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WE: How great leaders create an engaged workforce

October 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

Always fascinated by insights and research on how leaders inspire and engage people, I recently talked with Kevin Kruse, author of the best-selling book WE: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement.

Based on millions of employee surveys with organizations around the world, Kevin and his co-author Rudy Karsen found that the three most important drivers of engagement are:

  1. Growth: Team members need to feel they are growing in their careers and learning new things.
  2. Recognition: Team members need to feel that their ideas and accomplishments are appreciated.
  3. Trust: Team members need to trust senior leadership and feel confident about the future.

Here are highlights of our conversation: 

What attracted you to writing about engagement? Why does the world need this book, at this time?

Well as a business leader I always cared a lot about trying to create an empowering culture for employees, and I had won a Best Place to Work in PA award and things like that. But one night, during our annual holiday party, the wife of someone who worked for me came up and said she wanted to thank me for making her marriage better. I really had no idea what she was talking about. She went on to explain that her husband used to be so grumpy when he came home from work, but since he started working for me he went back to being the man she married.

That was pretty powerful. It was long before I understood how our emotions at work spill over to our personal lives and cross over to those around us. But that was when I got the idea that I really wanted to dig into “engagement” and figure out ways we could make it more accessible to everyday managers. As it turns out, job satisfaction is at a record low according to the Conference Board so I think the timing is really good for a book on the subject.

What are the qualities of employees who are especially engaged with their work? What makes them that way?

People who are engaged at work are highly satisfied with their jobs, but they also exhibit more pride and advocacy about the company they work for, and stay with the company longer. All this leads to higher levels of service and productivity, which of course drives higher levels of sales and profit.

In terms of what drives engagement, it’s of course situational. But based on Kenexa surveys of over 10 million workers in 150 countries and on my own experience as an entrepreneur, it usually comes down to three things. Employees want an environment that fosters growth, recognition and trust. Those are the three keys.

If you were on a board interviewing potential CEOs, what qualities would you look for — and why?

Funny you should ask! I am on the Board of a community bank and we just hired a new CEO. Whenever I’m hiring a leader for one of my businesses I always look for high energy–someone who talks and acts like they’re on a deadline, who is driven by growth. And they need to be able to succinctly state the challenge and action steps ahead. I’ve never had a business plan that was longer than one page. We don’t need to make things more complex than they are. All businesses have three constituents: investors, employees and customers. What must we do, right now, to improve metrics in each area. That’s it.

What questions should people ask during job interviews to assess whether the corporate culture is positive, collaborative and flourishing?

Well, it’s always best to talk to people on the inside. Like Kevin Bacon, everyone should be only a few degrees of separation from someone on the inside and having a healthy LinkedIn network is one way to do that. But in the interview itself you should ask what happened to the person who held the position before it was open. You should ask about which decisions are made as a team, which are made by a single individual. Make sure to get a tour of the office you’ll be working in so you can sense the vibe. Is it quiet like a library or mausoleum — or are people working together and making a buzz? Do people have a lot of fun personal effects in their cube — or just bare walls? Tall cube walls — or open space? There is no one right answer, but just make sure it fits your own work personality.

There’s so much written about employee engagement today. What are the three most important things for leaders to understand about this topic? Conversely, what do people obsess about when it comes to engagement that doesn’t matter all that much?

Engagement is all the rage both because it’s important to growth and profits, and it’s also really low in most organizations. Business leaders first need to realize that they need to care about it. Second they need to act like they care. I mean, they need to measure it, reward to it, make sure it’s not a fad. When Doug Conant took over Campbell Soup to turn it around he focused on two metrics: shareholder return against comparable companies, and the number of engaged versus disengaged employees.

The biggest misconception is that employee engagement takes a lot of time and money. It doesn’t. It means using your existing time differently. Managers meet with their direct reports all the time, but they need to make sure to spend some of that time talking about the career goals of team members. Managers have a hundred interactions with their team each day…but how many of them are to say “thanks” or “good job” in a sincere way. CEOs routinely hold “town hall” meetings or send company wide announcements, but how often are they repeating their big hairy audacious goal like a broken record. These are things that count.

What could the United States be if more citizens were engaged?

