Month: August 2015

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Customer Service Articles, Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Leadership Follies – Avoiding The Customer At All Costs

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

“What does it matter? If I get it done by Monday, that’s not going to make or break us.”

In the hyper-competitive world of work, it does not seem logical that anyone would not feel a sense of panic or anxiety when it comes to customers.  Based on the recent economic downturn, people should see the costs of not paying attention to the customer.

And yet, the notion of understanding the impact that each employee has on gaining and/or retaining customers is foreign to many.

But why?

Although I am not a trained Harvard or University of Chicago economist, I feel it is same to assume that the key to business success is gaining more new customers and retaining more customers than your competition.

But in a recent studies, the evidence is:

  • 50% of professionals survey felt like retaining customers was not part of their job and;
  • over 75% of those same professionals indicated that gaining customers was not their job.

Everybody’s Job

So the question is, whose job is it?

Companies have dedicated sales and customer service departments, so that must be the answer, right?  Not so fast, if it is true that the most important aspects of business is to gain and keep customers, how can it not be everyone’s job?

Many highly successful companies know this to be true.  Every person in an organization must take the customer into account when completing tasks, developing projects, giving evaluations, etc.  Why?  If employees are clear about how they impact the customer, they will be inclined to drive towards high performance AND hold others within the organization to a higher standard.

How do you get people to see that?

That is the $64,000,000 question.  Over the years executives have stated concerns about getting employees into the conversation about how to gain/keep customers if they are not directly involved with them.  Hogwash.  It has been shown that employees that feel as if their work is meaningful are more productive and actively increase organizational profitability.  Employees want to make a difference, they want to work hard to produce results.  There are two tactics to unlocking this potential and make sure employees see their impact on the customer.

Line of Sight
Line of sight is the straight line that each employee has to gaining and retaining customers.  Regardless of the role, each employee needs to see that impact.  Understanding the impact their role has on the customer adds context to their actions and decisions.

Think about it like this:

Purpose

Great managers not only tell their team a task/project that needs to be done.  They tell them why it should be done at all. What is the greater overall impact, how will if affect other teams and ultimately the customer. Knowing the purpose ensure that employees don’t feel like just another cog in the machine, but an important part of the overall strategy.

Clarity

Great Leaders provide role clarity to the folks on their teams.  It is not enough to simply be clear about what a team provides to other teams, but how they impact the customer.  Whether a janitor, programmer or marketing executive each person plays a role in gaining and retaining customers.  Some roles are more direct than others, but all have an impact.  It may mean that leaders need to do some digging themselves and determine  that path.  But each person needs to see it.  Understanding the impact on the customer will add meaning and credibility to their role and the tasks associated with it.

Outcomes

Once teams (and employees) are clear about their path to the customer and the purpose of their roles it is time to turn them loose.  In Daniel Pink’s latest book Drive, he states shows how Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose enables huge positive impact on organizational outcomes.  Since purpose has already been discussed,  let’s spend just a moment on Autonomy and Mastery.

~Autonomy

Within reasonable boundaries, employees should be able to carry out their roles (tasks and projects) in the best way to support gaining and retaining customers.  Creativity stems from the autonomy to develop, think and sometimes fail.  When held to outcomes, specifically those related to gaining and retaining customers, employees will strive to do more.

Therefore, it is better to allow employees to try, experiment and possibly fail than do the same thing that has worked (or not) for the past number of years.  It s vital to get work done, but unless you are working on an assembly line, they is probably a number of different and valid ways to get things done.

~Mastery

Employees should be pushed to pursue mastery in their role.  Mastery is all about engagement. It is immersing oneself into a particular role, task or project.  Although mastery of anything is nearly impossible, the journey towards it is enlightening and enlivening.

Now what?

As a leader, there are three steps to providing line of sight for your teams and employees:

1. Learn and explain the purpose of each project and task as it relates to the customer.  Link actions back to impact on the customer.  This may take a bit longer and may mean a little digging, but it is well worth it in the end.

2. Understand the link between what your team does and the customer.  Present that to the team and discuss what that means.  How will that impact their actions?  Make it a visual that can be seen by everyone on the team.  Start to ask the question – “How will this action impact the customer?” or  “How will this help in gaining and retaining customers?”

3. Stress outcomes.  Evaluate performance on outcomes.  In the context of supporting gaining and retaining customers, people will generally do the right thing.  Focus on what they accomplish and not on the steps taken to get there.  Allowing for autonomy and focusing on gaining mastery will enable teams to do what is best for the customer in the long run.

4. Encourage employees to talk about how they impact the customer.  Employees need to understand the link between what they do and the customer.  Encouraging them to find out on their own increases the likelihood of it sticking with them and informing their future actions.

Companies that don’t focus on gaining and retaining customers are doomed to not have to worry about either sooner than they think.  How are you going to clarify the line of sight for your teams?  What other actions can you take?  Please let me know.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Leadership Follies – Yes You Are Unique, But Not That Different

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

BEST PRACTICES AND METHODOLOGIES WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS ARE USEFUL AND EFFECTIVE. IT IS NOT REALISTIC TO THINK THAT EVERYTHING MUST BE CREATED OR INVENTED IN AN ORGANIZATION.

