PLANT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

SPECIALREPORT

What are the 10 secrets

of successful leaders?
Leadership is about relationships; consider applying these strategies
to improve your organization
D. M. WOODRUFF, Management Methods, Inc., Decatur, Alabama

eadership is about people, while management is more about

processes and tasks. According to President (and General)
Dwight Eisenhower, leadership is getting other people to
do what you want done because they want to do it. Ultimately,
leadership is about building relationships with people. These 10
secrets will help you be more effective in dealing with people and
building these all important relationships.
A person in a management role in the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) is also in a leadership role because people are
involved. Many times, engineers, maintenance or other technical
people are in leadership roles by virtue of being in a project management role or they act as liaisons with contractors even though
they may not be in an officially recognized management position
within their company.

Supervisors and managers

Peers

Policies,
rules
and laws

You

Employees
Customers

Relationships

Suppliers

Finances

FIG. 1

Honesty
and integrity

A leadership model for the present workplace.

Best attributes of a leader. The critical foundations of

leadership are honesty and integrity. In a survey that our firm

conducted of over 500 leaders and managers in the workplace, we
found honesty to be the No. 1 characteristic. Effective leaders know
the importance of trust and building relationships. Work gets
done because of relationships more than because of position.
As leaders, we are bound by certain external factors that include
policies, rules, laws and finances, but the emphasis of leadership
must be on building relationships based on honesty and integrity.
With the foundations of honesty and integrity, successful leaders
know and apply the 10 secrets that help them get the work of the
organization done by people who want to get the work done right
and on time. These 10 leadership secrets will help you work more
effectively with those above you, on your level and under your
supervision in the organization, as well as with customers and
suppliers, as shown in Fig. 1. It really is all about relationships. So,
here are the 10 secrets that successful leaders follow:

Secret No. 2: Define expectations for each employee.

Every employee has a need and a right to know what their boss expects.
Managers (leaders) have a responsibility to define and communicate
expectations for each employee. Failure to do so leads to frustration
and poor performance. If you want to reduce stress and frustration,
then make this secret work for you and your organization.
The essential expectations for each employee are those five or
six key requirements that must be met for a person to be successful at his or her job. This is not a job description of detailed tasks,
but rather the major requirements for success on the job. Simply
take out a sheet of paper and write each employees name in one
column and then write in your expectations for each person. Next
comes the hard part: communicate your expectations one on one
with the employee. This is absolutely basic to leadership success
and is one of the most overlooked secrets by leaders at all levels in
organizations today.

Secret No. 1: Treat people right. Successful leaders work

to earn the respect of the people who report to them and of

the people with whom they interact. This means supervisors,
employees, co-workers, customers and suppliers. The attitudes
that employees develop toward their bosses are based upon the
qualities and actions of the person in charge. Employee attitudes
are critical to the leaders success, as well as to the productivity in
the workplace. The top secret is to treat all people with dignity
and regard them as individuals. Really, just treat others like you
would want to be treated, to paraphrase the Golden Rule.

Secret No. 3: Have a clear vision and articulate it. Vision

is simply looking ahead and seeing the things others dont see, and
providing a long-term sense of direction for the organization. Spend
time to look beyond today. Look ahead 5 or 10 years and make your
best estimate of what needs to happen in your business unit, operating
unit or overall business to continue being successful.
Vision sets the overall direction for the organization. It gives the
people something to hitch their wagon to and should be relevant and practical, yet challenging for the organization to really
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING DECEMBER 2009

I 27

SPECIALREPORT

PLANT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

embrace it. Clearly articulating the vision will help your people
stay the course in difficult times.

TABLE 1. 10 secrets for successful leaders

Secret No. 1: Treat people right

Secret No. 4: Delegate effectively. Delegation is making

Secret No. 2: Define expectations for each employee.

effective work assignments based on the competencies of your

people. Many managers today are overloaded with work, and yet
they fail to realize the importance of effective delegation. Successful
managers or leaders know what can and should be delegated. They
make the assignments and then leave their people alone to get the
job done. Ineffective leaders will take care of many tasks themselves, stay busy and then fail to fulfill their role as a manager.
Many times, those in charge just give direction without getting input or checking for understanding. When delegating a task
it is essential to know that the employee understands what is to
be done. It is difficult to delegate a job, because with delegation
comes the right to make a mistake and the person in charge is still
responsible for all that happens in his or her work group. Yet, it
is impossible to be effective in leading a work group when one is
trying to do all the work themselves.

Secret No. 3: Have a clear vision for the organization and articulate it.

Secret No. 5: Pay attention to details. The details that

we are talking about are little things but they make the difference
between success and failure.*
The effective leader is careful to take care of the details, especially where employees and/or customers are concerned. Managers
must be involved in the details, especially on the large projects.
It is a myth that the people in charge can avoid getting involved
with the details of the work to be done. The challenge is to avoid
getting so deeply involved into details that you bother your people
or fail to manage the overall operation or organization. For example, in a large HPI project, safety is always a top consideration.
However, there are many other details that must also not be overlooked. Perhaps details as simple as how the contractor materials
will be unloaded at the site could become an issue if not properly
addressed in the planning stages. This is just a simple illustration,
but you get the idea.
The big issues in the workplace will be resolved. Usually, its
the little things that are harder to focus on every day. Remember:
When youve got a little rock in your shoe, nothings right!
Secret No. 6: Evaluate alternatives. Alternatives are

the different potential courses of action to resolve a problem, a

workplace situation or to achieve an objective. Failure often comes
from a single-minded approach to problems. Being boxed in
without understanding alternative recourses can lead to even more
trouble in some situations.
Focus is important. But managers need to practice developing
alternatives when faced with problems or situations in the workplace. Developing reasonable alternatives enables us to identify
multiple approaches to a specific issue or situation. Practicing
the discipline of developing alternatives will make you a better
problem-solver for your organization.
In most situations faced by a manager, there are multiple possible solutions or actions. The effective manager will develop
alternatives that will enable him or her to approach problems
more objectively as opposed to being fixed on one solution or
course of action. Encouraging those who report to you to bring
several alternatives when discussing problem situations will build
* Success Factor #17 from Taking Care of the Basics: 101 Success Factors for
Managers, by Davis Woodruff.
28

I DECEMBER 2009 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

Secret No. 4: Delegate effectively.

