All Posts by Ann Tardy

I have trained Lulu to expect a gift every time I visit. And she never forgets, regardless of how many months pass between my visits. My niece is a precocious 5-year-old.

When I visited in January, two weeks after my Christmas gifts arrived, I negligently handed her a gift to share with her brother. And not a good one. It was a deck of cards with puzzles, challenges, and word games to prepare them for 1st grade.

She did not find this amusing one bit.

She said incredulously, “That’s all you brought?”
I nodded sheepishly, knowing immediately I had failed.
She said, “I don’t like that gift. What else you got?”
I said, “That’s all I have, sweetie.”
She said, articulating every word, “No really, I don’t like that gift.”
I was speechless.
She wasn’t. “I want a Barbie. Do you have a Barbie in your suitcase?”
I said, “Nope. No Barbie. Sorry.”
She ended the conversation emphatically, “No. Really. I hate that gift.”

It took all I had not to laugh out loud. My feelings weren’t hurt. I knew I had blown it. But I wasn’t going to next time. Lulu told me exactly what I needed to do to secure my role as “Best Aunt on the Planet.”

Now when I visit Lulu, I make sure to bring a back-up gift. Rather than consider her to be rude, I find her incredibly refreshing. (Perhaps I’m a bit biased.)

Why can’t we be so transparent at work?

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to know where you stand with your boss, your employees, and your peers?

Boss: “Here’s your project.”
Employee: “Is that all you’ve got?”
Boss: “Yep.“
Employee: “I don’t like it. What else do you have?”
Boss: “That’s it.“
Employee: “No really, I hate that project.“

Employee: “Here’s the report you asked me to complete.”
Manager: “Is that all you’ve got?”
Employee: “Yes“
Manager: “I don’t like it. What else do you have?”
Employee: “That’s it.“
Manager: “No really, I hate that report.”

While it was entertaining when my niece said it, it is rather rude in my work example. But wouldn’t such transparency eliminate the endless games in which we constantly engage where we’re left wondering what the other person thinks?

In situations where we aren’t guaranteed unconditional 5-year-old niece love, consider an alternative to help you lift the communications fog while maintaining the relationship:  permission.

Simply ask permission.

“Would you be open to some feedback?”
“Do you want my perspective?”
“Would it help to hear what my experience of the situation is?”

There’s obviously a lot more that goes into the art of giving feedback, making observations, and providing constructive criticism. But it would be an enormous step if we started offering feedback instead of avoiding it, and if we started preparing others before jolting them with a dose of Lulu-like honesty.

It’s not a concept Lulu will get right now. While she is endearing, she’s clearly not ready for corporate America. But that’s OK, because corporate America is not ready for Lulu.

I admit it. I have a leader crush on Arkadi Kuhlmann, the founder of ING Direct.

I have gushed about Arkadi previously when he was interviewed for Corner Office in the NY Times. I became a fan then. But now I’m reading about him in Mavericks at Work and I am an evangelist.

Here are some highlights from Arkadi’s service as CEO of ING:

• He recruited from outside the banking industry to infuse the industry with fresh ideas to combat those of grizzled veterans.
• He painted a white line outside the headquarters so employees know that crossing it signifies leaving the sleepy world to enter a different kind of place.
• He posted a sign above the exit for employees to read before they leave “Did today really matter?”
• He asked his associates (he didn’t call them employees) to vote yearly whether he should serve them as CEO for another year – he never wanted to serve as the leader unless they wanted him to.
• He prided himself on constantly raising the bar for the company. He says “It’s not about getting people stressed. It’s about getting them full of conviction.”
• He says, “We keep increasing the intensity, the passion, the goals. It’s very hard to work here and not ask yourself, ‘Am I up for this or not?’”

Who wouldn’t want to work at a place that tramples mediocrity like that?

As a leader, what can we do to inspire conviction like Arkadi?

• Start with your own conviction (the banking industry needs to be recreated)
• Create a vision for the people on your team (ING is going to be advocates for our customers)
• Pepper physical reminders of that conviction throughout (the white line, the sign, the orange buildings)
• Demonstrate the conviction (audacious publicity stunts, torrid PR moves)
• Ask people to hold you accountable to that conviction (the yearly CEO vote)

I want to inspire conviction like Arkadi. Who wants to join me?

In the Corner Office in the Business section of the  New York Times, Ilene Gordon, CEO of Ingredion, took the opportunity to pay tribute to mentoring then and now.

The Impact of a Mentor

Following business school, Ilene was responsible for acquisitions at Tenneco when a self-appointed mentor saw potential in her. He recognized her intellect, ambition, and focus, and challenged her to run those businesses she was acquiring. He put her in a job bigger than her and committed to helping her hone her business skills. Today she is on Fortune magazine’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business as the President/CEO of a Fortune 500 company with $6.2 billion in net sales.

Ilene’s Commitment to Being a Mentoring CEO

Ilene excites people with opportunity as her Mentor did for her. She is committed to:

• Seeing potential in others where they don’t see it themselves
• Stretching people who demonstrate talent, people skills, and drive
• Putting people into roles they’re not quite ready for
• Allowing people to grow into those big roles
• Offering young managers an opportunity to share with the board how they’re creating value for the company

Her Belief in the Lasting Impact of Mentoring

Ilene believes that people carry their mentoring experiences with them. “I’m not just hiring the person sitting there. I’m hiring the four people who mentored him. I don’t think there’s anybody who’s successful in their role today who hasn’t been mentored by somebody.”

In each interview, she asks:

• Who mentored you?
• Who did you learn from?
• What was their expertise?
• What companies did they work for?

What can we do to become a Mentoring Leader like Ilene?

• Make a list of your own Mentors and acknowledge their influence on your success
• Discover people’s list of influencers
• Work to earn a spot on their list
• See what they don’t see in themselves
• Take a risk on their potential
• Push people into their uncomfortable
• Allow people to surprise you

It takes courage to leverage the spotlight of the NY Times spotlight to mentor aspiring, inspiring, and expiring leaders everywhere. Thank you, Ilene, for influencing each of us to make a difference by leading with a mentoring mindset.

Who do you know who leads like Ilene Gordon?