Leadership, the key is 8 words

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The following article is from Masma Island

Author: Liu Lan

Zheng Hedao is a high-end online social platform for entrepreneurs. Click the blue text above to subscribe to this account for free! Recently, Dao Jun accepted a two-hour exclusive interview with the internationally renowned Chinese leader Liu Lan in Beijing to discuss these issues one by one. Liu Lan is the first full-time professor at the HSBC Business School of Peking University and the only Chinese scholar invited by the Harvard Business School Leadership Forum. "Father of leadership" Warren Bennis himself praised him for "a unique contribution to leadership." Below is a summary of the interview. I believe that entrepreneurs, company management and ordinary readers will have a different but deeper understanding of leadership after reading. Oral presentation: Yang Yuting and Cao Yuxin, founders and chief advisers of Liu Lan Zhengdao Leadership Center, visited. Source: Zhenghedao leadership is becoming more and more important. If the national competitiveness comes from the competitiveness of the enterprise, then the competitiveness of the enterprise comes from the leadership of the enterprise, especially the senior leadership and the leadership of various senior managers. Leadership is also an interesting topic. I have interviewed some people, for example, Xu Yunyun is a historian, Howard Gardner is a psychologist, and so on. I can talk to them about leadership. Therefore, leadership is something that each of us may be interested in and learn from. As for leadership, many people get it wrong. Many people have heard of "leadership", but there may be many misunderstandings. Myth 1: The first misunderstanding is to confuse leadership with being a leader, thinking that leadership can only come from having a position or title. In fact, this is not to say that a person needs leadership only if he has a position. This is not to say that if you have a leadership position, you must have leadership. It's like you have a marriage, but not necessarily love. Leadership is also closely related to everyone's life and work. Whether you have leadership skills is very different for your relatives and friends. Whether your boss has leadership skills is also very different for you. It can be said that leadership is a necessity of life, not a luxury that some people can have. Myth 2: Some people think there is no difference between "leadership" and "management" and use them often. For example, when we say that Zhang Ruimin leads Haier, we can also say that he manages Haier. However, "the father of leadership" Warren Bennis said, "Leadership is doing the right thing, management is doing the right thing." John Cotter made it clearer that he says "management is about maintaining business, and leadership is about achieving change." Specifically, management includes five elements: planning, organization, command, coordination, and control. This was proposed by French scientific management expert Faure in the early 20th century, and everyone agreed. Myth 3: Many companies are now talking about "leadership in the digital age", which seems to be wearing a "digital age" hat. The content is more fashionable, and leaders like to listen. In fact, leadership in this era is not so different from other times. You must first understand the nature of leadership and then talk about other things. Otherwise, all changes are blind. Only when you master the same thing can you better grasp change. What exactly is leadership? Leadership consists of eight words: mobilize the team to solve difficult problems. In my opinion, leadership consists of eight words: mobilizing the team to solve difficult problems. This sentence has two main points: First, one's job is not leadership. You must work with a team to become a leader. In other words, if you succeed alone, you don't need leadership; if you succeed with a group of people, you call it leadership. Someone once asked an American president, "When you became president, what was the hardest thing to do?" He said, "I just want to sign bad letters." Because when he became president, he couldn't Write each letter yourself. Most of the time, others wrote for him. He was not satisfied with it, but he still had to sign it. Similarly, if you, as a superior, clearly see a subordinate typing slowly, you can't say "Go away, I'll fight", you have to let her fight; after your subordinates modify the task according to their opinions, you may Not happy with every task you assigned them, but you still have to submit it like this. "I just want to sign bad letters." Because when he became president, he couldn't write every letter himself. Most of the time, others wrote for him. He was not satisfied with it, but he still had to sign it. Similarly, if you, as a superior, clearly see a subordinate typing slowly, you can't say "Go away, I'll fight", you have to let her fight; after your subordinates modify the task according to their opinions, you may Not happy with every task you assigned them, but you still have to submit it like this. "I just want to sign bad letters." Because when he became president, he couldn't write every letter himself. Most of the time, others wrote for him. He was not satisfied with it, but he still had to sign it. Similarly, if you, as a superior, clearly see a subordinate typing slowly, you can't say "Go away, I'll fight", you have to let her fight; after your subordinates modify the task according to their opinions, you may Not happy with every task you assigned them, but you still have to submit it like this.

