Leadership Articles

26 Aug 2015
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Leadership Is What?

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

Leadership is an interesting thing because when you are good at it the people around you are 

• Challenged but sane
• Understand how what they do impacts others
• Passionate about what they do

But, they don’t necessarily acknowledge your role and may even take you for granted. The funny thing is, you are okay with it. You are a leader when those around you count on your support but don’t recognize that they get it because being a leader means acknowledging its not about you.

What is your view of leadership?

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.

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

Is creativity really promoted in the workplace? Or are we are creating “sheeple?” Look at the office space. It’s sterile, quiet, etc. There is NO conversation!!!!  How can we promote productivity in such a barren work environment?
 
In a recent visit to a client site, one of the first things that I noticed was how quiet and solitary the organization felt. It was silent. Everyone was working on something while listening to their headphones.
 
There was:

• No one collaborating
• No one sharing information
• And each person an island on their own

As the client and I discussed her issues, she commented that “I can’t get my folks motivated to solve this problem creatively”

WORKING ON A SOLUTION

The first thing we did when we started working on the project was to bring the team together. Surprisingly, it was the employees I walked by getting to the client’s office that had the foundational issues.
 
They didn’t really know how to work together. They didn’t really know how to TALK to each other.  

Each was so focused on their own initiatives and projects that they had no idea how to collaborate because they had no idea how to communicate.

Once we got going on solutions, it didn’t take long to encourage them to collaborate. They loved it. It took time to show them how to do it effectively, but once they did the creativity flowed.  Amazingly, they not only resolved the issue we were brought in to help them with, but 3 others that they had been struggling with for over 18 months.

All told, increasing their collaborating and communicating delivered :
 
• $150,000 savings due to a process improvement
• Saving 2 days on resolving trouble tickets
• Created a process to standardize proposal responses
 
HOW’D THAT HAPPEN?
 
Honestly, it was very simple to turn the team’s creativity and ingenuity loose on some of the problems they had been struggling to solve. The primary tool that was utilized was encouraging them to collaborate much more.

We used three easy methods to jumpstart this process:
 
1)    We sat the team in one group, no walls but with access to private areas.

We gave the team their own space as a group to work. The team sat in a common room without walls but with easy access to private areas to make phone calls or to have some private time for themselves.
Primarily though, there were was done in one common area. In it were whiteboards, flip chart paper, and other easy to access collaboration tools.

“It first was hard to get used to the space that seemed less private. However, it became apparent quickly that it was much easier to work on team issues together while we were all in the same place and all had access to the same things. Being in a room together allowed us to work and have fun without bothering other teams.”
~ Key Member of client team
 
2)    Worked on everything as a team

Outside of a handful of tasks that could only be conducted by one or two people on the team, a free project or task was completed as a group. The task or issue was treated as a project. The team would meet together briefly and designate a leader (unless one person was already designated leader) and they would formulate a plan with milestones, deliverables, and due dates.

Then, they would work together on reaching the milestones and creating the deliverables to ensure that due date were met.

“Working on every project as a team was a little bit of a struggle at first. We were all very used to working as individuals on our separate projects. But when we realized that all of our work interacted it became easy to leverage each other’s ability to get projects done quickly and accurately. Surprisingly, work became a whole lot more fun.”
 
~Member of the Team (10 year employee with the company)
 
3)    Instituted challenge sessions
We instituted regular challenge sessions. In these sessions a member of the team would presents a solution that was recently created or an approach to resolve an issue. Members of the team would “challenge” what was presented.

However, when they came up with the challenge, they also had to be able to offer a solution or an idea to overcome the challenge. It didn’t always work out perfectly, but it improved the quality of solutions created by the team immensely.

“The challenge sessions were tough. Because we didn’t talk to each other or collaborate that much it was hard to come up with “critiques” of what our team members presented. We didn’t want to offend each other. But, we saw that problems were getting solved and we were working together more efficiently. The sessions actually made us a better team.”
 
~Team lead

SILVER BULLET

Let’s be clear, this solution works well for this particular team. It is by no means a silver bullet to solving productivity problems for teams. But, it does highlight an issue that we have seen, very frequently in organizations.
We don’t promote collaboration actively.

Workplaces are designed, in many cases, to suppress spontaneity, creativity and most importantly collaboration unless it’s scheduled. Collaboration happens when it happens. Implementing a few simple methods can create an environment work) in which teams can “prove” creativity by being collaborative.
 
