leadingthoughts w/ dr. dave

mergers, culture, leading and integration

In December of this year (2005), Steve Case--co Founder of AOL, wrote a piece for the Washington Post where he advised AOL/Time Warner to break the company up into at least three independent companies. Case was a big proponent of the merger when it occurred. You can read his article here.

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Here's an interesting section from the article:

At the time of the merger, there was great excitement about the innovation that would occur as the company's businesses collaborated to create new growth opportunities. Unfortunately, that "one company" strategy never got off the ground. Instead, each division "did its own thing." While that staved off turf wars, it did nothing to drive innovation. As a result, the company's growth has slowed, and the stock is now trading at about half what it was four years ago.

By early 2004, it was clear that Time Warner had to "integrate or liberate": make the divisions work together or set them free on separate paths to pursue their own opportunities. This past July, having concluded that integration would never happen, I proposed to the company's board that it was time to "liberate" and split the conglomerate into four freestanding companies -- Time Warner Cable, Time Warner Entertainment, Time Inc. and AOL -- each with its own strategy, stock, balance sheet, management team and board.

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One of the primary reasons mergers fail is failure to integrate everything--especially the culture. The integration of say, the IT of two companies, is a heroic project. However, it's small potatoes compared to the integration of human culture and relationships. If Case is correct, the human integration never occurred at AOL/Time Warner. This would not be unusual. The human side of the integration is the most challenging, but can also be the most rewarding.

Whether you're merging multi-billion dollar companies, or two teams who need to accomplish a project, relational connection is critical. Without it, all of the subtle human dysfunctions that emerge during a period of change can easily overwhelm the initiative.

Pay attention to people and relationships. It's critical for any merger; actually it's critical for any collective endeavor.

leading with self reflection

In my podcast this week (12/26), I talk about the importance of self-reflection.

You can listen here.

Leaders, either through temperament or busy-ness, do not always see the value of reflection. Yet, without reflection, a leader is at the mercy of his or her reactivity and will find it hard to grow. If reflection is new to you as a leader, here is are a couple of practices you might find useful:

    1) Reflection through Replay:

       Use your memory and imagination to replay a recent situation where you found your leading lacking. As you replay the situation, pay attention to how you responded in the situation. Try and remember your body posture and the words you used--the messages you conveyed. Reflect on your attitudes and actions and consider what you could do to change your interaction the next time you find yourself in a similar situation. IN FACT, this is a quite powerful concept. Let's call it Reflecting Forward.

    Take a situation or meeting that is yet to happen and imagine yourself in that meeting responding with the positive leadership qualities you desire to give to those in the meeting. Imagine responding with wisdom and compassion. Imagine yourself honoring those in the meeting and giving them space to share their ideas. Impinge a better meeting or situation and it is more likely to occur.

more to come on self reflection and leading

What you are missing, you may be withholding

In this week's podcast (you can download it at iTunes...just type in "leadingthoughts" or go to www.davefleming.libsyn.com.), I explore this very potent concept:

    From Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, he wrote:

"What you believe life is withholding from you, you are withholding from life."

In the podcast, I apply this idea to leaders and the dynamic of leading. I also share one practice (self-reflection) that can help a leader determine if he or she is withholding the very thing (quality, attitude, behavior) that he or she feels is missing from the organization.

So...think about your own team or organization. What do you believe they are withholding from you or from the organization itself? Is it possible that, in part, this is due to the fact that you, as the leader, are withholding the same quality or dynamic from them?

Gulp. Hang on, self reflection can be difficulty, but the rewards are great.

Increasing and sustaining your energy

Energy is the currency of leadership (maybe even of life).

Our energy gives us the ability to point our life in directions that matter to us. We invest our lives through our energy, create meaning through our energy, and inspire others to do the same through energy.

In my podcast this week, I suggest three simple ways we can increase and sustain our energy as leaders.

You can check it out on iTunes (just search for "leadingthoughts")

How do you increase and sustain your energy as a leader. What energizes you? What depletes you?

Post a reply and let's get some conversation going around this topic.

Dave

Making space for employees

In this week's podcast (just posted this morning-- you can get it on itunes--just type in "leadingthoughts" and it will bring it up), I talked about the midwife as a metaphor for 21st century leaders. One of the similarities between midwives and great leaders is that both understand what I will call the "dance of proximity."

Great leaders know how to maneuver in the teamspace. Understanding the right proximity to a team member (as his or her leader) requires the leader to read the situation, the person and the other dynamics at play in the present moment. Sometimes leaders need to move closer to an employee and provide development and wisdom. I posted something earlier (see below) on proximity coaching that you can read.  It details some ideas when you need to move closer to an employee. At other times though, there at times that you need to give an employee space.

So..here are some ideas about making space for employees:

How do you know it's time to make space for an employee:

    When you're always rescuing him/her and thereby thwarting growth

    When you've clearly defined a project and you're tempted to swoop in early and see "how it's going"

    When you've given a leadership role to an employee and you need to let him/her find his/her own leadership voice

Ways to create space:

    Bite your tongue

    Take a walk

    Smile

    Seek feedback to see how things are going and ask if the employee needs help. If he/she says "no" refer back to 1-3.

Seriously, one of the hardest things for a leader is to create space and then let others flourish in that space. But, if leaders don't, employees will never develop or thrive.

So, sometimes we need to move closer and other times we need to detach a bit. Each person and each situation will require you to "read" what is needed. Once you know what's needed, Do it!

Dave