Being a leader is all about producing sustained results. The word sustained is included to mean to achieve results in the long term and not just to make a quarter or two financial projections. Without results a leader will not last. Great leaders have learned that in order to achieve sustained results, they must motivate others to join them on their quest to make their vision a reality.

The following are five keys to developing TRUST as a Leader:

1. Back up What You Say - If you say something is going to happen, then you must make it happen. In order for a leader to be trusted they must be believed. People in the organization will wait to seeif what they heard actually happens. Great leaders have developed creditability and trust and they will go to great lengths to protect that precious asset.

2. Walk the Talk - A leader does not lead an organization from behind their desk. They must be visible out on the floors AND they must also engage with employees and patients. For example, if there is a blizzard forecasted and the expectation is for all nurses and other essential employees scheduled to make it to work, then the CEO and Executive team ought to be on site and provide help wherever needed. You will be amazed how much this is noticed and talked about by the employees.

3. “Man Up” and Take the Hit - When something bad happens in the organization, take the responsibility for the results AND do not blame anyone. Too many times when something bad happens the CEO or other Executives will go to great lengths to explain what happened and ineffect blame someone for the bad outcome. Your job as a leader is to take responsibility, promise to fix the problem, actually fix the problem, and to make sure the organizations learns from the unfortunate situation.

4. Give it Away – Organizations that produce sustained results get noticed and often that positive feedback is directed back to the Leader. Great leaders know when this happens they must “give the praise and recognition away” to others in the organization. This is one of the greatest psychological rewards a leader can give to others in the organization. Every individual wantstwo things: to be recognized and to be understood. In this instance it is the leader’s responsibility to make sure others get the much needed recognition. Sending a letter or a hand written note to the employee’s home is something that will have a massive positive impact AND get posted on the “refrigerator door” for others to see.

5. Apologize - There may be times when something goes wrong either internal or external and the best thing to do once all the facts are known is to apologize. There are those in legal and leadership circles that believe you never apologize because that will only strengthen the pending lawsuit. Guess what- you are going to get sued anyway so why not try to recognize the mistakes and offera sincere apology. Years ago a hospital was responsible for the death of an elderly patient and the family was aggressively suing to “settle the score”. During the trail a family member disclosed much of the lawsuit could have been avoided if the CEO had only said “I am sorry”. Lesson learned.

If there are items you feel I did not address, please email me your thoughts.

The executive resume, where the “accomplishments are overblown and the failures are omitted”. Not true for everyone yet more reality than fiction. Our culture is so focused on posting results and looking good that we fail to realize the value in good old fashion failure. I recently read the book titled Start-Up Nationby Dan Senor & Saul Singer where the culture of the Israel is discussed in detail. One aspect of particularnote is in the Israel Air Force where failure is not seen as career limiting, but more acceptable “providedthey are used as opportunities to improve individual and group performance”. Specifically the individual who has experienced failure is expected to share those learning’s with others, because “If you screw up,your job is to show the lessons you’ve learned. No one learns from someone who is being defensive”.

Wow, is that different from the American corporate culture. Mistakes are buried and if exposed are “spun” to sound like nothing really happened. In healthcare a clinical mistake was intentionally kept from the patient or family member and the individual who was responsible for the mistake was sworn to secrecy. The opportunity to learn was lost along with the discharge or burial of the patient. Fortunately the culture of healthcare is changing where poor clinical outcomes are identified, examined, and the findings shared with others.

Here are four suggestions on how to learn from our professional failures:

1. Volunteer - I suggest you look for challenging career opportunities that will stretch your skills and significantly enhance your learning. When challenging work situations develop many will run the otherway in fear of failing. I believe the more challenging the situation the better and I look for individuals who have taken the “leap of faith” and volunteered for such challenging experiences.

2. 50 Percent Rule - Once you have found yourself in a challenging work situation ask a great deal of questions to make sure you fully understand the issue or problem at hand. This is a perfect place to use the 50 percent rule, where 50 percent of the time is spent on understanding the issue or problem and the other 50 percent of the time is spent on find the right solution. Too often leaders will spend little amount of time on understanding the issue or problem and most of the time on finding a solution. If you do not fully understand the problem how can you find the right solution?

