The “soft side” or people side of business too is often relegated to the bottom of the pile in deference to the bottom line. “Why Is the Soft Side the Hardest Part?” was born out of the inspiration to provide modern business managers philosophical insights that render the human leadership aspects of business easier and more satisfying for employees and leaders alike—while yielding outstanding results, as well.
During my 35-plus-year career in both the military and corporate America, I have heard many employees confide that they feel over-managed and under-led, along with many managers admitting that the people-side of leading is their biggest challenge. The soft side of leadership need not be the most difficult or uncomfortable part of a manager’s job. This book offers practical guidance to demystify the challenges of leading authentically and reveals how to unleash the power of people to achieve outstanding results AND feel more engaged.
Deeply rooted in experience versus theory, it is a philosophical and practical reflection on the critical considerations when leading people. Most managers need and want managerial control. This book advocates “letting go.” It is a difficult concept for those threatened by faith or trust in others. It also admonishes process intoxication and metrics-mania—a need for overly zealous emphasis on management metrics and reliance upon scripted process. There is a place for both, but not for an out-of-balance zeal for both. Many managers again find this threatening. My philosophy: If you take care of employees and customers, the numbers will take care of themselves.
Many managers are quite comfortable with the financial and managerial-control side of the equation, but the soft-side aspect of leadership can feel more intimidating. We often speak of developing soft skills as if they are an afterthought and the last ones necessary for mastery. They are considered a mere side dish to the real meat of business—the mastery of hard-core competencies such as business acumen, engineering, accounting, or finance. Minimizing soft skills is a critical omission because it is people who make all businesses successful. By deploying the right people-centric philosophy—rooted in courage, service, love, and authenticity —leaders can more effectively unleash the power of people in every human organization.
People are NOT things, nor are they assets. Assets are objects that businesses consume, depreciate, and write off over time. Yet sadly, if you Google the phrase, “People are our most important asset,” you will find more than 20 million entries, many from companies boasting this reflects their commitment to people. It is a sorely misplaced philosophy. People are flesh and blood, emotional, human beings. Leaders need to understand this truth and lead accordingly. Employees want to be led, not managed. This book illustrates how to lead to liberate employees’ potential rather than suppress their creativity and initiative with a narrow (and illusory) approach of management control.
My leadership philosophy was refined in the lab of human experience. It is not rooted in theory or in a research bias. It is a philosophy born in the trenches, where real business challenges beset the modern manager and leader in an ambiguous, change-laden world. Certainly, I’ve known successful managers who get results without being skilled in the soft side of business. In fact, some were down right hard-nosed. But I know they could have achieved more with less personal stress and less stress imposed on others if they had only learned how to navigate the waters of the soft side.
Five key takeaways include:
- Business metrics matter, but people matter more. You manage an asset, but you lead people. You measure metrics, but many companies never met a metric they didn’t like. Lincoln said to lead, “you must touch men’s hearts.” When people are engaged in setting meaningful (and the critical few) metrics, and, more importantly, know how their work contributes to achievement of those measures, they will feel part of a noble purpose and eager to provide their discretionary effort. This cannot be approached with a compliance or scorecard mindset. It must be approached with an understanding that people want to matter and want to feel fully appreciated for the work they do. When a manager overly focuses on metrics, it is skeptically perceived as a “beauty contest.” The culture that must be developed is one of doing the right thing. Critical metrics performance will follow.
- Employee engagement and discretionary effort must be led, not managed. Management focuses on control. People do not want to be controlled. They want to be led. They will provide incredible discretionary effort if they believe in the vision, are led by example, and feel a sense of community around a noble purpose. They will forgive an imperfect leader. They will resist a self-serving political one.
- A soft-side leader confronts performance issues firmly. Perhaps the biggest misconception about soft-side leadership is that it is soft. It is NOT! There are absolute requirements for the leader to confront failure, performance issues, and accountability. Some might sense that “soft side” implies leadership is “touchy-feely.” Instead, it requires strong discipline, clear performance expectations, accountability, and, sometimes, harsh messages and consequences. The truth is, a people-centric philosophy is rooted in authenticity and telling people where they stand. This can be immensely uncomfortable and is a far cry from group hugs or circles of people holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.”
- Leadership authenticity begins with personal awareness. True leadership is about serving. It is NOT about being in control. Knowing one’s personal leadership credos is essential to serving with authenticity. These personal values are derived from one’s life experience, and authentic leaders must spend time developing, writing, and sharing their personal leadership philosophy with the team—and then hold themselves accountable to that team to serve in alignment with those personally espoused values.
- The purpose of leadership is to build the next generation of leaders. Leadership is about legacy. It comes not from the personal fame one achieves, but in service to others and a noble purpose. And it is measured by developing the next generation of leaders to take the reigns. It is not about notoriety—it is about humility.
Excerpt from “Why is the Soft Side the Hardest Part?” by William D. Mayo (AuthorHouse, 2011).
William D. Mayo is a former vice president of Caterpillar Inc., retiring in 2008. He joined Caterpillar in July 1979, after serving nine years in the U.S. Navy. He held a variety of positions during his Caterpillar career, primarily in Marketing & Sales, both domestically and in Europe. Mayo holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy; he completed the Executive Education Program at Tuck Business School, Dartmouth College, and received his MA degree in English Studies from Bradley University. Mayo currently consults for Gerson Lehrman Group; teaches leadership at Eureka College; and is co-founder of Fullsail Leadership, a personal development company focusing on servant leadership. Author of “Why Is the Soft Side the Hardest Part?” Mayo is a public speaker and trainer on the topics of leadership development, customer service, business culture, and marketing.
