Leadership Excellence

So what is your problem?

The ddynamic successful CEO called and asked to chat about "leadership issues" within his firm.  Yes indeed, I thought, well within my area of expertise, this should be an interesting meeting and hopefully an ongoing consulting engagement.

 taking the obligatory facility tour, continuing emphasis was placed on the merits of each employee.  The strength of the leadership team: the well honed team concept.. And so I waited.  What indeed were the aforementioned " leadership issues".  Eventually, on the edge of my proverbial seat, I inquired.  Oh no, said the CEO, let's go into my office.   The point of concern was not with employees, or the leadership team, or team leaders.

The point of concern is with the CEO and his managing partner. The request was to help them through coaching to resolve management style, strategic planning, and exit strategy issues.

 Bamm! Once again I was struck by not giving in to the obvious... To listen: To be patient. 

Pay for Performance

The Feds decided to punish the top 25 executives ( soon to be expanded to 100) of banks and related institutions  where TARP money has not been repayed.  The rationale -- excessive bonuses rather than pay for performance.

The Bank of America, among others say their staff will be raided and move on to greener pastures where compensation and stock options are more lucrative.

What is really fascinating here, is that there are quantifiable measures by which these execs get paid.  So often, we determine an employee's performance, along with many of their peers, by completing rating sheets al at once, on a weekend afternoon, with the key criteria being " what did the employee do for us lately"... I challenge you -- look for the data, puruse the documentation, check out your interview notes with co-workers and customers (aha- there usually aren't any).

Yes, the Feds have a difficult balancing act determining a compensation program for Wall Street.  Let's do our part and develop quantifiable performance measurements that can be understood by employers and employees

Vision and Empowerment -- New TV Ads are Almost Humorous

Ad writers are really clever and ingenious.  There have been a recent spate of ads pitching the message that a firm's is superior ( and by extension it's products) because employee's share in vision.

Really?

How about some empirical data to confirm this assumption. Employee Survey's: 3rd party interviews? To the contrary , the public is presented with senior executives telling us what to believe.  As a consultant who believes in the merits of vision statements which are bought into by employees, I think the ad program may have some merit.  But please, CEO give us some hard evidence.

Employee buy in is often assumed by those in the corner office.   Do a survey: Measure quality: and by all means conduct focus groups.  The truth will set you free --and enable the real empowerment of employees.

Leveraging your most important asset

The talking heads on CNBC and Bloomberg News postulate about what type of economic recovery is in the future. Will it be a V or W or???  In the interim, we find our clients continuing to operate with lean inventories, reducing work hours,laying off employees, and maximizing every sales skill they have.

Some firms are using the medieval times approach..... building larger walls, wider moats, and hiding from the bankers who seem to be omnipresent.  Lots of emphasis on hope and prayer ( I don't underestimate the power of either).

Looking out over the employee landscape of those who have survived the economic downturn, I am always impressed by the thoughtful decisions most firms make.  Those on the payroll are generally individuals with talents which support the current sales base.  Yes, some are retained because of their teamwork attitude and loyalty to the firm.

It's also true, that firms who are flexible and innovative: who get to the marketplace 1st will survive and indeed prosper.  I propose that this is the time to mine the skills and knowledge of that most underutilized human asset- emotional intelligence to foster innovation and best practices.  Too often we pay lip service to team work. 

The development of internal software, new products, new sales ideas, lean manufacturing, advertising, the list of ideas that employees have is endless... it is our responsibility to ask and form task forces with the challenge to succeed.  " Green Shoots" are everywhere if we help employees to look and harvest.

Engaging the work force in creative ways to meet the company"s vision pays dual dividends - rebuilding the financial coffers and re-energizing the work force whose psyche has taken a pounding this last year.

Confrontation vs Combativeness

The educational establishment has long embraced the idea that everyone wins, no one loses.  Examples:  no grades for courses taken:  kindergarten graduation, discouraging games such as dodge ball and tag because they encourage "bullying", the stopping of baseball games after one team is ahead by ten runs, etc etc.   These warm and fuzzy attitudes have their place, until the young ins grow up and enter the work force

Imbued with the win-win philosophy, would be managers have their veins filled with the idea that confrontation is a negative.   Someones feelings will get hurt.  I submit that confrontation can be a positive.  IDeas and performance can be approached directly -- in the full light of day. Honesty prevails... and a sense of trust is established when all the facts are lay ed on the table.  Yes, confrontation can be an effective management tool when used effectively.

Which brings us to combativeness.  Confrontation is not combativeness.  Combativeness is the destruction of another person's ego, self esteem and pride.   The victor wants to take no prisoners.  At its core, the combative manager is a warrior rather than a problem solver.  Short term or long term consequences be dammed-- it is his way or the high way. The combatant style destroys, in the long run the parties involved and the organization.

IN summary, let's hone our confrontation skills as a way to constructively solve problems: and recognize combativeness as a self destructive tactic.

Jay Leno and the art of nonverbal communications

I must admit, upfront being a fan of Jay Leno.  Specifically his " Headlines" and " Jay Walking segments.Being a trainer, one of my leadership segments addresses non verbal communications.  Of all the training videos, etc. on the subject, Leno provided a primer on the subject last evening.

Relaxed, jocular, trivial conversation with Seinfeld, Leno sat back in his chair: was animated, relaxed, and enable Seinfeld to be the focus of attention: to carry out what was obviously a scripted package of humorous lines.  His body language was open and engaging.