Although counterintuitive, the solution may seem counterintuitive; actually increase the speed with which the team completed projects.
 
Maybe it’s time that we tear down the cubicle walls.
 
How does your organization promote collaboration? What are some winning tactics that you’ve seen to promote teams working together more effectively?
 
Please send us an e-mail or comment to let us know how.

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.

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

The Reason They Don’t Call Marriages Mergers

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

There is a reason that marriages are not considered mergers. They are not the joining of two disparate groups to make a stronger bigger group, but the joining of two groups to make one cohesive unit dedicated to being great together, supporting each other and leveraging each other to be more successful.  
 
Yes, marriages and mergers are different.
 
Clearly there is a difference in combing the operations of thousands of people versus two.  But the sentiment is the same.
 
MIND-SET OR APPROACH

The reason that most mergers fail is mind-set. The approach of many mergers is to come out it from the standpoint of garnering new market share or swallowing a potential competitor or sometimes to even purchase new growth/new technology.
However, the standpoint is generally from the perspective of “how can we make our company bigger and better faster?” It’s not, “How does this merger benefit our customers, employees, and in the end, both companies.

Of course mergers are an important tool to continue the growth, viability, and infusion of innovation of some larger organizations. Often, on paper, these mergers make sense. They are the combining of two organizations that can leverage the economies of scale to drive down cost or corner particular market share.

Unfortunately, what ends up happening is people get in the way. Mergers, like any change, are messy and complex. Therefore distilling what could make a potential merger successful, in most cases, will you increase the likelihood of a long-term success and long-term return on investment.
 
Viewing Mergers like a Marriage

There are a few simple questions to think through before deciding whether or not the merger could actually work.
 
1.    Will the resulting company be beneficial to both parties? 

That is, when all is said and done, will the merged entity have benefited the two previously separate companies, the customers of the two previously separate companies, and the employees of the previously separate companies?

There might not be some employees that become redundant when there is a merger, but it’s important to make sure that those employees that are seen as assets review the merger as beneficial to them. If they don’t, it could be more costly to merge them to leave the companies separate.
 
2.     Are the two companies’ cultures compatible?
 
Cultures that are diametrically opposed will likely clash and work against each other. It is likely that those cultures will never completely melt.
 
This constant internal battle between the two opposing cultures will undermine forward progress and often make it difficult, if not impossible, to implement new strategies or products quickly.
 
Therefore, it may be better to avoid a merger of two diametrically opposed cultures than to force the marriage between the square peg and the round hole.
 
3.     Once the merger is completed, can the two formerly separate companies work together towards mutual benefit?

Although this is hard to determine prior to the merger happening, it is vital that both parties are willing to commit to the benefit of the newly created entity.
 
It is a desire to do what is best for the new organization, thinking about decisions and direction based on what will make the new organization successful.
 
Senior leaders have to be fully committed to this and wiling to reward and reprimand individuals that exemplify either.
 
4.     Are both organizations willing to willing to give up something about themselves to make the new merged entity successful?

Each party or company must be willing to give up some tactic or artifact that is part of their cultural make up.  Both sides need to show their willingness to be fully behind the new organization.
 
If these can be addressed with some level of certainty, the merger has a higher chance of succeeding.  Undoubtedly, there will still be challenges; no merger is that simple.  But, if both organizations are willing to embrace the new organization,a merger can work.

However, if there is not a goal of common success, then the merger will go the way to AOL Time Warner.  Marriage sounds like a strange business term.  It feels like there is some commitment to it.  That is because there is.
 

If mergers were approached like a marriage, then maybe more of them would work.
 
Where do you think mergers go wrong?  What can be done to make them more successful?

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.

26 Aug 2015
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Cutting Fat And Gaining Muscle

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

There is a myth being propagated by pundits lately, that you either have to cut or grow. But the truth is you can’t do one with out the other successfully
 
In many countries and companies across the globe the economic crisis has caused a rash of austerity measures to attempt to right crashing economies.  There is no doubt that this is necessary are vital as an immediate stopgap, but it is not a long term solution. But, unchecked growth alone is not a recipe for long term success either. Rapid growth is awesome, but when it is unchecked it can lead to shoddy process, products and service.
 