But, it’s important to leverage strengths and weaknesses of the organization to select and implement the practices that will have the greatest positive impact. Making sure to involve key individuals will increase the likelihood of success and reduce the chances of “practice rejection.”

The most common phrase I hear is “well, we are different”.

I often hear this phrase when a solution is proposed, a recommendation is offered, or at the start of a project.

That phrase is like a mantra or excuse to:

  • Refuse to try a proven approach
  • Be unwilling to  adopt a suggested change that has shown to improve performance or
  • Believe that somehow market forces will not affect the company.

After implementing a big change within a company, the company’s typical reaction or response to the change is to:

  • Drift back to what is known
  • Focus on “what got them to the dance”
  • Focus on what they thought made them successful

What if  the tactics that the company has always used to be successful are no longer effective? Worse yet, what if those tactics are the cause of the organization’s current state of malaise, or even to the verge of forced change?

THE HORRIBLE TRUTH

“The horrible truth is that at the core, most organizations are not really all that different.  

Yes, each company is unique just like people are. Within each company, you find diverse personalities.

These personalities portray specific characteristics that make people act a certain way in groups; enabling them bond well together or bond poorly together when then they face adversity. But, like people, companies at their core are not that different.

“This is why the best practices are in fact, best practices.”

They work well in many different situations. The problem is that when they are adopted, the adapter tries to do it exactly like it is written. This does not take into account the uniqueness.

THE SHOE HAS TO FIT

Let me use this analogy to help you understand…

I’m about 5′ 1″ tall. For a man, this is considered short. I love to workout. One could say that it is a passion of mine. If

I operated like some organizations, I would workout the way an NBA star would, changing none of the criteria; doing the workout exactly the same way.

In this situation, I would quickly realize that this workout does not “fit” for me, due to my height and body structure.
This would result in me getting angry. I would put all the blame on the workout, and potentially gain the mentality that “all workouts suck,” and that none of them work since none of them seem to work for me.

The problem with that statement is that it is not finished. The statement should be:

“None of them work for me, because I didn’t alter them to fit me and my uniqueness.”

This is what makes the glass slipper fit. As professionals in organizations, it is incumbent upon us to put our focus on learning about ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses, etc.

“This attitude should be a minimum requirement.

Then we need to take the best practice, and modify it to accentuate the strengths andmitigate the weaknesses.

It could help us build “muscle” around the weaker parts.  

This coincides with what happened when I started to run. I built the muscles strong around my knees to reduce the chance of injury. Companies need to do the same with the human components of their organizations.

INCREASING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Here are some tactics to increase organizational effectiveness:

  • Learn about yourself and your organization
  • Acknowledge what your organization excels at
  • Elaborate on what your organization does best
  • Find out why your organization is best at what they excel at
  • Find out what you are exceptional at doing

Acknowledge your weakness.

Yes, I said weakness.  It’s not an opportunity, it’s a weakness. That is like saying my height is an opportunity. It does not acknowledge reality…

Employee and customer surveys, coupled with internal and external interviews, is a good way to acknowledge your weakness. The combination will give you insight to your strengths and weaknesses.

Take on new practices, programs, and initiatives that make sense and willpositively impact your organization by doing these things:

1. Using what you know about your organization by analyzing “best practices“.

2. Eliminate those that are not a good fit, because they either don’t key in on your strengths or they don’t take into account your weaknesses.

3. Be clear about why you need it. What is the problem you are trying to solve. No problem? Don’t make one up, a real one will come along soon enough.

4. Once you have the reason and the practice

5. Modify the practice to fit your uniqueness. Make sure that it is culture sensitive.

6. Integrate the practice fully – embed it into performance structures, celebrate those that embrace it, and work hard to make it part of the “everyday” of your company.

7. Throw it out if it doesn’t work! – If you have a practice that is not working, acknowledge it and stop doing it. Make it public that you are doing so, and that you are either replacing it or searching for a new one.

GET BUY IN FROM KEY FOLKS ON THE PRACTICE

  • There are key people in the organization, both formal and informal leaders, that influence others. Bring them in early and often to develop and deploy the practice.
  • Let them alter the practice to fit the organization
  • Make sure to roll it out in a coordinated way utilizing these key leaders to train and communicate it

WORDS OF CAUTION

  • Never say that you are adopting a practice because you read it in a book. It doesn’t make sense and it is insulting. Instead, discuss how the practice might work in the organization.
  • Don’t try to institute some new management practice without people in the field/front line providing input. Although this is a standard practice, it is not done with enough frequency.

“If it’s not working, don’t keep doing it.”

So, how are you doing at sizing up your organization? Are you dealing with reality when it comes to the true issues and problems that your people face? What can you do in the coming year to help reorganize your teams so that “the shoe fits” properly? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Leadership Follies: The Art Of Management By Shiny Objects

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

One of the biggest issues that face many leaders today is the lack of clarity in the direction of their teams and organizations.

This is most evident directly after a big change.

It is not that team members are not well-meaning or that they don’t try to do the right thing, it is that they suffer from something called the “follow the shiny object” syndrome.