Let me answer this two ways. Our emotions at work impact all areas of our life. So if more of us were engaged at work, we all would be healthier, have stronger marriages, our kids would do better in schools and incidentally we’d gain about $350 billion in productivity according to Gallup. When it comes to engagement with our country, while I don’t know what our nation would “be”, I can tell you that the reason why we are so disengaged with government and our leaders in Washington is because we don’t feel like we’re growing or advancing and we absolutely don’t trust our leaders to take us to a better place.

Filed Under: Activating change, Books, Communicating, Leadership, Organizational change Tagged With: , , ,

Unexpected finding: what leaders really want

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A Fortune 50 company recently completed a comprehensive two-year talent development program for high-potential leaders.

The company invested heavily — creating innovative games and technologies to help people understand the business, bringing in big ticket leadership speakers, and investing in expensive  development methodologies by some of the world’s best-known leadership gurus.

When asked what they found most valuable about the program, these high-potential leaders said they loved having unstructured time to talk with one another.  Despite the millions invested in the program, what they found most helpful is something that costs little.

Having time to talk with one another was the best part of the program. We had some great conversations during those unstructured 20-minute walks and over meals. We hardly ever get the chance to talk with peers from other divisions. And we hardly ever get the chance to talk without a formal agenda.  Getting to know one another — and know we can talk with one another about issues — was invaluable.

We’re under more pressure than ever before in business, with seemingly every minute booked in meetings and conference calls.

Yet carving out occasional, unhurried time to think out loud with colleagues we rarely spend time with — without an agenda or dreaded PowerPoint presentations –  may be one of the best uses of our most limited resources: time.

 

Filed Under: Communicating, Leadership, Organizational change, Problem solving Tagged With: , ,

Keep asking political leaders this one question?

August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have an idea about how we regular citizens might be able to focus our political leaders on want we want and need — vs. what they need to get re-elected.

What if every time a political leader sponsored a bill, gave a campaign speech, or pronounced a campaign pledge/message, we asked them this question:

How does this do the most good for the most people?

I’m weary of how politicians of every party cater to special interests and the issues that rile people up — or at least get them the most media sound bytes.  I’m disgusted with the blame game. I’m embarrassed that leaders and potential leaders manipulate people around issues that have little to do with governing, but a lot to do with garnering support to be (re) elected.

I want clear answers to this one question so that I can understand what I’m voting for. Or shouldn’t vote for, as the case may be.

Our country, our states, our cities and towns have limited resources, and are likely to become far more limited as we reduce the rate of government spending. So given these resources, how do we make decisions and support programs and policies that do the most good for the most people?

I’m fairly educated, but man oh man, I can hardly make sense of what I hear and read from our government leaders. Isn’t it time we demanded clarity so more of us can understand what’s what? So that more of us can actively take a role in helping our elected leaders serve us — the big collective us, not fringe and special interest groups.

Asking this question is a small action, but maybe if we all get behind it (or something like it) we can make a difference.

Please take this idea and make it yours. If you think there’s a more powerful way to phrase the question, please share that.

I intend to use this question often and with discipline — during my senator and congressman’s town hall teleconferences, adding comments to politician’s blogs and sites and on general media sites, Tweeting after watching campaign stump speeches, writing personal emails and letters to officials while they are debating on potential legislation.

What do you think?

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Language, Leadership, Political communications Tagged With:

Courage to lead: Providence Mayor Angel Taveras

June 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

True leaders are rare. Especially among  elected government officials, who tend to make tough decisions based on how it will affect their re-election chances.

One of those rare leaders is Providence Mayor Angel Taveras,  guiding the city and its people through some exceedingly painful yet necessary decisions in order to fill a $110 million  deficit.  And Providence isn’t just any city. It’s been historically  fraught with corruption, closed-door wheeling and dealing, and an unhealthy influence of self-serving insiders.

I often hear people excuse leaders’ inability to lead, saying things like, “Well he’s got a complicated situation to deal with.” Or, “It will take years for anyone to be able to change this place.”

Yet Taveras is deftly guiding the city through difficult change in order to get on firm financial footing. Imagine being a first-time urban city mayor and having to make tough decisions like closing schools and laying off community teachers, firefighters and police?

Despite these always unpopular decisions, Traveras is earning respect and collaboration from his constituents. The reason? He’s focused on doing what’s right, and working WITH diverse constituents. He isn’t dictating how to get to financial stability; he is collaborating in the true sense of the word with the people in the city who best know how to make changes on a tactical level.

