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Duck Tales

September/October 2006

The Role of a Lifetime

We all need role models—whatever our age or circumstance. Role models show us what we can aspire to, what we can achieve. They help us make good choices and challenge us to reach for greater heights.

Leaders often find themselves in the position of role model. People look up to their leaders to set the standards. Their values, behaviors, and choices are scrutinized daily by people all around them. For example, if a leader publicly praises a manager for a job well done, he is in effect saying, “I value hard work and commitment, and I believe in honoring it when I see it.”

Leaders who embrace their values and act on them encourage others to do the same. Being a good role model is an integral part of leadership. If a leader wants employees to behave a certain
way, he or she must behave that way. In this issue of Duck Tales,™ we’ll consider what makes a good role model and how leaders can rise to the challenge.

What Makes a Mentor?
Mentors have been around since ancient Greece, when young people were paired with relatives or close friends to serve as role models to emulate. In businesses throughout the nation, mentors now serve as models for up and coming managers and leaders.

What are the characteristics of an exemplary mentor? Here are three major factors that give mentors credibility:

(1) They’re one of us. Mentors are usually viewed as more similar than different by those they advise. People who seem to be like us The Role of a Lifetime make it easier for us to understand them and to feel that they understand us.

(2) They’ve succeeded personally. Mentors who have succeeded personally or professionally carry a lot of clout. For example, a person who has succeeded as a small business owner would be viewed by budding entrepreneurs as a credible mentor worth emulating.

(3) They’ve mentored others successfully. A workplace coach who has successfully advised other leaders holds instant credibility and esteem. People more readily trust mentors who have proven track records.

Model the Way
Model leaders open our eyes, build trust, inspire courage, and take us to new heights. They set an example by aligning their actions with their values. They model the way for others. Here’s a glimpse at how they do it:
1. They know their values and voice them. Model leaders know what’s important to them; they have a core set of values and beliefs, which they express in their own unique way. Values help guide them in their decision-making and keep them on a clear path. People around these model leaders can’t help but admire and emulate them.

2. They walk the talk. Model leaders are deeply committed to their values and aspirations. Every decision and step they take shows what they believe in. They have dozens of opportunities every day to demonstrate their values in meetings, one-on-one conferences, telephone calls, e-mails, visits with colleagues, and even brief conversations in the hallway or elevator.

3. How they spend their time says it all. How people spend their time is the biggest indicator of what’s important to them. Others pick up on this and internalize it. People watch leaders for guidance and cues, especially during times of stress and challenge.

Setting the Pace
Adversity in sports, a pacesetter is usually a person who runs beside an athlete in training and sets the pace (kind of like the lead bird in V formation). Over time, the athlete builds endurance, and the pacesetter moves the runner to higher levels of achievement, setting a pace that is more challenging yet still attainable.
The pacesetter leads by example and relies on four components:

Influence. Leaders must pay close attention to what they say, how they react, and what they do, because these actions are cues to employees about how they should model their behavior.
Knowledge. Leaders should seek information and knowledge and then translate their ideas into action.
Communication. To help others understand, grow, and be effective in their jobs, leaders must communicate what they know to those “running” next to them.
Mastery. Pacesetters must commit to learning, growing, and applying their new knowledge. They must engage in continuous self-evaluation, seek regular feedback, and be determined to excel.

Eight Traits of Advisers
People who act as role models, advisers, or mentors share eight traits that make up the acronym ADVISERS, according to Steve Banhegyi, a South African transformation consultant:

(1) Authority. Authority isn’t just about enforcing rules or exacting obedience, it means exerting influence and setting an example that others want to follow.

(2) Drama. Leaders use drama to make a point or underscore a milestone. Drama may be used to mark otherwise mundane events, such as winning a new customer.
(3) Vision. Leaders need to be able to describe their vision for the organization in a way that excites and inspires others.

(4) Intention. Leaders must have in place a course of action and desired outcomes that they intend to pursue.

(5) Storytelling. Great leaders tell stories about their organization. They tell how it came to be, where it is now, and where it’s headed. The best storytellers create tales that others want to retell and claim for their own.

(6) Experience. With experience comes confidence. Leaders with experience have faith that their people can get things done, and they openly express this faith.

(7) Role modeling. Leaders need role models too. Talking about their own role models and why they aspire to emulate these people is a lesson in itself.

(8) Self-perception. Leaders who have a healthy perception of themselves and their worth will likely be viewed the same way by those they work with, according to Banhegyi.

The Listening Leader
Think of the people you like to be around, those who make you feel happy, smart, and important. Chances are these people have something in common: they are good listeners. Listening is an art. When someone is speaking, it requires the listener’s undivided attention and total concentration.

Good listeners focus solely on the speaker, listening to spoken and unspoken messages. This means engaging in direct eye contact, offering warm responses, and refraining from interrupting. Listening is one of the most effective ways of learning what others—customers, colleagues, and stakeholders—value. Good listeners have a higher understanding and greater appreciation of others.

How many times have you felt like you weren’t being heard? Like your message wasn’t getting through? In those cases, it may be time to stop talking and time to start listening. The best way to foster listening in others is to listen to them. “Listening is not a solo performance—it is a connection and is most successful when circular,” writes Frances Hesselbein, CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute. “I listen, you respond; you listen, I respond.” In that “magic circle of communication,” messages get heard.

Facing Adversity
If you asked those who knew Albert Einstein, William Beaumont, or Elisha Otis whether any of these men would someday become successful and respected leaders in their fields, their answer would undoubtedly be an emphatic no. Yet these men not only succeeded, their achievements have left a mark on millions.

Albert Einstein, a high-school dropout who failed the entrance exams to become a teacher, never gave up. His persistence and love for science and math eventually earned him the Nobel Prize for physics. William Beaumont barely completed his education. But at age 25, he learned to practice medicine within two years. In the early 1800s, Beaumont conducted pioneering research on the human digestive system. Today Beaumont is regarded as one of the first scientific medical researchers.

Elisha Otis had chronic health problems that stymied his dreams to be a successful businessman. Financial difficulties forced him to move to New York and work as a master mechanic. In New York, Otis worked persistently on his invention—an elevator brake. Taking an enormous risk, he stood on an elevator platform one day at the Crystal Palace Exposition and ordered some men to cut the elevator cable. As the crowd watched in fascination, the brake Otis had invented worked perfectly and the elevator didn’t move. Today his name appears on nearly all U.S. elevators.

Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, these men pursued their dreams and held onto their convictions with spectacular results. What more can you want from a role model?