Shiny Object Syndrome

This is not a new syndrome, it is one that is pervasive across the globe. It begins when we are children and are shown a shiny object. This shiny thing gets our attention and takes our concentration away from whatever it was that we are occupied with previously.

It takes effort and practice to not be swayed by the shiny object.

Unfortunately for most of us, we fail at this task miserably.

Causing Panic

This is no more evident than a recent client project I was working on. After a very large and comprehensive change to the organization, the first sign that the change was “not taking” caused a panic.

The group was distracted by a meaningless item of shiny proportions that temporarily distracted their focus of attention. It was not even a real business driver; just grumbling from folks that had a hard time with the change underway. As one can imagine, this “shiny object” put my client and their “minions” into a panic and put them scurrying into action.

They began surveying, interviewing, and doing all sorts of data-gathering to determine how well the “change” was going and if the “change” was successful.

Unfortunately, it was so close to the actual implementation of the change-project  that the data we collected was inconclusive. Their well-meaning action started to make me think about what it is about the “shiny object” that has us be so intrigued about it.

Defining the Distraction

In organizations, “shiny objects” are defined as projects or requests or initiatives that take a team or large group of people away from  a critical task. Usually, it is an action that has little up side and sometimes can be detrimental.

3 Reasons

There are really 3 main reasons why new “shiny objects” take our focus away from change initiatives (which might be considered the “original shiny object”)

1. If people cannot tell what the shiny object is they are working toward, they will go after a new one

There is not a clear definition or picture of what success looks like once the change or project or task is complete. We don’t know or don’t have an idea of what the end will look like or feel like.  Therefore, we can’t adequately describe it.
People are left with either making up their own idea of what the end will look like or being left in “the unknown”. It makes people uncomfortable and has them make up things about the change or the project or the task that makes them uncomfortable.

2. Sometimes, things are not shiny enough – The reason for the change was not made clear or is not compelling.

A fundamental of change management is convincing people that change is paramount to the success of the organization.  Oftentimes, it’s the result of showing people how bad it’ll get if there is no change. If there is no compelling reason for the change or that reason is not convincing.
People will be left thinking that it is easier to keep doing what they’re doing or what they were doing before the change…even if that wasn’t working.

3. Too many other shiny objects – There is a lack of clarity within the organization’s hierarchy about the change and its impact.

One of the places that change falls down in many organizations is the all-important communication post change. There is always energy (and sometimes enthusiasm) about the change as it is approaching and even once the change has happened.

It’s a little bit like an afterglow.

But if there is not a clear path to follow and communication about what people should expect they get stuck in the “messy middle”.   It’s imperative that no matter the work effort leading up to the change.

There is constant and regular communication about the change and its impact with the senior leadership team.

There must be a cascading communication plan that hits every employee so that they know what they’re experiencing is normal.

Coupled with training or other tools that help gain the skills necessary to be successful.

Real Life Relationships

Organizations, managers, leaders, employees and shareholders have been conditioned to follow the “shiny object” of the quarterly stock report. They have all been conditioned to focus on the shiny object as important.  Making  it almost impossible to think about long-term success or planning.

Therefore, it is critical for change to be successful that the post-change has as much or more concentration than the implementation of the change itself.

Sometimes this makes me think about when I first got married. My beautiful wife was, and is, the most important thing that I have in my life. I pursued her with a single purpose in mind.

And once we were husband and wife, life’s issues began to get in the way.

As with most newlywed couples, we began to see that if we didn’t pay attention to this big change, our harmonious marriage would be difficult and we probably would face many unnecessary trials. So, with this in mind, we made a concerted effort to spend as much time working on our new relationship as we did trying to get in to it. Thankfully, that worked!

Relationships at Work

It is important that we make sure to not manage using the shiny object methodology. It wears people out and tends to make them feel like whatever they’re working on is not important because it’s probably going to change. It gives them little investment in their current project and reduces their ability to feel a sense of completion.

So, what are you going to do to stop running after the shiny object? How are you going to master the elements of focus that really beckon your attention? How are you going to be a master of your domain? I would love to hear your story!
This blog also appears on the Linked2Leadership Blog.  Please visit them!

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

How To Be A Leadership Sissy

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

What’s the matter here? Are we a bunch of Leadership Sissies?

Why can’t we face the truth sometimes and just tell people like it is? If someone has their wheel stuck in a performance ditch, what’s the big problem with telling people that they are not doing a good job? Why are we SO careful about protecting their feelings and not so careful about being honest? Why don’t we just help them get back on the road to performance success? Are we scared? Are we a bunch of sissies?

My Perspective

I was raised to be kind, polite and tactful.  Therefore, I choose my words wisely and work very hard to make sure that I am understood.  But does that preclude honesty?  Does that mean coddling people at work is acceptable?

No, no it does not.  Not only does coddling undermine the individual’s ability, it reduces the productivity of a team and perpetuates mediocrity.

