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Lencioni: Leadership should be simple

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 23, 2001

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Leading effectively is not a complicated job, according to an expert on the subject.

"Keeping it simple is the key," said Patrick Lencioni, the author of two popular books on leadership, who delivered the keynote speech at the Furniture/Today Leadership Conference here this month.

Lencioni, president of The Table Group, a San Francisco-area management consulting firm that specializes in organizational and executive development, shared insights he gained in years of working with a variety of companies. He reviewed "The Five Temptations of a CEO," the title of one of his books.

Those temptations are:

Seeking status rather than results. "Sometimes," Lencioni said, "leaders are driven more by the need for status and ego" than they are by getting results. He said Microsoft's Bill Gates is an example of a leader who is more interested in results than status.
Seeking popularity rather than accountability. Some leaders say they don't have the time and energy to deal with unpleasant issues. "Great leaders enter the danger" zone, he said.
Seeking certainty rather than clarity. Great leaders must make decisions before they have all the information they may want, according to Lencioni.
Seeking harmony rather than conflict. But conflicts that are not resolved can lead to mean-spirited behavior, he warned.
Seeking invulnerability rather than trust. "Great leaders apologize for their mistakes. We won't trust someone we don't think is human."

Lencioni said that CEOs can achieve results by avoiding these temptations. A leader who fosters a climate of trust, he said, will encourage what he calls "healthy conflict" to emerge. That conflict will enable team members to clearly understand the roles they must play. In turn, that clarity will lead to accountability. And accountability ensures results, he said.He also gave the group some tips on how to overcome those temptations.

To avoid seeking status and not results, he said, go on record publicly with the results you are seeking. That will help keep you oriented on achieving your goals.

If you seek popularity rather than accountability, admit to your team that this is your temptation. "It is in your employees' best interests to know what you think," he said.

If you seek certainty rather than clarity, "trust your gut," Lencioni said. Do worst-case scenarios. They will help you realize when moving ahead quickly might not be a bad idea.

If you seek harmony rather than conflict, put the key issues out on the table so that everyone can deal with them.

And if you seek invulnerability rather than building trust, "find some reason to cry," Lencioni said. That will demonstrate your humanity.

He also outlined what he calls the four disciplines of a healthy organization. They are:

Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team. Know one another's unique strengths and weaknesses.
Create organizational clarity. That minimizes the potential for confusion.
Over-communicate organizational clarity. "Employees must hear something seven times before they believe it," Lencioni said.
Reinforce organizational clarity through human systems. Organizations sustain their health by ensuring consistency in hiring, managing performance, and offering rewards and recognition. "Every day you don't reward your people you throw away money."

Lencioni

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