🇬🇧 Does Being Human Hurt Performance? – How Great Leaders Do Both

00:00:03: The best leaders I've ever seen do not choose between humanity and performance.

00:00:08: They create a culture in which both, not only coexist but in fact mutually reinforce each other.

00:00:15: being human does not only not cost you performance it increases performance if you do it right.

00:00:26: Hello!

00:00:27: And very warm welcome to today's Lightwolf Podcast.

00:00:32: Let me start little differently than i normally do.

00:00:37: What im gonna share now It's not a story because to me, the story always sounds like made up.

00:00:45: What I'm going to share is real experience.

00:00:49: You know my team and i when we started running our own business fourteen years ago.

00:00:57: The teams start growing And over time We have supported a hundred ninety seven different companies More than twelve thousand leaders And somewhere along the way, I chose my new job title after twenty-five years and three great different companies.

00:01:20: where was an employed manager leader starting as an intern in household cleaning.

00:01:28: I determined my title to be leadership catalysts.

00:01:32: that's what we do.

00:01:33: We.

00:01:34: That is ten partners coaches trainers and consultants like me that have at least twenty, some of the more than thirty years' real-life leadership experience.

00:01:49: So we've been in those situations where you sometimes face a young intern who led himself and his boss or projects without really understanding what leadership is all about.

00:02:08: I was looking for marketing and leading brands.

00:02:11: Later on I had six people and then had.

00:02:15: Six hundred and fifty when i was a general manager in my first company leading three countries, seven and a half thousand people together with my six peers.

00:02:34: And then later on, I was invited to be European board member in the South African business that at the time was the second biggest beer business in the world.

00:02:45: Twenty-two countries, twelve thousand people to lead!

00:02:48: Then back to one because i decided To become an entrepreneur and found my own business.

00:02:55: initially just me My laptop and I. I was alone, so i just let myself in this third and last part of my career.

00:03:04: One of the things that I think have done right is starting a podcast.

00:03:12: A young man named Frederik nine years ago made it start with his conversation but since then he had more impact.

00:03:26: Let me illustrate what.

00:03:28: This week, we gained three new clients who entrust us the most valuable part of their company.

00:03:38: Their people for smaller mid-sized or very big leadership transformation projects.

00:03:47: One of those clients that we hope to close today and it looks very promising is a company that's successful globally based with the headquarter in Europe.

00:04:01: One year after this podcast started, In two thousand eighteen a young man named Matthias and when you hear this Matthias was then warm regards greetings to The Basel area Started joining and listened to the Lightwolf Podcast.

00:04:17: Two thousand eighteen.

00:04:18: Then in twenty-twenty-two roundabout his wife Daniela Warm regards Daniela Was promoted.

00:04:26: he made his wife aware of this leadership podcast and she started listening.

00:04:30: Yet another three years later, at twenty-twenty five Daniela awarded us with her first young leader to join our Lightwolf Academy –to learn in a structured simple manner the most important tools tips and ideas how to lead self & others with impact and success…in there for an entire year!

00:04:51: So, this podcast has impact.

00:04:53: That's why I call it your leadership podcast with impact!

00:04:58: With that a warm welcome no matter if you're dialing in the first time so welcome or whether you've been long-time loyal listener like Matthias and Tanjila.

00:05:08: i hope you enjoy this episode And todays episode is very special.

00:05:15: It is very close to my heart Because it not only resonates with the core of who I am as a human being.

00:05:27: It's about you and its topic of leadership, because it very directly addresses client need.

00:05:50: Just last night, I had a great conversation with the CEO of one industry family business.

00:06:02: Incredibly successful growth since twenty years doubling the business in the past ten years and continues to be hungry for more.

00:06:16: however says about his own company.

00:06:20: We are very people-centric, and we've always been.

00:06:25: And would like to be a bit more performance centric.

00:06:28: So how can we change that culture abit?

00:06:32: Make us people AND performance centric.

00:06:34: It's great challenge!

00:06:37: We're starting conversations now.

00:06:39: I know they have worked with a couple of attempts but it shows this balance between people is on the CEO mind.

00:06:49: Another CEO who I deeply respect as deeply is the first one Who runs a completely different kind of business very different industry?

