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The next time you're feeling challenged about how to reach a goal, think of the sailors from the USS Carl Vinson. As reported in the Washington Post,  30 sailors from the Vinson set a goal to make last Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon their first 26.2 mile race.  More and more people are running marathons these days, but not very many have their training space limited to the confines of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. The sailors from the Vinson were inspired by the example set by their former commanding officer, Walter Carter, a recently promoted rear admiral who shared his enthusiasm for running with his crew.  Carter has left the Vinson for his next assignment but came back to DC to run the race with his men. Through his own commitment to fitness and his and camaraderie with his team, Rear Admiral Carter is the embodiment of what a positive leadership footprint looks like.

I'm honored to report that I got a first hand account of how the race turned out for the sailors from the Carl Vinson when I was one of the opening speakers last Sunday for the Navy's annual Flag Officer and Executive Training Symposium at a federal training center in the suburbs of DC.  (This is a week long annual event for the newly promoted admirals and their civilian colleagues in the federal Senior Executive Service. )

The speaker that followed me on Sunday was the head of the Navy's Fitness program. She was there to brief the participants and their spouses on the range of support available to help these leaders stay fit in their very demanding roles. As she wrapped up her remarks, she read from the Post story and asked if Rear Admiral Carter was in the room. He was indeed and reported that all 30 of his sailors had successfully completed the race and that he had finished it in 3 hours and 36 minutes himself.  Bear in mind that this briefing came about six hours following the marathon.  Let it be noted that the admiral did not have the bearing or tone of someone who had just run 26.2 miles in under four hours.  He pretty much looked fresh as a daisy!

There were a number of  things I took away from the Sunday session that I think are worth offering as food for thought for leaders. Let me share three of them here.

Takeaway 1:  There aren't many people who are in more demanding jobs than rear admirals and senior executives in the US Navy. By definition, these are busy people. And yet, the Navy has found that there is a high return on investment in taking these leaders off line for a week to support them in adjusting to their new roles. The Navy is apparently unique among the services in its inclusion of spouses in a program of this nature. They want the life partners of their top leaders to know and understand their spouses' roles.  They also want to let them know how much the Navy appreciates their leaders and their families.    That strikes me as an approach worth emulating for any organization interested in fully supporting its top leadership.

Takeaway 2:  I was really impressed that the third item of a week long agenda was an overview on fitness.  To be fully effective, leaders need to have a fighting chance of showing up at their best. The Navy understands that fitness is the foundation for that and has a team of personal trainers that work with their leaders on exercise planning, nutrition, stress management and a range of other health and wellness opportunities. They take a research based approach to fitness and have found that incorporating simple activities like walking (10,000 paces on the pedometer a day is the goal) has a greater long term positive impact than focused exercise programs (those are still important, by the way).

Takeaway 3:  Leaders set the tone and example. Thirty sailors from the Carl Vinson had the experience of a lifetime in the Marine Corps Marathon because their leader led by example.

Like I said earlier, it was an honor to be a witness to these lessons.The people of the Navy do amazing work. It's easy to see how their commitment to the total development of their leaders makes the difference.

The tough economic environment of the past year and a half has made organizational leadership an even more challenging job than usual. A recent article in HR Executive Online by Lin Grensing-Pophal reports on a somewhat surprising aspect of that leadership challenge.

Drawing on a recent study conducted by Watson-Wyatt and World at Work, Pophal notes that employee engagement levels during the recession have dropped by nine percent since last year. That's not so surprising given everything that's gone on in the past year. The news that leaders should pay extra attention to, however, is that the engagement of top performers is down by a whopping 25 percent.

The combination of economic uncertainty and the need to do more with less can take a toll on everyone. Of course, on both a short and long term basis, leaders need to pay particular attention to the high performers who can deliver results. Pophal offer some good suggestion in her article about how to do that including developmental assignments and flexible work arrangements.

