Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence.

What is it?

Where does it come from?

Can it help elevate competence in leadership and analytical thinking on the shop floor?

Generally, emotional intelligence is self-awareness. It is the ability for an individual to be aware of how they function socially. But not just that, it is further carried to mean one’s ability to function not only socially, but effectively, of which social function is a component, in the business environment. People with emotional intelligence are typically willing to accept accountability, are open and honest and often exhibit self-deprecating humor, which endears them to others. Those with emotional intelligence also have the ability to get results. They are competent subject matter experts (SMEs) in their area of expertise, but they are also able to achieve results through others, regardless of whether their leadership is formal (supervision) or informal (thought or team leaders).

Research has shown that emotional intelligence can be both inherent and acquired. Acquisition however is often challenging and dependent on self-awareness, which is a component of emotional intelligence. Odd as this seems it is a cycle that is dependent on itself, and difficult to change. However, open and honest feedback thoughtfully rendered, can jumpstart the unaware, and help them to the desire to become self aware. Whether inherent or acquired, experts seem to agree that emotional intelligence requires constant development.

To enable one to elevate competence in leadership and analytical thinking on the shop floor, the first step is to recognize the issue of the lack of self-awareness. The second step is to identify what is required to overcome the problem. The third step is to take action to overcome the problem. Finally, one must evaluate the results of the action and in so doing, recognition of additional developmental gaps will become evident.

Emotional intelligence CAN elevate competence in leadership and analytical thinking on the shop floor. In order for this to take place the steps cited in the prior paragraph must be followed. It is not typically the habit of operators on the shop floor to think of themselves as leaders and analytical thinkers. However, they too can leverage the tools that are often used by the managers who supervise them. The cycle begins with operators evaluating what need they have to improve themselves through introspection, feedback or other means. They then identify the tools and the plan that will help close that gap. After identifying the tools, they then take action to develop themselves using the tools identified. Upon completion of the action, the process begins again with not only identification of additional gaps, but also evaluating how well the last action executed filled the previous identified gaps.

When I was an operator, I learned the importance of honest feedback from my peers and from my supervision. However, I was completely unaware and had to literally be “shocked” into realizing this was important for me to understand in order to develop myself in the way I wanted. In short, I was completely oblivious. I've since given myself to soliciting and evaluating feedback often. Fortunately at the time I worked for an organization that also provided me the tools and training for development. I was able to identify and act, developing my skills as I moved through the process. I eventually won the trust of many of my peers (this is often a very difficult task among operators), such that I could get open and honest feedback in evaluating whether I had learned what I needed, and what they thought I might do next to further improve myself. I also had a mentor, which was necessary to my long term development, which provided coaching and feedback as well.

I am no rocket scientist. However, I work now several extremely bright and talented scientists. I am currently engaged in informal leadership, leading a cross-functional team that has global impact in the organization for which I work. I’ve been very fortunate and it’s been a long road since being an operator on the shop floor. The key was in understanding what needed to be done to make it all happen. Now my passion is to help others like myself understand those same concepts as well. To understand the value and need for…

Emotional Intelligence.

Skilled = Sguild = Skilled

Skilled = Sguild = Skilled.

What does that mean?

You've seen the new name of this blog, "Sguild Labor". You've read my discussion with respect to my passion for development of shop floor resources in leadership (this includes communication), and analytical thinking as a means of driving competitiveness of American labor.

I am a professional that believes in the development of systems and processes that drive results. There are many processes for the development of shop floor resources. These ship floor resources are also often referred to as labor, hourly or non-exempt (from overtime) personnel.

In the early days of our country, colleges and universities did not provide education for the shop floor. There were no community colleges, nor were their trade schools. What did exist was the guild system. It was through the guild system that trades were learned and passed on. Printers, cart wrights, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, silversmiths; I could go on, but you get the idea. In the guild system, if you made horse shoes for your horses, but you were not a blacksmith, you were considered a novice. If you wanted to learn the trade, you started as an apprentice to someone who knew the trade and was an established artisan in the trade. Eventually, as your skill developed you would become a practicing journeyman. In the guild system, once you were established as an artisan, having patrons of note, you were identified as a master craftsman.

