Zero Defect Management: Sid Siegel
The Child Within Us: Michael Gelb
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Melinda Sherwood were published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on October 6, 1999. All rights reserved.
Leaders, Not Managers: Debbie Berman
Contrary to the old adage, leaders are not born, they
are made, and Debbie Berman can tell you how. “I think that
leadership is not something that gets bestowed on you because you
have a title,” says Berman, an instructor for Leadership 2000,
a workshop series sponsored by the Rutgers Center for Continuing Professional
Development. “It’s more something that you build and earn, anything
less than that is not true and lasting leadership.”
“Coaching: Bringing out the Best in Others,” is a Leadership
2000 workshop scheduled on Friday, October 8, at 8:30 a.m. at the
University Inn and Conference Center in New Brunswick. The cost is
$295 for a full day and $150 for a half day. “Giving Recognition,”
a workshop on acknowledging the work of others, will be held on Friday
at 1:30 p.m. Other topics covered in the series through the end of
October: Influencing for Win-Win Outcomes, Moving from Conflict to
Collaboration, Expressing Yourself: Presenting Your Thoughts and Ideas,
Proactive Listening, Personal Strategies for Navigating Change, and
Managing Your Priorities. Call: 732-932-8274.
Berman, who holds a BS in sociology and psychology from the University
of Pennsylvania, Class of 1978, practiced human resources at Citibank
and ADP before starting her own management consulting business. Her
practice is located in Mahwah (E-mail: BZB@carroll.com).
What makes a good leader? “The ability to listen and consider
alternatives,” says Berman, “and the ability to inspire and
influence other people.” In essence, leaders make wonderful managers,
but unfortunately, not every manager is an effective leader. “We
promote people to managers because they’re technically good,”
says Berman. “We don’t really have guidelines or rule books on
how to lead people.”
In the silence, people tend to create their own definition of leadership,
often equating it with dictatorship. That tends to backfire. “The
most effective leaders are the ones who build trust, loyalty, and
respect among their teams,” says Berman. “More often they
get what they need.” It takes only one Napoleon to capture Europe,
and one tyrant manager to destroy morale throughout a company. “If
a head of a company has an old school mentality and military approach
it does set the tone,” says Berman, and all the good leaders are
quashed. “Anyone who goes into an organization with these other
types of values is bucking the system and working doubly hard.”
Today, says Berman, managers have to be able to work laterally as
well as vertically. “We don’t have direct hierarchy like we used
to,” she says. “It’s department-to-department, peer-to-peer,
so you need to communicate effectively, and get what you need.”
For the newly appointed or aspiring manager, Berman outlines the basic
principles to successful leadership:
Let others solve problems. “Don’t think that you haveto have all the answers,” says Berman. It may go against the “manageras God” philosophy, but in most cases, she says, “the personwho is best equipped to solve a problem is the person with the problem.There’s a benefit in getting people to grow and develop their problemsolving skills.” On the other hand, if a person is struggling,don’t play the `guess the answer in my head’ game.Learn the art of asking questions because that’s how youcoach people to find their own information. Ask questions like “Whatif” and “What other information do I need” in order todirect people’s energy, stir the creative juices, and keep your employeesengaged.Understand your “audience,” which translates intofrequently asking the question “What’s in it for them?” Insteadof explaining why a new plan is good from a managerial perspective,tell those who it will affect why it works for them, too. “Ifyou’re asking people to do something that’s hard, for example, they’regoing to resist,” says Berman. “But if you explain that itwill help them serve their customers better and appear more competentit will appeal to them.”Focus on behavior, not a person when giving constructivecriticism. Talk about the impact of the negative behavior. Criticizingthe person, says Berman, “doesn’t change anything.”Don’t avoid conflict. “Conflict, when it’s managedcorrectly,” says Berman, “generates creativity and change.Thinking out of the box — it really helps people strengthen relationships.”– Melinda SherwoodTop Of PageZero Defect Management: Sid SiegelWhat does putting a man on the moon have to do withrunning a business? Management expertise that can break through justabout any logistical barrier. The Apollo Space Program is still consideredone of the greatest managerial accomplishments of all time, and fortunately,the knowledge gained from that extraordinary venture is stockpiledin books and in the mind of Sid Siegel, a former NASA researchfellow and professor of management and organizational behavior atDrexel University. “The concept behind the whole NASA researchprogram is that if the U.S. could be as successful at managing a projectas complicated as landing on the moon, then perhaps that process shouldbe studied and those management techniques could be applied.”The projected outcome of that mission dictated its place in the