She also mentions connection to the bigger picture as a key way to provide the intrinsic motivation that keeps the best engaged. As I've written here before, Bill Bridges' four P's communications model is one of the best frameworks I know of for making that connection. Like most good leadership tools, it's simple and easy to remember:

• Purpose: why are we here and what difference does that make?
• Picture: what will things look like when we're fully successful?
• Plan: how will we get to that picture of success?
• Part to Play: this is how what you do fits into the plan that creates the picture that fulfills the purpose.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to speak with leaders from GE Energy, the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security, Booz Allen Hamilton and the U.S. Senate. One of the things that all of those leaders have in common is that they're working for organizations that make a difference. I actually think that most of us work for organizations that make a difference. Leaders often overlook the opportunity to connect people with the larger purpose of what their organizations do. If you're a leader who wants to keep your best people engaged, I encourage you to give that some thought. What can you say about how what they're doing makes a difference?

When faced with an intractable or complex problem, it's easy for leaders to get bogged down in the minutiae when trying to come up with a solution.  Another trap is to go binary - it's either this or it's that - too soon in the decision making process.  Rather than opening up options and possibilities, we sometimes try to solve complex problems by settling for the least painful of the most obvious options.

It's at times like this, that's it's helpful to have someone in the room who can step back, get up on the balcony and ask some questions that seem obvious in retrospect but maybe weren't asked because everyone else was too close to the situation at hand.

There was a great example of this in a recent Newsweek article by Holly Bailey and Evan Thomas on Vice President Joe Biden.  Here's an extended excerpt that paints the picture:

"Joe Biden had a question. During a long Sunday meeting with President Obama and top national-security advisers on Sept. 13, the VP interjected, 'Can I just clarify a factual point? How much will we spend this year on Afghanistan?' Someone provided the figure: $65 billion. 'And how much will we spend on Pakistan?' Another figure was supplied: $2.25 billion. 'Well, by my calculations that's a 30-to-1 ratio in favor of Afghanistan. So I have a question. Al Qaeda is almost all in Pakistan, and Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And yet for every dollar we're spending in Pakistan, we're spending $30 in Afghanistan. Does that make strategic sense?' The White House Situation Room fell silent. But the questions had their desired effect: those gathered began putting more thought into Pakistan as the key theater in the region."

There are several things I find instructive in this story.  First, Biden is making his point based on facts that may have been lost in the discussion.  Second, he links those facts to a bigger picture.  Third, he uses those facts and that bigger picture to cause his colleagues to pull up and challenge their assumptions.

What obvious questions do you need to ask to help your team challenge their assumptions?  Are you even the best person to ask those questions or is that role better played by designating someone on your team to play the role of devil's advocate?  What are the pros and cons of either approach?

There's an old, old saying that, "A fish rots from the head down."  It dates in English from at least 1674 and has probably hung around all these years because it's true.  The Washington Redskins are one of the latest examples of the truth of this aphorism.

Since the NFL season began, I've thought of writing a post on what can be learned about how not to lead an organization from analyzing the Redskins' owner Dan Snyder.  After Sunday's 14 - 6 loss to the previously winless Kansas City Chiefs that included a safety in the closing minutes, the time finally seems right.  After all, the Redskins have lost to the 1 and 22 Detroit Lions and haven't beaten a team this year with a winning record.  As the Washington Post has reported, the team sues its fans who have fallen on hard times and can't honor their ticket contracts.  They have one of the most bloated payrolls in the NFL and week by week, publicly humiliate their head coach Jim Zorn (a classic example of what I refer to as an NGB - "nice guy, but...") by removing one more aspect of his duties.  (This week it was play calling.)

Seriously, if we can't learn something about how not to lead an organization from watching Dan Snyder then it's probably time to move onto another topic.  What are his secrets for leading a rotten organization?  Here are a few that catch my attention:

Live in the past:  The Redskins haven't won a Super Bowl since  1992 and have made the playoffs only three times in the 10 years that Snyder has owned the team.  And yet, they act as if they're perennial contenders for the Super Bowl.  The first step in dealing with reality is to live in it.

Manage things you don't know about:  By all accounts, Snyder has surrounded himself with front office personnel who are not up to the job of managing the football side of an NFL franchise.  The weak staff gives Snyder the latitude to become personally involved in football decisions that he doesn't have the experience to make.