Secret No. 5: Pay attention to details.
Secret No. 6: Evaluate alternatives.
Secret No. 7: Ask the right questions.
Secret No. 8: Know when to make exceptions.
Secret No. 9: Be decisive.
Secret No. 10: Follow up to let people know you care.

a more competent workforce for your organization. This practice

will help you develop your people.
Secret No. 7: Ask the right questions. Sometimes

simply knowing the right questions to ask can make a person

much more successful as a leader. Of course, the simple why?,
when asked about five times, can help us get to the root cause
of many problems. Generally, we arrive at the root cause about
the third or fourth time we ask why. Here are other questions
to consider:
1. How are your overall business results as compared to your
goals for the year?
2. Is your safety performance for the year on target, or are you
having too many first-aid cases, accidents or lost-time injuries?
3. Is there an established process to evaluate your compliance
to regulatory requirements that affect your organization (i.e., IRS,
EEOC, OSHA, EPA, ADA, FDA, DOT and a myriad of other
federal, state and local regulations and/or agencies)? Have you
conducted and documented compliance reviews? Are corrective
actions effective?
4. Are you meeting your customers expectations? Is it time to
assess customer satisfaction?
An action step for leaders is to take time to develop a list of
key questions about your business, operating unit, work group or
team that will help you assess quickly the health of the organization. The four questions listed above are simply idea starters for
you. Make your own list of 47 key questions and focus on them.
Revise the list as conditions change. This is an ongoing exercise
in leadership that will enable you to more clearly understand the
situations you face in your business.
Secret No. 8: Know when to make exceptions. An
exception is when a policy, work rule or procedure is knowingly
violated in the interest of an employee, customer or business need.
While its important to follow work rules and procedures, there
are times in the real world when work rules or procedures may
restrict a manager from acting in the best interest of an employee,
a customer or a business.
Wisdom dictates that managers realize these unusual situations
for what they are and make rare exceptions. Whenever exceptions are
made to work rules or procedures, a legitimate justification should be
readily recognizable. The problem, of course, is for the manager to
recognize the situation and be willing to take a calculated risk. When
an exception is made, the situation should be carefully documented
and clearly communicated to all interested parties. Before you get
too carried away here, this is not condoning compromising a safety

Select 79 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

PLANT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

rule. We are talking about policies that sometimes just do not fit
every conceivable situation, or perhaps the game has changed
significantly and the policy was never updated.
Exceptions that are not legitimate or that are not clearly communicated generally lead to misunderstandings, setting undesirable precedents or charges of favoritism. Thus, clear communications are essential. Also, if procedures or rules need to be changed,
document the changes and update the procedures.
Secret No. 9: Be decisive. General George Patton said,

When in command, command. In the business world, the

workforce is looking for leaders who will make decisions based on
the facts of the situation and not just what someone will accept.
So when you are the leader, lead!
Its a disgrace and a waste when the workforce is waiting for
those in charge to stop procrastinating and make decisions. Too
often, the top people in an organization delay progress or, even
worse, let a situation force the decision by not making a decision.
Workers dont respect indecisive leaders.
Learn and use a systematic process for making decisions.
Make effective decisions in a timely manner. For example, define
the problem or situation, get the facts, look at the options, get
input where appropriate, evaluate the consequences and make
a decision.
Secret No. 10: Follow up to let people know you
care. Follow-up is just letting people know that you care by

seeing that work assignments are performed properly. Effective

follow-up is not looking over the shoulder of an employee, but
rather asking how the work is progressing or observing results. It
lets the employee know that the work is important and you care.
When the boss doesnt care enough to follow up, why should
anyone else care?
Leading for the future. Leadership is a challenging job
and it gets more challenging with each passing year. Resource
limitations, regulatory compliance, economics and many other
external factors go into making the leaders role more demanding.
The HPI is fortunate to have many effective leaders at all levels of
organizations within the industry. However, it is important to be
preparing the next generation of leaders as well as learning new
techniques that will enhance your career. Applying these 10 secrets
of leadership will go a long way toward helping you succeed in
your leadership role. HP
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodruff, D., Taking Care of the Basics: 101 Success Factors for Managers (available at
amazon.com).

Davis M. Woodruff is the founder and president of Manage-

Select 156 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

30

I DECEMBER 2009 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

ment Methods, Inc., a management consulting firm based in Decatur, Alabama. A consultant, speaker and author, Mr. Woodruff is a
recognized expert in showing companies how to be the low-cost,
high-quality environmentally responsible leader in their industry.
Since 1984, he has served clients in 35 states and on three continents. He is the
author of the book, Taking Care of the Basics: 101 Success Factors for Managers, and
dozens of articles, including articles for Hydrocarbon Processing and the Encyclopedia
of Chemical Engineering. Mr. Woodruff is a chemical engineering graduate of Auburn
University, a certified management consultant and a licensed professional engineer
in Alabama. (www.DavisWoodruff.com)