	->	Timeline
5) How	->	Flowchart
6) Why	->	Equation

Leaders need to recognize the “Who What” with an object. Leaders need to determine the quantities of the objects. Leaders need to understand where these objects will locate and when will it position in time. After leaders identify all 4 principles, they can map together a flowchart from beginning to the end. After the flowchart is created, leaders will be able to summarize the conclusion.

“More of the brain is devoted to vision and visual processing than any other known function, including language.”

Dr. Vince Molinaro, New York bestselling author of “The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to becoming a great leader”

Dr. Vince Molinaro emphasizes the leadership style changes from generation to generation. The community of leaders is different than the old traditional ways and it is necessary to focus in different values.

What does it mean to be a leader today?

Vince explains many new future leaders have amazing passion beyond personal level when they are out of school. Their views change when they are forced to adapt the traditional leadership style in the workforce today. Due to the influence from the the current manager, Vince has the opportunity to change the environment by forming a committee. When the manager leaves the organization, Vince starts to realize the organization is going back to the old style. The upper management decides to shut down the committee because of contradiction of the leadership style. Vince realizes every action has positive and negative impacts and it is depend on himself to choose the right decision. Therefore, he leaves the organization and starts to work with other leaders to pass down the message from his former manager.

Leadership Accountability

Vince believes people need leadership in every level of organization. When strategy and leadership connect, it creates confident. In the current generation, three things are wrong with the leadership today.

• Disappointing
• Disconnect
• Disgraceful

Disappointing

Many bosses act as jerks and in average, 75% of people have stress with their current bosses. 66% of employees will take new boss than new promotion. It is important for leaders to give employees confident and trust. They will give everything they have for working with good leaders.

Disconnected

70% of employees feel they are isolated in the first year. Leaders must find a way to incorporate them into the business culture and let them feel they are a part of family.

Disgraceful

There are many stories with bad reputation on leaders. These will damage the leadership behaviors. People will look differently on leaders with stories.

Leaders are getting worst every day. In statistic, only 7% of employees have trust and confidence in senior leaders. This is hard for organization to be successful. Vince understands leadership holds high standard to a greater behavior; therefore, if they fail, they will let us down.

Vince introduces leadership contract. Many people who take the leadership role do not know the role themselves because they do not understand the obligation.

The leadership contract

Contract # 1: Leadership is a decision (Make it)

Vince believes people need to step up and make the decision. People need to ask themselves if there is anything they want to do. They need to be clear to be a leader and define who they are as leaders. There are two types of decisions: big decision and small decision. As for big decision, people will recognize the leadership style and the purpose is to help others as a whole. As for small decision, it is all internal dialogue challenge. Many small decisions will make up their leadership impact. In other words, leadership with big decision will do what is necessary to impact the big picture, and leadership with small decision will seek all small opportunities.

“Are you all in as a leader?”

Contract # 2: Leadership is an obligation (Step up)

People need to learn more about the organization. As a leader, they are company and they should always have responsibility and obligation. If they forget, they will lose leadership from people. By understanding the primary obligation will help leaders to determine what to leave behind for the organization.

“As a leader, you leave legacy everyday”

Contract # 3: Leadership is hard work (Get tough)

If the solution is not working with the organization, strategy is needed from leaders. Many leaders are stress out because issues are not solved. However, leaders need to take action to solve these issues by themselves. Meetings are there not to discuss issues, yet meetings are there to discuss the future.

The hard rule of leadership is that if leaders avoid the hard work, they become weak. However, if they tackle the hard work, they become strong.

“What hard work are you wimping out on?”

Contract # 4: Leadership is a community (Connect)

There is a bond with leaders and the team. They should have each others back because one mistake loses it all. Leaders need to ensure the team understands that no one is sabotage anyone. Leaders need to remember to have clarity and commitment in any team.

“Who got your back?”

Overall, there are four questions leaders should ask to themselves.

• What leadership decision do I need to make today?
• What leadership obligation do I need to live up to today?
• What is the one hard thing I need to tackle today?
• What leadership relationship do I need to strengthen today?

Hayley Wickenheiser, the four time Olympic gold medalist and the captain of the Canadian women’s hockey team

Hayley Wickenheiser leaders with passion and determination can inspire people in sports industry. Before becoming a gold medalist in Canadian women’s hockey team, no one is investing them. However, the audience expect for result. This signals Hayley that “performance on demand” is critical in her hockey career.

