Be Accountable

Hitler, Idi Amin, Gaddafi wanted absolute power over people's lives without accountability and look at where it got them. Being mature, being responsible, and being a leader means being accountable for not only what you do but also being accountable for what people do who are under your leadership.

Only bullies, cowards, and the immature despise accountability. Be accountable!

The Best of Leadership Tuesdays 2015!

To mark the end of this year, we are posting our most popular ‪#‎LeadershipTuesdays‬ features today on Twitter:

Check them out here: @womenatliberty or http://ow.ly/WqGwa

Thanks for your support and Happy New Year!!

#LeadershipTuesdays: Motivating People For Optimal Results...Cindy Holland

"How do they need to hear the input to get the best results out of them? In management, it’s about understanding how the person thinks and even figuring out the right choice of words that will help unlock their creativity and desire to do something."

--Cindy Holland, Vice President-Original Content, Netflix

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage and strengthen women leaders. Today's Leadership Tuesdays feature is Cindy Holland. She is the Vice President for Original Content at Netflix, the company who provides on-demand streaming of television shows and movies via the internet and subscription-based rentals to more than 65 million subscribers in the U.S. and over 40 countries in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. Netflix has been an innovator in how people access entertainment and they have soared in popularity and revenue as traditional competitors in the space, like Blockbuster, has fallen by the wayside.
 
With shows like House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, Netflix has made a name for itself in the original programming space. Ms. Holland, responsible for “greenlighting” original content, has been with the company for 13 years and assumed her current role in 2012. In a November 2015 article entitled "Learning To Lead On A Pair of Skis", she talked with Adam Bryant of the New York Times’ Corner Office column about her approach to leadership at a disruptive technology and entertainment company like Netflix.
 
The fun part of her job is saying “yes” to projects starring lesser known talent that may have been rejected by other networks. But at the same time she also has the unenviable task of saying “no” to projects that are attached to well-known names and talent that she feels is not right for her company. One of the things that Cindy talks about is how it can be challenging to give feedback in these circumstances and how a leader must think and what they have to know about people, the projects being presented, and the overall goals/objectives of the organization to get the best results for the team.
 
Click on the video below to see the Corner Office interview. To read a more in-depth article written by Adam Bryant, click here. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays or WOMEN AT LIBERTY, click here.

#‎WomenMakingHistory | ‬ Admiral Michelle J. Howard, 38th Vice Chief Of Naval Operations

I was on my way to catch the metro in downtown Washington, D.C. on Tuesday evening and came across a U.S. Navy Band Concert at the Naval Memorial. They were really good and I stopped in my tracks to hear them play and sing several songs. 

But guess what else happened? I met Admiral Michelle J. Howard, the 38th Vice Chief Of Naval Operations, a four-star Admiral. What an honor! Even as a civilian, I am very proud of her and her accomplishments. She is the highest ranking woman in the U.S. Navy and the first African American woman to become a four-star Admiral. 

We talked briefly as I told her how proud I was to meet her and that I had profiled her for the Women Making History Project. She was so gracious and took the time to ask me about my interests and background. That's the mark of a great leader. Genuinely interested in people. You can't fake that. ‪#‎LeadershipTuesdays‬

Nona O. for @womenatliberty/Women Making History

For a complete bio on Admiral Howard, see: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=394

The Likeability Factor

"Too many people seek to establish trusting business relationships centering on likeability. I’m not suggesting that likeability isn’t good, only that it isn’t sufficient." --Scott Edinger

This SmartBlog on Leadership article by Scott Edinger, "Harnessing the power of your hidden leaders", really focuses on how executives can harness the power of these individuals in an organization. Hidden leaders are individuals who do not have a title or position of authority, but they are effective at getting things done because they know the right people or have great relationships within the organization. 

The aforementioned quote offers an important point to remember for those who are seeking to move up in an organization or business owners/entrepreneurs/sales people who are pursuing clients: Likeability is not enough to excel in an organization or get a client to make a business deal with you.

As I was typing this sentence, I stop mid-sentence to question whether this was really true.  Admittedly, this is not true for everyone in an organization, there are always some exceptions to the rule and some people do get promoted or get great assignments just because people like them. (Half-hearted reference to "The Wolf of Wall Street" movie) But for most of us, even with great technical skills and education, in order to excel in an organization or get people to buy from you, somebody in power has to like you. 

If you are the person looking to move up in leadership or attract new business opportunities, read the following article for advice on how you need to be perceived by managers/executives and clients. 