managementtextbooks. “Probably one of the most unique characteristics aboutthe Apollo program is the mandate by Kennedy that there would be nofailure because he wasn’t going to risk the lives of the astronauts,”says Siegel. “It was going to operate with zero defects; everythingwas going to work. When you consider that there were a thousand companieswith various subparts, that’s an amazing thing.”For the vast number of companies that employ contract workers formassive projects, much can still be learned from that era. Many ofthe lessons learned have become academic dogma at Drexel, where Siegelhas been on the faculty since 1979. “Motivation and Leadership:Understanding and Influencing People at Work,” will be the topicof Siegel’s workshop on Tuesday, October 12, at 9 a.m. in the JaniceLevin Building on Rockafeller Road at the Rutgers Center for ManagementDevelopment in Piscataway. Cost: $295. Call 732-445-5526.”It’s designed for anyone whose role in an organization is totry to get things done through other people,” says Siegel. “Manyorganizations rely on contractors or contingency workers on theirlabor force. That brings up the issue of how do you integrate fulltime employees with those who are there for a short time? How do youdeal with the learning curve?”Siegel holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Duke University,Class of 1958, and worked for both RCA and Corning Glass Works beforecompleting a PhD at Drexel, where he specializes in technology, organizationalbehavior and management, public administration, and environmentalmanagement.One of the reasons the moon landing succeeded, says Siegel, is thatthe traditional hierarchy was set aside so that the “doers”could work alongside the managers. “Instead of the traditionalconcept of goals being set by the top and the people below havingto implement them,” says Siegel, “it was a bottoms-up process,where they integrated the doers, the people back in the flight centerswho had to carry out plans, with the planners. That created a driveto make sure the plans work.”The “zero defect” program was accomplished using a basic psychologicalprinciple, says Siegel: “Anyone who has a say in whatever is beingdone is more committed generally to making sure that it happens.”Many other management practices were tried during that era. Choosingthe best among them, Siegel suggests managers:Take a meta-position. Step back and look at the circumstancesand understand the type of manager you are. “Understand your owntendencies and be able to step back and realize where they aren’tappropriate,” he says.Realize that your way isn’t the only way. There are manydifferent ways to do a job.Mentor, nurture, and develop those that work for you.”In the end, the success of any manager is going to be determinedby the people that work for her or him,” says Siegel. “Evenif you want to look at it selfishly, it behooves you to spend themost time possible with your people.”Understand that managers have a set of social rules. “Toomany first line supervisors have trouble recognizing that they can’tbehave the same way they did before because now they are part of adifferent structure,” says Siegel. “It is more important foryour people to respect you than to like you. If you try to run yourorganization by having people like you, then any time you have todo things that people may not like, you will not be comfortable indoing that.”Be fair, consistent, and treat people how they want to betreated . The key here is that not everyone needs to be treatedin the same way, says Siegel. “Some people need more supervision,other people need to be treated more by giving them the ball,”he says.Don’t squelch conflict. “Use conflict to create aconsensus,” Siegel says. “Get people with conflicting viewpointstogether, rather than keeping them apart,” and use whatever differencesthere are to create a synergistic effect.Avoid “group think.” “In group think, thenature of the group is that everybody is similar and therefore thisleads to a reinforcement of thinking because everybody agrees,”says Siegel.”Say I put a group of people who all own Chevys and askthem to come up with a decision on what may be a leading car on amarket. Obviously they’re all going to say a Chevy.”Encouraging differing opinions was also a key element to the Apolloproject. “In NASA you weren’t afraid of `group think’ but youdid have to manage it effectively. We may have been just lucky.”Top Of PageThe Child Within Us: Michael GelbTo be a good business man or woman, you also have tobe a good artist, scientist, and athlete, says Michael Gelb,author of “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci” (Delacorte,1998, $24.95). “Leonardo was looking for truth and beauty, inscience and art, and that’s a very important skill for people –to see the big picture.”A short-cut to emulating the classic Renaissance man, the “greatestgenius of all-time,” says Gelb, is thinking more like a child.”Wake up that childlike passion for learning,” he says. “Peopleget more focused on trying to get the right answer rather than continuingthe process of asking questions. You can’t ignore the difficulties,challenges, and competitive element of our world, but if you get cynicaland cold, and deadened to the world, what’s the point in succeeding?How can you keep alive that openness, that joie de vivre?”Gelb, a leader in the field of creative thinking and accelerated learning,has been teaching workshops at big