The guild system is, for the most part, now gone. However, as a model for developing leadership and analytical thinking on the shop floor, there is clear relevance. There are novices working to build their skills, there are apprentices focused on the development of their skills. There are journeymen that have developed their skills and are working to make a contribution. Finally, their are master craftsmen who are leading process improvements on the shop floor.

The guild system also had some informal aspects. First there was a mentoring process. This was typically the relationship between the apprentice and the craftsman to whom the apprentice was indentured. Although indentured servitude is a thing of the past, the mentoring relationship is not. Second, before an apprentice could become a journeyman, validation of the skills learned would have to take place. The apprentice would have to prove competence in their chosen craft.

It is my opinion the old artisan guild system has something of substance to offer in the development of shop floor resources to become skilled in leadership and analytical thinking. By leveraging the guild system a process can be established to facilitate that end. Thus...

Skilled = Sguild = Skilled.

Passion Rooted in Experience

In my last post I alluded to my passion for elevating the leadership and analytical skills of the labor force. My passion is rooted in experience.

I was late to the game. I spent my 20's chasing a fast buck. In my early thirties I came to realize that I was, for the most part, chasing a pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow. Once reality set in, I realized next that I needed to get grounded quickly. I needed to develop a solid income and solid marketable and transferable skills.

My quest began by getting the first job I could find. I lived by the adage to...

Call no work low that is honest. Honest toil never degrades.

The job I took was in the brine room of a plant that makes Swiss cheese. It was not enough to cover my expenses so I took assignments from a temporary agency, working in a process cheese plant when work was available and I could squeeze it in. Stability, although visible on the horizon, eluded me. Eventually, an opportunity on the production line of a fitness equipment manufacturer opened up and I was hired. The pay, supplemented by my temporary assignments, was enough to provide the beginnings of stability. I was now prepared for my next step and enrolled in the university located in the community.

At the time, among the best paying jobs in the community were permanent assignments at the cheese processing plant to which I was being temporarily assigned from time to time. Eventually, after nearly a year, I was able to get on permanently. I quit working at the fitness equipment manufacturer and also no longer had the need to accept temporary work assignments to supplement my income. Stability had been achieved.

As it turned out, working for the company owning the cheese processing plant was one of the best things that could have happened to me. As an operator, I was trained on root cause analysis, the basics of business, process variation, team dynamics and other forms of leadership and analytical thinking. We certified by taking a proficiency test, executing an approved project. I participated on a process improvement project that increased productivity by a significant amount.

This company realized the value of enabling shop floor resources (labor) through training. This company also realized the value of empowering their employees through the opportunity to validate the training they received and allowing them to execute projects using their new found skills. This company realized that this not only provided their employees with the satisfaction of being engaged and part of the business, but it also helped the bottom line.

I had an extraordinary experience as I participated in this culture as an operator. I found further value by integrating what I was doing on the shop floor with my education as an undergraduate majoring in production management.

It has now been over 20 years since those days. Over the years I've developed a deep sensitivity for the talent on the shop floor. It is from the shop floor that I come. I recognize that this is where the rubber meets the road. I realize that there is vast talent that if tapped into appropriately, can yield huge dividends to the company for which these resources are employed. The key is to enable, through training and empowerment, shop floor resources around the country.

I did it, by the wisdom of a company for which I worked. If I did it, I believe most others can do it as well.

My passion is rooted in experience.

A Question of Priority

I just received an email from a colleague that has worked as a contractor for my organization over the course of several years. I worked directly with him for about two years. Although not hard charging (much like I am), he was consistent in producing consistent meaningful results. Of greatest value to me, was his ability to scrutinize a situation or process and ask, "Why?" In this way, he was able to challenge the status quo and get our group to see if we could not think about things a little differently.

