Category: Blog

I can’t use your idea because “it’s not invented here.” While you may not use those exact words, I wonder if you’ve ever ignored an idea because it wasn’t your own. The phrase “not invented here” refers to an unwillingness to adopt something because it didn’t originate with you. As leader, it’s your job to make sure that nothing gets in the way of a good idea, no matter where it comes from. Being open to and on the lookout for good ideas yourself is only half the battle. You have to position yourself so that good ideas can come to you. That means creating an atmosphere in which the people around you feel comfortable speaking up and know that there is a benefit to doing so.

Early in my career, I had a boss who, every single time I came to him with a new idea, would answer by saying, “That’s funny, I’d been thinking the same thing.” At first, I thought it was spooky how alike we were, but pretty soon, I caught on. As the big boss, he didn’t want to admit he hadn’t thought of something himself. And it wasn’t just me. Around the office, “I was thinking the same thing!” became a punch line that one of us would shout anytime anyone had an idea, no matter how trivial. Not only did our boss’s bad habit dampen our drive to come to him with ideas that could improve the business, but it also caused us to lose respect for him as a leader.

By having to claim our ideas as his own, he was unfortunately demonstrating his lack of security and need to prove his own self-worth. The reality is, I’ve learned when you become a leader, you need to realize the importance of celebrating other people’s ideas more than your own. Because you don’t have to get all the credit, you demonstrate confidence and it lets everyone know you are counting on them to contribute.

In contrast, Howard Draft, former Executive Chairman of Foote, Cone & Belding, one the world’s largest communication agencies, once told me how, even though he’s been in the business for more than thirty years, he often relies on the ideas and opinions of young people right out of college. In a meeting where a team was working on a creative strategy for a Kraft product, he was offering the group his viewpoint when “this young woman with a pierced nose and red hair looks up at me and goes, ‘You’re absolutely wrong and here’s why you’re wrong.’ I was so proud of her I went over and hugged her.”

Imagine the difference in working for these two guys: One won’t even admit your ideas are your own; the other is hugging an employee in front of everyone because she had the guts to stick up for her opinion, which she backed up with knowledge. Who would you want to work for?

Here’s another example of how wiping out “not invented here” led to positive results. I was the first president of Tricon (later Yum! Brands) when PepsiCo originally spun off the restaurant brands. The restaurant business had been struggling, which was a major reason why PepsiCo leaders thought they’d do better if they spun us off. But in my mind, that gave us the opportunity for what I characterized as a gigantic do-over. In business, we sometimes get too caught up in the idea that we need to be different, that we need to innovate. Too often we start from scratch and try to reinvent the wheel. Of course, we need to distinguish ourselves from our competition, but that does not mean we can’t borrow good ideas, make them our own, and do an even better job executing them.

To take advantage of our unique position of being a brand-new public company made up of well-established brands, we went out and did a best-practice tour of some of the most successful companies around at the time in order to take inspiration from them and borrow any good ideas we could find. We visited lots of companies, including GE, Walmart, Home Depot, Southwest Airlines, Target, and UPS – and then came back and crystalized what wed learned into five things that we called our Dynasty Drivers, because these were the things that we believed would make us an enduring great company.

Just think how much we advanced our position on the learning curve to becoming a great company just because we were willing to wipe out “not invented here.” Great leaders learn how to wipe out “not invented here” because there’s a danger if you don’t wipe it out. I think Linus Torvalds, the Finnish-American software engineer who created the Linux kernel (which became the kernel for operating systems like Android and Chrome OS) got it right when he said, “The NIH syndrome (Not Invented Here) is a disease.”

How is the “not invented here” disease suppressing your team or company’s performance? Download this guide for five tactics that will help you ensure that you are truly wiping out “not invented here.”

Do you know someone who could use help wiping out “not invented here?” If so, equip them by sharing this blog and guide. You have the power to make a difference by sharing what you’re learning with others. Go Lead!

Recent Leadership Posts

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By: David Novak Leadership

Self-awareness is the new leadership buzzword and has recently been heralded as one of the most important traits a leader can have. Self-awareness is said to be a key factor in Emotional Intelligence. It involves knowing yourself and being cognizant of the areas in which you excel or lack.

What is so great about self-awareness and why should you care?

Being self-aware means knowing what drives you and what debilitates you: your motivators, breaking points, and inclinations. Why is this important? Because a leader leads people. If you aren’t able to manage yourself, then how can you manage your team?

When you acknowledge your tendencies, you’re more able to anticipate them. And when you do this, you reach the top category of leaders who know how to play to their strengths and compensate for any weaknesses.

