Environmental Leadership – Active or Passive Treatment?
An article describing the basis for the workshops of the same title presented at IECA EC12 in Las Vegas, Nevada
February 26-29, 2012
Barry Fagan, PE/PLS, CPESC
We all hope and we all gamble. At the casino we offer up a portion of our hard earned income as we wish that the dice will roll in our favor. We wish in spite of knowing that the odds of our winning are not very good. Some frequent casinos. Some gamble at work. They wish that their designers or contractor would bring success to their project; they wish their client or regulator better understood their business; we all sometimes wish that our coworkers would carry their share of the load. We make these wishes at work in spite of the knowledge, or at least suspicion, that they will likely never come true. In exchange for these hopes, we give up our freedom to influence our own future. We give control of our success to others who are not as experienced, who are not as knowledgeable, and who may not even care about our particular work.
If we ever find ourselves in a position of influence, however seemingly insignificant, we are leaders. If we ever experience the moment when others look to us for input, or if we have opportunities to offer positive contribution, we are leaders. We may be bad leaders or good leaders, but leaders nonetheless. As our careers advance and we get closer to traditional “upper management” we can look back and see that this is the case. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that we have missed some great opportunities to lead. We see that in certain instances, we had the ability to positively influence the outcome of a situation and decided to not act. We chose to stand still and not make something good happen because we thought that leadership was someone else’s job; or maybe thought that we didn’t have the authority at that time.
If we are honest, we also see that as we move closer to the front office, we move further away from the real work. And as we move away from the work, we begin to lose touch. With that lost direct connection to the work, we also lose some of the key tools required for effective leadership. With time we lose specific project experience and specific technical knowledge. We also lose critical relationships with the people that make things happen, the doers. We go from working directly with people who wear boots to spending most of our time with people who wear shiny shoes. What kind of footwear would you rather see on the person leading a construction site?
Leadership author Dr. John Maxwell has written that “everything rises and falls on leadership.” Again, looking back we can see that leadership was at the heart of every success and every failure we have directly or indirectly experienced. However, when we think about the person or group of people that chose to make good things happen, or chose to not step up to make good things happen in those situations, we generally do not see the CEO. We see those in middle management or lower in the organizational structure as being responsible for the difference. In his book, The 360° Leader, Dr. Maxwell confirms our experience and states that in reality, 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization.
Admitting leadership is significant. Saying the words, I lead raises the topic of leadership to new level. That statement, I lead brings with it accountability. Once we acknowledge our leadership fate, we have a responsibility to follow through. Fortunately, most of us were not born with all of the tools that make for a great leader. We must work hard to earn them. All of us were born with the ability to learn a skill and we all were born with an element of creativity within us. Whether you choose to admit either of these facts is beside the point. If we can improve ourselves, build relationships, and execute violently, we can become the leader that our team needs and the leader that we were created to be, regardless of our position, title or organizational classification.
Lead Yourself
One effective approach to finding solutions is to search in ever increasing circles, radiating from the most likely source of the problem or solution. Most of the time, that source is located in very close proximity to the one who identified the problem - you. Follow these three steps to lead yourself.
1. Accept your leadership fate – your only choices are good leader and bad leader. Begin to recognize those situations that could benefit from your knowledge, expertise or passion. Then do something. Speak up.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously – we are all about a half a teaspoon of chemicals away from insanity. Give others a break. Realize that you need people and realize that good things will happen with you or without you. Also, there are others around you that are working just as hard and are just as passionate about the success of your organization. As Dr. Maxwell says, complete your coworkers don’t compete with them.
3. Seek knowledge – leaders are learners and leaders are readers. The average millionaire reads one nonfiction book per month. Charlie Tremendous Jones is credited with saying that you will be the same person in five years except for the books you read and the people you meet.
Build Relationships
If you think that you are the leader, look behind you. If you have no followers, are you leading or just taking a walk? Follow these steps to build relationships and alliances that will cause the results of your efforts to be lifted higher than if you work for progress on your own.