I knew his contract was coming due, but did not expect him to leave because he had been able to get his contract renewed at least once that I know of. I was suprised to see a notice from him in my inbox entitled, "Farewell to friends and colleagues."

I read his comments and they gave me significant pause for thought. I include them here:

"To my friends and colleagues,

"I wish you all a fond farewell. It has been a great privilege to work for [Comany Name Redacted]. A company that I believe exemplifies integrity and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. In the brief time that I shared here I had the great fortune to work with a number of extraordinary individuals. I wish you all continued good fortune as you continue to play your role in bringing life saving drugs to the patients that need it.

"As for me, I’m going skiing. Though few may be aware, in April of 2008 I experienced a bit of a health related wake-up call in the form of the autoimmune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis. My experiences over the past year and a half have compelled me to radically reorganize my priorities. Under the care of an open minded physician I focused on anti-inflammatory factors, nutrition, and stress reduction. Though not clinically “cured” I significantly reversed a condition that was, at times, very debilitating.

"So, as I make my journey East to Vermont, I leave you with something to consider. I believe health care reform starts at home. It starts with the simple choices that we make every day. Great companies like [Comany Name Redacted] will always be needed to produce drugs that save people’s lives. However, we have a choice each day to seek balance in our own lives and reap the reward of growing older, well.

"Best regards, [Name Redacted]"

This made me think of a time years ago. My son was only 7 years old, if that. I was working full time and going to school full time. In addition, I was helping run the family farm. Time was at a premium. I decided I would take the day off; from everything. At the time, I raced ATVs in the desert and my son rode as well. I put on my riding gear, loaded up the truck with our machines and went to his school. I went to the office and signed in and then went to his room and signed my son out. We went out on the west desert and camped and rode for two days. It is one of my, and I hope his as well, most cherished experiences. The image above is one I captured one night when we were goofing around.


I wished my colleague best of luck in a personal response to his communication. However, the provocation of thought from his email still lingers. How often do we stop to consider those things that are really and truly important? We have business needs that must be met. The organization does not stop and we must continue to produce for it. At the same time, we must also consider family, friends and loved ones. Are we building lasting relationships and meaningful experiences and memories? Or are we just going through the motions?

Each of us can only answer those questions for ourselves. What will your answer be?

It is simply put...

A Question of Priority.

The Incentive Continuum

There is a balance between individual and team incentives. It is important to realize that this balance is dynamic. To assume it is static risks the potential of "stale" performance.

Think of incentives as being on a continuum. This continuum starts with individual performance and ends with team performance. If incentives are at the "individual" end of the continuum, then personal agendas will supersede team performance. Behaviors exhibited at this point in the continuum usually produce short term results and are sycophantic in nature. This is not something that all people are given to, but it is something that all people will exhibit to one degree or another, when the incentive is for individual performance alone.

On the other hand, at the opposite end of the continuum, if incentives are strictly for "team" performance only, confusion may occur. Who will lead when there is no incentive to lead? Who will make decisions? Ambiguity ensues and individuals, especially highly motivated individuals, become disenfranchised. They will disengage and results will be slow in coming and as ambiguous as expectations for the team.

Given this data, the correct balance must be identified. Such a balance depends on organizational values, objectives and business needs. Determining the correct balance cannot be arbitrary, but rather should be a disciplined, proactive process that is aligned with organizational strategy. This also anchors the incentive program to the organizational culture.

To ensure that the incentive plan does not become stale, it should be evaluated for change on a periodic basis. This will ensure that the incentive plan has the correct balance, at that period of time for the organization, between individual and team performance.

It is also important to keep in mind that not all incentives are monetary in nature, and not all incentives are formal. Leaders within the organization can exercise creativity for short term projects or plans, which will help drive results. The same criteria for developing these incentives are the same for broader organizational incentives.

