BOOK SUMMARY 171
One Piece of Paper
·
Summary written by: Andy
Budgell
“…I
invite you to embark on that journey of understanding who you are as a leader,
who you want to be, and how you would like to get there. You are going to
define your entire leadership philosophy—on one piece of paper.”
One Piece of Paper, pg
14
As a
leader, communicating what you expect of your team and what they can expect of
you can be both a difficult and intimidating process. When expectations aren’t
communicated effectively, it can lead to confusion, lack of trust, an
unmotivated team, differing interpretations of expectations, and a multitude of
other negative outcomes. Mike Figliuolo, a leadership expert and Managing
Director of thought LEADERS, LLC, has distilled what he has learned and imparted
to other leaders about creating a leadership manifesto (in the form of a one
page maxim) into One Piece of Paper, his first book. A 238
page book dedicated to one piece of paper might at first seem like overkill.
But this “one single solitary page” might be the most important document you,
as a leader, create.
Golden Egg
One Single Solitary Page
“…the
method for defining one’s leadership philosophy is common to all
leaders but the output of that process is as varied as the
shapes of snowflakes.”
One Piece of Paper, pg 5
Mike
Figliuolo was a platoon leader in the army early in his career. He says he
failed miserably when trying to convey the expectations he had of his soldiers.
In hindsight, looking back at this failure, what he was saying to them “was
full of jargon and devoid of meaning.” (pg. 10) After some consideration he
told his unit to simply, “work hard and be honest.” (pg. 10) That stuck. It was
simple and to the point, and explained to his soldiers what he valued as a
leader and what he expected of them. Later he would tease out this idea into
what has become the book One Piece of Paper. Any leader, no matter
what field they’re in, can distill their philosophy onto “one single solitary
page” as Figliuolo calls it.
Dictionary.com
defines a maxim as a “a principle or rule of conduct,” and in the context
Figliuolo uses it, it is a single page outlining the expectations a leader has
of their team’s work ethic and behaviours. A regular 8.5 by 11 computer
paper is all you need for effective communication of your maxim.
Creating
a maxim helps to ensure that you, as a leader, also maintain the standards that
you expect of your team. I loved the analogy that Figliuolo uses about banning
cookies from your diet. You’re more likely to stick to this incredibly
difficult challenge if you tell others about your resolution because you have
some accountability. A maxim works the same way. Not only will your team know
what you expect of them, but what they can come to expect of you.
GEM # 1
Get Personal
“Your first few attempts at writing a maxim
will probably be odd, because there is a good chance you are not used to
accessing your emotions in a structured and focused way.”
One Piece of Paper, pg 8
Creating
a leadership maxim necessitates getting personal with both yourself and your
team, allowing them to get to know the real you and what your core values are.
As Figliuolo writes, this will work to humanize you in the eyes of your team.
To clearly articulate your expectations of your team, you need to use the
personal experiences that have shaped you into the leader you are in order to
create a maxim that will stick with your team. He suggests keeping in mind the
following when it comes to writing your maxim:
·
Both positive and negative life experiences
·
Favourite song lyrics
·
Favourite sayings or quotes
Basically
anything that resonates with you is good maxim material. For many, this
practice may come as a surprise. Traditionally leaders have been expected to
appear stoic, but in today’s modern business world that just won’t cut it. The
thought of creating a maxim that is personal might cause feelings of
foreboding. That’s to be expected. We’re rarely expected to dig deep within
ourselves and be so introspective, and then lay it all out there for others to
see. It makes us feel naked, raw and vulnerable. But by doing so, there are so
many rewards. You’re creating an atmosphere of trust. Figliuolo cautions that
it might take several attempts to create a resonant maxim. Try writing several
over the period a few weeks. When you read them back, you will realize that
they might sound cold and impersonal, especially compared to your most recent
attempts. You’ll see how far you’ve come. Even after you’ve come up with
a maxim that you’re proud of, your maxim will continue to evolve as need be.
But the hard part is over, and making necessary changes will be easy.
GEM # 2
Buzzkill
Buzzkill
“After days or weeks of effort, we end up
with a lengthy manifesto that articulates our leadership philosophy in terms
worthy of inclusion in a Ph.D. program syllabus.”
One Piece of Paper, pg
17
Have
you ever read a lengthy leadership philosophy document that makes you wish
there was a dictionary of corporate culture rhetoric to decipher what’s actually being
said? Chances are you have. Figliuolo dedicates an entire chapter to them in One
Piece of Paper, which he opens with a fake maxim that is deliberately rife
with buzzwords:
“My
leadership philosophy is to optimally leverage the passions of
my people such that at the end of the day we maximize employee
engagement to get them to think outside the box and synergistically
drive value-added activities in a profit-maximizing way that is awin-win for
our people, our shareholders, and our customers.” (pg 15)
Perhaps
they’re obvious to you, but if you’ve become so ingrained in corporate jargon
that these words or phrases have become part of your daily rhetoric, I have
taken the liberty of highlighting them in bold. These words are
called “buzzwords,” and they can be problematic, especially when used in a
maxim.
Figluiolo
calls this chapter a buzzword palate cleanser. You know, like taking a swig of
water to remove the aftertaste before sipping the next wine at a tasting. When
you employ these words and phrases, you are allowing the culture that comes
along with them to mould your leadership, when it should be the other way
around. They’re also emotionless, and make it seem as if you are trying to
imitate another leader rather than establishing yourself as one in your own
right. Your own personality should not take a backseat to corporate rhetoric,
but rather should shape your maxim. But omitting these buzz-words also works
twofold by making your maxim more accessible. It makes your position less
confusing and removes the need for a translation to regular English. Keep
it simple. Keep it real.
Mike
Figliuolo’s One Piece of Paper is an invaluable resource for
leaders both old and new. Creating your own maxim for the first time, or
revising an existing one can be difficult, but Figliuolo holds your hand the
entire way, and the questions he asks you to consider throughout the text (and
his appendix) makes what can seem like a daunting task easier. With a little
work, you can ensure that you and your entire team are all on the same page.
(Pun intended.)
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