Six critical leadership competencies that Taveras brings as mayor:

  1. Focus on a clear, shared goal: restoring the city to a sound fiscal foundation. Taveras’ message is clear about the urgent need to solve the deficit crisis.  Period.
  2. Honesty: revealing the city’s dire financial situation right after his election. No spinning bad news. No taking time to socialize ideas and tend to politics. Taveras has been a straight shooter, presenting the reality, and calling for people to come together to figure out solutions.
  3. Transparency, sharing: sharing the data to help everyone make better decisions.  Fire union president Paul Dougherty recently said that previous mayoral administrations would withhold financial information and often say, “Find it yourself.”  Taveras’ negotiators, however,  have “been straightforward, and they give you information when you ask for it.”
  4. Admitting missteps: acknowledging mistakes and learning from them. “They’re right,” said Taveras of crticism from the teachers union on how the city revealed teacher layoffs. “We certainly could have done a better job with our teachers and I learned from it.”
  5. Not having the answers: great leaders set goals and ask people with a stake in the outcome to create the best way to achieve those goals.  This approach speeds change. The solution isn’t dictated from above, it’s created by the people closest to the issues who know the issues, and will  be responsible for executing them. Taveras doesn’t claim to have the answers, and believes that Providence’s leaders have the ability to create the “how” now that the why is so vitally clear.
  6. Belief and fortitude: Taveras has a steadfast belief that the city will solve its problems, and he’s steadfast in his belief and his values. “He’s showing me intestinal fortitude that I didn’t think he had,” says Joseph Rodio, a lawyer for the police union. “Most politicians, in their first 60 days in office, become somebody different. He hasn’t.”

Quite simply, Mayor Taveras seems to have the courage to govern for the people and with the people.  That’s the type of leader — not politician — we should be supporting if we really want to make our cities, states and country a better place to live.

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Leadership, Political communications, Problem solving, Smart company stories Tagged With: , ,

Extreme frustration = compliance or dissent

June 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What happens when frustrations in an organization reach a boiling point?

People either check out and say, “Just tell me what I need to do.”

Or they get angry and act out, “We’re mad as hell and aren’t going take this crap any more.”

Compliance or dissent. Both  suck the life out of people and an organization.  At least the vocal dissenters are engaged enough to care and want to do something to improve things. The compliant auto-pilots are much more checked out.

Yet my new research on corporate rebels, to be released in two weeks, finds that executives are far more annoyed with the dissenters who challenge the status quo.  They’re even more annoyed when their leadership decisions are questioned.

Last week I heard a story about a well-regarded, passionate physician at a major teaching hospital who questioned his executives’ decisions in a public forum. Her intention was well meaning. But she was shown the door two days later after years of service. Guess how many talented, frustrated people at that institution are likely to slide right into compliance.

Compliance at a time when heath care desperately needs creative solutions.

What’s a leader of a frustrated organization to do?

  • Open your mindset. People are not challenging you personally. They see problems they want to solve. They aspire to do work that means something more than just putting out today’s fires.
  • Articulate a purpose. Yours as a leader (See this great post from Harvard’s Bill George, “Why Leaders Lose Their Way.”)  Yours as an organization. Why do we exist — beyond the generic  “delivering a profit to our shareholders” or “delivering quality health care.”
  • Change how your organization runs meetings so that everyone has a say. Open by going around the table and asking each individual to share his or her observations and insights.  Try it. You’ll begin to accomplish more and people will feel more valued.
  • Involve people in creating the tactics to achieve the big goals and strategy.  People don’t resist change. They want change. They resist acting on plans that they don’t think are the best way to achieve the goals. This is a different, more collaborative way of creating plans. It might take longer than a few people hunkered in a conference room to bang out the plan in three days. BUT if you tap into people’s collective brilliance, they will come up with tremendous ideas and then MAKE THOSE IDEAS HAPPEN.
  • Know that you don’t have to have all the answers. Your job is to inspire people around a simple but powerful vision of what you’re aiming to accomplish, Your job is to ask new questions. To listen.  To provide more ways for more people to have a voice and know that what they do, think and say matters. To let people vent when their intentions are good. (Angry, destructive people should be booted out, of course.)

People want their work to matter. Let their voices be heard. Involve them in creating better ways.  It may be the only way to succeed in a world of  such seismic change.

