1. 1
5 Power Tools for Leadership
PCC, ORSCC, CPCC
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

2. 2
“Real leadership power comes from
an honorable character and from the exercise
of certain power tools and principles.”
-Steven Covey
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

3. 3
Stop hammering
You have heard the adage, ‘If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.’ To be an agile leader you need
a varied toolkit so that you can be flexible and responsive to the needs you face. A fundamental tool is your
capacity to listen with an open mind. If you approach each situation as though you already know what it is about
you will miss something. You don’t want to walk in wielding that hammer before you are sure you need it. Keep
your tools holstered. Stay present.
Practice
In order to use a power tool safely, you need courage and you need skill; you ought to be sure that the tool is
appropriate for the purpose and you must take care not to do damage. Mostly though, you need practice. None of
the tools described here will feel natural the first time you use them. You may lack the skill necessary to deploy
them well. There is no substitute for perseverance.
Don’t keep your tools a secret
When you are about to use one of these tools for the first or the fifteenth time- let people know. How and when you
do this is up to you. You might start by saying, “Listen I want to try an approach out here that could be useful to
us. I am still getting the hang of it myself. Let me know what you think.” And then if people find it valuable teach it
to them. If they don’t, talk about how it could be used to greater effect.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

4. 4
Balancing Advocacy with Inquiry
A Positive No
Shape the Path
Create the Atmosphere
Silence
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

5. 5
Balancing Advocacy with Inquiry1
Most of the situations you deal with are complex. You have moved beyond the level of leadership where you can simply command
and direct and feel sure that you have made the right choice and your people will follow through. Not only is it impossible for you to
have all the answers, it is not preferable.
Step 1: Surface Your Own Assumptions
Reflect on a recent conversation that left you frustrated. On the left side of a sheet of paper, record the conversation (as if it were a
transcript) to the best of your ability. On the right hand side, write what you were thinking and feeling during each part of the
discussion. Now examine your own thinking.
What was your frame for this conversation? How were you thinking about its purpose?
What assumptions did you make about the situation or the person?
How did these assumptions drive your behavior?
What are you learning?
You might want to try this with your leadership team after a particularly challenging conversation. Let everyone share the results of
the two-column exercise and discuss the questions together.
Step 2: Practice Your Dialogue Skills
There are two basic skills and two supporting strategies. Try these tools first without the power turned on (i.e. in low risk
situations):
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011
1
Adapted
from
The
Fi1h
Discipline
by
Peter
Senge

6. 6
Skills
Advocate: Clearly state your perspective on the issue, the goals or the solution.
Inquire: Invite the perspective of the person you are speaking with after every idea you advocate for.
Strategies
Illustrate: Offer concrete observations and examples so that others can better understand your rationale. When you
inquire, ask others to do the same.
Frame: At frequent intervals, step back and clarify the purpose of the conversation. Make your assumptions explicit or
explain why this conversation is important to you.
Step 3: Check your intentions
Are you really open to other viewpoints? Do you believe that collaborative conversations will yield a better result? If you are simply
going through the options of inquiry but are not listening and you don’t really care, you will probably do more damage than good.
Step 4: Watch for Traps
Many of us advocate without inquiring- (we tell it like we see it and let the chips fall where they may) or inquire without advocating
(we figure out where everyone else stands, hold our cards close to the chest, and look for our best tactical advantage). This breeds
mistrust and won’t yield the new information you seek to move the issue forward. With either tendency, you are guilty of what Covey
calls coercive power. His meaning is clear.
Sometimes our intentions are good but our lack of clarity means that we are arguing over different things. Diligent framing and
illustrating is often the solution. And of course—listening.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

7. 7
“Every day each of us is faced with choices, small and large,
where saying Yes to one choice means having to say No to others.
Only by saying No to competing demands for your time and energy
can you create space for the Yeses in your life,
the people and activities that really matter the most to you.
Here is the paradoxical secret:
you cannot truly say Yes until you can truly say No.”
– William Ury, The Power of a Positive No
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

8. 8
A Positive No2
A board asks its executive director to take on additional responsibilities as budgets are cut and positions are lost.
A leadership team wants to censure an employee in a way that runs counter to the director’s ethical standards.
A lawyer counsels a small business owner that he needs to license his product.
In all these cases, the leader wants to say, ‘no’. No to taking on additional responsibilities, no to an unethical censure and no to
licensing. Is it okay to say no? Some of you are faced with invasion of the what-if’s: What if I lose my job? What if my team rebels
and stops producing? What if the lawyer is right and I lose out to my competition?
The Trap of the 3 A’s
Too often, our need to be in a secure position or simply to be liked means that we don’t say “no” when a NO is required. Instead:
We accommodate as in, “Sure, whatever you say.” This inevitably leads to resentment.
We attack as in, “Over my dead body! I’m in charge here.” This escalates conflict and tension.
We avoid as in, “I am not going to say anything and hope this whole issue disappears.” This results in festering problems that
erupt.
On the other hand, a positive no has three elements: Yes! No. Yes? Let’s quickly review them.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011
2
Adapted
from
William
Ury,
Power
of
A
PosiAve
No.