On a more serious note, Leno confronted the rapper K West.  Leno Sat on the edge of his chair: sat at a respectful distance from the interviewee, asked incisive questions, and was deliberately engaging. While on the edge of his chair, Leno used the ask and wait technique ( silence, no interruptions, just silence.  Whether the rappers apparent angst was real or an act, who am I to judge?  Yet Leno treated him with respect and dignity while probing in   a venue not suited for an interview of this type.   Leno remained in control, a no small feat .  A lesson for all  leaders when  confronted with difficult discussions.

Get the right driver on the bus

The advice of "Get the right people on the bus" has resonated thourghtout board rooms and recruiting blogs.  Such sage advice.. plus get the wrong people off the bus..  This advice has created a new paradigm  in American business especially as the downturn continues and companies are cutting into the core of their employee roles.

Following the bus metaphor, what happens if we consider the role of the bus driver.   The "right driver" with a well grounded map knowing where s/he is going . Who knows the shortcuts... the safety features: the paved and unpaid roads to success.  Ahh and compare this with the wrong driver who has a vague idea ofwhere to go: how to get there: who controls the heat and air to fit his internal temperature gauge without regard to the passengers(employees) and who favors sapped over safety.

Of course, the metaphors are many.  But the concept of substituting plant managers, division  vice presidents, chief  financial officers etc etc for the bus driver are endless.  It is possible to have the right people on the bus with the wrong driver.  And the results are similar to the bus being driven into a ravine... calamitous.

Focusing on the hiring and training of leaders (bus drivers) is indeed worth considering as we retool and again grow our companies.

Leadership : Why confrontation gets a negative rap.

 The CEO of a manufacturing firm relayed that all leadership was dictatorial: punitive: top down.  He abhored confrontation.  In his mind assertiveness and aggressiveness are synonomous. 

A summary of  his management style: minimalist: stay out of the way.  Take the easiest compromise possible.  Engage employee issues on a person to person basis rather than as a team.  Reward loyalty punish ingenuity or those who think outside the box.

Having said all this, he wants to change, His vision " to have the company grow".. Yett, he is unable to modify the way he leads because " I have always gotten the best results by >>>>". Translated he wants different results without taking a risk, or engaging people, or engaging in confrontation.

SInce he does not lead, employees hide bad news: do not innovate, and like lemmings to the sea, comply with what they "think" he wants.. They quietly stay beneath the radar.  No, they are not afraid of being fired.  They work in an atmosphere where gray prevails.

In summary, the CEO does not want to lead.  Confrontation as one of the methods to promote understanding and communication are forboden 

Lessons from the Health Care Town Meetings

Whatever your political persuasion, or indeed your position on health care reform (or is it health care insurance reform), the town hall meetings are instructive as applies to leadership and meetings.

Beginning with a diverse and divisive group of attendees, the moderators are faced with the challenge of gaining and maintaining trust with the audience.  Ouch ! Trust has broken down in many of these venues because the politico has one agenda -- to defend health care legislation - and the attendees have more than one topic on their mind.

Secondly, and this is the critical issue. One of the components of a successful Q and A is the ability of the moderator to be concise, accurate, knowledgeable, and to connect with the audience.  In the absence of these criteria being met, an audience or a group of employees, with either tune out the speaker or turn into a surly, antagonistic mob.   In fact, with a suspicious audience in tow, the listeners become adversarial with objectivity and respect having left the premises.

Lesson learned: as a corporate leader, come to the meeting prepared to identify the needs and wants of your audience, knowledgeable about the topic at hand, and with the skills to related to your audience.

Screening In Quality Employment Candidates via Telephone Interviewing

Employment screening is successful when both the employer and candidate merge on common ground. How does this happen?  The basis for in depth candidate evaluation is the positive, I want to get to know you attitude of the recruiter.  Yes, positive approach...

Candidate evaluation is about getting to know the 360 view... Their skilss, interests, history, personna, etc... Those factors relevant to al star performance on the job.

Evaluation is not about "  gotchas". This is not a contest, no a police type interrogation to satisfy the psychic needs of a recruiter who wants to ferret out the dirt.

Look at the questions being asked... How many of them are genuine, behavioral questions attempting to identify areas of agreement?  I recently reviewed a client's telephone interview list.  Of the 30 questions, 23 were negative. The negativity took the place of sincere "peel the onion" questions.

Want a listing of interview questions? contact me at info@rlhassociates.com

Position Titles -- To Whom are they Talking?

There are position titles (descriptive labels), and then there are political nameplates (nice words but what do they say?)

Question - Are titles ego driven, organizationally driven, or functionally important? From an HR Management standpoint, titles should usually reflect the primary functions and status of the position. A connection with reality if you will so indulge the author.  A supervisor of warehousing does just that, supervisors the employees and functions of the warehouse. 

Conversely for the sake of discussion, a warehouse coordinator does what? coordinates the warehouse, what is that?

Titles are very touchy where individuals want to be labeled differently than the position they fill portends. For example, an individual may be adverse to the title of secretary, even thought the duties are just that.  They want status or recognition. Issues? well there is the matter of compensation-- is the position rated as a secretary an IT associate or sales coordinator?  Secondly, take a look at internal politics.. Title comparison and title creep are both breeding grounds for internal angst and negative discussions.

Some high ranking executives promulgate the idea that titles don't matter. Of course not, they have theirs. And they are not going to be changed... The sensitivities of the little person may get lost in the conversation