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Corporate Rebels, Innovation, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

#Trust30 Day 3: communications can change the world

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Day 3 prompt from The Domino/Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance Project: The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it? (Author: Buster Benson)

_______________________________________________________________

I believe communications can change the world.


It’s not that my friends and family don’t believe this; they just don’t understand why I’m so, so passionate about this belief.  Maybe, too, they’re tired of hearing me talk about this, but not really acting on my convictions.

While I’ve helped corporations and CEOs communicate in new ways to affect change, have I helped organizations and leaders who are out to change the world?

Not so much.

I see an opportunity calling. Or maybe it’s a responsibility

If we have a gift, as I do with bringing people together to see and articulate new possibilities, shouldn’t we use that gift to give back to the world?

Every time I facilitate  workshops magic happens. People get lit up by being able to talk with other people about issues and questions that they rarely have an opportunity to discuss. They begin imagining different approaches. They start connecting and forming trusted, collaborative relationships. They get energized and into that “flow” zone where work doesn’t feel like work.

My intent in the next year is to focus more on helping leaders who want to change the world.  And I hope it’s a mix of corporate and non-profit leaders. The world needs both.

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Language, Leadership

Herd or bird?

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to attracting customers, engaging employees, and earning recognition, this one question may be the most important.

How can we move from this…..

 

 

To this….?

In today’s competitive world the most effective way to attract customers and talented employees  is to offer something special and different that attracts people to seek you out. You don’t have to be an Apple or a Google. You just need to be a company that knows and cares for its tribes so well that those tribes, be they customers or employees, seek you out.  Your passion for their success attracts their passion for your company.

The old way of pushing messages onto people is akin to herding cows.  It’s a lot of work, costs a lot of money,  you have to continually push, and the ROI stinks.

Here are some examples of why pushing and herding fails.

Most leadership training is failing

In a conversation last week Case Western business professor and author Richard Boyzatis said that most leadership development programs fail. Why?  Most companies require people  to take courses (herding), but they’re just not really into them. Without the attraction and motivation to learn, people don’t learn. You can require training (herding) but it’s unlikely to stick.

Most brands are becoming commodities

A study by marketing strategy firm Copernicus found that people buy on price because they view most product categories as commodities; there’s nothing attracting to them to one brand over another. None of the 51 product and service categories analyzed in the brand trends study are becoming more differentiated over time and 90 percent are declining in differentiation. So if nothing is attracting people to your brand,  marketers resort to the herding strategy of promoting cost savings.

Most employees are job hunting

In a recent workplace study by Monster, human resource managers reported that employee loyalty has decreased slightly this year. Yet 82 percent of the workers surveyed said they have updated their resume in the past six months, and 59% say they’re looking for a job all the time.  Challenge and inspiration trumps salary and status: When asked what they want this year, nearly half (41%) of respondents want to be challenged and inspired by their jobs; a subset also want to make a difference in their jobs (17%)

Creating an attraction strategy

So as you step back and evaluate your marketing, HR, leadership and organizational development strategies, ask “what will attract and inspire people?” A better customer experience? New ways to work that challenge people? Training that is completely out of the usual training box?

For more insights into the power of attraction, check out the book, “The Power of Pull.“  My summary of the book is here.

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Advertising, Communicating, Marketing trends, Social media strategy, Word of mouth Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Great ideas come from great questions

May 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What makes some collaboration and brainstorming workshops great — and others a drain? What makes some customer advisory board meetings thought-provoking, high-energy sessions, while others  are a nice meal and friendly conversation?

Aside from having a clear purpose, the most important ingredient for success is asking good questions.

Think back on workshops and meetings that you have loved. What made them so great?  My guess is open-minded people, a skilled facilitator, and great questions that you rarely have the opportunity to discuss with other smart people.  And those great questions probably helped you see new ideas that got people excited

Here are some questions to consider as you frame up an agenda for your next collaborative session. They’re from “The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation and Action” that you can download here from The World Cafe.

 

  • Is this question relevant to the real work of the people who will be exploring it?
  • Is this a genuine question—a question to which I/we really don’t know the answer?
  • What “work” do I want this question to do? That is, what kind of conversation, meanings, and feelings do I imagine this question will evoke in those who will be exploring it?
  • Is this question likely to invite fresh thinking/ feeling? Is it familiar enough to be recognizable and relevant—and different enough to call forward a new response?
  • Is this question likely to generate imagination, engagement, creative action, and new possibilities or is it likely to increase a focus on past problems and obstacles?
  • Does this question leave room for new and different questions to be raised as the initial question is explored?