Squeeze your customers until they bleed:  The Redskins charge a premium price for an inferior product.  They have long term fans whose loyalty and passion for the team dates back longer than the owner has been alive.  When some of those fans fell on hard times and couldn't honor their long term ticket contracts, the Redskins sued them and bankrupted them.  This is from a team who claims to have the longest waiting list for season tickets of any franchise in the NFL.

Chase after shiny objects:  One thing Redskins fans have come to count on is that the off season will bring a high priced player acquisition that will be a "game changer".  This year, it was a $100 million contract for tackle Albert Haynesworth.  In previous years it was Deion Sanders or Bruce Smith or somebody else.  Heck, even bringing back the great Joe Gibbs was part of this pattern.  The acquisitions don't pay off because there is no long term system or plan in place around which the entire team can gel.

Offend and insult people's intelligence:  As society has changed, there has been more and more discomfort and offense taken with the very name, Redskins.  As many commentators have pointed out, it's hard to come up with a team in another sport that is named after an offensive label for an entire ethnic group.  It's gotten to the point where the U.S. Supreme Court may agree to hear a suit from six Native American tribes on the team name. In the face of such criticism, Snyder talks about the honor and tradition of the Redskins. Please. Could it possibly be about the money wrapped up in the trademark?

Hire and fire rapidly:  How many head coaches has the team had since Snyder took over?  Let's see if I can name them all.  Norv, Robiskie (Don't remember him? Look it up.), Schottenheimer, Spurrier, Gibbs, Zorn.  That's six head coaches in 10 years.  How in the world can you build an organization when there is constant churn in the top operational job?

Embarrass your key people in public:  Let's say you're a young quarterback with some potential.  You've shown some promise at the end of the previous season and are learning.  And then in the offseason, your owner and EVP of football operations start publicly wooing number one QB draft picks and some veteran QB's without even talking with you about what they're thinking.  Would you feel supported as a leader of your team?  Would you feel confident in your position?  Would you feel wanted?  No, I didn't think so.  That's what it's been like for Washington QB Jason Campbell this year.   Let's not even get started on how his head coach has been treated.

Accept no accountability:  The silence from Dan Snyder and his EVP of football operations Vinny Cerrato as the team has gotten worse and worse has been deafening.  The two of them are the only constants over the 10 years of Washington's decline.  One might think they have some accountable role in the situation.

Make your organization an extension of your own ego:  This is what it probably all comes down to.  I remember when I was in my last corporate job, it looked like our parent company was probably going to be acquired.  A bunch of us on the senior team were sitting around talking about what was next and one of my colleagues who had been around the block a few times said to us, "Remember, whoever buys us is going to be thinking, 'If you guys are so smart, how come we bought you?'"  That's it in a nutshell with Dan Snyder.  If all of you are so smart, how come I own the team?  Until he gets his ego out of the way, there's no hope for the long suffering fans.

OK, that's my take.  What's yours?  If you follow the NFL, what have I gotten right or wrong here?  What are some of the leadership lessons you've learned along the way by watching someone else and saying, "Wow, I'm never going to do that?"

If you were looking for any news on health care reform, Afghanistan or the President's trip to New Orleans on television yesterday afternoon or most of last evening, you were out of luck. Everything else was pushed aside by the story of the 6 year old balloon boy, Falcon, flying over Colorado in his dad's big helium balloon. Of course, he wasn't actually the balloon boy. Turns out he was the garage boy because when the balloon took off he climbed up into the rafters of his garage and hid in a box. Or, as it may be turning out, (see this update from the New York Times) maybe his dad told him to go hide in the box so they could gin up a media frenzy and regain some of the glory that the whole family was wrapped in when they appeared a few years ago in the reality TV show, Wife Swap.

So, it's not every day that you have the possibility of a six year old flying along at 10,000 feet in a balloon.  I can see why the cable news channels might run that live. But wall to wall for three hours and then for lots and lots of time after the boy was found OK? Why would they do that? Two words - great video. Anytime you've got footage of a giant Jiffy Pop bag sailing across the sky, you've got great video. Let's run it on a continuous loop!