00:06:59: Very different country, as well and this ceo has outstanding strengths enormously clear there was no doubt.

00:07:11: when he Is involved in meeting.

00:07:14: He creates clarity which is super power and At the same time, he maybe is aware of a side effect.

00:07:26: Of his strong voice and clarity creating personality.

00:07:32: The potential side effect that it's not intended Is sometimes might create some fear And I'm looking forward to having a confidential conversation with him.

00:07:45: just me I'm not going to share this here.

00:07:47: This is gonna stay between him and me, but i'd like...I look forward to this conversation!

00:07:53: I have no idea whether I'll succeed in making him aware of what the potential is for him?

00:08:00: I give my very best!

00:08:01: He will be the one though deciding whether he does anything about it or not.

00:08:06: minutes his career..his life ..and he is already very successful right.

00:08:13: so These are just two real examples life from last night and From this morning.

00:08:21: conversations with responsible successful leaders.

00:08:26: both of them, they all Are touching a question that in our leadership transformation work every single week comes back.

00:08:40: And the question is Stefan and team, and partners.

00:08:46: If I am too human won't my performance suffer?

00:08:52: And sometimes i think it's also the reverse question if I demand Too much performance Won't I lose my team?

00:09:04: Question mark.

00:09:05: So at the heart their worry is about getting both people's interest and performance.

00:09:14: The team and I have chosen today's title.

00:09:17: Does being human hurt performance?

00:09:21: The answer is no, it doesn't!

00:09:23: It's the opposite.

00:09:25: great leaders do both And in this podcast i'd like to share three tips with you how they Do it.

00:09:32: but let's first penetrate This question and the underlying issue is based on a fundamental misunderstanding.

00:09:50: The best leaders I've ever seen do not choose between humanity and performance, they create the culture in which both not only coexist but in fact mutually reinforce each other.

00:10:06: because being human does not only not cost you performance it increases performance if you do it right.

00:10:16: Yeah, so since about ten years ago what I've just said was based on my observations and the observations of my ten partners.

00:10:27: when we discuss topics like this We all come to same conclusion.

00:10:33: but about ten year ago a great book entered my life way too late.

00:10:38: i should have read much earlier And it's one of the few big books, maybe six or seven books in my life that I've read repeatedly.

00:10:46: This one...I reread Last Christmas and i re-read every single line because its a fantastic book.

00:10:53: It is called Good to Great from Jim Collins.

00:10:58: In this Book Jim Collins Analyzes A Question.

00:11:03: The question Is Are There Any Companies That Ever Made The Turn From Good?

00:11:10: Good defined as seven percent annual growth to great which is at least five times that growth.

00:11:18: So not seven percent growth per year, but at least thirty-five percent growth for a year and Sustained over.

00:11:26: At least fifteen years.

00:11:28: so a high bar.

00:11:30: Do companies like this exist at all?

00:11:33: And the answer is yes.

00:11:34: he in his consultant team invested ten consultant years to search, to analyze.

00:11:42: To hypothesize?

00:11:43: To debate?

00:11:43: To discuss?

00:11:44: To redo until finally they found the pattern and the pattern is described in this outstanding book.

00:11:51: so if the topic is interesting to you and you haven't read it yet I highly recommend Jim Collins.

00:11:56: good-to-great!

00:11:57: And here's the result out of the one thousand four hundred and forty companies they analyzed eleven made the shift.

00:12:06: They indeed managed at some point in their decade long sometimes more than a century-long company history To take the turn from seven to thirty five percent growth per year or more and sustained over third of our fifteen years.

00:12:19: amazing.

00:12:21: And I know we know one of the companies on of the eleven because we are working for them.

00:12:25: Yeah, and then the first question after that.

00:12:28: Of course was well.

00:12:30: What then makes the difference between the many it stay good forever?

00:12:34: and the few that become great over a certain period of time.

00:12:39: And, the answer is it's leadership!

00:12:44: It confirmed in data what my observations have taught me for twenty-five years... ...and let me illustrate this by reading out to you page twelve on this book.

00:12:58: So question?

00:13:01: What differentiated The many good from the few great ones.

00:13:05: Factor number one, level five leadership.