Finally, incentives are a form of recognition and nearly everyone wants to be recognized for their efforts. Not all want to be recognized in the same way. George Washington was keenly aware of this during the American Revolution. A highly puritanical congress thought that the Continental Army should aspire to the greater good of the country and quit complaining that the worthless Continental Scrip they were issued had no value. During Valley Forge, there were large numbers of troops deserting daily, most of which deserted for lack of "real" pay. Washington was keen on recognizing the folly's of this congressional thinking and met with many of his men who had deserted upon their capture and return. He asked them of their concerns and promised with full intent, and the integrity known to be characteristic of him, that he would do his best to redress their grievances. His troops returned and others on the cusp of desertion remained.


These men of the Continental Army were only seeking recognition for their efforts, trials and contributions. They wanted to be validated as individuals, as soldiers, as human beings. They also had to work as a team. Through the instrumental skills of Baron Von Steuben, Washington was able to give his troops pride (read as recognition) as an army that would be a force to be reckoned with; a team.

Balance had to be found on the continuum. So it is with every project for every organization. Incentives must exist, but they must be balanced between the individual and the team. They must be appropriate to the time and the task. And they must not be allowed to go stale.

When performing an investigation, it is important to consider incentive, both for the team and the individuals on the team, to ensure the investigation is sound and completed on time. It is critical that your plans for your team are found at the right point on...

The Incentive Continuum

Leadership & The Drill Master

I prefer learning leadership from historical lessons, rather than theorized concepts found in the current contemporary literature. That is not to say that the contemporary literature does not have value and merit. I read much of the contemporary literature as well. However, learning from others in the past, which have had to lead during trying and difficult times (when leadership is truly put to the test and demonstrated), brings me great pleasure and something I can wrap my mind around.

Given the above, here are my favorite books on leadership:

1. Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge
2. Henry Knox
3. The Drill Master of Valley Forge
4. We Were Soldiers...Once, And Young: The Battle of Ia Drang Valley

I love that all these people, although they demonstrated excellent leadership when called upon, saw leadership as a character trait rather than a technique, and that although they were great leaders, suffered from some flaws in human frailty as well. Great leaders are human. All too often we think them infallible. It is the human side of their nature, aspiring to something great, which in times of difficulty allows leadership to rise within them.

This is even more important when one considers that each of us are of the same mettle. To what level though, do we build leadership as a character trait, such that when called upon, we too may lead? This is the question we must all face, whether leaders by design or by circumstance. It cannot be ignored.

Below is an image of Baron Von Steuben "The Drill Master of Valley Forge" working with Washington's troops on learning drill. Von Steuben demonstrated exemplary leadership at a time when our nation's greatest need were for his skills in leadership.


Here is what Von Steuben expected of his troops:

1. Excellence in execution through daily practice
2. Officers (read as supervisors) participating in daily practice
   
3. Officers taking care to ensure their troops needs were met as much as could be expected
4. Officers developing their careers through results, rather than pandering for promotion

Here is what Von Steuben expected of himself as leader:

1. Lead by example
2. Orders (read as assignments) are best completed when understood why they are important
3. Humor is important in engaging others
4. Be firm and decisive when appropriate
   

Understanding leadership and building it as a character trait will ensure that all the objectives of any investigation are met, that it is robust and definitive in the root cause, or exhausted entirely in the pursuit of root cause. Von Steuben gave a great example of how this is the case. You can read about it in "The Drill Master of Valley Forge." Just think about the next investigative team you either lead or participate in, and consider...

Leadership & The Drill Master

Were You Entitled, or Was The Title Won?

NOTE: The title of this post is also a link to the article referenced within the post.

I recently received a post (see link above) regarding "Learned Helplessness", which is defined as "where people 'learned to behave helplessly, even when the opportunity is restored for them to help them self by avoiding an unpleasant or harmful circumstance.'" Unfortunately, I see "Learned Helplessness" too much in business and community. I believe our culture has evolved from the independent self-sufficiency exemplified by the puritanical contingent of our country's forefathers, to a culture of entitlement (read as "helpless").

