Leadership: It may never matter more

At a critical juncture in the rapidly changing newspaper business, ASNE leaders meet to discuss what leadership is and how to make it flourish

By Jennie Buckner

Editors, it’s time to step up your leadership. Develop your strengths and the leadership of others. And, please, show your passion about great journalism and share your optimism for our business.

It may never matter more.

That urgent message came from editors, publishers, researchers and educators who attended a recent conference in Chicago sponsored by ASNE on the state of newsroom leadership.

“Leadership is critically important at this juncture in the life of the newspaper industry,” ASNE President Rich Oppel told the group, which met at the Cantigny Conference Center with the support of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation. “We face substantial and rapid changes in technology, culture, economics and the nature of our readers. I believe that editors have a very important role in helping to provide leadership as we meet these challenges.”

New research commissioned by ASNE backs up the need for stronger leadership.

Dr. Sharon Peters, a former managing editor turned newspaper researcher, released results of a national survey at the conference. She found the quality of newsroom leadership ranked second from the bottom of 15 workplace “satisfiers.” Only department morale ranked lower when journalists were asked how satisfied they were with such things as pay, promotions, the chance to learn and grow, and the level of resources.

Peters surveyed 1,151 journalists in 21 newsrooms of all sizes across the United States. She found journalists think top editors are out of touch with employees and communicate too little with their staffs.

Top editors got the lowest effectiveness ranking for ensuring that subordinate editors are skilled at managing. Middle managers were seen as least effective when it came to regularly discussing career goals and providing constructive criticism to employees.

Another key finding, said Peters, is the need for more recognition. It matters a great deal to most journalists, she said, but is too often ignored by their leaders.

A complete report on the research, which will be released at the April ASNE convention, will show what newsrooms are looking for in their leaders and how leaders and managers are rated by those who work for them.

What do non-supervisors value most in their top two highest-ranking leaders? Good judgment; hiring and promoting wisely; setting high standards; preparing for future challenges and balancing profit demands and news values, according to the research.

The top editors are seen as effective in many areas, Peters said. They received the highest ratings for: celebrating newspaper victories; seeking reader input; defining the newspaper’s priorities; balancing bottom-line concerns with good journalism and ensuring that high standards are met.

Seventy-five percent of the study participants gave their top editors “very effective” or “somewhat effective” ratings for overall performance.

Editors are doing plenty of things right, Peters said, but the research shows a hunger for more leadership.

Conference participants and speakers offered plenty of advice on how to feed that hunger.

Jay Smith, President of Cox Newspapers, told editors they should express a greater sense of optimism and confidence. “We are worrying ourselves to death,’’ he said. He warned of the dangers we create by “giving off a terrible sense of fear.”

While the newspaper business faces serious challenges, he said, strong leaders are finding ways to meet them and are motivating their staffs to build a better future.

Gloria Anderson, President and Editor-in-Chief of The New York Times Syndicate, told editors to guard their time and focus their leadership. Many editors are overworked and stretched so thin they no longer have time to think about what’s most important, she said. Top editors have become so busy with strategy, marketing and other business concerns that newsroom leadership has been “subcontracted out” to lower level editors. Your staffs need you, she said.

Others, however, pointed out that top editors must lead beyond the newsroom. Vivian Vahlberg, director of journalism programs for the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, said it was vital for top editors to be seen as a leaders in all departments of the newspaper. The editor needs to help everyone understand and believe in the journalist’s mission and in the higher purpose of newspapers.

In this time of intense business pressures, the editor can help strike the right balance between profits and public service. Vahlberg urged editors to lead up, helping the publisher find that right balance and develop an ennobling vision of the newspaper’s mission.

Others agreed and noted that there are many directions in which the editor must lead — including outward. An editor must explain the newspaper to the community, and at the same time learn from the community.

Dr. Jay A. Conger, an author and professor at the London Business School and the University of Southern California, told editors that while they must be good managers, that’s not enough. Leadership is different from management, he said, and in times of great change, leadership can make or break an organization.

He said both leadership and management are about setting direction, aligning others and providing motivational energy. But leadership goes beyond the traditional managerial functions. (See chart). Great leaders, he said, are:

Effective story-tellers and teachers;

Visible role models, living the most important values for all to see;

Positive people, who inspire and mobilize others through recognition and aspiration.

“People will work for money,” he said, “ but they’ll die for a cause.”

The leader’s biggest problem, Conger said, is getting people clear on what they should do and how they should change. The solution: memorable stories and clear communication.