3. Share the Results - No matter what the outcome, your job is to share what you learned with others. Granted it is easier to share positive outcomes, but I actually believe we learn more from our failings and others will learn more if you share those experiences.

4. Part of Your Resume - Now this maybe the most difficult part of all but I believe we should include experiences that did not work out as expected on our resumes. And by adding such experiences to our resumes we will need to be prepared to discuss these negative experiences objectively and share what was learned. Again a quote from the book Start Up Nation “It is okay to try and fail. Success is best, but failure is not a stigma; it is an important experience for your résumé”. Sure recruiters and potential employers may be surprised by your candor but your willingness to be honest just might separate you from the other 100 candidates for the same position.

I am interested in your feedback on the topic of Looking for Failure, so please email me your thoughts.

I cannot tell you how true that statement is especially with the more experience I develop in working with executives who have had some career “challenges”.

The world needs great leaders, and we need them now. From Weiner to Madoff, the poor leadership and ethical failures of both elected officials and corporate executives haunt the news, and the general public is more aware than ever that good leadership is very hard to find. There are challenges in every aspect of our society, whether in business, government, nonprofit organization, etc. These challenges require great leaders to develop inspiring solutions that will permanently fix the underlying problems. This will be far different than providing another “band aide” solution that will leave the problem to be addressed in the future. Does this sound like political process in the United States?

Here the important question- “What are your professional values?” That is right, I am not asking for your employer’s values. I am asking for your values a leader. Questions like these are not asked enough of our leaders. To me, Integrity is the major currency of a great leader and that was taught to me by my parents and my mentors. In all of the leadership scandals this is the value that takes the greatest hit because once a leader’s integrity is compromises, people will not trust you! As I say in my book, “Without Integrity- You Got Nothing.” Truly great leaders have worked hard to develop integrity, and even harder to maintain it. These leaders understand that a leader does not need to be a genius to be successful – cultivating good leadership skills is not hard, it’s just hard work.

A Leader needs to have strong foundation on which to build a career and their Values are at the center of that foundation. When the challenges come, and believe me they will come a Leader needs a strong sense of Values to be like their north star to guide them. Often when I present to a corporation audience I ask “Do the values of Respect, Integrity, Communications, and Excellence sound like good corporate values?” Almost unanimously those in attendance say “yes, in fact our company has many of those same values”. I then share that those values were values of the ENRON Corporation. The reaction is almost universal, shock! It is important is to work in an organization where your personal and corporate values align. When this alignment exits, literally magic can happen in terms of achieving great results.

If you work in an organization like ENRON that does not live up to its corporate values, and whose values are inconsistent with your own professional values- QUIT! Your personal and professional reputation as a leader is too important to risk for some bad behavior by an employer.

LEADERSHIP IS NOT HARD – IT JUST TAKES HARD WORK

The world needs great leaders, and we need them now.  From Weiner to Madoff, the poor leadership and ethical failures of both elected officials and corporate executives haunt the news, and the general public is more aware than ever that good leadership is very hard to find.

To me, Integrity is the major currency of a great leader. As I say in my book, “Without Integrity- You Got Nothing.”  Truly great leaders have worked hard to develop integrity, and even harder to maintain it.  These leaders understand that a leader does not need to be a genius to be successful – cultivating good leadership skills is not hard, it’s just hard work.

After 30 years as an executive, I founded Sinnott Executive Consulting to “Inspire the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow to Change the World”.  Here are some key tips on how to improve your ability and skills to become a a Great Leader, whether you are a current leader or someone who aspires to be a leader in your community, church, or company.

Just like every company needs a Board of Trustees to get advice and counsel, so do leaders need an “outside” voice. This one proactive effort is significantly under utilized by leaders today. Often leaders think they “know it all” or that asking for outside advice and counsel will be seen as a sign of weaknesses. A leader needs to have others they can reach out to and get open and honest feedback before making key decisions. Being a leader can be a very lonely place and many mistakes can be prevented if a leader had their own Board of Trustees.