There is no second chance because only this moment can determine the next. Hayley figures details matters.

“Dig a little bit deeper”

Hayley emphasizes mental battle is more important than physical battle. Leaders in sports industry should always think about winning and losing equally. They should always prepare how to react in any circumstances.

Olympic Approach

Gold medal is a great thing to get, but Hayley believes if athletes do not have enough, they do not desire to have it all. It is important to remind young athletes to know balance is important than getting the medal.

Hayley comments coaches are hired to get fired. In women’s hockey, leaders need to show direct response to their team. They need to be open to learn. Leaders should lead from front by pulling people to exceed their limits and lead from behind by mentoring. As for athletes, it does not matter what happens, all they can do is accept it and do well on it. By putting ego aside they should embraces it.

After the Olympic in Sochi, the venue is ruined. Hayley is proud to be Canadian because Vancouver Olympic venue is still remains a legacy.

Hayley believes leaders should master the art of energy management. Leaders are either energy giver or energy taker. It is important to become an energy giver, which will create the team bond.

In Sochi, when Canadian team is down by 2 points in the final, the coach asks all players to stay calm and repeat these steps:

1. Get the puck
2. Make the shift short
3. Stick to the plan

By following these three steps, it turns the Canadian team from being hunted to being a hunter. Instead of playing it safe, it motivates players to play aggressive because playing safe will not win.

Lastly, Hayley summarizes three points.

1. Control what you can, let go what you can
2. Be able to reinvent yourself because it is a choice
3. We are not what we do and we can be other things

“Value everyone brings”

“Celebrate the little success all the way”

“Unity in adversity”

Charles Duhigg, New York Times investigate reporter and bestselling author of “The power of habit”

Charles Duhigg studies the organizational habits from accidents and design and determine what impacts leadership. Moreover, he tries to find stories that people can endorse. Charles emphasizes during a riot, the trouble maker attracts crowds. In order to disband the riot, the strategy is to break the pattern and distract crowds to follow something greater. In military, solders are trained with new habits to educate them with good communication. In addition, Charles sees the world of habit and massive habits can be influenced.

How leadership change the habit

In the study of rats, they learn to find chocolate in a maze with this current procedure.

Click -> First Section -> Second Section -> Chocolate

As it progress with repeats, rats react faster and they think lesser because their brains stop thinking at first and second sections. This concludes habits can change daily activity.

The Habit Loop

Charles believes the standard formula to retain a habit consists of three steps.

1. Cue
2. Routine
3. Reward

It is possible to change how people’s habits by manipulating “Cue” and “Reward”. By giving rewards will trigger the loop. For leaders, some habits matter more than others; therefore, it is important to determine the key stone habit. Charles believes leadership is helping people to create good habits and create better lives.

How do you identify the reward?

Charles provides an example of a company called “Febreeze”. Originally, they consists the reward as the get rid of the odor smell with their product. However, the product sales decline. The upper management decides to change the reward as to smell good when the product is used, and the sales dramatically increase. Febreeze eventually understands people want to do things that makes good about themselves, which creates or encourage a new habit.

“Make sure reward is rewarding. If reward is not rewarding, it will not create incentive for habit to change”

How does this change when we start thinking about organizational habit?

Charles provides another example of the London Underground. The subway station in London has a culture habit of not doing other people’s job. When there is a fire, the employees ignore it. When train brings the oxygen, the fire bursts and creates a massive damage. Many people are killed and the investigation shows the cause is from bad habits. Originally, people are blamed to do other people’s job in subway. Because of this habit, it leads to other habits. Each habit have the perfect reason for existing, but it kills at the end.

“Even bad habits exist for good reasons”

Management decides to implement changes, but there is no action after one year. Due to leak the interview from the victims, it creates a public crisis. Finally, all the old habits from the subway organization disappear. Charles concludes crisis can be good because it helps to make habits to become more flexible.

Politician uses crisis to create economy changes.

How do you make this into something tangible?

Charles explains it with the example of Starbucks. Starbucks sells customer services; however, they hire high school students. One day, one of the students misspells the customer name on the cup and create the public crisis that damage Starbucks reputation.