I work with and teach others to take ownership for who they are and the results of their actions. This is often times difficult when people have been entitled too long, but told they are performing well (read as "vanilla" not "balanced" feedback) in spite of the evidence of their labors. I have a 2X2 Capability Awareness matrix I use to help illustrate the entitlement mindset. It is sometimes difficult for people to accept, but once they do, they are on the road to recovery.

Ultimately, the fundamental flaws of our economy right now are evidence of this mentality. Unfortunately, it does not just evidence itself with the "less fortunate." Learned Helplessness is often enabled in the executive suites, by group think, or what I like to refer to as Cognitive Myopathy. At other times it is enabled by lack of integrity and professional courage.

In short, Learned Helplessness has pervaded every facet of our society in pandemic proportions. Sounds pessimistic doesn't it? I, however, am an optimist. I believe that armed with the correct knowledge, delivered by those with the professional courage to render the appropriate balanced feedback, that most people will want to do the right thing and to feel good about, rather than justify themselves. Given this assumption, I believe also that ours is not a hopeless state. As stated in my prior post, good investigators are generally also good leaders. They have to leverage leadership to gather, assimilate, collate and make sense of all the data that exists around the Loss Event and then identify and develop Actions for the Root Cause. If you are doing investigations, and not exemplifying the characteristics of a good leader, you are in danger of a less than complete investigation. In order to accomplish a good investigation, you have to work at leadership, and as such, solicit the help and support of other. An attitude of Entitlement or Helplessness, will only scare of the support you need to be successful.
So when you are done with the investigation, ask yourself...Were you entitled, or was the title won?

Does That Include Me?

NOTE: The title of this post is also a link to the article referenced within the post.

Good investigators are great leaders. They have to be. I've just only begun to realize how true that is. Attached to this post is a link to an article I recently read in a magazine I subscribe to. The article, entitled, "How To Build Great Leaders," discussed the value of developmental assignments as one of the tools that are used by organizations to build great leaders. My organization is on the list of the top 25 cited in the article. I have a colleague who has gone to Harvard Business School as a developmental assignment. I have several other colleagues who have been assigned overseas for three years for leadership development.

As I read through the article, I began to wonder why I was not getting some of these opportunities. And then I began to think about what I am doing for the organization now, and how I got there. But first, allow me to back up.

According to the article, developmental assignments are costly in that you leave a role in which you are being productive (read as adding value to the organization) and are assigned a role in which you are not necessarily being productive (read as learning or developing). In the latter case, a return on investment for the developmental assignment may not be realized for years after the assignment. Many times, these developmental assignments are grueling in terms of demand on time and other personal resources, because you have to really push the learning curve to keep up.

As stated above, I began to wonder why I was not getting some of these opportunities, but stopped short when I thought about what it was I was I am doing for my organization now and how I got here. Prior to my former role, I had been given a challenging leadership position (formal) at which I had been successful. I had asked specifically about further developing my leadership skills and was placed in an individual contributor role, the purpose of which was to focus on improvement of the process I would be supporting. I was in this role only six months before it became apparent that there were going to be numerous manufacturing deviations for some time to come. Although I had a team of peers I worked with, the responsibility of investigating and resolving these deviations fell to me.

In January of 2007, the organization implemented a new database for investigating deviations and storing all the details of each investigation. This system has queries that will enable anyone to identify how many investigations they have actually done. From 01 JAN 2007 to 01 MAR 2009, slightly over two years, I had performed 115 investigations requiring full Root Cause Analysis and supported several others. It was challenging and difficult. I often viewed myself as not much more than a technical writer. My focus got more narrow as time went on, such that all I was doing was these investigations. Long hours were put in to manage a nearly unbearable workload.

I was informed in NOV 2008, that I would soon have a new role and in MAR 2009, took the role I now have as a member of a team of individuals specifically tasked to investigate certain types of deviations called trends. We use Six Sigma tools (I'm a Green Belt) and other investigative techniques and impact is sometimes beyond the site I support. We are an eclectic bunch and have learned to work well together. We are just now preparing a year end presentation of our results for senior stakeholders.

