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ED FRIEDRICHS, from page 9

❚ ❚ Their motivations for doing the work align with mine (things like sustainability; energy and resource efficiency; what the project will accomplish for the community, and the people who will use it). In other words, things that matter to me. Failing this, I really should refer this client to someone else. The same advice holds for engineers and planners. If you don’t feel that there will be a strong bond and an alignment of goals and values, move on. ED FRIEDRICHS, FAIA, FIIDA, is a consultant with Zweig Group and the former CEO and president of Gensler. Contact him at efriedrichs@zweiggroup.com. “Urgent circumstances call for three major leadership roles. All share a willingness to deal with ambiguity. They also require persons who are trusted, willing to take behavioral risks, and have senior executive support. Each role carries specific attributes and deliverables.” of asking, listening, and reporting back without varnish. The person uses open-ended questions, listens actively with as- tute follow-up questions, and tolerates silence, creating room for people to collect and evolve their thoughts. Listening without judgment is essential, as leaders need to learn what people truly think, not what they want them to think. 3)The legislator. The legislator evaluates the investigator’s findings and converts them into an action plan. The legislator must understand firm governance, i.e., what structures are in place, what needs to be changed and what authority is re- quired to implement new measures. Equally significant is sell- ing the plan to the board, management, and firm employees. Selling is advocacy in its highest form. To win buy-in, the leg- islator must know what motivates each constituency. Board members want concise, strategic summaries of ideas that will protect the firm’s future. Management cares about what new responsibilities they must assume, and when. Employ- ees want to know what is in it for their careers and quality of working life. They also want the dates, deliverables, and prom- ised results for the plan. An ability to read people is essential. Knowing what social style to assume in pitching the plan to different stakeholders is critical when addressing those who are not highly intuitive. Effecting change in hard times happens when leaders commit to the right roles and the right people to inform, inquire, and act. JULIE BENEZET spent 25 years in law and business, and for the past 16 years has coached and consulted with executives from virtually every industry. She earned her stripes for leading in the new and unknown as Amazon’s first global real estate executive. She is an award-winning author of The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None . She can be reached at julie@ juliebenezet.com.

all right. You can fabricate excuses (e.g., you really like the key contact; a few people in the firm have their hearts in the right place) because you really need the work or think it could result in a great addition to your portfolio. A good fit and a successful relationship is all but guaranteed if I can honestly say: ❚ ❚ I really like this person and think we could become great friends (after all, we’re going to be working with each other for a long time). ❚ ❚ I trust this person and their motives, for the project, for the people they’re doing it for, and for the community at large.

JULIE BENEZET, from page 11

Situations that threaten a firm’s future demand immediate leadership attention. They also ask for their best. Best means setting aside ego and putting the right people into the right roles. Different leaders have different strengths. Some are organizers. Others are idea makers. Still others are conciliators. Ideally, they all can do all these things. On short notice, however, each of them might be challenged by one or more of these attributes. Urgent circumstances call for three major leadership roles. All share a willingness to deal with ambiguity. They also require persons who are trusted, willing to take behavioral risks, and have senior executive support. Each role carries specific attributes and deliverables. In deciding who will lead what, firms should match the leaders to the roles, not the roles to the leaders. One person can fill more than one role. Firms also should consider emerging leaders. “Different leaders have different strengths. Some are organizers. Others are idea makers. Still others are conciliators. Ideally, they all can do all these things. On short Three leadership roles: 1)The messenger. Once the senior executives acknowledge the problem, someone must tell the relevant stakeholders. The goal is to inform them about the situation and launch the campaign to cure it. The messenger should possess strong communication skills to describe the current state, adopt a style that informs rather than alarms, and convey its impor- tance to the firm. Tailoring the pitch to match the audience is key. Board mem- bers want to know the impact to the firm bottom line. Man- agers care about the consequences to their teams. Individual employees want to hear about their job security and career prospects. The messenger opens the door to inquiry, without pre-judgment as to its outcome other than moving the firm into a better place. 2)The investigator. The investigator takes on the tough work notice, however, each of them might be challenged by one or more of these attributes.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER December 4, 2017, ISSUE 1226

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