This document contains the agenda and presentation materials for a strategic leadership workshop presented by Linda Oestreich to the STC-Houston chapter on November 10, 2012. The workshop objectives are to help participants understand concepts of leadership, their role as leaders, and how to prioritize leadership needs for their chapter. The presentation covers defining leadership traits, different leadership roles, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, and developing a strategic leadership plan with goals, alignment of members, and ongoing motivation. The workshop provides guidance on effective communication, outcome-based planning, and finding one's own leadership style.

1. Strategic Leadership
STC-Houston
Leadership Workshop
10 November 2012
Presented by Linda Oestreich

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Oestreich, (c) 27 Oct 2012
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Who am I?
 STC Fellow
 Manager, Associate Fellows Committee
 Former board member at chapter and Society level
(President, STC, 2007-2008)
 Strategic and business analyst
 Technical communicator: manager, editor, writer,
mentor, executive, etc.
 Instructor, trainer, instructional designer
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Oestreich, (c) 27 Oct 2012
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Why Me?
 Manager, supervisor, writer/editor for science &
engineering
 Communications manager and editor for geophysical
software development company
 Policy and procedures writer/editor for corporate offices
of young software firm
 Executive of small communications consulting firm
 Editor for large software development firm
 Lots of experience in different roles—writer, editor, and
manager
 STC leader at community & Society level
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Oestreich, (c) 27 Oct 2012
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Who are you?
 Writers?
 Editors?
 Managers?
 Liberal arts? Science/tech/IT?
 Companies?
 What leadership roles do you have?
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Workshop Agenda
 Objectives
 Leadership roles
 Defining a chapter ideal
 Strategy and leadership
 Working toward the ideal

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Objectives
 To understand the concept of leadership
 To understand your role as a leader
 To understand what your chapter needs from its
leaders
 To prioritize your chapter’s leadership needs
 To give you ideas about how to apply leadership

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Defining Leadership
 What is leadership?
 What isn’t leadership?
 What are the traits of a good leader?

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Leadership is…
 . . . the ability to cause other people to act in
desired ways for the benefit of the organization.

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As volunteers, most people
Follow you because…
 They believe it’s in their own best
interests!

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Leadership traits
 Capacity for passion
(“fire in the belly”)
 Perspective
(“step back & look”)
 Creativity
(“go a new direction”)
 Organization skills
(“share the vision”)
 Teamwork
(“engage, persuade, motivate”)
 Persistence
(“carried you through”)
 Open-mindedness
(“seeking new direction”)
 Integrity
(“be genuine and honest”)
“Leaders are People who leave
their footprints in the areas of their passion”

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Leadership Roles
What are the differences between:
 Mentors and parents?
 Team leaders and team members?
 Entrepreneurs and manufacturing company
presidents?
 Grandmothers and mothers?
 Work supervisors and volunteer bosses?

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Evaluating your leadership
 What are your leadership strengths?
 What are your weaknesses?
 What roles do you:
◦ Play?
◦ Like to play?
◦ Want to play?

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Practice interest-based leadership
 Seek to understand the interests of the people you
lead.
 Find ways to influence those interests.
 Act to satisfy those interests while achieving
goals.

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STC mission & vision
STC is an individual membership organization dedicated to
advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is
the largest organization of its type in the world.
 Mission: STC advances the practice and theory of technical
communications and promotes the value of technical
communicators globally.
 Vision: Technical communication is recognized globally as an
essential part of every organization’s competitive strategy.

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Defining community leadership
 What is community leadership?
 What isn’t community leadership?
 What are the traits of a healthy community?

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Evaluating your community’s needs
 What are the core functions of an STC
community?
 What does your community do well?
◦ What makes this function a success?
 What does your community need to do better?
◦ Why makes this function a struggle?

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Points for community leaders
 As a leader in your community,
◦ Find a mentor for yourself (we ALL need one)
◦ Mentor and guide other council members
◦ Support and troubleshoot
◦ Set goals and objectives with your management team/admin council
◦ Participate on committees but avoid getting into the details whenever
possible (nose in; fingers out)
 Develop a community charter that sets your goals & objectives.
 Define success for your community.
 Develop a communication plan.
◦ How you and your admin council communicate with one another
◦ How community members communicate with you
 Ask for feedback,
listen to it, and act on it.