How, you ask, does this relate to the article cited above? First of all, allow me to explain that there are formal leaders and there are informal leaders. Formal leaders have titles stating them as such. Informal leaders do not. Not everyone can be a Formal Leader. There is just not enough opportunities to go around. In any organization. Some people are Formal Leaders due to skill, talent, nepotism, favoritism, timing or any combination of these. Some are controllable, some are not.

On the other hand, everyone can be an informal leader. Allow me to repeat that one more time: EVERYONE CAN BE AN INFORMAL LEADER. Given this fact, then the equation for leadership changes a bit. I left a role as a Formal Leader to work for a time as an individual contributor. I was not able to utilize my skill set in the manner described in my job description, nor to my own personal expectation. I felt that I had left a role where I was productive. In my new role, I was productive, but not in a way I felt good about at the time.

After three years, and a lot of frustration, I was assigned my current role, also as an individual contributor. Admittedly, I was somewhat frustrated coming into this role, but then the clouds parted and angels began to sing. The work I had done over the previous three years, although unexpectedly, had helped me develop a skill set highly valued by the organization. My networking, investigative, communication and yes, leadership skills, had all improved significantly. This was not overt. I did not realize this until things started developing as I settled into this new role.

This was a significant learning for me. So when you hear about the fancy assignments overseas or at Harvard or MIT or whatever, perhaps you can step back and take a look at what you are doing right now and ask: Is what I am doing a developmental assignment in disguise? What can I learn from this role, frustrating as it may be, that will position me to be a better leader, formal or informal, in the future.

I believe that when things are painful, we are either growing, or missing a significant opportunity to grow. When things are easy, we are not challenged and when we are not challenged, we do not learn. If we don't learn, we may be cutting ourselves short on future opportunities. If you accept this as fact, then after you read the article above on organizations that build great leaders, and then ask yourself, "Does that include me?" The only answer is...

...YES!!!

Group Think is Thoughtless

In the 18th Century, the Vienna General Hospital had a serious problem. There was a high degree of infant deaths due to puerperal fever. Data for infant deaths became available in 1784. From 1784 to 1822 the infant mortality rate was about 2%. From 1823 to 1841 infant mortality was about 7% and from 1841 to 1846 it jumped yet again to nearly 10%.

Women plead not to be admitted unless they had to be, knowing their babies had just as good a chance at survival, outside the hospital as in. Physicians studied this phenomenon and could come up with no cause as to why. Doubly perplexing was that infants delivered by mid-wives had a mortality rate of 0.6% as opposed to the infants delivered by the physicians and medical students, which had the near 10% mortality rate.

In 1846 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis agreed to a three year contract to work at the hospital, beginning that year. He became aware of the problem, pored over the data and learned that in 1823, pathological anatomy began at the medical school, where physicians and medical students would dissect and study cadavers. Midwives did not attend the medical school, and as such performed no pathological anatomy. The physicians and medical students would complete their anatomy classes and then attend to the obstetrics of the hospital, now being carriers of cadaverous contamination.

Upon recognizing this issue, Semmelweiz instituted the practice of hand washing in chlorine after a physician or medical student completed a pathological anatomy. This was instituted in 1847. Infant mortality rates from 1847 to 1858 were about 1.6%, significantly lower than the nearly 10% mortality rate before.

During the decades prior to the investigation of Semmelweiz, the physicians in the hospital could not begin to fathom that anything they were doing would be the cause of the increased infant mortality rates. This is a classic example of Group Think. Group Think is found in organizations (larger than one individual). Tunnel vision and myopathy are synonymous with group think, but can also apply to the individual.

I read a book once, entitled, "Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box," in which the example was given of an infant learning to crawl. The infant gets up on its hands and scoots around by pushing itself back. Eventually, it gets wedged against something and cannot scoot back farther, becoming trapped. Frustrated, it screams and cries and pushes back harder, but to no avail. The paradigm of the infant does not allow it to consider that it might be the source of its own problem. If it could see the problem, it may not be able to do anything, if much about it, because it may not have the capability to change direction without pushing back. Intervention is nearly always required.