9. 9
Yes!
Every ‘no’ has a deeper yes. Imagine the roots of a tree. This deeper yes is comprised of the interests, values and needs that ground
you in something positive. Something you stand for and believe in. Something that nourishes and sustains you. For the executive
director being asked to take on additional responsibilities, his deeper yes was his commitment to serving the population his
organization was created to serve. Taking on additional responsibilities would mean she was stretched too far and the core mission
of the organization would be compromised; people would not be served.
Some tips on the Yes!
Communicate your deeper yes before you say ‘no’.
Be respectful: Your deeper yes is a shield that protects your values, not a sword to be brandished at your opponent.
Acknowledge that you may not agree and look for shared interests
No.
Your ‘No’ is the trunk of your tree. It is stable and unmoving, grounded as it is in deep roots of commitment. The executive
director’s ‘no’ was to taking on additional responsibilities.
Some tips on the No.
Create a Plan B. Be prepared with a strategy you can implement if your ‘no’ is rejected. This can vary from leaving the
organization to enlisting allies to withdrawing your cooperation- the key is to have a plan you are fully prepared to
implement. Which leads to the next tip…
Don’t threaten. Neither your ‘no’ nor your Plan B is a threat; it is a confidence building move for yourself. It means you
don’t have to punish the other person when things don’t go your way. You simply implement your Plan B.
Educate. Explain the reality you see unfolding if your no is rejected. You see consequences they don’t. Help others see
what you see.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

10. 10
Yes?
The process ends with a yes because what you want is for the other person to accept your ‘no’, without closing down
communication or feeling disrespected or rejected. Imagine the branches and leaves of a tree reaching out for agreement and the
preservation of a relationship. For the executive director, this meant acknowledging the board’s concerns, offering alternative
approaches to managing the additional responsibilities and suggesting ways to sell this approach to key donors.
Some tips on the Yes?
Listen and acknowledge the other side
Suggest a problem solving approach
Be respectful and constructive
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

11. 11
Shape the Path3
Space and context shapes our interactions. Have you ever worked in an office with cubicles? When you sit in a cubicle you can’t see
anyone else. I have witnessed team members calling out to each other over and around cubicle walls. In most cases, they can’t see
each other’s facial expressions. This makes it hard to communicate effectively. The cubicles open up to a common aisle. If people
want to meet, they need to stand in the aisle and then of course other people hear them and are understandably a little irritated by
the interruption. Imagine the impact of rearranging this space? Some organizations have gotten very smart about this.
Shift your perspective
Too often we see a problem and think that people are at fault. Like in this story: A manufacturing company was faced with frequent
fires. The President was convinced that workers were not adhering to safety standards. Guess what? They were using too many
flammable products. Changing out the products reduced the fires.
It isn’t the people, it is the context.
This is an incredibly important lesson to dwell on. Have you ever said this: “I have told them over and over again, and they are still
not doing it! What is wrong with them?” We can think people are being defiant or stubborn or obtuse. These thoughts only increase
our frustration; they don’t create the change we seek. And small changes to your environment can have surprising results.
A manager at Nike who had an open-door policy, was shocked to learn from an employee feedback survey that people felt she had
no time for them. They noted she often continued to look at or type on her computer when they were talking. What was her
solution? She moved her desk and computer and added informal seating so her screen was out of view when people came in to
talk. 6 months later, feedback scores on communication had rebounded.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011
3
Adapted
from
Switch
by
Chip
and
Dan
Heath

12. 12
Develop New Habits
Using this tool effectively means stepping back from the knee-jerk response that places blame with people and their attitudes.
Collect Data: Find out why the problematic behaviors are persisting. What is getting in the way of people following
procedures or protocols?
Make Adjustments: Find the environmental factors that are getting in the way and change them! (e.g. move the furniture,
change the application form, send a digital newsletter, etc.)
Build in Accountability: Even with a reshaped path you are asking people to do something new. (e.g. Did you want full
participation in your meetings? Institute the norm that the person who doesn’t speak goes first in the next meeting.)
Make Progress Public: Keep track of your team’s progress and post it publicly.
Here is a great example: You want your people to collaborate with each other. However, the staff rarely meets with each other face to
face. Email communication dominates. You sense this is hampering the outcomes. When you talk to people you discover that they
feel the intranet system in the company is so sophisticated it meets all their needs for collaboration. So once a week you shut down
the intranet and encourage people to meet in person. You hold a happy hour at the end of the week and celebrate the team who
made the most progress.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