During that time, a new study comes out called “Craving for marshmallows”. This study shows by giving kids more marshmallows if they resist at the beginning will teach them the habit of will power.

Starbucks decides to change the habit by introducing new habit loop called “The Latte Habit Loop”

• Cue -> See bad clients
• Routine -> Listen to complain
• Reward -> Get free coffee

This will teach high school students how to respond to clients and receive incentives for completing the task.

It is important for company to teach people to understand the reason behind all the habits. Therefore, Charles concludes the most powerful reward contain emotion and the procedure is stated as follows:

1. Know your key stone habits
2. Which kind of change seems frightening?
3. Look for opportunities to change
4. Find rewards that deliver emotionally

“You lead by bring out the best from people”

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City

Rudy Giuliani is the 107^th mayor of New York City and it is one of the world’s most respected leaders. He believes leadership is not art or science, yet they are both. Leaders are not born or made, they are both. In Rudy’s perspective, most what leaders success is something they learn and it is something they can teach.

Things Rudy did makes him a successful leader

Rudy manages to change the New York City from deficit to surplus. He manages to change the environment and reduce the crime rate and unemployment rate. He converts New York City as the safest city in United States.

Rudy emphasizes none of his leadership he utilizes are originally from himself; instead, he learns from someone else. In addition, with his perspective and his experience, he concludes his own 6 principles of leadership.

6 principles can use in business life and personal life

Principle 1: Set of beliefs

Rudy believes all leaders need to know their goals and leading. By creating agenda or schedule to ensure they are following their direction towards their goals. It is important to set time to review the success and failure. This will help leaders to set new directions and publish new goals

Setting clear goals before the beginning of the year is essential. Monitor or measure each month by adjusting the direction is also critical.

People will follow clear goals and it is not waste of time.

“What do I want to accomplish?”

Principe 2: To be optimist

Leaders accept the problem and turns to solution. Rudy believes nobody follows negative people; instead, people follows hope and people who will only follow someone that provides solution to their problems

Leaders should use optimist for good things.

Optimist -> Vision -> Hope

By changing the attitude and be calm, leaders will find solution that deals with complicated issue. It is important for leaders to come in with a problem and a solution.

“Absorb problem and turn to possible solution”

Principle # 3: Courage

People think courage comes from being a great hero, so they need to be fearless. Rudy believes people out of fear are crazy. It is normal for people to afraid of things but they can overcome it with courage. Leaders make any decision will incorporate risk and most people fail before succeed. Failure is important part of success; therefore, leaders will not be successful if they are afraid of failure.

Failure can change to success from courage. Rudy mentions in New York, when someone did something heroic, there will be press conference for that individual. However, people are afraid of speeches. They have the courage to do extraordinary things, but they are afraid of talking in front of crowds. This means a lack of training.

Principle # 4: Reluctance preparation

Rudy mentions when he is a lawyer, it takes one hour in court and 4 hours in preparation. Leaders should always be ready and they should anticipate no possible error in every situation.

Leaders need to learn to let others criticize and go over it yourself by owning it. In order to reduce nervous in speeches or public presentation, Rudy shares a statement for all leaders.

“No matter how much you rehearse or anticipate, something will go wrong”

If something goes wrong, leaders will know the answer. By master the subject, solutions will come to leaders; therefore, leaders need to go with intuition.

Many unexpected urgent decision come from other plans. Leaders need to handle it by giving it to people who has experience with those plans. Those are the one who practices and develop the skill to do better every day.

“Practice and preparation remove risks”

Principle # 5: Teamwork

Rudy indicates no one can be successful without the help of others. Many people have the assumption that they are great leaders because god chooses them. This is wrong interpretation.

Leaders need to look at themselves and find their weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses and it is important for leaders to balance their weakness with their strengths. Leaders should find someone who is strong of what they are weak at. In addition, team will be balance.

“Nobody is equally good at everything”

Principle # 6: Communication

Rudy believes nothing will work if leaders do not know how to communicate. People who respond with “I don’t know because no one told me” indicates they do not receive feedback.

It is important to review team performance. After setting goals, it is important to set up matrix to measure it. Leaders need to provide feedback to see if the team is going in the right direction. Leaders need to care and love people, if not, they are not leaders. People need other people care.

“If you need help, people will help you”

“Government do not love you, people you love will love you”