This is the hallmark of Group Think, Tunnel Vision and Myopic thinking. That is why it is important to have the emotional maturity to allow someone else to challenge the thought processes we are engaged in. This is critical to a good investigation. Having someone on your investigative team who will challenge the process can get others to see and think about things in a different way. This is necessary to a robust and successful investigation.

Group Think is thoughtless.

Leadership: Make or Buy?

I received feedback on my thoughts about the post entitled, "Investigators As Leaders" (Monday, 28 SEP 2009). It is possible that I may have unintentionally implied that some are born as leaders and that is what type of individual some organizations seek to hire.

For this I apologize. Leaders are both born and made. Some are born with a natural disposition toward leadership and quickly begin showing this natural talent as they grow up and engage with others. It is important to note that this does not dismiss such individuals from further developing their talent. Sports authorities are trained to quickly ascertain raw talent, and then to develop that raw talent.

History is filled with those who "should have been". I personally believe that there are few people in history that naturally rise in leadership capability because of raw talent. My belief is that the majority of those who demonstrate truly great leadership, did so because they had desire and heart: The desire to be good leaders and the heart to see it through. This is not easy to do.

The film "Miracle" (which I just reminded myself to add to my favorite movies on this blog), is a great metaphor for leadership. The coach of the Olympic U.S. Hockey Team portrayed in the film, did not go after the most talented hockey players of the day. It was not a dream team. He took players that had already demonstrated desire and heart and which had not necessarily "arrived" professionally in the sport. Once picked, he pushed his team hard, time and again, until they coalesced into a championship unit. He developed them.

Many companies choose to hire leadership skills and buy technical skills. Just as the coach in "Miracle" recruited people that had already demonstrated desire and heart, companies that hire for leadership do the same thing. It is incumbent on the candidates to prove to the company that they have been working to develop those skills. Furthermore, the development does not stop when the candidates pass through the doors on the first day of work. Companies that focus clearly on recruiting leadership, constantly challenge, develop, provide feedback, coach and opportunity so that leadership is further developed within the organization. Such organizations find it more cost effective to hire or "buy" resources that have already demonstrated desire and heart in developing leadership. The alternative of bringing someone in and to "make" them a leader is far more costly because of the unknowns; the risks involved.

Ultimately, the intent of message was that we should constantly be striving to develop our leadership skills. It matters little, in the big picture, if we are investigators, teachers, scientists, managers, etc. Leadership is essential to getting things done, effectively and efficiently; including investigations.

If I misdirected anyone on the intention of my thoughts, please accept my apology.

Investigators as Leaders

When pursuing a large investigation, there are two skill sets required to see it through successfully to Root Cause. First are Leadership Skills and Technical Skills follow. This entry is about Leadership Skills. Do not confuse leadership with management. A person with good leadership skills can inspire and motivate individuals to perform. Leadership is often informal and subtle.

On the other hand, management is overt and uses hierarchical leverage, including the carrot and stick philosophy. Some managers, although they have license to use hierarchical leverage, use leadership skills to get things done through others. Be mindful though, that to be a good leader does not require one to be a manager. There are a great many powerful people in business and politics who are strong leaders, but not formal leaders.

A good leader will recognize the deficiencies they have and close that gap by leveraging the skills of another to complete the investigation. In such cases, the person leading an investigation will pull together an investigative team, bringing together different skill sets and perspectives to enable a robust investigation.

It is important to recognize that leadership skills are not easily acquired and that leadership is not easily won. It takes continual practice, willingness to accept feedback and learn from ones mistakes, and the tenacious building of trust.

As you work through investigations, think about your leadership skills. Are you burning bridges or building relationships? Leaders build relationships. Successful investigations cannot be completed in a corporate environment without good leaders who build good relationships. In fact, many organizations have the philosophy that they will hire people with leadership skills, because such skills are hard to develop; technical skills they can easily buy.

How have your investigations been going? Perhaps it's time to investigate your leadership skills!