It is also wrong to convene the leadership of all leadership teams. For example, you have an annual meeting with your colleagues. This is not called leadership, but it is actually a regular event. Customers require early delivery. You changed the process a little bit without involving any substantial changes. This cannot be called leadership. This involves the second point. Second, whether you have leadership depends on whether you can "solve the problem." How hard is it? Isn't it difficult to lead a team and manage a company? In fact, in our personal and organizational life, we encounter and need to solve two problems: One is simply to keep things running and only requires us to do things right. The company's cleaning staff sweeps the floor every day, and the announcer "Newscast" broadcasts daily and other daily activities, as well as technical activities such as designing or changing business processes to deliver goods to customers faster. The other is to change the status quo. It is difficult to do the right thing. In many cases, it cannot be solved by one person. The team must be mobilized to solve it. For example, turning a startup into a Fortune 500 company. Why did the business fail? Most of the time, there is no difference between the two types of problems. When faced with a problem that requires change, they still believe that it is just a technical issue that can be resolved by changing software, performance measurement methods, or leadership. You overlook that this change presents unique challenges that you may not be able to solve. Leadership is not what you are, not what you have, but what you do. Real leaders must address these revolutionary issues. Only when you solve such a difficult problem can you be called a leader. Ma Yun and Ren, who has more leadership? Many people stumbled before the difficulties of the revolution. For example, in the sensational "Ali Integrity Crisis" incident, Jack Ma made several mistakes without leadership. They all solved the problem of revolution as a technical problem. In 2009, when foreign trade exports were hit by the financial crisis, Alibaba launched the "Export Link" membership service, which recruited 5,200 people at a time. These people hurriedly received training in product sales knowledge and started their work. They disagree with the company's cultural values. As a result, many salespeople collude with "liar" to deceive global buyers to complete their performance. Jack Ma's solution to this problem was to fire two executives. There are four difficulties to face the transformation problem clearly, including finding the problem, defining the problem, finding the right solution, and implementing the solution smoothly. Facing the "crisis of Ali's integrity", Ma Yun did not do a good job in these places at that time, nor did he really solve the problem, so Alibaba again exposed the "smear of Taobao corruption" in 2012. However, Jack Ma has many actions, all of which show that he has great leadership. Let's see if he looks like this. For example, he said that if there were no difficult things in the world, he would take his team to do it and he did it. At every critical moment, decisions will inevitably come out, so there is a saying that "Ma Yun only makes four decisions for Alibaba in a year". When I retired, I announced Alibaba's new values. One of them is called "At the moment, it belongs to me". I also gave a very detailed explanation: these are the first manifestations and practices of leaders I have said: Take responsibility. Alibaba gave a very specific explanation of its responsibilities. Let's take a look at Ren again. Leadership is most evident in him. Leadership consists of ten disciplines: taking responsibility, facing problems directly, maintaining close contact with the masses, telling stories, being a teacher, thinking, learning from failure, reflecting, understanding and becoming yourself. These will be discussed in detail later, but according to them, Ren scored high in each item. Ren often talks with employees to keep in close contact with the masses. He is also very good at telling stories. In this article "Huawei Winter", it is also said that those cadres who have neither improved nor made mistakes can be removed on the spot. This is to encourage learning from failure. One by one, Ren Zhengfei's outstanding performance lies in his overall leadership. . Many believe that the difficult environment for growth is an important reason for some entrepreneurs to excel and have leadership. In fact, it mainly depends on how you face the difficult environment.