Leadership is about telling the truth

The truth is not mean or callous.  It is simply the truth.  When told in a polite, respectful and tactful manner it can be life changing for a follower or team. When held back from followers out of fear, ignorance, or malpractice, you are being a Leadership Sissy. (Oh… and for the record… don’t be one of those…)

As a consultant, I have seen unworthy people get promotions, rewards and kudos.  It always makes me wonder – What does that teach people?  Does that really benefit them?  Again, I would have to say no.  Telling the truth sets people, teams and organizations free to succeed.  I owe this lesson to Tiffany.

Tiffany was a member of a team that I had the privilege of managing early in my career.  I inherited an established team.  My role was to help the team go from perpetual underperformer to award winning.  It did not take me long to see that, among many other process oriented issues, the team was dragged down by re-doing Tiffany’s work.  Tiffany was well-liked and was a genuinely nice person.  But, she did not do her job well.  Other team members had to cover for her mistakes and had to re-do work she spent too long completing.

Tiffany was one of those employees that perpetually underperformed.  But instead of being reprimanded, coached or terminated, she was moved to a new team.  She had been with the company for eight years.  I was her latest manager. Speaking to her previous managers I heard a common theme.

“Tiffany is a wonderful person, but not very effective.”

Hmmm, I thought.  Why on earth didn’t any of them try coaching her? Or why didn’t they get her training, etc?  The short answer was that they had actually tried everything. But when things got tough, instead of having difficult performance conversations with her to help her learn and grow, they just moved her off their team and on to someone else’s at the first opportunity.

I began to wonder if there was anything I could do.  Like any good manager, I searched for the answer on Google.  To my shock, I found that it takes an average of four to twelve years to fire an underperforming employee.  According to experts, most of that was due to managers being nice instead of honest about performance.  I was determined not to be one of the statistics.

It was a shock to Tiffany’s system when I started holding her to account for her objectives, standards and work completed. 
Tiffany was not meeting any of her objectives or goals.  After 3 months of coaching conversations, write-ups and trips to HR, I fired Tiffany.  She left with a nice severance package and money for job re-training.

Time for a Turnaround

Almost immediately, the team’s performance improved.  Within the first year of my leading this team, they were nominated for an award from a previously dissatisfied vendor.  There was a lot of work that went into this turnaround.  But the catalyst was firing Tiffany.  It set the team free to solve other performance issues.  That team charted the course for the work I do today.

What makes that so hard?  Why shouldn’t we be more honest?

It’s not always easy to be honest. Not mean or uncaring, but simply saying what is so about performance.  In my experience I have seen that many leaders are not good at telling the truth about  job good or bad performance.

It is actually easy to set up structures to recognize people that do a good job.  It takes actively concentrating on making an example of those people that do a great job and providing them with the opportunities and rewards.

The alternative to that is mediocrity.

There is only one sure fire way to lose weight.  Eat better and exercise more.  It is the same thing with enhancing performance. Being honest about performance problems shines a light on how to improve them.

That means:

  • When someone isn’t pulling their weight, tell them.
  • When someone does an outstanding job, make an example of them.
  • When someone isn’t right for the job, help them find a new one.
  • When someone excels at their job, they should be recognized or promoted, or both
  • When someone doesn’t do what they say they’re going to do, hold them accountable.
  • When someone is accountable, that should be noted.
  • When someone breaks a rule, consequences must be paid.
  • When someone mistreats a fellow employee, they have to be dealt with accordingly (regardless of position within the organization.)
  • When someone goes out of their way to help a fellow employee, they should be rewarded.

Although there has to be a process, it must be okay to move people out of the organization that aren’t working out.  Otherwise employees will see that it’s acceptable to just get by.  Great companies don’t just get by.

Based on my experience with Tiffany, I often tell clients that employees need to be clear about:

  • What is expected of them
  • What success looks like
  • How performance will be rated
  • What will happen if they don’t follow the rules
  • That it’s okay to take risks
  • That they will be rewarded for doing a great job

Then, managers must be trained on how to provide that clarity.  Managers also be a part of the system and held accountable for their behaviors and actions.

Whatever happened to Tiffany?

I received a letter from Tiffany six months after she left the company.  In it, she thanked me for what I did.  She was now a very successful sales person at a retail store making three times her salary while working for me.  With this news, I was truly happy for her.

Every time I see an under-performing person or group that I am afraid of hurting by being honest, I remember Tiffany.  She taught me that being honest benefits everyone.

Are you telling the truth about performance?  When all else fails, do you look to move people out of the organization that are under-performing? Or do you just pass them along down the dirt road of dysfunction where they’ll slip into the ditch again? If you have one, I’d love to hear your “Tiffany” story!

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles Permalink

Leadership Follies – Does My Butt Look Fat In These Jeans?

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

Do you tell people the truth even when it might hurt? How many white lies have you told to make others feel better? When something is wrong do you say so?

My wife and I got into this big argument because I didn’t tell her when something looked horrible on her.  She is a beautiful woman, but picked an outfit that didn’t really flatter her.  But, I wanted her to “feel good”.  Instead it turned out that she was embarrassed by how bad she looked.

As I was getting ready to sleep on the couch that night I wondered how often that happens in leadership.  Why try to make people feel good instead of telling the truth?

After speaking to fellow leaders, coaches and experts, I found that there was a real cost at work for telling white lies or “sugar coating”.  As leaders, not telling the truth about performance, ideas, etc. actually undermines progress.  Yet, it is something that is done every day.