Here are five points to consider when forming your Board of Trustees;

1. Ask the Tough Questions - Identify Board Members that ask the tough, insightful questions bring a whole different perspective to the conversation. They not only make sure all of the issues are being discussed, but also allow the leader to “think out loud”. Sometimes just verbalizing an answer will help bring clarity to a challenging issue. Plus a leader will own the result more ifthey arrive at the conclusion on their own.

2. Great Listeners - In addition to providing honest feedback a Board Member must be a great listener. They must be able to separate out the essential from the non essential facts. Too many times decisions are made based upon the less important facts. A great listener will help toprevent that from happening.

3. Seek “Brutal” Honesty- Find individuals who are not afraid to be brutally honest and tell you exactly how they feel. Too much time is spent on trying to be nice to one another when what is needed is clarity. Now this is easier said than done! Most leaders are used getting their way from people who are either afraid of them or kissing their butts. If you ask for honesty, you must be prepared for it. If fact, it actually may be refreshing!

4. Seek Variety - Leaders should not look for Board members in their areas of strength. They should identify areas of weakness and then seek out individuals who are well known for their expertise in a particular area. For example, if the company will be considering future mergers/acquisitions, then the leaders should seek out those individuals in the legal and financial professions or an executive that has been through a similar experience. Having an outside resource to get new perspectives and ideas is a great asset to any leader.

5. Just Ask - Too many times a leader will not follow through on developing their Board of Trustees because the are afraid to ask. I have found that being open and honest with potential Board of Trustees is a great place to start and most individuals are more than willing to help. Most Board of Trustees will say it is their opportunity to return the favor for others that have helped them throughout their career.

Please email me and let me know of your experience with forming your Board of Trustees.

• Leaders need to “deliver value with values.”
• Integrity is the most important value a leader must have to be successful.
• Without integrity, as my Italian friends from South Philadelphia used to say, “You got nothing.”
• All audiences of an organization (employees, investors, volunteers, community members, etc.) must trust in the leadership order to create “followership.”
• Leaders must earn that trust every day.
• Before making key organizational or personal decisions, it is always good to talk it over with somebody. Call one of your Board Members!
• Mistakes will happen. We are all human!
• If a mistake is made, recognize it, admit it, apologize, ask for forgiveness, learn from it, and do not repeat it—move on!

• The demands of being a leader in today’s ever-changing work environment often generate a significant need to have “balance” between an individual’s professional, personal, physical, and spiritual lives.
• Long-term successful leaders have been able to achieve a healthy balance in their lives; this balance is fundamental to “success.”

Professional Life

• The professional component of your life can easily consume your entire life.  Do not allow that to happen.
• You need to work hard yet make time for the other important aspects of your life (personal, physical and spiritual).
• Your career is not a “marathon” but more of a series of “sprints.”  After each sprint, time is needed to “recharge.”
• Find a way to become and stay organized.
• Do not continue to accept more responsibilities and figure you will get it done by adding more hours to the day.
• Stop doing some things now.  Time is your most important asset.

Personal Life

• A leader’s personal life will often pay the price for the extra commitment in time and attention that is demanded by the individual’s professional life. This is especially true with the demand of trying to balance a family and one’s career.
• Your “legacy” should be with your family and friends.
• Invest time and energy into your family and friends.
• Be both physically and mentally “present” to your family and friends.
• Ask family and friends for their opinion as to if you are maintaining the right “balance.”
• Listen.

Physical Life

• A leader’s “physical life” often is neglected due to time constraints of his or her professional and personal lives.
• As the saying goes, “During the early part of a leader’s career the leader spends all his or her time making more money, and in the later years of life, the leader spends all his or her money to have more time.”
• If your health is “shot” by the time you reach your career goals, you will not be able to enjoy the “fruits of your efforts.”
• If you do not have a healthy body to support and enjoy your career success, then you will have “limited return on your investment.”
• Work out. Stay healthy. Eat right.
• Get rid of the stress in your life.
• No one else can do this but you!