13. 13
Men imagine that they communicate
their virtue or vice only by overt actions,
and do not see that virtue or vice
emit a breath every moment.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

14. 14
Create the Atmosphere
Think of any meeting you have ever been in. Do you first react to the actions of those in the room? Probably not. There is the
usual- small talk, smiling, getting food from the side table. People are shuffling papers and adjusting their seats. Some may even be
looking at the clock. What you become immediately aware of even before you have language for it is the atmosphere. We sense
tension, or ease. We sense anticipation or boredom.
Imagine this. A meeting has been called to discuss the deployment of a serious cost cutting measure. People will lose their jobs.
Morale will suffer. The goals will not shift and everyone is asked to do more with less. Some of the people in that room are really
angry and ready to fight the change. Others are not sure their jobs will be saved and are anxious. Some are looking around the
room wondering who they can throw under the bus to save their own skin. The air is pungent with self-preservation, ill intent and
naked fear.
If you are like most of us, you run into meetings. You pick up the phone as soon as your lunch meeting is over. There is very little
conscious intention setting about how you want to have the next conversation or who you want to be in the next meeting. You can
shift this.
You can be intentional about what you bring into the room.
The atmosphere is like breathing
Like our breath, our inner state of being shows up wherever we go and we are often totally oblivious to the fact that they are
releasing a quality that is palpable to those around us.
Our breathing is thankfully effortless most of the time and we do not have to tell ourselves to breathe and yet, we have total and
absolute control over our breath. So, too, we can choose to intentionally communicate certain intangible qualities.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

15. 15
What is the impact you want to create?
Part 1: The first aspect of using this tool involves you in a reflective conversation with yourself. Here are some important questions
to ask:
What is the atmosphere I want to create? Of course your own needs are important here. However, it is also important to
pay attention to what is needed even if it is uncomfortable. Has the group been under tremendous pressure? Perhaps a
little levity would shift the energy and move you forward. Is the group very tough on themselves? Perhaps compassion is
needed. Have people been distracted? They may need you to offer focus and commitment.
What does this quality mean to me? How can I embody it? The way you connect to this quality is going to be very
personal. It is likely that your most powerful experiences of the quality are from childhood or your family. Remembering
a time when you experienced compassion or focus or levity is one of the best ways of making a quick visceral
connection. As you connect to a memory start to shift your posture to conform to the feeling. What happens to the
quality of your voice? How might you walk into a room? (I know these questions might make you feel self-conscious.
Remember, you can do this part alone. ) Making a personal and experiential connection to the quality is going to enable
you to intentionally bring it into the room.
Part 2: So now you are in the room and despite your best efforts there is something off with the atmosphere in the room.
Ask people what they sense about the atmosphere. What are you noticing in the room right now? Or tell them what you
notice. It feels like…I am noticing…
The very act of naming the atmosphere will shift it. The group’s awareness will allow for a different intention to surface.
And if it doesn’t, ask the group, What could be useful to us now? Connecting with an intention creates the shift.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

16. 16
“In the attitude of silence
the soul finds the path in a clearer light,
and what is elusive and deceptive
resolves itself into crystal clearness.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

17. 17
Silence
This is probably the most powerful tool of all: cherish silence. Silence creates an opportunity to turn inward. Suddenly you tune
into the symphony (or cacophony) that has been running inside of you. Focusing your attention on your internal world always
yields something worth exploring.
Chances are that you worry more about how to end uncomfortable silences. And I agree. They exist. Here are some causes for
silence that are worth worrying about:
The person you are talking with doesn’t feel safe being honest with you.
No one understands you and they are too polite to ask.
You triggered a reaction so intense that the person needs some time to calm down
No one really heard what you said and can’t be bothered to ask.
This tool requires you to actively create silence.
In a meeting, before you launch into an agenda item, tell people you will give them 2 minutes of silence to collect their thoughts
and reflect on the issue at hand.
When you are at an impasse or in a heated moment in a conversation or meeting, create a silent time-out for people to collect their
thoughts. You will find that silence will also enable cooler heads to prevail and clearer thoughts to be expressed. Rather than setting
up a meeting to have tea or coffee in a loud and crowded place, schedule a walk in a park or through a museum—allow for
comfortable silences to take in your surroundings. Sometimes the most creative ideas emerge in the silent reflection of a visual
prompt that has nothing to do with your topic.
As you move from one thing in your calendar to the next, stop for 60 seconds of silence. Quiet your surroundings and just tune in
to whatever is there.
TAKE TIME TO BE SILENT
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011

18. 18
Bibliography
Heath, Chip, and Dan Heath. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. New York: Broadway, 2010. Print.
Joiner, Bill, and Stephen Josephs. Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. Print.
Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency, 2006.
Print.
Ury, William. The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes. New York: Bantam, 2007. Print.
©
PEARL
MATTENSON,
2011