1. Commit to others – commitment requires more than just a Facebook or LinkedIn connection. Knowing the names of their family members and knowing their interests and aspirations will get you closer to a real relationship. Commitment requires engagement.
2. Be a mensch – a real human being. In his book Enchantment, Guy Kawasaki describes the characteristics of a person that that has earned this German description. They follow.
· Always act with honesty
· Treat people who have wronged you with civility
· Fulfill your unkept promises from the past.
· Help someone who can be of absolutely no use to you.
· Suspend blame when something goes wrong and ask, “What can we learn?”
· Hire people who are as smart as or smarter than you and give them opportunities for growth.
· Don’t interrupt people; don’t dismiss their concerns offhand; don’t rush to give advice; don’t change the subject. Allow people their moment.
· Do no harm in anything you undertake.
· Don’t be too quick to shoot down others’ ideas.
· Share your knowledge, expertise, and best practices with others.
3. Act with a heart of service – when you find yourself in a position of authority, use your temporary power wisely. You can focus on yourself, tear down a poorly performing team member, promote your personal brand, or position yourself to gain more power. Or you can choose to build up and support those that work with and for you – the way you have always wished your upper management would act. Choose the latter if you truly want to build positive influence.
Execute Violently
General George Patton once said that a good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan next week. The General expected those whom he led to do something – make a decision; take that first step; make things happen. Follow these steps to begin executing violently.
1. Narrow the knowing/doing gap – your knowledge is useless until shared or acted upon. A gap exists between the information we take in and our application of that knowledge. Your authority is temporary and your memory is fading. Intentionally and continually attempting to minimize this gap is the best way to make execution a part of who you are.
2. Live in reality – move the barriers that you can move and accept or go around those that you can’t. In his book Integrity, Dr. Henry Cloud says that character is the ability to meet the demands of reality. Your reality might not be good; it might not be fair; it might not be right. But if it is truly your reality, you must deal with it. You must find success within or in spite of those real parameters.
3. Align HOW and WHAT with WHY – know your real purpose. Knowing why your company exists and aligning what you do and how you do it with that purpose opens up possibilities and makes your work product more attractive. Knowing your values and acting in alignment with your personal WHY makes you more effective, enchanting and satisfied.
If there is a leadership gap, it will likely need to be filled from somewhere in middle management. Acknowledging this reality and embracing a life of continual improvement are critical to your success.
There is no one more experienced; no one more knowledgeable; there is no other person more passionate about; or more obvious to lead your area of influence than you. You not only have the authority to lead, but you also have an obligation to do so. Pastor, author, and leadership teacher Andy Stanley states the point very clearly - Leadership is a stewardship. It is temporary, and you are accountable.
Now, today, go find a way to help someone. Then go read a book to see how you can do it better next time.
The visual presentation that accompanied this workshop can be viewed at http://prezi.com/-hzhgyg-tyxf/environmental-leadership-active-or-passive-treatment/. For best viewing, hover over More at the lower right of the viewing window and select Fullscreen.
Barry is the Chief Environmental Evangelist for the Alabama Department of Transportation (unofficial title). He is responsible for leading the ALDOT Environmental Program. Barry serves as promoter, coordinator, communicator, educator, and problem solver within and outside of ALDOT. He aims to spark innovation and promote a culture of continual improvement. Barry has over 21 years of road and bridge construction experience, with about half of that being in areas related to environmental protection and regulatory compliance. Barry is licensed in Alabama as a Professional Engineer and Professional Land Surveyor and is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control. Barry is an active member of the Alabama Erosion and Sediment Control Program Steering Committee, the AASHTO Stormwater Community of Practice, and Water Working Group of the Interfaith Environmental Initiative of Alabama. Barry is a member of IECA and serves as the Alabama Area Representative for CPESC, Inc.