Do you know the one thing that is absolutely necessary to develop your self-awareness?

Here’s a hint: it doesn’t come from you. The tool every leader needs to develop in self-awareness is feedback.

But not just any feedback… Sure, feedback to improve work environment or processes is great, but it won’t help you in your ability to work alongside your team. You need to be assessed in your leadership because it is this kind of direct feedback that will let you know if you’re leading people well.

At David Novak Leadership, we recognize that leaders need feedback specific to their leadership skills, which is why we’ve developed a set of focused questions that help people analyze their leadership style. Questions like, does this leader work to ensure that each person on their team knows the team’s vision and can explain it? And, does this leader directly involve others in setting goals so everyone can feel ownership of them?

Every leader has weak spots, but it’s hard to know what they are unless someone tells you. Real, honest feedback will enable you to see those weak spots and improve your performance in those areas. For an example of why feedback is important, check out how Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor at Large at Fortune Magazine, learned to become an expert through feedback in this interview.

Are you willing to invest in becoming the best leader you can be by becoming more self-aware?

One sure way to develop in this area is by taking our Leadership Assessment. See below.

Recent Leadership Posts

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If being a leader was easy, everyone would do it. Seriously. It doesn’t matter how big your organization is, when you’re tasked with responsibilities like your team’s engagement and the success of your company, it is no small matter. How you approach every decision–whether it be the new hire or next year’s strategy–is a big deal.

When you have big decisions to make, you don’t want to react too quickly. It’s important to consider all your options and seek out advice. But then what? How can you prevent getting bogged down with distractions or getting lost in minute details? You need a strategy.

Here are two tactics you’ll want to apply to every future decision you make:

Be Aware

Awareness is the result of being mindful. When you understand what is going on around you and how it ties in with what is important to you and your organization, you are more aware, thus better able to make a good decision.

To illustrate, let’s say you are presented with a new idea, one that a lot of other companies are jumping on. It might sound like a good idea, but if you go after it without considering how it affects your goals, then you’re probably not acting out of awareness.

To be aware, first you need a clear understanding of your priorities, and second, you need insight to your thoughts and feelings about the situation. For instance, when negativity enters your thoughts, if you are aware of it, you put it in check. This can protect you from not making the best decision because your negativity was biasing you. When your priorities and thoughts and feelings are in check, it’s time to apply the next tactic:

Be Intentional

When you are a leader, you are constantly making decisions. As with awareness, in every decision you make, it’s important to be intentional. How can you, as a leader, be more intentional?

Being intentional means operating with purpose–it’s a mindset which requires discipline. Purpose is derived from your priorities and passions, and to be intentional, you need to be aware of them on a daily basis.

You might ask yourself, how does this new idea tie into my purpose? If there is no link, is it worth your energy and time? Making intentional choices, in leadership and in your personal life, will make even the most seemingly mediocre decisions feel noteworthy, because everything you do will be meaningful.

Are you aware and intentional when you make decisions? You can start applying these tactics today. And to grow even more in your quest to become the best leader you can be, then check out our Heartwiring and Hardwiring Your Leadership™ Program. It provides in-depth training to help you transform your leadership style.

Recent Leadership Posts

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By: David Novak, Co-Founder and CEO of David Novak Leadership

Number one on my list of lessons for leadership is to “be yourself.” Yes, you’ve heard this a million times, but it is the only way to gain trust and keep people on your side. Authenticity breeds trust, which will take you pretty far.

Consider the times you’ve seen someone on TV or even in person that you could just tell wasn’t being authentic. It happens all the time with politicians, business leaders, salespeople, and even teachers and parents. They try to be someone or something they aren’t and most often, they will trip up and get caught in the act. Once people see through the show, the trust is broken.

In leadership, you need to realize that everyone is scared of letting their weaknesses show, especially in the business world. By showing your vulnerable side, you can let others know that you’re just like they are. It helps you gain their trust and allows them to more easily open up instead of feeling intimidated by your role or title. It helps you help them be authentic.

As a leader, you need to know yourself in order to help others get better at being themselves. It may take some self reflection for you to realize who you are and where you’ve been. Take a long, hard look at your own past and what events shaped you. Pay special attention to the lessons that weren’t easily learned and how you gained knowledge and grew. These insights will help you further grow yourself and relate to your teams.
To help you teach others to open up and be who they are, consider these tips:

• Believe in all your people. Celebrating their individualities while keeping them working toward the same goals can be challenging. But by having respect for their styles and values, you can still lead everyone toward success.
• Give them individual development plans. Appreciate their strengths, and take time to find out what makes each person tick. Then, you can help them find ways to be more effective at what they do.
• Provide a safe haven for input. Include everyone in discussions and make it easy for them to feel comfortable speaking up. When they disagree with you, listen to their points and thank them for sharing their side.