ALL THINGS IN MODERATION

As with all things in life, there must be balance.  In prosperous and lean times, it is critical for organizations both be thoughtful about

COSTS, EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY

• Organizations must be mindful at all times about how and where money/resources are “spent” (grab reference to constant planning).  This is one the most powerful uses of Lean or Six Sigma in an organization.  Tools and methodologies like that are most useful to hone and streamline.  They are not methods to cut cost necessarily, but will ensure lower costs and higher productivity over a long time horizon.
• Organizations need to reward GOOD usage of resources.  There are thousands of companies (and governments AND non-profits) that budget like spoiled children.  Amazingly, if a team or department is fiscally responsible, gets everything they accomplished, and comes in under budget they are rewarded by getting a LOWER budget the following year. WHAT?!?!  Hence the reason that organizations try to spend money like drunken sailors before the end of their fiscal year.  That does not make sense.
• Get help from employees – Companies like Well Fargo, SAS and the Container Store regularly implement employee ideas that reap HUGE benefits. None of them have “employee suggestion” programs.  They reward great ideas by allowing the employees to lead (or be a part of the) project to implement the ideas!
 
BUILD, GROW AND PROSPER
• Ensure that there are new products and services coming down the pike all the time.  There is a great blog by the new CEO of Yahoo Marissa Mayer that shows us there MUST be energy focused on innovating and creating all the time.
• Every single employee MUST understand their Line-Of-Sight –
◦ The “straight line” that every employee has to gaining and retaining customers.
◦ According to the Coffman Organization’s latest research, providing employees with this knowledge allows them to see and understand their impact.  That increases the feeling of meaningfulness of their work and directly impacts their productivity.
• Growth must be pushed all the time, regardless of the economy.  Only losers use the economy as an excuse.  There are hundreds of examples of companies that did well during the recession.  Some were disruptive and others doubled down when they saw their competitors pull back.
◦  Apple
◦ Redbox
◦ Ralph Lauren
 

Don’t let the economy, weather or any other thing out of the organization’s control be the reason for its failure.  Yes, they can be impediments, but don’t have to be showstoppers.
 
It is imperative that organizations look to both cut fat and gain muscle ALL THE TIME.  This way, the organization can anticipate shocks, recover from missteps and capitalize on competitions faltering.
 
Do you agree that leaders should have a balanced approach making sure organizations thrive?  What are methods you have seen work well?
 
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.

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

No, No, Not Another Change

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

At the end of almost every change initiative is a phenomenon usually referred to as “change fatigue”.
 
Change Fatigue – Departments, organizations and people that go through endless change that with no result.
 
With anywhere between 50 and 70% of change initiatives failing, it is no surprise that people are fatigued with change.  It is equivalent to endlessly moving offices within a building and somehow ending up with the same or worse view no matter where you go.
 
At some point there is a belief that no change will make a situation any better.
 
WHY DOES CHANGE FATIGUE HAPPEN?

There are hundreds of really great explanations as to why change fatigue occurs.  Here are the top three:
 
1. THERE IS NO CLEAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND WHAT IS

Simply put, the change that was implemented doesn’t really change anything substantial. Many reorganizations fall into this category. There is some purpose or rationale for the change that is expressed early on. But, once the project is in full swing, leaders get swayed by the many voices that feel slighted. In the end, the change is really more like shifting names in boxes.
 
“Most reorgs are like moving furniture in a room at best or trying to moving the same furniture while the room is on fire at worst”
 
The change affects many, but changes little. People get really tired of those and wary when similar changes come up. Fatigue sets in right away.
 
2. PROCESSES IN THE “NEW WORLD” ARE CONFUSING AT BEST

Change is tiresome and complicated for almost everyone involved.  It requires those impacted to alter practices that may have been in place for some time.  There is quite a bit of energy that it takes to get through a change.  If it is unclear or confusing people will find a way to do it the way they always have done and work around the new process.
 
3. ONCE THE CHANGE IS IMPLEMENTED, THERE IS A THRUST TO “GET BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS” OR “JUST GET BACK TO WORK”

One of the most common occurrences after a change is implemented is for people to “get back to their day jobs”.  Here is the problem.  Once the organization has changed, there is no “getting back to the way it was”.  Things have changed.  There is a new reality.  Once you get married, the relationship has changed and there is no going back.  It has been altered and the only way to be successfully is to deal with the NEW.
 