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Innovation, Language, Problem solving Tagged With: , , , ,

Leadership lessons from Oprah

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It was spring of 1986 and my boss asked if I wanted to go to a women’s conference at the Sheraton in New York City.  Looking at a calendar full of looming client deadlines, I hesitated.

“A woman named Oprah Winfrey is going to be speaking,” he said. “I’ve heard from  friends in Chicago that she’s going to be a big star.”

I went and got my first dose of Oprah.

The conference wasn’t one of the big ballrooms; it was a smaller function room, but boy did Oprah fill it up with energy and a message that we women had the power to change the world — and still be women. ( I remember  her partner Stedman joined her, and Oprah called him the love of her life.) Her style was unpolished but charismatic, genuine and positive. She was a woman who wasn’t trying to act like a man, which was so common during the 80s.

So of course today (and yesterday) I watched Oprah wind up her 25 year show. Looking back on these many years she shared what she’s learned.

  • We all have a calling, what we’re meant to be doing in the world. When we live what we’re suppose to be doing — however small or big — we’re using our life to serve the world.
  • We are all responsible for our own lives. No one can fix us, save us, give us the answers. We create our our own energy.
  • The root of all struggles is not feeling worthy enough to be happy or successful
  • Everyone wants to be validated and be heard.  We can change the world one person at a time by letting a person know that I see you. I hear you. What you say matters to me. Validate their value.
  • The secret to her success has been her staff and God. “My success has been waiting and listening for guidance greater than my meager mind provides,” she said. “What are the whipsers in your life right now. Your life is speaking to you. Are you hearing it?”

Many tweets and Facebook posts have been moaning about Oprah’s long send off.  My sisters laughed at me when I told them I had re-arranged my business schedule to watch these last shows.

What people miss is that Oprah is not just a celebrity. She is a leader.

There are not enough inspirational people in the world focused on serving others.  There are too few role models who give and give and give — of themselves and of their wealth.

Oprah has inspired thousands and thousands to be more than they thought possible – and to pass on that gift and by helping others.

Speakers at leadership conferences seem to all share the same examples of exemplary leaders –  Steve Jobs, Ronald Reagan, Sam Walton, Herb Kelleher, FDR, Churchill. (Notice many are dead, and all are men….)

They’re great examples, but Oprah sets new standards in what it means to be a leader for our times, and is worthy of the label  of leader.

Love you Oprah. Even when we shared all that big hair and shoulder pads in 1986.

 

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,

Have I got a story for you

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“I’m so tired of  hearing about corporate storytelling,” a corporate communications manager confessed to me recently. “Really, what does “storytelling” mean for businesses? What am I suppose to do to create “stories.”

“There are nine story themes that people like hearing about from companies,” I explained. “If you create content  based on those themes you’ll  be turning your messages into stories.”

I introduced these nine story themes four years ago when I published the book Beyond Buzz. This simple model is used around the world by companies and agencies of all sizes to get unstuck and come up with fresh ways to connect with customers, employees and analysts.   Guy Kawasaki included these themes in his new book “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,” writing,

“These story lines from Lois Kelly, author of Beyond Buzz, will help you craft a story that does your cause justice.”

Sean Moffit and Mike Dover also include them in their excellent new book “Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Economy,” saying:

“People love to tell stories. When repeated they reinforce a message; when told well they become viral. Lois Kelly suggests nine types of stories in her book Beyond Buzz that get talked about.”

The 9 themes

  1. Great aspirations (Patagonia believing a company can grow big and sustain the environment in innovative ways)
  2. David vs. Goliath (Southwest Airlines taking on the big, established players)
  3. Personal stories (Fred Smith on why he started FedEx, and why investors funded the company after they met the janitor)
  4. Contrarian/counterintuitive (BestBuy deciding to fire some of its customers. What? A company doesn’t fire customers?!)
  5. Avalanche about to roll (Spotting, forecasting early trends before they’re big and in the mainstream)
  6. Anxieties (Does your child have what it takes to get into a good college?)
  7. How-to (How to do things related to your service/product to help customers)
  8. Glitz and glam (What you can learn from Sara Jessica Parker about investing money)
  9. Seasonal/event related (Financial and tax advice leading up to April 15; vacation deals just before he summer)

Download the eBook, check out Guy Kawasaki’s post

Not in the mood for reading books to learn more?  Click here to visit the Foghound resource center, and download a copy of the eBook, “Beyond Buzz: Let’s Talk About Something Interesting.” Or check out Guy Kawasaki’s post, “How to Change the World: The Nine Best Story Lines for Marketing.”

