Leadership in the Digital Age

How to Inspire Your Team

Robert J. Verbree

• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781631953507
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

Leadership in the Digital Age takes readers on a journey of how to become a stronger, more inspiring, inclusive leader now at the beginning of the digital age.

There is a leadership crisis in the 21st century, on the job, in the home, and in business. Leadership skills are also lacking in other areas too; families and relationships are dysfunctional, caustic, and broken because of the lack of knowledge in knowing how to lead. Leadership development has been pegged as a $366 billion-dollar industry and the need for quality leadership training in the digital age is great. This industry is continually growing and expanding. Leadership in the Digital Age has a large part to play in this new arena.

The digital age presents new challenges. Technology allows immediate access to unlimited amounts of data, and connectivity between human beings and happens at an unprecedented speed. This is the age of inclusiveness, relaxed control, and adopting and implementing great ideas from the team. Many leadership books and training models that were successful in the 20th century are in decline and now out of touch. Most training and meetings today are conducted online; this is a new format not previously utilized on the scale it is now. Leadership in the Digital Age showcases that cultural change and management styles need to change for continued success.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION—AND A GREAT STORY

Yes—you read that right. I am starting this book with a story.

Why? Simple: everyone likes a good story.

You probably came here looking for an introduction, a foreword, or one of the other openings that so many nonfiction books make use of. But a story is more interesting than any of them, and this story even more so because it’s the story of how this book came to be.

“Wait,” you may ask. “What gives you the credibility to write a book on leadership?”

With your permission, I will try to answer that—briefly here, and then in more depth later in the book.

My background is in law enforcement, a very stressful environment, as you might imagine. I served for most of my adult life, starting in 1979 and retiring in 2014—35 years completed. During the first 24 years, I managed multiple events, people, and investigations. There is a simple fact that you quickly learn: working in law enforcement, being the cop on the street, is really all about leadership.

In 2004, after 24 years in the trenches, I received a promotion to a position that is the law enforcement equivalent of an assistant manager. It turned out that the position could have been “acting manager” for most of my time there, as my superior was often away for various reasons. Whether I was an assistant or the man in charge, there was no getting past how busy that assignment was—nor how stressful.

Just four years later, my efforts paid off; I was promoted. My reward was to become the manager of an entire region, with multiple employees reporting to me. However, when I took over, I discovered that it wasn’t exactly a reward—there were plenty of challenges that required my leadership to push through. Workflow issues, interference from other departments, caustic employees, and little support from upper management… it was a wonder that this operation ever got anything done. There were many times when I found myself flabbergasted by the multiple problems that were constantly coming at me.

Beyond my law enforcement credentials, I have also been involved in several businesses with my family. My wife, Ruth, and I operated a fitness center and a coffee shop, and in my free time, I worked as a consultant for businesses seeking help with their training and management efforts.

I share all this as a starting point for this book because through my years in law enforcement, business, and consulting, I have recognized a key point that needs to be addressed: There is a leadership crisis in the 21st century—the digital age.

Leadership in the digital age applies to many organizations in our society: the family, businesses of all kinds, volunteer groups, government agencies, everywhere.

Leaders must correctly plant the seeds of significance and instill the correct principles and laws for success. This is an idea we find in many of our ancient texts and scripts.

It’s very likely that you, just like me, have—or had—very little or no training when you were first placed into a leadership role. When I had my first opportunity to move into such a position, I thought leadership—with a capital L—was telling people what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. The problem was, in my career, being a good investigator and being liked by the senior managers often became the deciding factor in receiving a promotion. Leadership skills weren’t exactly part of the evaluation in many cases.

This did not mean success; in fact, far from it. It often meant that teams wound up working for a micromanager or working for some lame duck who excelled at not causing waves and quietly plugging along towards their promotion to the next level.

Today, in the digital age, this kind of management gap has been taken to a totally different level.

In my career, I decided one day that it was time to make some changes. I recognized that the little management training I did have was based on what I would call “command and control; leadership knows all” type of thinking. I was also facing a different leadership environment that was evolving, pushed forward by younger generations, such as the often-discussed millennials: leadership in the digital age.

This new type of leadership was a far more relaxed style, which mostly—in my opinion—brought better results. Truthfully, though, in the beginning it was a struggle for me. I was convinced there had to be better ideas and techniques out there.

So, I went on a mission to find out what makes a great leader. What I found were mountains of ideas, some good, some bad, and for the most part, entirely unusable. In this book, I want to climb those mountains and shout my results down from the heights. I want to tell you what worked for me and show you, through inspiring and important stories from those who have been there, how to plant the correct seeds and reap the harvest of knowledge.

Everyone can be developed into a good leader. You have to train yourself in leadership, though; you simply can’t afford to wait to begin the process until you get promoted or get a new job.

In addition, we will look at being a great leader with technology at the center.

Another book on leadership may be the last thing you would expect, simply because many people have taken a shot at writing on this topic. My observations from 35 years in the law enforcement world, my son’s experience in the military, my consulting career, leadership in multiple small businesses and elsewhere, have led me to understand that there is a leadership crisis in our society. Leadership is lacking in families, in education, in business—everywhere we look.

