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President's Message
'Secrets' to Leadership Success
Last month we talked about the 20 companies who "do" leadership best. This month let's take a look through a different lens – let's look at the "secrets" that make these companies great.
In a recent Harvard Business Review blog by Norm Smallwood, six characteristics were identified that separate the most successful organizations from the pack. "Quality of leadership within a company helps meet the expectations of investors, customers and employees and sets the stage for growth, so developing the next generation of leaders is perhaps the most important undertaking of a forward-thinking company," writes Smallwood.
Working in conjunction with Hewitt, the survey identifies these "secrets" to leadership success:
- Centralized efforts – leading organizations centralize their management of talent, making it "corporate property" rather than making it a function of business unit or geography
- Top executive involvement – developing leadership is a priority from those at the top
- Focus on a few key processes – the best of the best focus on hiring top talent rather than "fixing" mediocre performers, concentrate on providing robust feedback and offer a wide variety of opportunities to help "grow" new leaders
- Make it a strategic focus – these companies actively focus in developing talent; Smallwood describes their focus as "centralized" and "intentional"
- Build leaders and leadership – not only do these best companies focus on developing individual leaders, they also integrate "a robust leadership capability that supports a culture of integration and the opportunity to develop from within"
- Create value for inside and outside stakeholders – these top companies help create strong leaders—not just to make them better, but so that they can better serve both other employees and customers
Maybe this month you should try to incorporate some of these "secrets" into your organization. Let us know your results!
Learn more at: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/leadership_development_secrets.html.
Read on this month to learn about a sustainability contest we conducted with Pfizer, how Lincoln was also a crime writer and about a couple of important April dates.
Steven B. Wiley, president & founder
The Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg www.lincolnleadershipinstitute.com
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Pfizer contest winners announced! |
Congratulations to the 16 Pfizer employees who will receive a fabulous trip to Vail, Colorado by winning a contest developed by the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg (LLI) and Pfizer.
Last year, more than 200 Pfizer employees from Ohio came to Gettysburg to participate in Steve's leadership development program. LLI and Pfizer developed a contest to determine the sustainability of the lessons learned in Gettysburg. Entries were blinded, then reviewed by Steve, LLI's Managing Director Angela Sontheimer and a Pfizer vision team made up of key leaders.
The winning districts were lead by Timothy Hackett, the senior district business manager for the Cleveland West "A" district, and Bryan Borello, district business manager for the Columbus North district.
In Hackett's district, each of the four different groups in his sales team picked a key lesson to focus on from Gettysburg and shared their best practices and experiences. Those lessons were the High Ground, the Left Flank, courageous communication and the pebble that leads to an avalanche. Hackett also made a collage of photographs from their trip to Gettysburg and posted it at meetings to keep the trip fresh in everyone's mind.
He thinks that the experience not only helped his team, but Pfizer employees throughout Ohio.
"Our state went through, and our state was one of the top performing states in the country. We think a lot of this really did reflect back on the experience we went through," said Hackett. " ...By going through this leadership seminar at Gettysburg, I think it helped us create a better team culture and better team engagement. When you compare our Gallup results from the state of Ohio to national averages to Pfizer averages, we had better engagement scores. The Ohio did better compared to Pfizer averages and national averages."
Hackett has experienced Steve's program at Gettysburg four times, with a fifth scheduled for May.
"Each time I went through, something different resonated with me," he said.
For Bryan Borello and his team, it was all about determining their high ground and left flank. Their high ground was their collaboration, innovation and people, while their left flank was "continuum of the script," or obstacles that could get in the way of a patient ultimately receiving a prescription, from doctor or patient apathy to managed care to the pharmacy losing it, Borello said.
The team drew a metaphor to Chamberlain's line—any hole in the line and the whole thing would collapse. "The whole idea was it's not just good enough to just make sure we get out there and interact with our physicians, but there's that whole line... where that script could be lost and the patient doesn't get that script that is so important," said Borello.
Borello's team also had a bit of fun with the Gettysburg experience—before they ever visited. They watched and discussed the movie "Gettysburg" and even gave each person on the team a "Gettysburg alter ego" whom they had to analyze and discuss. They kept the spirit of their Gettysburg alter egos—Lincoln, Chamberlain, etc.—alive throughout the entire year. Borello thinks the interactivity and going through the experience at Gettysburg together helped his team. "It really made a difference in the way we go about looking at our business and our lives," he said
The 16 contest winners and their spouses will enjoy a three-night, four-day stay at Vail Cascade in Vail, Colorado. Learn more about the mountain resort at www.destinationhotels.com/hotels-resorts/colorado/vail/vail-cascade/. |
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 Charter School Students to visit Gettysburg
On April 14 and 15, students from Allentown's Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School will experience leadership development sought after by the nation's top executives at the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg (LLI).
Through a partnership between LLI founder Steven B. Wiley and the school, 25 of the school's top students will receive a free day of leadership development, relating lessons learned from the Battle of Gettysburg to the daily challenges they face in their lives.
