Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

effective communication

Does Your Leadership Suffer from the Bandwagon Effect?

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Does Your Leadership Suffer from the Bandwagon Effect?
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Are you following the crowd when it comes to the way you lead? You may not think so.

However, if you are like most leaders, you may unwittingly suffer from “the Bandwagon Effect” without knowing it.

The Bandwagon Effect is a cognitive bias that can cause us to think and act in certain ways if we believe others are doing the same.

My father had a different way of describing it.

“Monkey see, monkey do, Patti,” he would quip.

Does any of this sound familiar?

1. Do you react to the current conditions that affect your business, rather than anticipate and plan for change? Or do you hesitate to adopt new practices or approaches until you see others doing this with success?

Learning to read the business landscape and anticipate with confidence and action enables you to lead out in front. Otherwise, you will be left behind.

2. Are you shortchanging the development of your own leadership?

It’s necessary to stay relevant and sharp. Reading the latest books everyone else recommends, as well as attending recommended conferences and industry meetings is important. But do you take a systematic approach to developing your personal leadership? Intentionally targeting and working on your personal blind spots and growth opportunities is key to operating at your best.

3. Are you missing an accountability mechanism for your leadership development?

The Bandwagon Effect would reflect that you rely on your board or your colleagues, holding you accountable for business outcomes. But who supports you rising to your potential in the way you lead? Be sure you have a confidential “internal board of directors” for this, comprised of leaders who have your back, understand you and your business, and invite you to take responsibility for your growth.

Where does the Bandwagon Effect show up in the way that you lead yourself and your business? I challenge you over the coming week to carefully examine the way you make decisions and take action to see where you can break away and get out in front.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Taking Your Manifesto to Work

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Taking Your Manifesto to Work

Part III of Making Your Leadership Work

Is your leadership only in your head? You should be taking your manifesto to work.

Here’s a pet peeve of mine: anything that sounds great in theory, but doesn’t teach you how to use it.

This is especially true of leadership. There’s a lot of “feel good” stuff out there and heady theory about what leadership is, who you ought to be, and how it should work.

But what do you do with this?

Unless you can apply your knowledge practically, on the job, knowledge is not power, contrary to the old adage. You just walk around thinking about it and living off the warm and fuzzy feelings that thinking about leading can generate.

You and your leadership will just sit in your head.

How do you fix this?

You learn how to make the powerful connections that put your knowledge to work.

The power in possessing knowledge is always the same, whether it’s learning how to lead or perfecting your backstroke in the swimming pool.

You have to practice. You actually have to take your knowledge and apply it to learn how to master it.

So when it comes to your leadership manifesto – your beliefs as to who you are as leader, what is important, and how you intend to act on these beliefs, there’s a big hole.

And it’s taking your manifesto to work – seeing how it can make significant change.

How do you do that?

Well, first you must have developed your leadership manifesto. If you haven’t crafted your manifesto, click here.

And then, you need to put your manifesto to work by defining the impact it can make on the enterprise. This powerful visioning will serve as your inspiration for all you do.

To do this, you’ll need a piece of paper and pen or pencil. And then…

  • Position the paper so that it is in “landscape” mode.
  • Draw lines to make three columns on the paper.
  • Across the top, your column headers will be (left to right): “Manifesto Statement,” “The Enterprise,” and “The Transformation”
  • In the left-hand column, under the heading “Manifesto Statement,” list out the key statements from your manifesto.
  • Across from each statement in the “Manifesto Statement” column, and under the heading “The Enterprise,” write how the enterprise can be positively affected because of the statement.
  • Example: If your manifesto statement reads, “Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart,” then across from that, your statement about how it can affect the enterprise might be, “We have created a culture that cares and is involved.”
  • Across from each statement in the middle column, “The Enterprise,” list the resulting transformation in “The Transformation” column. “My employees are more creative and engagement, resulting in a superior product.”

Here it is so that you can see the relationship between your leadership manifesto and how you can impact the enterprise.

 

Manifesto Statement The Enterprise Transformation
Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. We have created a culture that cares and is involved. Our employees are more creative and engaged, resulting in a superior product.

 

Continue with each statement from your manifesto until you have exhausted the list. As you review your paper, congratulate yourself. You have just outlined the impact that your unique leadership can have on the enterprise – and the world.

Once you have defined the unique impact you can make with your leadership, you will identify those strategies that will best support this intended impact, and then, the actions necessary to effectuate them.

How will you put your leadership manifesto to work?

How to Create Your Leadership Manifesto

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 How to Create Your Leadership Manifesto

Part II of Making Your Leadership Work

Does your leadership count, or are you just the next “suit in a seat” in a succession of many?

If you want to make a significant impact on the world around you, you need to take a stand.

It’s time to revisit your leadership manifesto.

Don’t have one? It’s time to craft yours.

A manifesto is a declaration of principles that include your:

  • Intentions – what actions you intend to take
  • Key beliefs – your stance on things
  • Vision – the world as you wish to see it

There are a few reasons formulating your leadership manifesto is important.

It’s a formidable exercise in authenticity.

Authoring your manifesto forces you to identify your most important beliefs – a “stop and think” exercise for most of us. Then, it requires that you create a powerful vision in response to these beliefs, and to outline your intentions about how to create the change. If you think about it, this is a formidable exercise in stating who you are and what is important to you above all.

It brings focus to your work.

Your manifesto brings tremendous focus, helping you to reflect on what aligns – and what does not – in your work and life.

It helps you to stay the course in turbulent times.

Your manifesto serves as a GPS, supporting your ability to move toward your vision, even in the midst of significant challenges.

Ready to craft your leadership manifesto? Sit in a quiet place and reflect on the questions below. Many executives with whom I work go through these questions twice. During the first round, they answer the questions in the context of life; during the second round, they relate it to the workplace.

  1. I believe in ____
  2. I want to live in a world where ____
  3. Here is what I know for sure: _____
  4. The one problem I want to solve during my life _____
  5. The changes the world will see as a result ______
  6. What is at stake here is ______
  7. I will show the world ____

As you review your answers, what becomes clear for you? And what, in your life and work, needs to change?

Lead or Manage? Why You Need to Do Both

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To Lead or Manage is the Wrong Question: You Need to Do Both

Part I. Making Your Leadership Work

To lead or manage? This is the wrong question – you need to do both.

The differences between managing and leading are crucial, and you will find a lot of material on the subject.

But the comparisons imply that leadership is preferable to management, and that in order to be a leader, you must leave the managing to others.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

When you manage, you should also be leading in order to be at your most effective. And when you are leading, you absolutely have to manage, as well.

What are the key differences, and how do you make them work together?

Leading focuses on taking the enterprise into the future, creating followership through influence in order to meet the vision, mission, and objectives of the enterprise. Managing focuses on the work at hand, ensuring that the necessary pieces work well together to meet the vision, mission, and objectives of the enterprise.
Attributes of leading include:               Attributes of managing include:
  • Create and share vision
  • Inspire change
  • Imagine possibilities
  • Lead forward, setting direction
  • Anticipate trends
  • Coach and mentor talent for culture and succession planning
  • Ability to think abstractly
  • Ability to articulate and influence
  • Ensure goals and objectives are being met
  • Understand how the work gets done in an organization
  • Accountable to team
  • Ability to teach and mentor
  • Ability to monitor and interpret data, outcomes
  • Self-discipline
  • Direct others
  • Provide input

As you review these two lists and make your own comparisons, where are you? Can you see that, if you are to be most effective, you will actually need to be able to do both?