Remember, we are all works in progress. We are each individuals with unique strengths and weaknesses. Showing your team that you are always working to better yourself can help them accept their own challenges and work on them, too.
Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter @DavidNovakOGO to ensure you never miss a blog post.

Recent Leadership Posts

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By: David Novak Leadership

One of the characteristics of a great leader is they reach beyond the status quo and champion big ideas. This can be difficult because many organizations are risk adverse and opt for the easiest, safest way of doing things. While big ideas may seem risky, they have the potential to create a big impact. Roger Enrico, former Chairman of PepsiCo and DreamWorks Animation, once said:

By definition, small changes to small things are a waste of time. But small changes to big things are even worse. They’re dangerous…because they create the illusion of progress. Making big changes to small things are great. But making big changes to big things…now that builds the future. Beware of the tyranny of making small changes to small things. Rather, make big changes to big things.”

Which camp does your organization fall into? Small changes to small things? Or big changes to big things? Without challenge or change, employees often settle for marginal or incremental improvement to their products and services. A leader has the power to change this behavior by role modeling and encouraging others push past the ordinary. This starts by helping them suspend their judgment of what is possible.
There are two critical questions to help leaders and their teams champion big ideas:

What if? and How might we?

For example, Gregg Dedrick, Former President of KFC, knew that his brand had an affordability issue that prevented people from coming more frequently. He asked the team, “What if we could offer a high-quality sandwich at an everyday affordable price?” Everyone agreed that it would be a game changer, but no one thought it was possible.
Then he challenged the team with the question, “How might we make that happen?” Rising to the challenge, his team figured out how to accomplish the impossible and launched the KFC Snacker, driving record sales at the time.
Remember, the leader doesn’t have to come up with the big idea. They just need to challenge others to consider the two questions What if? and How might we? Involving others in the process will give them ownership and inspire them to make the impossible happen.
When will you start asking the game changing questions to initiate big changes that lead to big things? It takes courage and a willingness to learn as you go, and possibly fail. But imagine the transformation you can unleash by challenging your team and yourself to think outside the box and believe change is possible.

If you want to become the best leader you can be, so you can bring out the best in others, check out the Essential Leadership Traits Program at DavidNovakLeadership.com. The program is designed to teach you the essential leadership skills you need to succeed and grow in your career.

Recent Leadership Posts

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By: David Novak Leadership

When starting a new job, your first 90 days are critical. A good first impression will make a difference in the way you’re perceived by your boss and your new colleagues. This is why it is a good idea to understand the culture of the organization and your team during those first months on the new job.

Not sure how to do this?

Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1. Sit down with other employees and learn as much as you can about the culture and vision of the organization.
2. Once you have a good understanding of the organization, go to your boss and give a review of what you’ve learned, then ask for feedback. This allows your supervisor to confirm your observations and fill in any gaps you may have missed.
3. Ask for help. As you continue to learn your job and the culture of your organization, find some trusted colleagues and ask for help. Share a challenge you’re facing and ask what they would do if they were you. This will help you get the counsel you need so you can make wise decisions about what to do next.

Now that you understand the culture of the organization and your team, don’t stop there. Take ownership of your career by taking the Essential Leadership Traits Program. The online program helps you develop the leadership skills you need to be successful at work and life. Schedule a free demo here.

Recent Leadership Posts

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There are tons of benefits to have part-time employees: they reduce the workload of your full-time staff and when you can’t afford to add more full-time employees, part-time workers provide the skills needed without breaking the budget. While there are countless benefits to employing part-time workers, leading them isn’t without its challenges.

With a part-time team, you’ll probably need to adjust the way you lead. Different methods are needed to engage them. To get the most out of your part-time team, here are two tips to consider:

1. Let them know they count, even though they aren’t full-time. Everyone on the team is important. Don’t differentiate between full-time and part-time workers because regardless of how many hours they clock in, the role they perform adds value.
2. Empower your part-time team members by giving them more responsibility. When people feel more ownership in their role and have a bigger stake in the company, they’re more likely to give their best.

Follow these tips and you’ll have part-time staff who are more connected and committed. Plus, you’ll see more synergy between your full-time and part-time workers—and a team who works well together achieves better results.

Heartwired and Hardwired Leaders know how to inspire and motivate their teams. Take this quiz now to find out if you are a Heartwired and Hardwired Leader.