 

 

Filed Under: Advertising, Books, Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Point of View & Messaging, Social media strategy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Putting words to why your company exists

May 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A great company purpose  is a rallying cry that inspires employees and customers.  It moves people emotionally, creates a differentiation that has nothing to do with products or price, and can be explained by anyone in the company.

The best example is Nike. While most of us know the company’s 20 year-old “Just Do It” motto, there’s much more to why Nike exists. Simon Sinek, author of the great book “Start with Why” shares this story about Nike founder Phil Knight over on his re:Focus blog:

Looking across the audience, Knight asked those who run to stand up.  And a good percentage of the room stood up.  Then he asked those who run three or more times a week to keep standing; everyone else was asked to sit down.Looking out at the people left standing, Knight said, “we are for you.”

“When you get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go for a run,” he went on, “even if it’s cold and wet out, you go. And when you get to mile 4, we’re the one standing under the lamp post, out there in the cold and wet with you, cheering you on.  We’re the inner athlete.  We’re the inner champion.”

Without a single mention of their latest technologies or which athletes wear their products, Knight makes a vastly more compelling case for Why we want Nike in our lives. Nike may or may not be better, but we are drawn to them because they have a cause.

Nike doesn’t want to make products for everyone, they want to make products for champions.  Champions are not the ones who always win races, champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. Champion is a state of mind. They are devoted.  They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others.  Champions are not just athletes.  Champions are entrepreneurs, politicians, nurses, soldiers, students and Hall of Famers.  Nike wants to make products for all champions.

Most companies have clever or meaningless tag lines (marketing) and bland, gobbledygook mission/vision statements (corporate communications). Few can express why they exist in a way that inspires.

Imagine what might happen if you could?  And you can.

A simple workshop exercise is to ask people, “If our company were a cause, what would our rallying cry be?”

Be prepared to be amazed at what your own people believe. And if they are stumped? Time for some corporate soul searching. If you don’t know why you exist — other than making money and improving shareholder value — you really can’t lead effectively. Manage, sure. Lead, no.

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Advertising, Books, Communicating, Language, Leadership, Smart company stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

When leaders are open

April 19, 2011 By 1 Comment

When we’re open to ideas they often emerge unexpectedly, almost out of nowhere.

“Where do you come up with these ideas,” I’ve heard leaders ask people, almost incredulously.  Interestingly many creative types don’t necessarily come up with the ideas. Instead, they’re tuned into the world in a wide open frequency, and they find ideas. Or people suggest things to them and they have the interest and courage to say, “Huh. What if we took that idea and….”

The challenge as leaders is to be open. To not have our plans so locked down that there isn’t room for a new approach. To not think of “research” in only the traditional market research ways. To listen to people and take in not just the idea, but how the person feels about the idea. Is there a certain hunger, drive, passion in how the person is sharing an idea?  That’s always a signal for me to tune in. This just might not be business as usual.

Here’s a TED talk from Eric Whitacre who, with two thousand other people around the world, created a magical virtual choir. And it started with a young woman sending him a video with an idea and Eric saying, “huh…what if….”

Take a look. Inspiring. A reminder to me to keep some white space open for opportunities that just might come out of left field.

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Communities, Innovation, Leadership Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting rid of bureaucracy, bloated processes

April 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The processes for getting things done in many companies can get so complex that it takes forever to move from point A to point B,  bogging down progress, frustrating employees and often inadvertently making customers and vendors crazy.

Before a new initiative starts at many big organizations, you need to involve legal, compliance, procurement, the quality management office — all with their own processes. You need to get a certified project management specialist, an executive sponsor, a cross-functional team, and a governance charter for how it will all work together.

Sometimes this makes sense. Other times it plain out doesn’t.  Just as IT systems, HR policies, and marketing strategies can become irrelevant, so can business processes.