00:13:09: quote page twelve Jim Collins.

00:13:11: we were surprised shocked really to discover the type of leadership required for turning a good company into A Great One compared To high profile leaders with big personalities who make headlines and become celebrities?

00:13:32: Self-efficacy, quiet, reserved even shy.

00:13:39: These leaders are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.

00:13:48: They're more like Socrates than Caesar.

00:13:54: This to me is the bullseye.

00:13:57: this To Me Is The Heart Of Good Leadership.

00:14:00: And when I compare I had sixteen bosses in my corporate career, right?

00:14:05: And i've now worked with more than twelve thousand leaders.

00:14:09: Many have a strong will so that's common to many.

00:14:14: but the decisive differentiator is sheer endless personal humility combined With this strong willpower to get the right thing done and That means Humanity being human not only not hurts but in fact multiplies your performance.

00:14:33: Now let's look at the real challenges that we encounter in our daily work, helping companies teams and individuals to spread leadership they want and need for a sustained successful future.

00:14:47: problem one difficult conversations are avoided.

00:14:52: many leaders don't want to disappoint or upset anyone.

00:14:56: They hope that problems will solve themselves somehow magically.

00:15:00: If my life, they never have!

00:15:03: Whenever you delay and postpone a problem it's not gonna solve itself.

00:15:07: It is going to grow until you intervene and get it solved right?

00:15:12: The result is performance declines Frustration within your team grows And the best employees start wondering why poor performance has no consequences.

00:15:21: Problem number two Humanity is sometimes confused with leniency.

00:15:28: Some leaders believe that good leadership means fulfilling as many wishes of others as possible and shielding their team from pressure and challenges, And I have been no better!

00:15:43: I vividly remember my first major leadership mistake As a young leader.

00:15:48: i was twenty-eight two hundred eighty million euro business and I had six wonderful people.

00:15:55: And it was behaving like a hand, big hands sitting on them rather than allowing then to take responsibility.

00:16:02: so i have made that mistake.

00:16:04: but teams need more than care.

00:16:07: they are adults.

00:16:08: this is not the kinder garden.

00:16:10: you know when Karen support.

00:16:12: they need direction space and in high expectations to deliver Right?

00:16:19: They need a stadium rather than the kindergarten.

00:16:22: And problem number three, leaders carry too much themselves out of a sense of responsibility Out-of not wanting to overload their people.

00:16:32: Many leaders take on tasks decisions or conflicts that they are employees could actually solve by themselves.

00:16:42: We've run about two hundred and fifty live leadership programs over seventeen years starting in two thousand and nine, a frequent exercise we do is about empowerment with the techniques of delegating and coaching.

00:16:58: And whenever I ask one simple tool that people suddenly get aware how much they delegate?

00:17:10: Do you delegate too much?

00:17:13: We've never had any arm raised.

00:17:17: Do you delegate the right amount of responsibility?

00:17:21: One in ten raises their arm.

00:17:23: And if we ask now, who of your thinks and now observes upon reflection that you could delegate more than you do?

00:17:33: then nine out of ten raise their arms.

00:17:37: And typically it's between ten and forty percent off there own capacity they can free up by handing more responsibility to others.

00:17:46: And don't get me wrong, it's not about just blindly overloading your people and leaving them alone.

00:17:50: It's about helping them get clear on success.

00:17:53: what is success?

00:17:55: Then helping them clear away stuff that's too small.

00:17:59: so there was enough space To manage and deliver the big bets.

00:18:03: So one of the mistakes leaders do they Do much themselves.

00:18:09: This may seem like help in a very short time.

00:18:13: In the long term, however it makes a team more dependent.

00:18:17: It leaves the leader exhausted and reduces performance of the whole

00:18:22: company.".

00:18:23: So this is my experience on typical problems related to today's headline.

00:18:28: Let us flip the page talk about potential solutions.

00:18:33: What can you do in practice?

00:18:35: No matter whether your are first time leader or middle manager or a company CEO globally.

00:18:43: This is true for everyone independent from seniority.

00:18:49: lesson one give feedback early and with respect, impact not just positive intent.

00:19:00: use as simple formula describe what you've seen.

