What I Learned in Graduate School . . .

Bring Encouragement into the Office Every Day

Luis Guzman
USC Executive Masters of Leadership

In his talk with Executive Master of Leadership (EML) students, Mark Kroeker quoted former Dallas Cowboys football coach as saying, "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." Imagine the energy that could be released as leaders encourage the development of everyone's potential! 

Kroeker's remarks are similar to what Dwight D. Eisenhower said..."Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."  It is said that there are only two kinds of people in this world..."those who get it and those who don't." The former, for both leaders and followers, means that they have connected in a way so as to derive meaning, purpose, and congruence in their respective roles (a win-win). The latter, for both leaders and followers, means that they are still fighting the long fight because they are both mostly interested in only one solution, their own.

Additionally, the younger professional and the experienced professional learn differently and are motivated by different things. When a leader can get either one to internally be motivated, to be self-directed, to be goal driven, to bring their respective wealth of life experiences and share them in a practical, and thoughtful manner for the service others or the organization, is when the possibilities will be bountiful.

How can this be done you asked? It can be done through analysis, planning, implementation, testing, mitigation, measuring, reporting, and reassessing. This all takes time; time that now everyone is willing to invest in.

It took me several years and a few manager positions throughout my career to figure out that it was not "them" but "me" who needed to change. I was a great administrator but not a leader. I had no clue that what my team needed the most was for me to bring encouragement into the office each and every single day. Encouragement opens our creative minds, it connects people to people…this leads to understanding of self and others and more importantly it makes you believe that you can.

Photo: Luis Guzman – Executive Master of Leadership (EML) graduate.

To learn how an Executive Master of Leadership (EML) at the University of Southern California (USC) would benefit you in your career or development as a leader, please visit: priceschool.usc.edu/programs/masters/eml/

What I Learned in Graduate School . . .

The Art of Asking Why

by Valerie Alvarado

USC Executive Master of Leadership

It seems like a simple question – why? We ask it every day. But how often do we take the time to fully answer the question as a means to understand purpose? Upon meeting someone new, we typically encounter the question, “What do you do?” Most of us have a prepared, canned response to this question, which is usually an abbreviated version of our job description, but what does that really say about why we do what we do?  And more importantly, what does that say about our values?

I can easily tell you what I do and how I do it, and until recently, I thought I could tell you why I do it as well. What I learned is that you must ask why five times to get to the source. Laree Kiely, President of The Kiely Group, introduced the exercise of asking why five times when she posed the question, “Why do you exist?”  My first two answers were superficial.  My third answer required some thought.  My fourth answer had me stumped, and my fifth answer required serious self-reflection and soul searching.  When I finally got to the source of why I exist, my entire perspective on work, family and life changed. 

It is clear that our values are at the core of why we exist. Once we understand our values we can understand the why in our lives. Why did I choose my profession? Why did I choose my spouse? Why did I choose my cause? The why doesn’t change even when everything else does.  Understanding why we exist will endure the multitude of changes we’ll experience in our lifetime.  Have you ever changed jobs?  Most of us have.  Chances are what you do in your new job is different than what you did in your former job, but why you do it remains the same.  Your core values don’t change.    

As leaders, we are responsible for creating environments where asking why is encouraged. Leaders themselves should ask why of others to provoke critical thinking. Finding answers in common to the question why creates unity and loyalty. This is why we gather in great numbers at church on Sunday, why we work in an organization with people who are aligned with our values, and why we spend our precious free time with the people we choose. 

The art of asking why lies in the curiosity factor. It is through curiosity that we begin to dig past superficial answers to arrive at a deeper meaning – a clearer picture. When we allow our uninhibited curiosity to guide us, we ask the right questions until our curiosity is satisfied.  It is important not to let the fear of asking foolish questions interfere. If done right, you’ll uncover incredible insight into your core values. 

Photo: Valerie Alvarado – Executive Master of Leadership (EML) graduate.

To learn how an Executive Master of Leadership (EML) at the University of Southern California (USC) would benefit you in your career or development as a leader, please visit: priceschool.usc.edu/programs/masters/eml/

What I Learned in Graduate School . . .

From being “Right”  to being “Effective”

by Michael J. Humara

USC Executive Master of Leadership

I am not sure from where my innate need to be right originated, but I assume that I am not the only one in the workplace that has this compulsion. Often individual action or inaction gives preference to dooming the program for failure rather than risk not being right. Surely successful leaders do not pursue careers in organizations where failure is an acceptable outcome so long as they were right? So how does this idea of being “right” fit in?

 It may be self-evident that a heterogeneous organization where everybody is set on always being “right” is culturally doomed for failure. For high reliability organizations “being right” could be the critical trait for success.  An incorrect technical decision could result in catastrophe and therefore may require heated debate and even refusal to comply with a direction. But as we move through a spectrum from technical specification/practices, to management processes, and leading change the issue becomes messier.

Consider a manager’s statement, “That person will be a good/bad fit in leading that team.” It is highly probable that somebody would disagree with the manager, and both will come up with objective data that supports what ultimately is a subjective decision often ending in contempt. Of course data can be collected after the fact to allow for vindication. There lies the rub.

I propose another angle to view “being right” as a value. A variation of Jim Collin’s Good to Great concept, “Would you continue to be right if it was no longer valuable to do so?” Personal ego may allow some of us to answer yes, but I in the context of an organization it would be impossible to align with the organization if this were that case all the time. How many mission statements include something akin to the following?

To make sure that our employees and management are proven to be right, in all decisions with which they disagree, regardless of the success of the organization.

In fact most, if not all, modern organizations see the value of “being wrong” long before “being right,” and would place integrity and loyalty far above “being right” in any list of organizational values. The desire to be right is a selfish condition where we give priority to our ego above that of the team and the organization.  

In Leading Change: an Argument for Values Based Leadership, James O’Toole argues that effective leadership stems from integrity, trust, and listening.  While this is a very elevated look at effective leadership, our ego could clash with any one of these principles and undercut any foundation we could hope to establish as a leader. So what do we do about it?

Humility jumps out to me as the obvious trait, but easier said than attained. At USC in the EML program, we start with understand the “self” and what our values are. For instance, I categorize myself as one of those who want to be right all the time, yes, the very type of person I am condemning for placing ego above the organization. Digging deeper to what I truly value is not being right, but knowledge and it did not take much analysis to understand the difference between the two. 

The next practice of the USC EML program is essential: Reflection. Reflection is painful and it requires us to take the uncomfortable look at ourselves and challenge our ego with our values. These two practices are at the core of the transition of the individual that desires to “be right” to a leader that strives to “be effective.”

Photo: Michael J. Humara – Executive Master of Leadership (EML) graduate.

To learn how an Executive Master of Leadership (EML) at the University of Southern California (USC) would benefit you in your career or development as a leader, please visit: priceschool.usc.edu/programs/masters/eml/