Michael Useem > Quotes

“Dampen Overoptimism and Excessive Pessimism. Counter the hubris of success, focus attention on latent threats and unresolved problems, and protect against taking unwarranted risks; at the same time, bolster confidence in coming back from downturns and setbacks. Build a Diverse Top Team. Leaders need to take final responsibility, but leadership is also a team sport best played with an able and varied roster of those collectively capable of resolving the key challenges. Place Common Interest First. In setting strategy, communicating vision, and reaching decisions, common purpose comes first, personal self-interest last. Think Like a CEO. Work through what a company CEO—or even a country’s president or top leader—would expect of you at that moment, and bring that expectation into your actions.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“14. Build a Diverse Top Team. Have you drawn quality performers into your inner circle? Are they diverse in expertise but united in purpose? Are they as engaged, energized, and included as you? 15. Place Common Interest First. Have you contributed to or even helped define the enterprise’s purpose? In all decisions, have you placed shared resolve ahead of private gain? Do the firm’s vision and strategy embody the organization’s mission? 16. Think Like a Chief Executive. Are you reasoning like a president or CEO even if you are unlikely to become one? If you were the company CEO, what would she or he expect of your leadership now? Have you pulled all your functions and operations under a common umbrella?”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Take Charge and Lead Change. Are you prepared to take charge even when you are not fully or formally in charge? If so, do you come with the capacity and position to embrace responsibility? For the technical decisions ahead, are you ready to delegate but not abdicate?   5. Act Decisively. Are most of your decisions both good and timely? Do you convey your strategic intent and then let others reach their own decisions? Is your own decision threshold close to a “70%” go point?   6. Communicate Persuasively. Are the messages about vision, strategy, and execution crystal clear and indelible? Have you mobilized all communication channels, from purely personal to social media? Can you deliver a compelling account before the elevator passes the 10th floor?”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Motivate the Workforce. Have you identified each person’s “hot button” and focused on it? Do you work personal pride and shared purpose into most communications? Are you keeping your powder dry for those urgent moments when you may need it?   8. Embrace the Front Lines. Have you made your intent clear and empowered those around you to act? Do you regularly meet with those in direct contact with customers? Is everybody able to communicate their ideas and concerns to you?   9. Build Leadership in Others. Are all managers expected to build leadership among their subordinates? Does the company culture foster the effective exercise of leadership? Are leadership development opportunities available to most, if not all, managers? 10. Manage Relations. Is the hierarchy reduced to a minimum, and does bad news travel up? Are managers self-aware and empathetic? Are autocratic, egocentric, and irritable behaviors censured? 11.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Motivate the Workforce. Have you identified each person’s “hot button” and focused on it? Do you work personal pride and shared purpose into most communications? Are you keeping your powder dry for those urgent moments when you may need it?   8. Embrace the Front Lines. Have you made your intent clear and empowered those around you to act? Do you regularly meet with those in direct contact with customers? Is everybody able to communicate their ideas and concerns to you?   9. Build Leadership in Others. Are all managers expected to build leadership among their subordinates? Does the company culture foster the effective exercise of leadership? Are leadership development opportunities available to most, if not all, managers? 10. Manage Relations. Is the hierarchy reduced to a minimum, and does bad news travel up? Are managers self-aware and empathetic? Are autocratic, egocentric, and irritable behaviors censured? 11. Identify Personal Implications. Do employees appreciate how the firm’s vision and strategy impact them individually? What private sacrifices will be necessary for achieving the common cause? How will the plan affect people’s personal livelihood and quality of work life? 12. Convey Your Character. Have you communicated your commitment to performance with integrity? Do those in the organization know you as a person, and do they appreciate your aspirations and your agendas? Have you been in the same room or at least on the same call with everybody who works with you during the past year? 13. Dampen Overoptimism and Excessive Pessimism. Have you prepared the organization for unlikely but extremely consequential events? Do you celebrate success but also guard against the by-products of excessive confidence? Have you paved the way not only for quarterly results but for long-term performance?”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Pick your associates well, back them fully, empower them with both accountability and responsibility, and they will produce far more than you ever will achieve on your own.”
― Michael Useem, The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All

“Team Leader’s Checklist Learn: Strengthen the team both cognitively and affectively. Design well: Set distinct goals with defined and varied tasks for team members. Build identity: Share experience and strengthen camaraderie to create a set of norms and values. Dynamic: As the market changes, evolve the team’s expectations and tasks. Diverse and inclusive: Optimize variety in the members’ backgrounds and experiences, and engage all in the team’s work and achievements. Size right: Not too large, not too small. Set compelling direction, strong structure, supportive context, and shared mindset. Create a team agenda, inner scaffolding, outer backing, and aligned thinking for members to row together in the right direction.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“The leader’s checklist for General Electric, for instance, according to those highly familiar with the company, includes teaching others how to lead their divisions, making tough—often wrenching—personnel decisions around performance, and continually innovating. A checklist for Google, by contrast, would place greater emphasis on the individual pursuit of creative sparks, keeping teams small, and guiding others in an even-keeled manner.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Articulate a Vision. Do my direct reports see the forest, not just the trees? Does everyone in the firm know not only where we are going, but why? Is the destination compelling and appealing?   2. Think and Act Strategically. Do we have a realistic plan both for creating short-term results and for mapping out the future? Have we considered all the players and anticipated every roadblock? Has everybody embraced—and can everybody explain—the firm’s competitive strategy and value drivers?   3. Honor the Room. Do those in the room know that you respect and value their talents and efforts? Have you made it clear that their upward guidance is always sought? Is there a sense of engagement on the front lines, and do they see themselves as “us,” not “them”?”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Articulate a Vision. Formulate a clear and persuasive vision and communicate it repeatedly to all members of the enterprise. Think and Act Strategically. Set forth a pragmatic strategy for achieving that vision both short- and long-term, and ensure that it is widely understood; consider all the players, and anticipate their reactions and resistance before they are manifest. Honor the Room. Frequently express your confidence in and support for those who work with and for you. Take Charge and Lead Change. Embrace a bias for action, taking responsibility even if it is not fully or formally delegated, particularly if you are especially well positioned to make a difference.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Act Decisively. Make good and timely decisions, and ensure that they are executed. Communicate Persuasively. Communicate in ways that people will not forget; simplicity and clarity of expression help. Motivate the Workforce. Appreciate the distinctive intentions that people bring, and then build on those diverse motives to draw the best from each. Embrace the Front Lines. Delegate authority except for strategic decisions, and stay close to those most directly engaged with the work of the enterprise.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Build Leadership in Others. Develop leadership throughout the organization. Manage Relations. Foster enduring personal ties with those who look to you, and work to harness the feelings and passions of the workplace. Identify Personal Implications. Help everybody appreciate the impact that the vision and strategy are likely to have on their own work and future with the firm. Convey Your Character. Through gesture, commentary, and narratives, ensure that others appreciate that you are a person of transparency and integrity.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist

“Taken together, the 16 principles establish a foundation for leadership at most organizations at most times. But “most” is not always good enough. Further customization is also required for distinct times and unique contexts. Among the most important divisions are those of company, role, country, moment, stage, and place.”
― Michael Useem, The Leader's Checklist