As I came to this realization, I asked myself a simple question, How can I change this?

The question lit a fire under me. It gave the drive to make some changes and—now—to write about this experience.

I will admit, the techniques I discuss in this book were learned on the fly. Minimal teaching was given to me when I was initially promoted. Did I get it right all the time? Hah! Not on your life. In fact, I faced many struggles and made lots of mistakes.

As someone who was never really the management type, I managed to pull it off, but it took a lot of hard work to get there. I read many self-help books on this topic, attended courses and seminars, and even worked in mentorship programs several times. I found that for me, it all provided excellent information. Still, most of it was far too detailed, produced strictly for pure self-aggrandizement, or printed in a tome so thick and complicated it was not usable on a daily basis. I also observed that so much of the written advice produced on leadership is targeted towards the corporate world and big business. Yes, most of these principles still apply. Still, my thinking ran this way: Many of us manage or lead smaller groups, own small businesses, or want to be great parents, and while it’s nice to read about how a Fortune 500 leader has succeeded in business, something on our level might be a more useful source.

Looking back over this time, I recognize some things that worked for me—and some of the things that didn’t work. One of the most important things, in my opinion, is your mindset. Some of the other things I’ve recognized are tasks like planning your day, trusting your people, creating a team of independent thinkers, and the skill of delegation. That last one is a big one, believe me—we all think that we can do it all ourselves, right? Wrong!

In my practice today, even after leaving my policing career, I continue to use these techniques—in our family business, in my consulting work, and in my volunteer management efforts. They stand strong even now.

Why Is This Book Different?

Are leaders born, or are they made? When you ask people their definition of leadership, most responses tend to be something along the lines of, “It’s the boss, or the company owner, telling the employees what to do.” Technically correct, but not the most excellent definition, right?

It is hard to get a good definition of what leadership is. Here is one that I tend to think isn’t too bad: A leader is the one in charge—the person who convinces or influences other people to follow. A great leader inspires confidence in other people and moves them to action. How about an excellent one-word definition? Try “influence.”

Some people are more gifted than others in areas like leadership skills, but the truth is that anyone who seeks out training and is willing to self-educate can become an influential and effective leader. It isn’t just education, information, and details that you need to succeed, though. It is a real-life experience, easily implementable tips to help you through those tough times, and excellent life philosophy.

While I certainly don’t have all of the answers that you may be seeking, I feel that my journey, the studies that I’ve undertaken, and the work that I’ve put in through my life may help you along in your journey. To that end, I wanted to create a self-help book that is usable every day, with tips that are accessible and easy to use. Hopefully, what you read in the coming pages fits this bill.

Wisdom says you can’t be a leader if you take part in the blame game—that habit we have to turn a bad result onto someone else. The problem is, we live in a society of blame and unforgiveness. To make strides forward, the way we’ve done things up to this point has to end—to open room for better things or better processes to begin.

So, let’s get started, shall we? Let’s do what successful people do:

Step over and ignore the crap.

Move past blame and the inability to forgive.

Keep moving forward to create a team of independent thinkers who are willing to act.

(I’ll explain that trick in the coming chapters.)

A 2020 survey produced by the American Institute of Stress found that today 40 percent of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful. Twenty-five percent view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Seventy-five percent of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Twenty-nine percent of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.

A surprising 78 percent of workers rate their job stress at a seven or higher on a 10-point scale. Over 50 percent of jobs in North America—in fact, jobs in the entire world—are very stressful. Most people don’t leave their job because of low pay—that actually ranks around 5 or 6 on the list. The top reasons people leave their employment, or express dissatisfaction in their jobs, are:

• Not being treated with respect and dignity.
• Being prevented from contributing to the organizations moving forward.
• Not being listened to.
• Not being rewarded with more responsibility.

These are significant stressors in our careers, families, and relationships, which are often impossible to avoid. Many people will stay in their jobs or, similarly, in bad relationships—without tools and support that could assist them because they are afraid of losing their income or their position or maybe even their marriage. Those concerns make sense, but we need to look beyond them and move towards improving outcomes for all people.

This book is about how to think and grow in leadership. It is about how to move from a stressful situation at work, in a volunteer job, or even in your home, and work towards you and the people around you being happy and productive—in small and manageable steps. It is about investing in people, establishing relationships, listening well, and much, much more. These ideas can be used at work, in the home, in your small business, in a volunteer capacity—really, this information can be used in any work situation.

This book is not just intended for leaders or managers; it’s designed for everyone and anyone who needs useful tools to manage in high-stress environments, where good leadership is essential. You will be able to tell the boss you’ve got it under control, your employees will be easier to manage, there will be less stress at home, and throughout your life, you will find a spirit of cooperation.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

What’s Ahead?

This book has some unique stories. There are some personal stories from my career over 35 years in the law enforcement world and some great stories from other people I know and have worked with who have put time and effort into becoming better leaders too.

I hope that within these pages, the information you need can be found easily. My goal is to give you the tools to man...