These “little” lies keep pushing people down the wrong path one nudge at a time. Unfortunately, it is more like pushing them off the plank into shark infested waters.

It is as if leaders say:

“Hey, here is a tasting pastry treat for you as you travel down that road of yours. I hope you enjoy the little white frosting I put on top. It should help propel you to get to that destination!”

But the ugly truth is “the sugar coating of white lies” seems to keep employees (or spouses) happy and moving along!  The problem is that with all the “white lies” the sugar crash that is coming.  Instead of facing a difficult or crucial conversation many leaders just keep feeding them the white lies because it makes them smile for now.  It is also easier than telling the truth.

What can you do?

It seems hard, but leaders must say what is so.  If performance is good, people should be recognized.  If it is not, it needs to be addressed.

Here’s how to keep those fattening and addictive white lies at bay:

1) Understand how to have “difficult conversations” using the Crucial Conversations methodology
1. Be specific about what happened.  Avoid watering down the facts.
2. Be honest and respectful.
3. Discuss what’s recent and relevant.
4. Watch for signals that the other person feels unsafe, and take appropriate action.
5. Employ active listening skills

2) Make a practice of saying two good things before saying the one negative thing
People are hungry for praise and recognition, something they don’t get as much of as they should at work or at home.  It is important to make sure people understand you do appreciate what they do.  But please don’t patronize.  Telling someone something nice about themselves that is untrue is another white lie.

3) Create a culture of truth
It is not easy but in order to get truthfulness there must be an environment that demands, respects and allows for trust and honesty.  There are many different ways to make this a reality, but it starts with the leader insisting and rewarding for it.

4) Admit failures readily
“When you make a mistake, you have to acknowledge that is so.  If you don’t you are at serious risk of losing all credibility and there is only one way to get it back: Admit you were wrong.” – Dwight Eisenhower

5) Teach how to come prepared with a handful of possible solutions with every WELL-DEFINE issue at hand
Problems don’t make teams, people and organizations great.  Solutions do.  Make sure that there is a solution or at least a thought of a solution for every problem that is brought up.  Remember the adage – Don’t tell me that it’s raining.  Tell me how to build the ark.

6) Teach how to build others up honestly and not falsely
Leaders must ensure that there is little room for spreading rumor and innuendo.  It might seem like human nature to back-stab and undermine, but that is really only true in TV dramas.  Honesty on teams has shown to increase productivity, creativity and reduce absenteeism.
“When you work alongside people you don’t trust and therefore don’t like, you’ll find the team becomes dysfunctional and can result in staff turnover, because people are sick of covering for lies,”

7) Hold people accountable
Don’t hesitate to remove someone that is not productive or honest.  Sometimes by losing one poor performer, a team can be twice as effective!

8) When lies do happen, expose them gently and explain where that lie would falsely lead someone and re-engineer the trajectory with the truth.
People lie.  Unfortunately, leaders face this dilemma at some point.  It is critical that leaders        address them head-on.  Once a lie is uncovered, the person lying must do whatever it takes to correct it.  That could mean offering an apology, revealing the truth or anything else necessary.

So now what?

With as much tact as possible, I always tell my wife the truth now.  If something isn’t flattering, I will let her know because I love her.  That is the truth.  If you really care about your company, team and employees you will let them know when those “jeans”  just aren’t flattering.  It will save them a whole lot of embarrassment.  It will also prove that you care so much about them that you can tell them the truth, even when it is hard to hear.

That is the mark of a leader.

Are you sugar coating poor performance of an employee?  Do you tell people when they are risking failure or do you allow them to fail to not hurt their feelings?  Do you avoid honesty so people like you?  If so, you could be doing more harm than good.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles Permalink

Leadership Follies – Someday One Day

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

Are there things in your life you have left undone? Do you regret not trying out something new?  Are there times that conversations take too long to be had?

As I helped decorate my daughter’s room for a birthday celebration, reflecting on her age reminded me of how old I really am. It strangely occurred to me that I am the father of a 16-year old.  This got me thinking back to when I was sixteen. I wondered what had I thought my life would be like at age 40?  Were there things that I wanted to do, but didn’t?  Were there conversations that I should have had, but failed to initiate? Did I live a life of regret?

Well, I am very pleased to say that my life has turned out great to this point. I am very very thankful.  I would never have thought I’d be lucky enough to have the family, the friends or the career that I do. I have made plenty of poor decisionsalong the way, but I have made many great ones, too. On the whole, I have been decisive and things have worked out okay.

But in comparison to many I have worked with and led over the years, I have seen many people miss out on many things because of putting off decision-making.

I have lost count of the times I have heard or said – “Someday I will” or “One day such-and-such will happen.”

To Be or Not to Be

It made me think of an opportunity that I have just been presented.  I weighed the opportunity with my typical criteria:

  • It is something that I have always wanted to do.
  • It makes good financial sense.
  • And it would be a great way for me to help others.

Despite passing through my normal decision filters, I did not say yes to this opportunity.  I wanted to wait to think about it.  I wanted to weigh my options more and would make my decision some day in the very near future.  As I contemplated this opportunity, I could hear my father in my mind asking me

“So when is this magical “some day”?