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
 
1. KNOW THAT THIS IS COMMON AND PART OF THE CHANGE CYCLE

According to many experts change fatigue or at least the idea that people working on the change will feel fatigued is normal.  Depending on the complexity of the change and how much the change impacts their livelihood, it can occur multiple times. The very best way to minimize the affect of it is to know that people often feel fatigued, anxious, etc. during times of change.  Knowing this can help to ensure that it is planned for or at least there is not panic when it occurs.
 
2. INVOLVE PEOPLE EARLY AND OFTEN.

Change is like taking a road trip.  People’s perspective about the trip is all in relationship to where they sit in the car.  
Driver – feels good.  They are in control of the route, the radio, heat, etc.  Passenger – Feels pretty good. Can have input on direction and can also get access to the heat, radio, etc.  Person locked in the trunk – not very good feeling.  The drive is being “done to them”.  They have NO control.  Everyone is taking the same car trip, but the perspective is very different based on the level of control felt.
 
Change initiatives are the same.  People want to have the feeling of control.  They don’t want the change not being “done to them”. Ensure at the very beginning all people impacted, that can influence, that can work on, that will have to support, etc.  (otherwise known as stakeholders) are involved.  Generally, this is called “Stakeholder Management“.  All too often, this is not only not done well, but not done at all.  As any experienced change management practioner will tell you, this is a make or break step.
 
3. THE CHANGE IS NOT JUST SUCCESSFUL AT LAUNCH, BUT 6, 12, 18, 24 MONTHS AFTER ITS OVER

All too often, the focus of the change is the launch or “implementation”.  This goes for any type of change – software implementation, reorganization, big process change due to governmental regulation, and anything else you can think of – Regardless of size or scope. It seems as if there is a focus on getting the department organization up to and maybe even through the point of change. Unfortunately, there is often not enough emphasis put on what happens after the change has been implemented. By this time, most of the consultants and many of the extra resources have gone away. However, this is when most care is needed.

• Managers need to have tools to talk to employees,
• Employees need tools to utilize new resources,
• Employees may need new methods to deal with customers.
 
It is vitally important that there is ample training, communication, and updates regarding the success of a change. The real measure of a successful change is not whether or not the implementation went without a hitch, it is whether or not the change had the required impact or is still continuing to make a difference in the organization long after the implementation has been completed. This will enable employees to see that there is some difference made in a positive way. It will magically alleviate much of the change fatigue
 
CHANGE FATIGUE IS A CONVENIENT WAY TO EXPLAIN WHY CHANGES FAIL.

No change initiative is perfect or will go off without any issues.

But,

• Knowing that fatigue is part of the normal process of change,
• Involving all stakeholders early and often,
• Ensuring that there is focus and energy placed on the processes to sustain the change will go a long way to increasing the success of change initiatives and eliminating the idea of change fatigue.
 
How have you seen change fatigue impact projects?  What are some methods that you’ve seen success with to deal with “change fatigue”?

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.

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Change Management Articles, Human Resources Articles, Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

If You Ask Me How I’m Feeling One More Time

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

One of the worst things that an employer can do is to over survey employees.  Do you want to know how an employee feels after finishing the 100 questions “engagement survey” or the 6th company wide survey this year?
 
Like the organization they work for has no idea what they really want or need.  It indicates the organization has no clue how to really engage them.
 
As the parent of a teenager, I have learned the hard way that asking, “what’s wrong” 100 times only works to get my daughter angry at me.  It doesn’t show that I care; it shows that I am clueless.
 
Employees have heard too many times that they are the most important assets and seen too many times that how they are treated, listened to or respected doesn’t coincide with that.
 

Just asking someone how he or she is feeling doesn’t make him or her feel better.  – Dr. Phil
 
That reminds me of a story I was told a long time ago.  There was a new farmer from the city that bought livestock farm.  He was struggling to fatten up its prize livestock.  The farmer weighed them every morning. Each time the weight stayed the same.  The farmer checked the scale, brought out a scale expert and even bought an atomic scale. No matter how many times the farmer weighed his livestock, they never gained weight.  The farmer finally broke down and brought his livestock to the veterinarian.  The farmer told him all the woes of the many scales.  The vet shook her head and said, “there is nothing wrong with your scale son, you need to feed them to get them to grow.”
 
That is a silly story, but one that happens every single day in organizations across the globe.  We ask and ask and ask, but without the follow up we are just expecting the asking to get the job done.  Now that is silly.
 