Much as I was after a quick trip to Canada earlier this year, I'm suffering from a case of reimmersion into the American pop news media following a four day trip to London earlier this week. Whether it's the BBC, ITV or even the SkyNews Sports channel, there's one word for the Brits' approach to TV news - sedate. No swooshing graphics, gee whiz maps or sound effects. Just people talking about what's going on. That's talking and not shouting or interrupting. A big part of the Sunday morning news shows there consist of the broadcasters sitting together with stacks of newspapers on the tables and floors, reading and commenting on the news of the week. 

One thing I've noticed about my British friends over the years is that they all seem incredibly well informed about what's going on in the world. They usually have an informed point of view on what's going on in China or Africa or Eastern Europe or just about anywhere. Now I think I understand why. They grew up with print and broadcast media that actually cover those stories and, as such, they developed a knowledge of and curiosity for what's going on in the rest of the world. I'm not saying that there isn't any lowest common denominator media in Britain. It seems like at any given time of day there is a Ricki Lake or Sally Jesse Raphael type talk show on TV. (The most popular of these appears to be a British hybrid of Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer called The Jeremy Kyle Show. Truly awful stuff based on the five minutes I was able to withstand.)  My observation, though, is that thoughtful and serious news coverage and conversation seems to be easier to come by in the UK.

So, what does any of this mean for leaders? I'd relate it to one of the basic laws of computer programming - garbage in, garbage out. We need to be careful and aware of the information diet we're feeding ourselves. The good stuff is out there, we just have to look for it (with the Internet, it's easier than ever). I think the other thing we have to do is watch out for getting sucked into the noise machine. I don't realize how easy it is for that to happen until I'm away from it for awhile and come back to it.  

We've got a lot of serious work to do in the United States. Approaching that work from a thoughtful rather than a frantic state of mind will be an important determinant of how successful we are. If you're a leader who wants to make a difference, please don't let the balloon boy stories bombard your brain. Feed your mind with important and useful things.

British MP's Behaving Badly: When Appearances Trump the Rules

I've been in London this week for a presentation I gave to a group of new executives yesterday. It's been a great trip with a lot of friendly people and fascinating things to see. One of the things I really enjoy when travelling abroad is immersing myself in the local media to learn what the big stories are and how people think about them.

Well, the story that's dominating the UK's headlines and airwaves this week is a controversy over how members of Parliament used their expense accounts for items like housekeeping, gardening and, in one infamous case, the digging of a moat. Sounds sort of outrageous doesn't it?  The back story, as my cab driver explained it to me the other day, is that when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister she wanted to give a pay raise to the MP's but knew that wouldn't fly with the public. So, instead, she adjusted the expense reimbursement schedule for MP's so it was much more liberal and ended up significantly supplementing their incomes.  That was all going along swimmingly for the past 20 years or so until earlier this year when the husband of the Home Secretary watched a couple of porn movies on the family telly and the cable bill was submitted for reimbursement under the MP expense plan. You can probably figure out what happened next.

So, that brought us to this past Monday which was the first day of the new session of Parliament and my last day in London before heading out to the suburbs to give my presentation. I was taking one last walk around the Thames and was crossing Westminster Bridge adjacent to Parliament when I took the following photos with my iPhone. For those of you who didn't have little boys at home in the last 20 years, you're looking at a life size version of that really useful engine, Thomas the Tank Engine.

In case you can't make it out, the passenger car is carrying 3 or 4 people holding prime minister Gordon Brown masks in front of their face. The sign across the top of the car reads, "All Aboard the Gravy Train."  As the Brits might say, "Simply brilliant!"

The story has come back with a vengeance this week because as the MP's returned to Westminster they were presented with letters detailing how much they each need to repay the government for expenses now deemed inappropriate. The PM and the conservative party leader are trying to enforce the repayments but there a lot of members who are pushing back saying that they operated within the existing rules at the time and shouldn't be on the hook for the money. 

With Thomas the Tank Engine, moats and dirty movies on TV, this story has a lot of comic elements but there's a serious lesson in all of this.

What's amazing to me is that many of the MP's are putting a few hundred or a few thousand pounds ahead of their long term credibility, reputation and effectiveness. They are becoming a laughing stock while they argue over expenses that seem hugely inappropriate to the average citizen. And that is what leaders really have to watch out for. It's easy to get into a bubble when you're a leader and pretty soon the abnormal begins to seem normal. One of the executive speakers in the session I spoke to yesterday summed it up really well. There are, he said, rules and there are appearances. There are times when the appearances matter more than the rules. True leaders understand the difference. When the rules you're following wouldn't stand up to a smell test with the average person, it's time to take a step back and upgrade the rules. When it's all said and done, the most valuable currency a leader has is integrity and credibility.  Maintaining that currency requires an understanding that it's more valuable in the long run than currency of the paper sort.