The students will undergo the same experience that Wiley and his team have offered to thousands of executives, including those from Apple, the Ford Motor Company, ExxonMobil, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
As part of the experience, students will visit the Museum and Visitors Center at Gettysburg National Military Park; the David Wills House, where Abraham Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address; and sites on the battlefield. Their two-day visit will include an overnight stay sponsored by Steve and the Historic Gettysburg Hotel.
Focused on helping students in grades 6 through 9 who come from high-risk environments, the Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School aims to provide its students with a quality education and the promise of a better life.
Using a holistic approach, the school incorporates the students' social, emotional and academic development, said Lincoln Leadership Academy Principal, CEO and Founder Sandra Figueroa-Torres.
"When you have a passion for that, and you see how you're losing kids every day—young people who have tremendous potential, tremendous gifts, tremendous talent—that was the catalyst behind [founding the school]," said Figueroa-Torres, a veteran educator familiar with the struggles of children living in urban areas.
The school's objective is to equip its students—of whom 80% are Latino, 15% are African American and 5% are white— with the necessary tools they need to achieve their potential. "I've always had a heart for the kids who I call 'kids with promise living in at-risk environments,'" she said. "They have all of the odds stacked against them."
Steve is looking forward to working with the students during their upcoming visit.
"The truth about leadership is that you learn to be a better leader—and a better person—from every encounter that you have," he said. "I am looking forward to working with these bright, young people and to having us grow together to make an impact on the future." |
April 12, 1861: The Start of the Civil War
By Bob Prosperi
The course of this country was changed forever on April 12, 1861, when the first shots fired on Fort Sumter started the Civil War.
South Carolina declared secession from the Union shortly after Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860, and by February 1861 joined six other southern states in forming the Confederate States of America. So it seems only fitting that the first military action of the Civil War would occur in South Carolina.
By early spring, the secessionist government of the Palmetto State had seized nearly all federal property, the exception being the forts defending Charleston Harbor. The forts, with the exception of Fort Sumter, were designed to protect Charleston from attack from the sea, so it made sense that Maj. Robert Anderson would relocate the few men scattered amongst them to Sumter. When Fort Sumter was completed in 1860, it was regarded by many as the strongest masonry fort in the world.
A delegation of South Carolinians had conducted discussions with Maj. Anderson in an effort to negotiate his surrender, but these had been futile. By early April, it was clear that not only would Anderson not surrender, but that the newly inaugurated Lincoln had launched a relief and re-supply force to the beleaguered Sumter. Charleston militia and cadets from the Citadel manned the shore batteries that faced the fort and an ultimatum was issued. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, a lone signal gun alerted the batteries to open fire. Edmund Ruffin, a firebrand secessionist who had travelled from Virginia to be present at what he imagined to be the "start of war," was given the honor of firing the first shot. The bombardment continued for several hours before Anderson returned fire. The two sides exchanged fire for more than 30 hours, but by the afternoon of the April 13, a surrender was negotiated to take place at 2:30 p.m. on the following day. A provision for the surrender was that the fort's defenders would be allowed to fire a 100-gun salute before evacuating.
In contrast with the bloodbath that the fight in Charleston Harbor heralded, no one was killed during the bombardment of Fort Sumter, although one Union gunner was killed by an accidental explosion during the 100-gun salute. Two Union men who survived the fight at Sumter went on to play significant roles at Gettysburg. Capt. Abner Doubleday was given the honor of firing the first Union gun to reply. At Gettysburg, Doubleday commanded a division in John Reynolds' First Corps and, upon Reynolds' death on July 1, commanded the Corps through the end of the battle. Samuel Wiley Crawford was the Assistant Surgeon during the bombardment. He left the Army's Medical Department as the war got underway and, at Gettysburg, Gen. Crawford commanded the Pennsylvania Reserves and led their heroic charge through the Valley of Death and into the Wheatfield. |
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April is Stress Awareness Month
During Stress Awareness Month, taking place each April, health care professionals and health promotion experts across the country join forces to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.
Sponsored by the Health Resource Network (HRN), a nonprofit health education organization, Stress Awareness Month is a national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.
The Health Resource Network is a nonprofit health education organization established in 1982, consisting of health professionals, health promotion experts and educators committed to developing more effective programs for improving health and preventing disease. In addition to sponsoring Stress Awareness Month, the organization also sponsors National Stress Awareness Day, held every April 16—or the day after income taxes are due!
If you've ever heard Steve speak, you probably remember his tips for reducing stress—take a walk, eat more often and do some sit ups. Next time you're feeling stressed, try his suggestions to lift your spirits! |
Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival
 Get your tickets now for the annual Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, taking place May 13-16. Renowned bluegrass performers Alison Krauss & Union Station will close out the festival with a single performance on Sunday, May 16 at 7 p.m.
Held at Granite Hill Camping Resort, the festival is internationally acclaimed and has taken place twice a year since 1979. Each festival features more than 20 top bluegrass and country musicians performing on the main stage, presenting informative workshops and meeting and greeting fans from all over the world. Learn more at www.gettysburgbluegrass.com. |
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Copyright 2010, The Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg |
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