The environment of the new era we are in now also provides many tests, and the development of leadership is also a good thing. In the past, it may have been sufficient to lead companies and employees primarily through management, power, or financial incentives. Now, especially young people, their desire for wealth is not so strong. Instead, they want to make a difference and change existing models, and they may need more leadership. From a hero to a leader, one must fight human nature. In real life, not everyone is willing to play a leadership role, only a few are willing. Why don't many people want to be heroes? From a biological perspective, the "default setting" for each of us is not to stand up and lead, but to follow others. On the other hand, if you stand up, most people are still willing to follow you because everyone is waiting for someone to stand up so they can follow you. So, do we encourage everyone to come forward at a critical moment? On this issue, Ren made it very clear: "We should encourage grassroots to be heroes, not upper ones." Why? Most people like to be worshipped as heroes, but when do we need heroes to come forward? Only in the event of a major crisis. So why is there a major crisis? As a senior official, you have not done your normal work well, the team has not done it well, and the systems and procedures are not perfect, which will lead to a crisis. Therefore, Ren also made it clear that: "As a senior official, your greatest success is the success of your subordinates, not your own." This is the same concept we mentioned earlier. What should senior officials not be heroes? Become a leader. In fact, the so-called leader is often behind the scenes, and others may not know you exist. This is what Lao Tzu said, "It's too high, I don't know what it is." Not everyone needs to be a leader, it depends on one's life ambitions. If you want to do something big, such as "let the world do nothing hard," then you must be a leader. Or, Yao Ming, who played basketball well and was a hero, now wants to change China's basketball career, change his role, and start to become a leader. Those who turn themselves into men are heroes. It is the leader who organizes a group of people in the team. From "hero" to "leader", you have to fight against your humanity. It's our nature to like ourselves and look successful. Now deliberately improving one's leadership is not easy; one must be disciplined. Also, as a supervisor, if you play a good leadership role, you should encourage your subordinates to become heroes. How to encourage? The key is to make him feel meaningful, responsible and confident. If he is unwilling to do something, he often has problems in these three areas. The sense of meaning makes him feel that this matter is valuable and beneficial to himself. Responsibility may come from a certain position, for example, he is a human resources manager, and now the company lacks employees and must be recruited. It may also come from the recognition of the group, that the affairs of the group are his own. It may also come from "no one else is better suited to do this." Confidence is making him feel that he can succeed in this matter, or that he can succeed in it. In fact, leaders do not consider the confidence and ability to succeed. When Jack Ma said he wanted to do e-commerce, did he understand e-commerce? I do not understand. Does he have this ability? not completely. Does he have this obligation? No, e-commerce is a matter for the Ministry of Commerce or the Ministry of Information. However, he felt it was meaningful and necessary, and then he had confidence. It's like the philosopher Kant said: "I should, so I can." To improve leadership, just remember these 10 words. From Ren, Liu Chuanzhi, Ma Yun and other outstanding leaders, we can summarize their similarities, from which we can summarize the performance of about 10 people with leadership skills. Accordingly, if we want to improve our leadership, we need to implement these 10 disciplines. Some things have already been mentioned, here is a complete list. More detailed content can be seen in my new book "Leadership Compulsory Course: Mobilizing Teams to Solve Difficult Problems". "I should, so I can." To improve leadership, just remember these 10 words. From Ren, Liu Chuanzhi, Ma Yun and other outstanding leaders, we can summarize their similarities, from which we can summarize the performance of about 10 people with leadership skills. Accordingly, if we want to improve our leadership, we need to implement these 10 disciplines. Some things have already been mentioned, here is a complete list. More detailed content can be seen in my new book "Leadership Compulsory Course: Mobilizing Teams to Solve Difficult Problems". "I should, so I can." To improve leadership, just remember these 10 words. From Ren, Liu Chuanzhi, Ma Yun and other outstanding leaders, we can summarize their similarities, from which we can summarize the performance of about 10 people with leadership skills. Accordingly, if we want to improve our leadership, we need to implement these 10 disciplines. Some things have already been mentioned, here is a complete list. More detailed content can be seen in my new book "Leadership Compulsory Course: Mobilizing Teams to Solve Difficult Problems". "I should, so I can." To improve leadership, just remember these 10 words. From Ren, Liu Chuanzhi, Ma Yun and other outstanding leaders, we can summarize their similarities, from which we can summarize the performance of about 10 people with leadership skills. Accordingly, if we want to improve our leadership, we need to implement these 10 disciplines. Some things have already been mentioned, here is a complete list. More detailed content can be seen in my new book "Leadership Compulsory Course: Mobilizing Teams to Solve Difficult Problems". "I should, so I can." To improve leadership, just remember these 10 words. From Ren, Liu Chuanzhi, Ma Yun and other outstanding leaders, we can summarize their similarities, from which we can summarize the performance of about 10 people with leadership skills. Accordingly, if we want to improve our leadership, we need to implement these 10 disciplines. Some things have already been mentioned, here is a complete list. More detailed content can be seen in my new book "Leadership Compulsory Course: Mobilizing Teams to Solve Difficult Problems".