SIGNS YOU JUST DON’T KNOW

1. The survey you use has over 30 questions– There is ample data that points to a phenomenon called Survey Overload. A survey that is too long is not focused and trying to get as much information from the respondent as possible.  There are three problems with this method:

◦ People get angry taking long surveys
◦ The data is seldom actionable
◦ It takes far too long to analyze
◦ The data will not point to any definitive issues that will result in higher performance.

Gallup’s Q12 showed that it is the right questions that enable action and subsequent increases in performance
 
2. There are too many surveys per year (or month or week) – This causes SurveyFatigue .  Survey fatigue gets people angry at taking the survey.  Unless there is follow up or communication for each survey, it will prove to the respondent that their opinion doesn’t matter

3. There is a big build up to the survey, but no communication after it for months.

How would you like it if someone asked you what you would make your living situation more enjoyable and then didn’t get back to you about your response for 4 (or more) months?  Sound crazy?  That is happening RIGHT NOW.  If you are not following up immediately with communication and within 14 to 30 days after the survey with results, employees will start to doubt you value their input.
 
WAYS TO SHOW YOU REALLY DO KNOW

1. Use a survey that has a handful of targeted questions that are actionable.  The survey should be geared towards what will move the needle for the very best performers.  It should be validated and designed to link to organizational performance.(www.coffmanorganizaiton.com)

Survey less dialogue more – It is more effective to survey fewer times, but drive your leaders to talk more about how to create an engaged environment with their teams.  The survey should be a vehicle to discuss how to improve, grow and become more effective.  It shouldn’t replace dialogue.  The survey results tell you where you should focus your energy, but not what you should do once you know.
 
2. Communicate, follow-up, take action and communicate some more –

• Communication should be constant.  There should be ample communication regarding the rationale for the survey, during the survey, once the results are rolled out, and then at regular intervals until the next survey
• Give managers and employee learning about engagement and then actions to follow up.  Make sure they have the tools to be successful.  Yes, employees need that information too. They should own action taken as a result of the survey.
• The MOST critical thing to do with the results is to take some action based on them.  People will watch to see if what they said is being used to improve the organization.  Let employees know when Communicate when action is taken based on employee feedback,  They are excited to know their input has resulted in positive action and improvements
• Oh, did I mention communicating?
 
Don’t let your organization be the clueless farmer. Surveys are outstanding tools but WILL NOT make the organization more effective alone.  Employees will be engaged in the process only if the results are used to drive action and dialogue.  
 
How does your organization use surveys?  What do they do well?  What could be improved?

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Instructional Design Articles, Leadership Articles, Organizational Change Articles Permalink

Controlling The Truth

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

One of the most prevalent signs of Organizational Learned Helplessness (OLH) is the art of making any news sound good.

Better known as “spinning”.  Spinning takes its queue from George Orwell’s 1984 –

”Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary.”
 
Essentially, it is perpetually changing the story to make the company, country, person, etc. sound/look the best.  Companies do this constantly.  Although their intentions may be good, the end result is not. In fact, the results can be tragic for the organization’s internal and external reputation.
 
3 RESULTS OF CONTROLLING THE TRUTH
 
1. Investors (and therefore the public for most part) don’t believe when things are going well and over correct when things are bad.
 
“Saying what’s so makes the bad less bad and the good better” Jim Kramer
 
2. Consumers/customers stop trusting the organization and look for reasons to flee.
 
“Toyota lost more customers each time they came out with a statement about the brake issue. Had they just corrected it, the story would have been over in a week. They perpetuated it by trying to control the truth”
 
3. Employees stop listening to the “corporate communications”, believe rumors, and actively undermine the organization (even unconsciously). This is caused by lower trust and usually results in lower profit.
 
WHAT CAN YOU DO

Not constantly spinning goes against the “new normal”, but has been shown to reap huge benefits – look at Apple, Ford, etc. There are three fundamentals to gain and maintain trust:

1.Tell the whole truth earlier – In In the age of the Internet and WikiLeaks there is no doubt that the truth will come out eventually is imperative that you tell the whole truth. It seems counterintuitive to the art of spinning. But, employees, customers, and investors are likely not going to believe the spin. They will fill in the blanks on their own. They have been taught to do this by the constant masking of what is really so. If the truth is told early then you can get out in front      of the issue and begin to correct it.
 