corporations like General Motorsfor the past two decades. His Leonardo theory for gaining a competitiveedge through youthful thinking is the focal point of his presentationMonday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Bucks County Community College.Call the Hamilton Partnership, a municipal business organization,for more information: 609-259-5899.If there’s any proof that Gelb’s technique to better living throughbrighter thinking works, it’s that he’s never held a job he didn’tlike. “I’ve managed to follow my own passions and I continue tomake that relevant to other people,” says Gelb, who grew up inNew Jersey and received a BA in psychology and philosophy from ClarkUniversity, Class of 1973. His master’s thesis at Goddard Collegeturned into Gelb’s first book, “Body Learning,” an introductionto the bodywork technique created by F.M. Alexander. The AlexanderTechnique is well known among performing artists who want to learnhow to decompress under stress. “It’s become a trade secret ofthe theatrical profession,” says Gelb, who is also a professionaljuggler. In 1979 a friend asked him to participate in a five-day seminarfor Digital Equipment Corporation, the multinational high-tech company,and since then Gelb has been teaching employees of big companies howto enhance their memory, study skills, and creativity.Leonardo da Vinci, the painter, the architect, and juggler, Gelb pointsout, became a touchstone to an ideal in thinking. “I got thisidea about writing a book on Leonardo da Vinci when I was speakingin Florence,” he recalls. “I knew enough about Leonardo, butto actually deliver the paper meant being open to a lot of uncertainty.I read through several thousand pages, all the time leaving my mindopen. I didn’t try to solve the problem prematurely. I stayed withthe question. There’s a technique I teach in my book called mind mapping,and the seven principles came out of that haze, that uncertainty.”The Seven Principles (in Italian and English):Curiosita: The Never-Ending Quest for Learning. “Leonardowas probably the most curious man who ever lived,” says Gelb,”and that’s why children are such great learners. Children don’thave that false pride where they’re more concerned about being rightthan exploring.” Ask the question. The answer will come.Dimostrazione: Think For Yourself. Figure out what thisone means.Sensazione: Wake Up All Your Senses. “Leonardo saidthat the five senses are the ministers of your soul,” he says.”I have exercises that help people listen to music, appreciateart, do wine tastings. It’s really a lot of fun.”Arte scienza: Balance art and Science. “In modernterms we call it whole brain thinking,” says Gelb.Corporalita: Balance Body and Mind. “In addition tobeing an artistic genius, he was also physically gifted, and gaveadvice similar to what a holistic doctor might give today,” saysGelb.Connessione: Everything is Connected to Everything Else.Look for the universal themes in everything.Sfumato, Going Up In Smoke. This is an art term to referto the hazy mysterious quality in Leonardo’s paintings, like the MonaLisa, says Gelb. “What it represents is the idea that if you’regoing to be curious and think for yourself, the result will be morequestions and more uncertainty. And one of the most distinguishingcharacteristics of highly creative people is to be open to the unknown.If you follow these principles, will you stand out like a jugglerat a chamber meeting? Only because you will be more effective, saysGelb. “The external appearance is not important. It’s the qualityof your inner life that’s important,” says Gelb. Besides, you’llconvey an air of mystery that will keep people constantly intrigued.”The more I studied about Leonardo the greater the mystery became.”Top Of PageIRS and Non-ProfitsHave you always wondered how your favorite charity keptits books? What percentage of its funds go for frills? A new publicdisclosure rule requires that non-profit organizations make copiesof their Form 990 and 990-EZ more readily available to the public,by providing copies of their three most recent annual returns withtheir exempt application to an organization that requests it within30 days of the request. The rules, in the IRC section 6104 (d), canbe viewed at the https://www.independentsector.orgTop Of PageCorporate AngelsThe Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey,which held its 16th Annual Golf Classic on September 13, raised moremoney for the Special Olympics of New Jersey this year than in prioryears. The total amount, $29,200, will be used to support year-roundsports training and athletic competition for 12,000 children and adultswith developmental disabilities. Call 800-366-NJSO.Governor Christine Whitman announced a new program thatwill provide $7.4 million in grants for new computers and technologyin disadvantaged school districts. The ACE program (Access-Collaboration-Equity)will provide grants ranging from $85,000 to $200,00 to 50 recipientsin the 2000-2001 school year. Prudential will fund a development personto work with selected schools and identify sources of funding andin-kind donations, and the business community, through Tech CorpsNew Jersey and the Business Coalition for Education Excellence, willhelp the schools implement support staff for the computers, whichwill go in libraries, housing complexes, schools, and community centers.Call 609-777-2600.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