Analysis Paralysis – How to get Unstuck

The best time to make a decision or a tough conversation is now.  There is something to be said about careful planning. 

But, too much planning can turn decision into regret.  The problem is the number of choices available and the methods to analyze them can paralyze instead of making choosing easier.

According to Barry Schwartz, the author of The Paradox of Choice, there is a tendency to over analyze due to too many choices.  “We have become a victim of spending too long making choices that will not make a big impact on our lives.” (When you have 19 minutes, check out this great explanation on video from Barry)

The growing trend is to think more and act less.  It is good to be thoughtful, but let’s be honest…

“We wouldn’t do half the things we do in life if we knew what we were getting into!” – Anonymous

Regret of past failure, fear of change, questions about outcomes all play into our hesitations.

My father did not have the benefit of our current knowledge of the brain and other breakthroughs.  But he had a few key tactics to get more out of life, move on and regret less.  I did not realize how smart he was because recent literature supports his simple but effective technique.

1. Act on what you feel based on what you know

Although he says it much more eloquently, Malcom Gladwell, in his book Blink supports this theory that my dad used.  Essentially, once mastery is gained in a particular area of knowledge/experience decisions can be made without analyzing extensively.  Experts can make snap decisions and are right a vast majority of the time.  Therefore, people should rely on this “gut” instinct.  It is not a guess, but a practiced and trained reaction.  I like to think of it much like a master of martial arts acts when being attacked.  When faced with a situation, there is only action.  Taking action alleviates the dreaded analysis paralysis

2. Decide, and then act as if you could not fail.

Interestingly, the most successful people make decisions quickly and change them slowly. They persist with the decisions they have made. However, failures are very slow to make any decision at all (most never make any), and they change the ones they have made very rapidly indeed.

3. Once a choice is made, let it be (unless it truly hurts others.)

Make choices or decisions as permanent as possible.  .   There is nothing worse than someone who constantly goes back and forth after each decision.  There will always be another opportunity to choose again.

4. Be active

According to many experts one key to staying mental fit, not being depressed and making the most out of every opportunity is simple – stay active.  In John Medina’s recent book, Brain Rules, one the twelve keys to a healthy brain is activity – physical exertion, social interactivity, learning, teaching, etc. As strange as this may sound, if you are active you are more likely to make better decisions, communicate clearly, handle conflict more effectively and have an overall better outlook on life.

5. Be grateful for what you have

As a former Catholic schoolboy, I remember distinctly having to give thanks for what we had in front of us.  Almost every religious book encourages it’s readers to be grateful for what they have.  There are many great tales of why being grateful is beneficial to being happy.

Watching my beautiful wife hang colorful birthday streamers, I thought time goes by quickly.  In order to get the most out of life it is important to act.  It is as true for leaders as it is for fathers/mothers.

“What’s on your mind?” She asked.

“I am just trying to make a good decision about this opportunity.”

“Tell me about it.” She said

As I related the details, it quickly became clear to me that I was hesitating for no good reason.  My wife finally told me in her own special way –

“Piss or get off the pot, but we have to finish these decorations.  You know the right thing to do.”

I did and I acted.  Do I have regrets?  Sure I do, but at least of have the regrets of trying and failing instead of the regret of never trying at all.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Learned Helplessness

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

Where is the innovation?  Where is the creativity?  What happened to all the pride in work?

You can chalk that up to the growing sense of learned helplessness in the workplace.  What is learned helplessness?

Learned helplessness – A term developed by Martin Seligman, pioneering researcher in animal psychology, to describe what occurs when animals or human beings learn that their behavior has no effect on the environment.

From the perspective of an employee at almost any level in the organization, their ability to control their destiny has greatly diminished, if not vanished entirely.  Whether people have jobs or not, their passion for doing more and being more has been replaced with surviving.  Of course that is understandable.  This is the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Learned helplessness is a phenomenon affecting employees at every level in every organization.  It stems from the lack of impact employees believe they have on the day to day outcomes they are expected to achieve.   When people feel like they don’t have control there is a tendency to:

  • Not try new things
  • Do only what is required
  • Never question the status quo

The problem is that work still has to get done, orders need to be fulfilled, and customers need to be taken care of.  What can be done to shake employees out of the doldrums they are in?
Surprisingly enough, it is simple and therefore difficult to implement.

1. Find out what the state of the state is

An organization can only improve when it knows the truth about itself.  It is important to look for an organizational assessment or survey that will give a sense of how engaged the organization is AND how aligned it is.

2. Give managers the tools to drive engagement and align the culture simultaneously

Front line leaders are the key to driving success in any organization.  It is IMPERATIVE to give them the tools in a practical, easy to use method.  This same tool should be used to drive alignment between the Macro Culture (vision, mission, etc) and the Micro Culture (work team).

3. Push accountability down to the lowest level

Don’t try to control everything.  Organizations that win hold every person accountable for outcomes that forward the business.  Then, within reason, allow them to reach them in the best way possible.  Let employees get work done and get out of the way.  Trying to over regulate or put too many processes in place can stifle creativity.  Where possible let employees make decisions about how to get their work done.  If they don’t deal with that by checking in regularly and helping them correct course.