Nona O. (@womenatliberty)  
 

Harnessing The Power Of Your Hidden Leaders

By Scott Edinger

http://smartblogs.com/leadership

Leadership Tuesdays: The Numbers Do Not Lie..Mellody Hobson

"Now race is one of those topics in America that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. You bring it up at a dinner party or in a workplace environment, it is literally the conversational equivalent of touching the third rail. There is shock followed by a long silence.

Now, I know that there are people out there who'll say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right? But I work in the investment business and we have a saying, 'the numbers do not lie.' ...There is significant quantifiable racial disparities that can not be ignored in household wealth, household income, job opportunities, health care. I [talk] about this issue of racial discrimination because I believe that it threatens to rob another generation of all the opportunities that all of us want for all of our children no matter what their color or where they come from. And I think it threatens to hold back businesses.

So, I think it's time for us to be comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation about race. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, all of us. If we truly believe in equal rights and equal opportunity in America, I think we have to have real conversations about this issue. We can not afford to be color blind. We have to be color brave."*

-Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Investments; Chairman of the Board, DreamWorks Animation SKG
*This quote is an excerpt from a TED Talk Mellody Hoboson gave on March 20, 2014

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. Today's Leadership Tuesdays' post is a courageous talk on race given by Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, at a TED Conference in March of 2014. Her eloquent discourse regarding an experience she had in 2006 of being mistaken for the "kitchen help" when she showed up with then Congressman Harold Ford (D-Tennessee) for a lunch meeting at the offices of a highly regarded New York publication will make you chuckle because it seems unbelievable. But, yet it is true. As one of only two African American Chairperson of a publicly traded companies (the other person is Ursula Burns of Xerox) she is less well known than a Beyonce or even Oprah Winfrey. However, Ms. Hobson is a highly accomplished, Princeton-educated young woman.

Her talk is both relatable and relevant. She makes a business case for businesses making diversity one of its core values and part of its competitive strategy. She also makes a human argument for why we can not wait for the next election or another year to confront the issues of race and racial discrimination in America.

To listen to today's feature, click here. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays, click here. 

What Would You Do 2 Help A Woman or Girl Succeed Against The Odds?

Please join WOMEN AT LIBERTY for a Twitter Chat (@womenatliberty) this Friday, 5/23, 3-4 pm to discuss girls and women succeeding in leadership. #WWYD2H

Women's History Month--Women's Leadership Part 2 | Integrity

I have had some time to reflect on the previously posted Wall Street Journal (WSJ) articles on why women mistreat each other in the work place. If you missed the previous blog with the articles, please see the links at the end of this blog. When I think about playing “the game” in the workplace and succeeding on the playing field, one word really sticks in my mind and that is integrity. I really thought about what were some of the leadership traits that I most admire and while I respect leaders who have great vision and accomplishments, charisma, empathy, and respect for others, I think integrity is one of the most important attributes one can have.

Integrity determines how we play the game of life as well as how we lead in life. If we don't possess a strong sense of what is ethical, then we will allow ourselves to cheat and sham our way to the top. The news headlines are filled with examples of employees and executives who have compromised and ended up in jail.

My first job was at AT&T and at AT&T, integrity among other things, such as respect for the individual, was a core value. In fact, in the government division where I started my career, each year we went through Corporate Professional Integrity Program training. At the end of the yearly sessions, we signed a statement signifying that we understood the tenets of the program and agreed to adhere to the tenets of the program. One of the key phases that I will always remember from the training was, “corporations don’t go to jail, people do.” When making a business decision, we were told to think about how we would feel if the decision and consequences were reported on the front page of the Washington Post. That yearly training reinforced a strong sense of ethics in me that has served me well. I am really thankful to that company for reinforcing in me a strong commitment to ethics and professional integrity.

One of the reasons I believe women fail to truly respect and value one another is we are often seeking acceptance from people who require us to be cut throat, disingenuous, sabotage others, and cut others down to be in the “in crowd”. Those women must be respectfully challenged on their behavior. Competitive behavior that emphasizes and celebrates winning at any cost must be discouraged. Just as it is important to follow the rules in sports competition, it is important to embrace sound ethical standards as one seeks to lead in the workplace and in life. It is important how we play the game because true champions win without cheating!

The godly walk with integrity... Proverb 20:7a New Living Translation Bible (http://www.biblegateway.com/)

Wall Street Journal Articles:
Preoccupations: A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting by Peggy Klaus

The Juggle: When Women Derail Other Women in the Office by Rachel Emma Silverman