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Working strategically
 What specific tasks can you do to move your
chapter closer to the leadership ideal?
◦ How will it move your chapter to the ideal?
◦ How much effort will it take to get there?
◦ What resources do you have on hand?
◦ What resources you need to recruit?
 Prioritize your tasks

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Leadership strategy cycle
Intent
Effect
Adjustment!
Behavior

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Stretch!
Take five

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Leading Strategically
 Picking a destination
 Choosing the route
 Getting everyone on the same plane
 Moving the troupe

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Destination = Mission
 Decide what attributes you want to cultivate
 Decide how you want to impact your environments
 Decide how you want others to see you

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Direction = Goals
 Goals are measurable
 Goals are finite
 Goals are accomplishable

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Alignment
 Develop a team
 Communicate constantly and openly
 Clarify mission and goals
◦ Clarify them again
– and again – and again – and again
 Overcome objections
 Inspire commitment

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Motivation
 Encourage and inspire
 Delegate and give responsibility
 Recognize, reward, and congratulate
Be:
Timely
Responsive
Unconditional
Enthusiastic!

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Behavior
 What is perceived is
 Perceptions are based on AVAILABLE
information
 In the absence of information, we assume
 Behavior, no matter how crazy, has a logical
basis

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Culture tips
 Respect
 Clarity
 Nose in/fingers out
 Remain objective
 No negativity or people bashing
 Look forward/stay positive
 Keep in alignment
 Under promise/over deliver

28. General Guidelines for
Success

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3 keys to sustaining success
1. A reputation for value – this includes, but is not limited to, the
portfolio of services and activities available to the member
2. An enjoyable culture – the basis for which is trust and
communication
The member thinks “these people are a lot like me”
STC is good at this (once people become active)
3. A nimble infrastructure, so that the association can quickly seize
opportunities and create value

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Communication decisions
 Leadership is a relationship.
 Relationships are built with communication.
 You can choose from two types of leadership
communication:
◦ Mass-produced
◦ Tailor-made
Which would you rather receive?

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The medium you choose
 Medium influences the message.
 Medium itself is a message.
 Choose the medium carefully…
◦ Email
◦ Personal phone call
◦ Group meeting
◦ One-on-one meeting
◦ Conference calls
◦ Memos
◦ Web conferences

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Outcome-based planning
 Members are looking for
Benefits that add value to their businesses or
practices
 Members are not looking for
A basket of products and services
 The way to confront the new reality:
outcome-based planning

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Outcome-based planning
 Successful planning differentiates between
◦ Features of the organization (the membership directory)
◦ Benefits to the member (business contacts that result
from participation)
 Traditional strategic planning: feature-based and "how-to"
oriented
 Successful strategic planning: benefits-based and
outcome-oriented
"It's the new business opportunity, not the
membership directory!"

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Outcome-based planning
 Mission: Statement of the value provided to members
 Goals: Major benefits needed to achieve your mission
 Objectives: Measurements of your goals (benefits) - how well
are you doing?
 Implementation: Specific ways we will achieve our goals
(benefits) such as timelines, budgets, and operations
How well do your current mission and goals
statements align with this model?

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Determine work preferences
 How to plan
 How to communicate
 How to resolve conflict
 How to make decisions

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Help is out there
 Things to read (depending on commitment)
◦ Intercom! How many read it?
◦ AMA and HBR…join & surf & learn (Leader’s Edge from
AMA is free!)
◦ Time-proven books to help you understand your own
decision-making and goals
 The Prince (Machiavelli)
 Federalist No. 10 (John Adams)
 Letter from a Birmingham jail (Dr. Martin L. King)
◦ The LCR page on stc.org
◦ New leaders handout

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Find your own style
 Find your style, don’t imitate others.
 To create a leadership brand:
◦ Be clear about the results you want to achieve.
◦ Create metrics to measure ongoing results against goals.
◦ Identify your leadership strengths and attributes.
◦ Make certain that you do not “overplay” your strengths.
◦ Ask for feedback on how you are perceived, and make
appropriate changes so that you’ll project your chosen
image or brand.

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Leadership resources
 Adapted from “The Essence of Leadership” article by Jonathan
Byrnes,Harvard Business School Working Knowledge e-zine
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/tools/print_item.jhtml?id=4983&t=strategy
 Linda’s favorite leadership site! Big dog, little dog Leadership Training and
Development: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadtrn.html
 Shakespeare in Charge, Norman Augustine and Kenneth Adelman,
Hyperion Press, 1999, New York. (an unusual, yet fun, look at leadership)
 http://www.globalfuture.com/biblio-leadership.htm (an all-around great site
to view dozens of leadership resources)
 http://studentleadership.ucdavis.edu/bibliography/01_general.html (a more erudite
site, but it has loads to choose from)
 http://www.art-of-leadership.com/ (good portal)
 “Leading Leaders”, Leadership Forum, March 1, 2006, Jeswald Salacuse
 “Finding Your Own Leadership Style”, Donna Dennis, Ph.D. (http://
www.amanet.org/enewsletters/)

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Questions and wrap-up