Of course this is easier said than done.  But the cost of keeping things as they are is too high.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Change Management Articles, Leadership Articles Permalink

Marching To The Same Beat

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

“No, no, no!” my daughter’s marching band leader screamed.  “We cannot get to the end of the field unless ALL of us are going in the same direction.  Each section has to be playing the same song.”

As my daughter and I walked to the car, she proclaimed,

“I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t just try to march to the same beat.  We would look so much better.”

True I thought… too true.

Predictable Failure
That night I thought about all the organizations I had the privilege of working with.  Many of them launched new strategies all the time trying to capitalize on trends or new technology.  But the reality is, well-thought-out, interesting, and rational strategies failat an alarming rate.  Even after John Kotter’s seminal book, Leading Change, organizational change fails at least 70% of the time.  The same goes for introducing a new strategy.

Why is this? What are we still doing wrong?

It couldn’t be that companies don’t know HOW to implement change.  How could that be?  There are 100’s if not 1000’s of books on the subject of change management, and just as many consultants.  So if it is not about knowing how, then it must be something else.

Could the Answer Be So Simple?

Could it be as easy as marching to the same beat?

Research tells us that successful organizations have great focus in at least two key areas: They develop their managers, and align their culture (teams, departments, operations) to their strategy.

Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization. The goal is to get everyone to march to the beat of the same drummer.  That can be accomplished through force, but is difficult, costly, and ultimately counter-productive.

The alternative is to uncover the current culture and provide managers the tools they need to drive incremental change.

It’s as Simple – and Difficult – as 1, 2, 3

1. It starts with listening to understand how engaged people are within the organization.  Before people can get behind any change, they need to be excited about what they are doing, and where they are going.

2. Then, uncover the current level of alignment between strategy and culture. Is the day-to-day environment of the organization consistent with the stated and ultimate goals of the organization?

3. Lastly, identify effective means to instigate or facilitate service alignment between critical departments.

For even greater effectiveness, an online Alignment System can give front line managers, leaders, and OD/HR regular support, guidance, and learning.  The system would help to get everyone on the same page, helping them start to march to the same beat.

The Result – Leading for Alignment

My daughter’s band finished the season winning all kinds of awards.  Why do you think they had such great success? It is because her director was focused on making sure each section of the band was “playing the same song” and “paying attention to [and supporting] the rest of the band.”

What unsuccessful experiences have you had in attempting change or a new strategy? Do you think a misalignment was behind this failure? What was the misalignment? What was the impact of this “failure?” What opportunities  do you see now to foster greater alignment in your organization or working group to create a greater chance of success? I’d love to hear you thoughts.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Facilitation Articles, Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles Permalink

Preparing For Meetings, Going To Meetings, And Getting Coffee

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

“Being a high-performance organization!”

“Doing more with less.”

In the hallways and meeting rooms in organizations around the globe, people use phrases like these to imply that they are working toward hyper-performance.  Sure, there is a lot of hyperbole, but what really happens at work?  Is an increase in productivity really occurring?

The short answer is no.  Companies seem like they are getting more out of their current workforce.  But, if customers are buying less, fewer employees can do more of the work.  The recent rise in productivity is masking this dirty little secret.

A great deal of employee’s time is spent doing one of three tasks:

1. Preparing for meetings
2. Going to meetings
3. Getting coffee/snacks/etc.

Working for a Living?

Research says that many employees manufacture work to make themselves look better, look busy and look important. But what does this type of behavior do for the bottom line? How can that energy be turned toward something good?

The problem is a result of two issues:
1. Companies knock the creativity out of employees
2. Employees don’t act like owners

Kicking the creative habit

After consulting with a number of great organizations over the last many years, one constant has become clear to me:

The culture of organizations both drives success and drives people crazy.

New employees are generally hired because of their experience, enthusiasm, drive, and new ideas.  There is a great deal of fanfare when the new employees arrive until they start sharing ways to make the organization more effective. However, something different actually happens when most new employees arrive in their new spot. Each time they bring a new idea, they are essentially told to “sit down and shut up.” After too much of this type of treatment, they reach the point of frustration and “go native.”

Going native is:

To act and do as the members of the tribe, town, environment an individual finds themselves in as to blend in and be accepted.

Then, lo and behold, the very creativity and spark that was the reason that the employees were hired is snuffed out like the torch at tribal council on “Survivor.”

I just work here…

But, employees are not blameless.  As Sisyphus can attest, pushing a rock up a hill can be very difficult.  However, successful employees (and people) are folks that take responsibility and pride in their roles.  As a wise mentor once told me,

“I act like this little part of the company is mine.  I run it as if it were my own, making sure to be careful with money, look for opportunities to improve and fight the status quo.”

Too often, employees work hard to distance themselves from an organization. Many people feel like they are not going to be at a company long-term so why should they invest themselves.  It leads to a very “quick-fix” mentality.  Companies certainly don’t help themselves by using layoffs as a method to meet quarterly profit goals.  As the old saying goes, you can’t go into a marriage expecting divorce.  That is a recipe for disaster.