The range of reactions to President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize has been really interesting to observe. Depending on which person or group you've been watching or listening to, you've had the opportunity to witness a full spectrum of emotional reactions from happiness to anger, from satisfaction to surprise. One that I think is out there but perhaps hasn't been commented on so much is resentment.  There are those who resent the award because they say Obama hasn't proven himself yet or that others are more deserving. (Obama himself essentially said as much in his remarks just a few hours after the Peace Prize announcement.)

I think there's another reason that a lot of people resent the Prize going to Obama and it's one that has a lot of parallels in countless organizations around the world. You've probably seen it yourself or have perhaps even been the subject of it. I'm talking about what I call the "smartest kid in the class" syndrome. Whatever you think about Obama, there's not much point in debating that he is one highly intelligent guy and has had a lot of success at a very early age. He's probably the most extreme example I could come up with of the "smartest kid in the class." 

While we may not be around Nobel Prize winners on a regular basis, most of us have had some experience on one side or the other (or both) of this phenomenon.

With this in mind, I came up with some rules of the road for how "the smartest kids" should handle themselves when working with others who might feel intimidated and threatened by their success:

Take Your Foot Off the Gas - "Smart kids" typically see the answer before everyone else which allows them to go faster than everyone else.  If you're a smart kid, it's important to take your foot off the gas to allow everyone to catch up and understand the things that are patently obvious to you. They're not to everyone else.  If you push through on your vision without others feeling comfortable about it, they'll resent it and probably try to sabotage you.

Put Them at Ease - So, if the people around you are uncomfortable, it's in your and everyone else's interest to put them at ease. One of the best ways to do that is to...

Ask What They Think - When the answer is obvious, it's difficult for smart kids to not just give it.  Pretty soon, everyone else starts to get annoyed. (Remember how you felt about the kid that always had his hand up as soon as the teacher asked a question?  The same dynamic applies in groups of adults.)  One of the best ways to avoid blurting out the answer is to get into the habit of first asking others what they think of the situation. Of course, when they share their views, it helps if you actually...

Listen - And by listening, I don't just mean affirmative nods of the head and "uh-hmm's"  while you're waiting to give your answer.  I mean listening for nuance and the information you'll need to ask a second round of questions that will help deepen your understanding of their perceptions, goals, motivations, definition of success, etc. 

Frame Your Solutions as Questions - After you've listened deeply, you should have a better understanding of how to frame your solutions. This is the part where you'll want to avoid saying, "OK, I hear you and here's what I think we should do." If you're working with someone who likely feels threatened by your  talent and intelligence, try framing your solution as a question.  It should sound something like, "I think I understand where you're coming from. What if we tried (insert your solution here)?" This approach gives the other party a greater opportunity to participate in the solution.

Share the Credit - And when it all works out great make sure you spread the credit around.  However,

Pay Attention to The Balance - You want to make sure that you're also making requests of others and not just giving and giving and giving.  People who feel threatened are usually very sensitive to the balance of power.  While giving them the opportunity to participate and asking after their opinion are great strategies for taking the focus off of you and building relationships, you don't want to overdo it.  Sometimes you just have to make the ask, give the answer or push something through.  The trick is finding the right ratio.

OK, I'd love to hear what you think.  Anyone out there ever been labeled the smartest kid in the class?  (I'm thinking there are a lot of you reading right now.)  How have you handled it?  On the flip side, what annoys the heck out of you about the smartest kids?  What should they be doing differently?

In the category of "Man, I wish I'd written that,"  my blogging friend Mike Figliuolo had a great post last week called "Ten Reasons Your Team Hates You."   It was a brilliant piece with so true they might hurt items such as you don't fight for them,  you micromanage, you're a suck up and you're above getting your hands dirty.   It's gotten a lot of well deserved attention, is definitely worth a read and is a post you'll likely want to share with others.