He shared the advice of General Electric’s Chairman and CEO Jack Welch: “Every idea you present must be something you could get across easily at a cocktail party with strangers.”

Conger advised editors to tell stories that reveal:

Who we are;

Where we are headed and why;

How we’ll get there.

Stories can be the leader’s best teaching tool. No one, he said, can quote from your recent memo. But they’ll remember your good story. And it can guide their actions.

Conger said the most effective leaders devote plenty of time to teaching and Henry Kissinger, he said, explained why: “A great leader must be an educator bridging between the vision and today.”

Leaders also must work to align the organization through deeds and what Conger called “a never-ending conversation” about values.

He urged editors to pick three or four “to-die-for” values. Then, find visible ways to demonstrate belief in them. Be purposeful, he said. Don’t relegate values to a plaque on the wall.

Remember you’re a role model. And it’s best to model optimism, Conger said. Who has ever been motivated by a pessimist?

Leaders mobilize others for action. Conger said the most effective leaders do that by appreciating people’s talents and recognizing meaningful accomplishments.

“People are starving for recognition,” he said. But beware of empty compliments.

Focus on the important stuff and make sure you really know what’s going on.

People also are looking for ways to make their work lives meaningful.

“People have to be reminded of why what they’re doing is important,” he said, “because life can wear you down.”

Conger advised editors to show their passion and to be visible. “People want a high-touch leader,” he said.

Attracting and keeping the best people is more important than ever in the newspaper business. And a nationally recognized expert told the conference what research has shown on the subject. Marcus Buckingham has studied workplaces for the Gallup Organization and is co-author of the best-selling management book “First Break All the Rules.”

Buckingham said front-line managers are key to creating a place where the best people want to work.

He urged top editors to coach their front-line managers and to remember that people who are leaders must manage well, too.

“People leave a workplace because of bad managers, not because it’s a bad company,” he said.

By studying the most effective managers, Gallup researchers found the best ones do four things very well:

The best managers select for talent — not just for experience, intelligence or determination.

Talent, Buckingham said, is different from mere knowledge. It’s much deeper and is defined by the Gallup people as “a recurring pattern of thought, feeling and behavior that can be productively applied.”

You can’t train talent into someone and the best managers don’t try. They do try to understand talent by studying what makes the best people really special. Then they scout for similar souls.

The best managers set expectations by defining the right outcomes. They don’t tell people exactly how they must get to the outcome. They understand that people may need to do things their own way and can accept any path that gets results, Buckingham said.

The best managers focus on strengths, not weaknesses, when trying to motivate someone.

“Most performance appraisal systems should be blown up,” Buckingham said. Performance reviews that focus on weaknesses kill motivation. Focus relentlessly on what people do well, and build on that, he said.

The best managers develop people by helping them find the right fit — not just the next rung up the ladder.

If you want to develop someone, think hard about “casting” — finding a role that plays to natural talents, Buckingham said.

Buckingham urged top editors to find people who are naturals at managing others. Then coach them.

“One of the most powerful things a manager can do for an employee is hold the mirror up,” he said.

Buckingham encouraged editors to make prestige and top pay more widely available to top talents, no matter where they are on the organization chart. Consider, for instance, paying top reporters more so they won’t feel compelled to go into management for salary increases.

Buckingham said great managers treat people differently, understanding that what motivates one may turn off another. “Great managers don’t follow the Golden Rule,” he said.

He recommended that all managers ask employees this question: What’s the best praise you ever received and what made it so good? Then act on that knowledge.

Buckingham also advised managers to spend most of their time with the most talented people. They have much to teach, he said, and their upside for the organization is huge.

Buckingham said one insight is common to great managers: People don’t change all that much. So don’t waste energy trying to put in what was left out. Instead, try to bring out the best of what’s there.

What will come of all this advice?

The ASNE Leadership Committee, which planned the conference, hopes it will lead to:

• An industry-wide focus on the need for stronger editorial leadership.
• An honest assessment of why some organizations might not be getting effective leadership – and the best way to overcome those barriers.
• A picture of exemplary leadership. What are the most important leader attributes for the future?
• A list of key actions and practical applications for newspaper companies and individual editors.

The conference discussions and the research will be the basis of a special report that will go to all ASNE members.

True leaders are always learning and encouraging others to learn. I hope the Cantigny conference will advance our learning.

Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Leaders will be working on the personal as well as the global lessons.

Buckner is editor of The Charlotte Observer and chairperson of ASNE's Leadership Committee.