Employees must step up and take ownership of their role and tasks.

Solution Center

So now what do we do about it?

Care for creativity.

It almost goes without saying that creativity and enthusiasm are the lifeblood of any organization/team.  These are characteristics that should be nurtured.  Creativity comes in all disciplines.  It has been shown that innovation comes from an engaged and motivated workforce. Determine how engaged folks are now and give your managers the tools they need to increase it, all the time.

Figure out what you want to be.

Teams/organizations need a purpose that drives them to act.  Innovation comes from the need to fulfill that purpose. Make sure that the purpose is well-known and that actions are aligned to meeting it.  Focused effort naturally eliminates waste, increases clarity, and actually makes work more fun.  It is a powerful incentive to know where you are going, why you need to get there and what happens if you don’t.

Reward ownership.

Do whatever you can to notice, recognize and reward employees when they act like owners.  Owners don’t waste; they go the extra mile, take risks and are unwilling to smooth things over.  As a business owner, the drive is to be successful now and even more successful in the future.  Relationships are nurtured because they are important over the long haul.

Be an owner.

As an employee at any level, treat the organization you are in as if you are an owner.  It makes work much more satisfying if you are doing the extra work to benefit you.  It seems like semantics, but ownership allows for responsibility and gives latitude to be bold both in action and in protection of the organization.  Even if you think that the job is temporary, an ownership mentality will provide some clarity of decision and perspective.

But what about meetings?

Meetings are actually a powerful method to communicate and get work done.  However, they have been used and abused making them seem ridiculous.  If organizations actively protect creativity and encourage an ownership mentalitythey will naturally be more effective.  Time won’t be wasted on preparing for or attending meaningless meeting.  However, they will need a good cup of “joe”.

What are your experiences of acting like an owner?  Have you seen what happens when an organization promotes an ownership mentality?  Where might this be effective?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

25 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Change Management Articles, Leadership Articles Permalink

Keeping Up With The Joneses

Sticky Post By On August 25, 2015

As with most things in my adult life, my greatest learnings have come from my wife. A couple of days ago, she was approached by a neighbor asking for her help in landscaping their yard. Now, my wife is not a professional landscaper, but extremely talented in making things look great. Our yard is a combination of her ideas, brains, planning, and my labor.

My wife threw herself into the project. She was totally engaged. Taking pictures, measuring, drawing. She did this without the promise of anything in return, except gratitude.

“Why are you working so hard on this?” I asked.

“Because she is my friend and I want to leave something great behind,” was her simple reply.

ON LIFE AND LIVING YOUR PASSION

Her passion made me wonder what it would be like if work occurred to us like the yard project to my wife. What is the legacy we are leaving? Do we as employees, managers, or leaders think about leaving something great behind us when we are done? How do you make that a reality?

Like I said in the beginning, I just watched my wife. She started with an idea in mind of what a great yard would look like.

What would fit with the house and the style of the neighbor? She developed a great strategy.

Any great project starts with a great strategy, whether that is a for a company, department, or yard.

But how is that turned into reality? What are the steps to get people engaged? How does one achieve repeatable results?

GET A READING
Understanding how enrolled they are already…

Then, she worked with our neighbor to figure out how engaged she was in her yard with questions like:

  • What did they like?
  • What did they want out of their yard?
  • What would be their ideal for the space?

She started getting them involved in the plan. They had to put together plans, learn, and get into action. Measuring the level of engagement is the first critical step in realizing a strategy. Once it is known, then there has to be action taken to increase that level of engagement because people have to be engaged before they will work on implementing a strategy, no matter how brilliant.

BE A LEADER COACH
Make the managers great…

Once she started to get them engaged, she trained the neighbors to be outstanding yard managers.  It was important that they learned how to be the very best at taking care of the yard as it was designed.  They had to not only be good with plants, but make sure that whatever they did was in line with the strategy.
The key factor in a “fully realized” strategy is great managers learning and taking tactical action that is aligned to the overall strategy.

GETTING RESULTS
Make the results repeatable….

The yard was transformed, and our neighbor was so very pleased.  The results were really magical.  They have the second nicest yard around (…next to ours of course) and are excited about it.  Now their yard is beautiful, always looks great and they are excited about working in it.
They have a consistently awesome-looking yard thanks to my wife leading through the process of:

  • Engaged Neighbors
  • Great Yard Managers
  • Aligned to Yard Strategy
  • A Superior Yard

The same is true at work:

  • Engaged Employees
  • Great Managers
  • Aligned to Organizational  Strategy
  • Superior Results Business Results

Wasn’t it someone wise who once said you reap what you sow?

So what are you doing to insure reliable, repeatable results with your managers or your team? Are you reaching into their passions and desires to help them produce more with less (friction, resistance, and foot-dragging)? Are you making plans clear for everyone involved so that they can be left alone to succeed on their own? Or do you micro-mis-manage them? I’d love to hear your story!

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

FIND A SOLUTION

Cube 2.14 will increase your organizational effectiveness. We specialize in developing innovative, practical solutions to create productive workplaces that exceed goals.

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  • (847) 212-0701
  • www.cube214.com

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