So, it was with Mike's post in the back of my mind that I watched Brett Favre lead the Vikings this week to a 30 - 23 win over his old team, the Packers, on Monday Night Football.  If you follow football at all, you understand why I'm making the connection between Mike's "Why Your Team Hates You" post and Favre. Even non-sports fans are likely aware and completely sick of Favre's multi-year act of will he retire or not retire, who will he play for, when will he play, etc., etc., etc. He's done about as much as he possibly can to make his colleagues skeptical of his motives and intent. And yet, the Vikings at 4 and 0 so far this season seem to be gelling around him. 

If you take the publicity, the uniforms and the bone crunching hits out of the equation,  Favre appears to be successfully doing what you'll likely have to do at least once in your career - stepping in to lead a team that for whatever reason is skeptical of your motives and has their doubts about whether or not you're the right leader. In spite of all the drama baggage he carries with him, Favre is winning the Vikings over. How is doing it? Here are a few things he's doing that I think apply to leaders in fields other than football:

Win:  Winning games - whatever that looks like in your context - can solve a lot of problems. Favre brings the skills and the experience of a winner to the Vikings. He's getting it done.  It's a lot easier for a leader to win the team over win he or she brings the talent and experience needed to help them win.

Spread It Around:  Prior to his Monday night win, Favre had changed his game plan of firing off passes to one that got a lot of other players involved in the game. The Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, has been a key part of their offense this year. When a leader sets things up so everyone gets to contribute at the full extent of their talent, there's a much better chance of full engagement from the team.

Throw Some Blocks:  On a fairly regular basis, you can see Favre throwing a block downfield to help clear a path for one of his runners. This is his way of counteracting Mike Figliuolo's point about not getting your hands dirty.  By throwing a block, Favre is stepping out of his role to help make his team successful.  Leaders in every field need to look for and act on their own opportunities to "throw a block" for their team.

Keep It Light:  Say what you will about Favre, when he's on the field he looks like he's a lot of fun to play with. He jokes, he jumps around, he bumps his teammates in celebration, he gives noogies. I'm not suggesting that you give noogies to your teammates, but there are ways to keep it light. Look for them. (Just don't go over the line. Michael on The Office offers weekly examples of what over the line looks like.)

Passion:  If you're still playing in the NFL at almost 40 years old, it's safe to say that you have a fair amount of passion for the game.  Favre clearly does. The presence of the leader influences the presence of the team.  Favre's passion is infecting the Vikings in a positive way. Showing your commitment and passion through your words and action is a great way to win over your team. Watch out though.  If passion is all you bring to the table, you're likely to lose them.  Remember the first Favre lesson. It helps to win.

The end of last week brought a couple of mirror image stories about leaders in the world of finance.  The first was the sudden announcement from Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis that he intends to retire at the end of the year.  As reported in The Economist, the B of A board is going to have to scramble to come up with a successor. In contrast is the news coming out of JP Morgan Chase that CEO Jamie Dimon has named a new head of investment banking in what he acknowledges is a key building block of a leadership succession plan.  As quoted in the New York Times, Dimon said, "It's my duty to the board to focus on succession.  It's important that we have people trained and tested with experience to succeed me."

As Joe Nocera pointed out in his weekly Talking Business column, one of the most important duties of a leader is to prepare his or her successor. This is true not just for CEO's, but for leaders at any level. How do you do it?  Here are five simple yet actionable ideas for preparing your successor:

Accept the fact that you're not indispensable. The more you act like you are, the more likely you'll be trapped in your job and leave your organization unprepared for the future that will inevitably come. That's the glass half empty perspective on it.  The glass half full point of view is that if you develop the next generation of leaders, you'll create more opportunities for yourself and the organization.  Preparing strong leaders is how you leave a legacy that outlasts your time in your current leadership role.

Identify the handful of "A" players on your team that show the capacity to get results while building the relationships that make the results sustainable over the long run.  Once you've identified some high potential candidates, take the next step and identify the experiences they'll need to be well rounded leaders at the next level.

Include those high potential leaders in conversations and meetings that will expose them to people and issues that they haven't had a lot of experience with in the past.