00:19:04: so on observation ask an insightful question related to the impact of the other person's behavior and then share a wish or an expectation.

00:19:19: So, share your own observation first hand.

00:19:23: don't go with second-hand gossip that others tell you.

00:19:27: Go with firsthand observations.

00:19:29: Then ask here is the impact?

00:19:32: Or what do you think has been the impact on yourself?

00:19:39: and then articulate a wish or an expectation for the future.

00:19:43: And if you do so with your tangible intent to help, Then there was no risk that other person misunderstands this criticism as personal assault.

00:19:53: they won't.

00:19:54: If You Do Your Leadership Work Right.

00:19:59: So say I noticed That Here Is My Observation As A Result To Set The Following Impact Going Forward.

00:20:07: i would like YOU TO If you apply this formula to giving feedback, to giving constructive criticism.

00:20:15: You have a much higher chance of having the impact that you want

00:20:19: i.e.,

00:20:20: growth for the person and business.

00:20:24: Clear feedback is not an attack it's sign-of-respect if done right.

00:20:29: Second suggestion be empathetic with people but demanding on standards.

00:20:38: empathetic with people, be human with people but demanding on performance because that's what many of them want anyway.

00:20:48: One of my favorite definitions of good leadership is high care and high standards.

00:20:55: I've had sixteen different bosses in my career And one of the most lasting impact was David.

00:21:02: He combined these two on an unprecedented level.

00:21:06: Amazing!

00:21:08: But he always raised his expectations of me.

00:21:12: and if you show genuine interest in people while also being clear about the results And the behavior.

00:21:19: You expect, you will help them grow.

00:21:22: and three suggestion number Three develop People instead of solving their problems.

00:21:31: Develop people Instead of solving.

00:21:34: there are problems for them.

00:21:36: when a team member comes to you as a leader With a problem and maybe even charming you like hey dear leader.

00:21:44: You're such a great Leader in such a Great functional expert in XYZ, you know here is my problem.

00:21:51: what should I do right?

00:21:54: Don't give an answer Just return the question.

00:22:01: instead of answering the question just say What would use suggest yeah great question What would you suggest?

00:22:11: This strengthens ownership, this clarifies leadership expectations.

00:22:17: You want them to come with their solutions not just the problems but also their self-confidence and ultimately long term performance of both individual team or business will grow as a result.

00:22:32: your change in behavior.

00:22:35: In these moments let's take ten seconds for a quick poll.

00:22:38: I'd love to hear your perspective.

00:22:41: What do you find more difficult as a leader?

00:22:44: Showing humanity and empathy or consistently demanding high performance, what is more difficult for you?

00:22:51: please take ten seconds now to quickly go into the show notes and leave your vote.

00:22:57: we'd love.

00:22:58: The most successful leaders I've ever met were neither especially tough nor especially nice because that's not what leadership is about.

00:23:17: They work clear, they took people seriously... ...they took performance seriously and they understood one key thing the two do not work without each other.

00:23:33: in fact being human and wanting performance mutually multiplies each other.

00:23:42: And my source of inspiration is David Taylor, I was blessed to have many bosses but he really stands out in a couple ways... ...and i had two Lightwolf podcast episodes.

00:23:55: if you want learn about him.

00:23:57: how did it!

00:23:58: One as long interview.

00:24:00: the second one.

00:24:01: that's short.

00:24:03: I encourage you to listen today.

00:24:05: It's nightwolf number.

00:24:06: two hundred and fifteen entitled expect and encourage.

00:24:11: that Shares my reflection of the impact he had on me as a leader by just doing those things expecting an encouraging And perhaps it is most important inside today.

00:24:24: Humanity does not come at the expense performance.

00:24:28: quite opposite.

00:24:29: genuine humanity creates Trust and trust is the foundation for outstanding performance.

00:24:39: Humanity multiplies performance or even shorter, weak leadership believes that it has to choose between the two.

00:24:48: humanity in performance.

00:24:49: good leadership combines both and hence multiplies both.

00:24:55: I wish you every success inputting your version of humanity and performance into practice.

00:25:03: Great you are here today, I look forward to welcoming your soon on the show again.

00:25:07: Have a fantastic week!

00:25:09: Thank You Your Stefan.