Spiritual Life

• The Spiritual Life for a leader can either be religion or an individual’s need to find purpose in one’s life.
• The Spiritual Life will also help you to be aware of what is “good and bad” and “right from wrong”.  Based upon today’s press this is something that seems to be lacking in many of our business and government leaders.
• Temptation to do wrong will always be there, especially when power and money are so prominent.
• You will need some “outside influence” to manage and control your ego.  Too often it is the ego of a leader that leads to their failures and ruin.

• A leader’s career is all about “results”.  If you achieve the clearly articulated goals and objectives you get to stay in that position.  If you do not, then you will be gone.
• There can only be “one” number one priority for the organization and the individual.  Too often there are multiple “number one priorities,” which produces a limited focus on  what is fundamentally important to the organization.
• Every activity of every day must be focused on achieving the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Do not confuse activities for action.  Often we say we are busy and yet we get nothing accomplished.  Actions produce results!
• Identify what needs to be accomplished each quarter.
• Identify what needs to be accomplished each week.  It often works best if you do this before you leave work on Friday or first thing every Monday morning.
• Take fifteen minutes each day to identify your six priorities.  Assuming you work 10 hours/day, 15 minutes represents 2.5% of  your workday.
• Rank the six priorities in order of importance which will help you reprioritize your daily calendar to allocate the time needed to get these six items accomplished
• Make sure your calendar matches your priorities.  If not, “cancel that meeting.”
• Focus on completing Priorities  1 through 3 first because getting 1 thru 3 will feel better than getting 4 thru 6 done on any given day…
• What does not get done today day gets back on the list the next day.
• Keep a “running scorecard” of your results/accomplishments, which will make your quarter/annual report that much easier to complete.
• Focus, focus, and focus.

• Our culture is focused on failure, but you will achieve greater success if you identify and work in areas of your strengths.
• With the assistance of some external assessments and coaching, identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• More success will come from moving a strength from a 6 to an 8 than from moving a weakness from a 2 to a 4.
• Always look to minimize your “weaknesses.”  Do not apply or accept a position that will require your weaknesses to be key to your success.
• Great leaders “hire for their weaknesses because hiring someone with a needed skill will have a quicker impact then trying to develop that skill themselves
• The only way to improve upon a strength is to practice, practice, and practice.
• Invest in yourself: It is not the organization’s responsibility to pay for the education and resources needed to improve your strengths.

• Treat your career like it was a business.
• Establish a “vision” for your career, which will include what position you want to be in as of a certain date.
• The same approach should be taken for your second or third career.
• The career plan must be in writing, not just “up in your head.” Less than 5% of executives actually have a written career plan.
• As part of the “vision,” identify your “passions.”  Your passions are what will “feed” your energy and ability to achieve results.
• Think about your career in steps toward those career opportunities that will best prepare you for your ultimate career goal.
• Especially early in your career, think more about the experience then the title of that position.  Do not focus so much on the salary and the benefits—get the experience even if you have to volunteer.  The improved salary and benefits will come later.
• You must also be willing to take risks, even if failure is the outcome.  You will learn more from your failures than your successes.
• Every corporation needs a Board of Trustees to provide oversight, insight, “knowledge capital,” candor, and wisdom.  Your Board should be there to help and provide guidance.  All you have to do is ask for it.

• In order to be a strong leader, you must be able to motivate and move people to action in order to achieve strategic goals and objectives of the organization.  People do not follow the title; they will follow the person with a vision.
• Experts in sales training often state “individuals don’t want to be sold, they want to buy.”
• A good leader needs to be an effective communicator.
• Leaders need to talk less and listen more.
• Effective leaders know how to ask the right questions in order to learn more about the needs of their customers or employees.
• Ask the “why” question five times to fully understand the issue or problem.
• A good leader knows how to handle “objections.” It is in the objections that the customer’s real issues and needs become known.
• When preparing to present to a large audience, remember the Innovation Curve, which is made up of the innovators (10 %), early adapters (15%), early majority (25%), late majority (25%), laggards (15%), and “terrorists” (10%).  Focus on the first 75% of the audience and the “hell with the rest.”[1]

[1] This last point was taught to me by my friend and colleague, Ron Galbraith.