The success story of how Barack Obama empowered Chris Hughes, a 25 year old, to lead his Presidential campaign, has resounded far and wide. What were the critical success factors that made the campaign such a success? Next, what can we learn from this? Lastly, how do we apply this success story into reinventing leadership, through the eyes of the young?

For the young who were motivated by how Chris Hughes treated the world as his oyster, and for the experienced management who would like to experience a whiff of fresh management ideas, please read on this hack. I promise to be unorthodox, creative, and hopefully, inspiring.

Problem

The Centre for Creative Leadership has listed the following points as key gaps in a leader.

(In the points below in italics, it indicates how a group of young professionals between the ages of 25-30 view their leaders)

Lead and motivate people; My boss is not strategic
Plan ahead and create doable strategies to reach a shared vision; My boss does what makes him look good, not what is right for the business.
Facilitate organizational change; My boss creates politics among his own team
Inspire commitment by rewarding people’s achievements; My boss takes credit for the team's effort
Communicate well with top management; Yes definitely, since my boss manages upwards, not downwards.
Persevere with good results in adverse conditions; My boss does not take the lead in adverse conditions and pushes responsibility to others.
Learn quickly as new needs arise for technology or business insights. My boss stops learning once he becomes the boss.

In a recent article by Seth Godin, "Heroes and mentors", it struck me that great bosses are just the equivalent of mentors. They are rare and maybe, we have to look for heroes in our professional life.

This hack is designed to motivate the young, to not give up even in the hands of poor leadership, to give them a voice and lastly, to create a positive learning environment, for both employees and managers.

Solution

Envision this:

What if we implement an exercise where all employees spend half an hour at the beginning of the day, list down their daily tasks in an open portal, match those tasks to company objectives, and check against that once completed? We can "like", comment and question on the great work that interests us, gives us a deeper understanding of the whole organisation and promote shared learning. Most importantly, it appeals to the perfectionist side of employees who want to do their best, and their efforts are recognised openly. This also ensures projects are executed according to stipulated timelines and there is no one riding on the coattails of anyone else.

What if we implement an exercise where our management gives a daily challenge and a list of projects that have been identified to rectify company issues, and is open to all to recommend, open to all to sign up for, and eligibility is determined by how great an idea is, voted company wide?

What if we can even influence who gets hired in the company?

What if we implement an exercise where performance appraisals are done company wide based on an accumulated score of their completed tasks?

What if we implement an exercise where we can rate our leaders and there is a quarterly leaderboard to determine the best manager for 1) strategic relevance 2) mentorship and advisory 3) creativity 4) problem solving?

What if - this is an extreme - there is an option for our management and bosses to - wait for it.... part with some of his enormous bonus, so they can further reward the other employees who produce quality work?

Practical Impact

Maybe the next time we do another survey, the results will turn out to be these:

My company encourages me to initiate projects and we are all motivated to do our best
We understand and know what the management is doing, and we see the strategic relevance, and we in return, do everything to support their initiatives.
There is hardly any politics in the team since everything is out in the open.
My management is selfless and rewards their staff at his own expense.
I have an open dialogue with my leader and my leader knows me for who I am, not what my manager tells him I am.
When bad times arise, this thought "I hope I take the retrenchment package" does not come to mind. Rather, "I want to rally everyone to tide the company through hard times"
We promote knowledge sharing and constantly strive to improve project after project.

First Steps

If an organisation were to test this hack, I would say, identify your worst rated employees and find out why they are considered low performing. Set them out on this quick and dirty experiment as a "Performance Improvement Program".

If they are truly lazy, they are forced to improve. If they are being undermined, they have the opportunity to shine.

Credits

Inspired by my heroes:

Dan Ariely

Seth Godin

Warren Buffet

Bill Gates

My fellow friends struggling to align to their work cultures, developing respect for their managers and wondering how to remain true to oneself in this crazy world of human behavior.

My colleague who is a director, who has inspired me through the way she manages her team.

To Ellen Weber, who gave me the "stroke of luck" on how to start this essay.

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October 22, 2010 at 11:25am

Dan Oestreich

I think you've beautifully stated the whole enormous discrepancy between the past systems of hierarchical control and the emerging possibilities. My question, here and elsewhere on the MIX, is what can we do together to help awaken our organizations? It's one thing to bring it here; it's another to bring it to the very places that need to hear the message the most. What I love best about this hack is the idea that there are plenty of people -- and I'd say both young AND old -- who are beginning to be much more willing to step into the awkward, tense, uncomfortable space of disagreement, and dare I use the word -- mutiny? The other word for people who are willing step into that space is "leader." And I'd say, you're one of them.

Best to you
Dan

October 20, 2010 at 7:24am

Robyn McMaster

You had written a thoughtful comment on Ellen Weber's post and so I wanted to learn more about your work. Interestingly, you said, "it struck me that great bosses are just the equivalent of mentors. They are rare and maybe, we have to look for heroes in our professional life." I have had the privilege of collaborating with Ellen for 15 years now. She truly is my hero and my mentor both because she saw in me the “brilliance” I was not able to see.

During presentations, Ellen put me on stage with her before I was ready [in my mind]. Last year, Ellen surprised all when she invited me to join her to present a “Premiere Lecture” in a Caribbean university. I just want you to understand what she truly does as a collaborator.

She truly treats me as equal because she finds my strengths are so different than hers. Because she knows the differences in the amazing human brain, she networks with many people, so she can exchange ideas and gather wisdom. She sees this as a needed skill in our innovation era. While you suggest that we need to gather wisdom only for the young, I humbly add, that we need to gather wisdom from all ages.

You see, Ellen is an amazing facilitator, and like you describe, for the kind of leader that is needed in this era, she is able to stretch people’s gifts and talents to a yet higher level – always seeing and getting the best. It is interesting to note that you already enjoyed Ellen’s articles in many categories here in The MIX. I smiled as I read your credit… “To Ellen Weber, who gave me the "stroke of luck" on how to start this essay.” All the best and may you fit into the shoes of the person you see yourself being in the next 10-15 years. We’ll need innovative leaders like you describe so well.

October 20, 2010 at 6:59am

Ellen Weber

Wow Kate, you raised issues here that we hear daily, and what a refreshing segue you make to the young and young at heart! Loved your notion of hiring people smarter than ourselves! Bravo! Thanks also for your kind mention – which humbles me, and welcome to the MIX! In Brain Conferences we claim that is entire halls are smarter than MITA leaders within the first 20 minutes - we were successful. I often add that it happens in the first 5 minutes:-)

As written in another post - I also have huge regard for the elderly leaders who care to reboot their brains for the kind of refreshing offerings you detailed here! We love to work with the aging brain - to show new neuro discoveries that allow older brains to grow young again as leaders - and new research rolled into tools for innovative leadership.

So looking forward to your insight here as they roll out further to create an action plan for hiring and facilitating more innovative leaders (of all ages and backgrounds)! Thanks Kate!