Why not be the person who has the courage to bring people together to adjust  processes and get rid of what no longer works?  If you’re extremely frustrated, chances are that others are too.

In today’s New York Times Russell Bishop, author of the excellent book Workarounds That Work, suggests some simple solutions for bureaucratic roadblocks. (“Don’t Let Bureaucracy Ruin Your Day”)

Assemble your teams and ask a series of questions:

  • What are we trying to accomplish here?
  • Why does it matter?
  • How does our current process help our goals?
  • How does it hinder them?
  • What hurdles have we created for our customers or suppliers? What makes it difficult to do business with us?
  • Based on what we’re learning, what do we need to stop doing? What do we need to keep doing?

Bishop cites an example of a state agency that pulled people together, asked these fundamental questions,  and reduced 100 pages of  process rules to 20 pages.

Maybe the business equivalent of spring cleaning should be to examine  processes to see if they’re helping or hurting the business.

Still not sure? Check out this video. Powerful statistics about “corporate systems holding people back and diminishing employee creativity.” The point: how to get the company systems to work for you vs. you working for the company systems.

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Corporate Rebels, Problem solving Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Solving the RISD leadership problem

March 14, 2011 By 2 Comments

 

Carly Fiorina at HP. Larry Summers at Harvard. And now John Maeda at Rhode Island School of Design. (RISD)

These leaders  all committed a fatal leadership mistake: they charged into organizations with strong  cultures and completely ignored the organizational DNA. They tried to force their beliefs on organizations with much different beliefs.  Things almost always end very badly for the leader when this happens.

Changing these revered institutions is necessary and difficult.  I followed all three leaders closely and admired their strategies for how to transform their institutions to be more relevant and dynamic. It’s a shame that such brilliant people didn’t understand a critical leadership fundamental.

The way to inspire people to change is to show them how new ideas support the organization’s reason for being and unique organizational beliefs.  Put change into the context of how it honors the organization’s rich culture and history, and how it makes the organization even more relevant for today’s opportunities.

Alas, these leaders fell into at least one of these three leadership traps:

  1. They did not identify their organization’s true and unique  DNA, the beliefs and values widely shared by multiple constituents — employees, trustees, board members, shareholders, customers, alumni.
  2. They knew the cultural DNA,  but did not know how to use it to inform decisions, build trusted relationships, or communicate change.
  3. They knew #1 and #2 but didn’t care about the culture. They were so passionate and/or arrogant about their new ideas that they wanted to move them ahead fast. Taking the time to align new strategies with the organizational beliefs and culture was viewed as “slowing things down.”  This approach almost always sends the message the new leader doesn’t think anyone else is as smart as they; things aren’t up for discussion and input because “I am smarter than you.”

John Maeda has not yet been asked to leave RISD.  But after an whopping 82 percent of the faculty gave him and the provost a “no confidence” vote, the chances of his survival are slim. Especially as this vote came just weeks after the faculty voted overwhelmingly against a five-year strategic plan.

In today’s Providence Journal Maeda said the problem at RISD is about communications, but from my conversations with RISD faculty and staff the problem appears to be about a deep cultural disconnect and questions on whether Maeda has the needed leadership competencies to run this college.  Few executives can ever repair that damage.

As RISD moves forward — with or without Maeda — it would be well worth their time to bring their people  together — faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees — and uncover the purpose, beliefs and values that have made this prestigious art college so successful for so many years.  Then use those beliefs as a yardstick on which to assess future leadership decisions, inform strategic directions, and inspire their people to create what’s next.

Based on my experience helping organizations in this type of situation, enaging people in this collaborative process not only gives them a voice, it helps them and the organization heal and look ahead with confidence and optimism.

That’s good leadership.

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Social media obsession dies, real work starts

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Now that we’re getting over social media lust and obsession, it’s time to get to the real work.

As Seth Godin points out in his post today, “Bring me the stuff that’s dead, please,” the real work is focusing on what we’re saying, not how or where we’re saying it. It’s creating new value with all the tools at our disposal.  Not just using the tools willy-nilly.

Much deserved attention — and too much undeserved hype — has been spent on the need to have social media.  It’s an amazing way to communicate.  But what are you communicating?

Edward Murrow wrote more this than 60 years ago. Replace “the newest computer” with “social media’ and his advice is still relevant.

“The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it.”

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Language, Marketing trends, Social media strategy Tagged With:
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