The following brackets show the performance of leadership, and the corresponding formula before the brackets tells you how to think and do to develop this ability: First, "I will do it!" (Take responsibility) Drucker said: "Leadership is not a title , Privileges, positions, or money, but responsibility. "What responsibility? In my opinion, leadership is the responsibility of mobilizing the team to solve difficult problems. If you want to take this responsibility, when facing collective difficulties, you must say to others and yourself: let me do it! follow me. Let us come together! Second, "I don't know" (face the problem) The grassroots are mainly responsible for handling (solving daily problems), the middle is mainly responsible for management, and the top is mainly responsible for leadership. Although many people reach the pinnacle for solving everyday and technical problems, when they reach the top, their main responsibility becomes to solve revolutionary problems. For this reason, if you don't understand, you can't pretend to understand. Even if you think you understand, you have to wonder if you really understand. You must consider whether there is a better answer to the problem you are facing. Don't assume that all problems are nails because you will use a hammer. Third, "What do you think?" (Close contact with the people) In order to solve difficult problems and mobilize the team, you need to ask questions, and ask questions correctly and modestly. Can't ask subordinates like some bosses: "Why are you so stupid?" That's not mobilizing the team, but attacking the team. What exactly do you ask? For example, "What can I do for you?" "What do you think?" Not only promotes the relationship between each other, but also stimulates and encourages each other's thinking and action. Fourth, "I'll tell a story" (tell a story). Many people like to convince others with reason. But the reality is that many people don't take action, even if they understand the truth. why? Because not reason but emotion makes us make difficult changes. The phrase "stunned by emotions" suggests the usual way of changing one's behavior. Then a good way to move a person's emotions is to tell a vivid story. Fifth, "I'll teach you!" The leader has several roles to play, but the main role is "teacher". This emphasizes that the attention of leaders is not on themselves, but on their subordinates as "students", and more on long-term cultivation of subordinates. How do leaders become teachers? You can say to the other person, let him do what you say, or show him. The biggest challenge is to make him love learning and the things at hand, so you should inspire the inner motivation of subordinates. Sixth, "what I want to change" (reflection) Both failure and success require reflection. Only through reflection can we form the knowledge we have experienced, and only when we encounter the same problem again can we properly deal with it. The easiest way to reflect is to ask yourself this question: What do I want to change? Slowly, it will help you make changes on three levels: actions, goals, and mental models. Seventh, "Why?" (Thinking) Exercising leadership requires solving difficult problems. Now that we want to solve this problem, we must think deeply. Then you can find the source of the problem and the goal of the action by asking yourself why and why. Also, you can't find a "why" by asking yourself, you should say hello to the other person. Eighth, "Failed? Congratulations!" (Learn from failure) Those who don't make big mistakes will be mediocre. Failure, mistakes, frustrations and adversity are not bad things, but good reminders, useful discoveries, learning opportunities, and the process of success. To learn from failure, we must first change our attitude to failure. These new understandings of failure will help us change our attitude towards failure. Ninth, the question of "who am I" (know yourself) is to "me". Only when I understand myself can I mobilize my team to solve problems. Knowing yourself is asking: Who am I? It includes three core issues: What i love What am I good at? What chance do I have? After everyone has asked these three questions, if they can get answers to these three questions at the same time, then this is the direction of your life.

Similarly, if you are the leader of an organization or team, you can ask: Who are we? Tenth, "Who am I" (become myself) asking "Who am I?" Not yet. The key to becoming a leader is not to be yourself, but to be yourself. What is yourself? It is to discover the direction of your life and achieve it. It's a shaping process that makes you a better person. Conclusion Many people believe that leadership is a strategy for manipulating others for their own benefit, as well as a form of theft. However, after reading the previous 8-word definition of leadership-we all know that mobilizing teams to solve difficult problems and how to develop leadership is a wonderful thing. In short, I think leadership is actually: seeking truth, seeking good, seeking beauty, and seeking difficulties. Because of the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty, it must be difficult to move from mediocrity to excellence. However, we must choose between "mediocrity" and "excellence". So now, it depends on whether you want to do something simple or difficult.