Stretch your succession candidates by giving them special project assignments or jobs that round out their experience base.  If they've been the "inside" people previously, put them in roles that will expose them to external constituencies.  If they've been more focused on the external aspects of the business,  give them assignments that will build their operational muscles.

Coach them in their development by asking questions that help them debrief what they're learning from experience and help them game plan for what's coming up.  If you don't have the time or inclination to coach them yourself, find someone either external or internal to the organization who is capable of playing that role.  Whatever you do, don't just throw them into the deep end of the pool with no support.  Your goal is to develop leaders, not to debilitate them.

What are your thoughts?  What's the best thing someone did for you to get you ready for a bigger role?  What would you add to the list of ideas to develop your organization's leaders of the future?

Any week you can check something off your bucket list is a good week.  This was one of those weeks for me as I checked off a long held goal of seeing U2 in concert. Bono and his band mates are on a six week tour and they stopped at FedEx field here in the DC area to rock the house. Thanks to some really nice long term planning on my wife's part (she bought tickets for my birthday back in April), the two of us  were there.  I've been to countless concerts in my life and (I don't think it's just the recency effect speaking here) this one was the best.  (In case you're wondering what they're playing on this tour, here's a very cool web site with the set list and links to performances of each song.)  The show that U2 put on was a combination of rock concert, multimedia extravaganza,  political rally, massive party and religious revival.  And, oh yeah,  anytime somebody is keeping 90,000 people standing up for two and a half hours singing, dancing and completely engaged there's probably something to be learned about leadership.

While it's unlikely that most of us are going to be global rock stars anytime soon, I saw some great leadership lessons from Bono and the band that I want to pass on for your consideration.

Think Big:  When you see U2 in a setting like FedEx Field on a 160 foot high stage set called The Claw  completely holding the audience rapt, they seem bigger than life. The day after the concert I was listening to some of their songs on my IPod and the cover art that was displayed was a picture of the band in their late teens or early 20's. Were they thinking about being a global force back then?  Who knows, but I doubt it.  As Steve Jobs is famous for having said, you can never connect the dots in advance, it's only in reverse that you can see how one thing led to another.  The point with U2 is they clearly haven't put any limits on themselves in terms of what they can do with their music. One thing has led to another and here they are - absolutely huge. Leaders think big.

Keep It Fresh:  It's kind of hard to believe but U2 first came together 33 years ago and you could argue they're as successful as they've ever been.  How have they done it? The first thing is they have a ton of talent but I think the second is they've kept themselves fresh over the years by playing with different styles of music, new technologies and working with different producers.  In the language of business, they have continuously innovated while staying true to their core competency. Leaders keep it fresh.

Have a Mission:  These days U2 is known almost as much for their activism on behalf of Africa and the politically oppressed in countries like Burma and Iran as they are for their music. Bono has leveraged his platform as front man for one of the world's most popular bands to get donor governments to forgive African debt so that that money can be used for health care, education and other purposes on the continent.  At FedEx this week, the band dedicated one song to Iranian protesters and another to Aung San Suu Kyi a Burmese leader and dissident who has been under house arrest by the military junta in her country for the past 20 years. Leaders use their platform for missions that matter.

Recruit People Who Can Help:  Since this concert was in DC there were a lot of politicians in the house and Bono spent time from the stage to thank the ones who have helped in the band's work for Africa.  So, as the Washington Post pointed out, only in DC would Nancy Pelosi and Bush chief of staff Josh Bolten both get shout outs from the stage at a rock concert. There are two points for leaders here. The first is recruit the people who can help you with your mission and don't get hung up on their points of view on other issues as long as they're willing to help. The second point is when they help you, thank them and thank them in public.

Make It Fun:  Most leaders are not going to have the multimedia resources that U2 does to make things fun and interesting for their audience.  While all of that was cool, I think the real fun of the show was the way Bono and the band interacted with the audience and they way they got the audience involved. It's more fun when you get to participate at some level and feel like you're a part of it.  Even if you don't have a state of the art 360 degree jumbotron at your disposal, there are things you can do as leader to make it fun for your people by getting them involved in ways that connect with them.  Even in a tough economy, work can still be fun. Leaders figure out how to make it fun.