2. Instead of controlling a story, try solving the problem – it sounds deceptively simple, but it’s not. The focus should never be damage control, but solution creation. Once a mistake is made, it’s made. The real test is can the issue be resolved to become stronger. Tylenol did this beautifully. An issue with their product became a catapult to huge market share and public safety.
 
3. Accept blame and move on. Admittedly, this is the hardest one. In our litigious society it is difficult to accept blame because there could be larger ramifications. However, the quicker that blame can be assessed. The better that a solution can be provided. Now accepting blame or fault doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire situation was your or the organization’s fault. Really determining the issue and then working towards a solution will make everything resolved more quickly and more amicably.
 
The truth will always find a way out, always.  Organizations that get out in front of problems and start to provide solutions can move past a problem and turn it into a win for the organization will be seen as far superior to their competition.  That is why we still talk about Tylenol’s outstanding reaction more than 25 years later.  My wife used to tell me something that still holds true today –

Spinning your clothes doesn’t get the stain out, it embeds the dirt deeper.

The truth can’t be controlled, so you might as well stop trying…ask the leaders at Toyota.
 
What do you think about controlling the truth?  What is the danger of telling too much truth?

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.

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership Articles Permalink

Leaders: You Can’t Really Manage Change

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

DURING A RECENT PROJECT THAT INVOLVED WHOLE SCALE TRANSFORMATION OF A CLIENT’S SYSTEM TO MANAGE, HIRE, COMPENSATE, REWARD AND RECOGNIZE, 65% OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE WHO DRIVE THEIR PROFITABILITY.

The concept of managing change really is a fallacy.

TRADITIONAL CHANGE

There are many statistics indicating that traditional change management is only successful in approximately 30% – 15% of all projects. With all of the money, time, and effort put into change, it is hard to believe that it is so “badly managed”.
The fatal flaw in our traditional approach, sometimes referred to as the LaMarsh approach, is that change is viewed as an event.

Traditional Change Management’s design is to push an organization through to the other side of an issue, problem or event –

But the truth is there is no there.

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

Change is constant.  Once the organization makes it through one change, there is another.

The end state is not the end of the change but the beginning.
 
Two Important Things to Remember:

• Change viewed as “an event that must be completed and then things will go back to normal” is daunting and causes fatigue.
• Change viewed as a constant evolution moving from one change to the next does not seem so daunting (and could be exciting).

BUT…

It will still be tough. There will be some natural resistance, but if change is viewed as a constant, resistance will eventually become much lower.

If organizations are anticipating and prepared for change, there will be no surprise change event.   No one in the organization will be shocked about changing because they know that it is constantly happening.

MOVING TO “OPTIMIZING EVOLUTION”

1. Acknowledge that change is inevitable

It is imperative that leaders communicate that change is a constant occurrence within the organization. Due to globalization, technology, and competition, there is no organization that can survive without looking at both success now,  and what will enable future success.

2. Establish “Organizational Evolution” teams

Organizations need to establish central teams that are dedicated to anticipating and enabling change throughout the organization. Similar to an internal audit function, a “central evolution team” will increase the likelihood that the organization will not be surprised when there is a new government regulation,technology, or competitor.

Internal audit plays a vital role in making sure that the organization is what is should be so when a real audit occurs there are no surprises and no detrimental findings. In the same vein, a “central evolution team” will work to be aware of issues, challenges, and opportunities.

Being prepared will take the sting out of big changes.

3. Moving away from trying to “manage change”

The fundamentals of the primary models that have been used over the past quarter-century to “manage change” are still valid. It’s important to continue to use them.

Utilize internal resources, which not only have the most at stake, but also understand the current system better than anyone else, as the “Core Evolution Teams”.  Allow them to leverage a “weave” methodology.

In its simplest form:
Of course it is necessary to have training and communication embedded within the process, but that is nothing new.

4. Educate the organization

Critical Step: Education around this new mindset of change – organizational transformation or evolution optimization. In order for everyone to accept that change is constant, it’s important there is understanding it will be looking for opportunities to transform and improve all the time.

Each person in the organization must view themselves as change agents, actively seeking out better ways to do their jobs.
Employees have to be given some latitude to alter the way that they do things to improve performance, customer experience, or increase profit, and of course there will need to be checks and balances.

BECOME AN AGENT OF CHANGE

If everyone in your organization views themselves as an agent of change, when its time to change and transform, there will be less resistance and more buy-in and support.

There is no silver bullet to successful change. It is unacceptable that 70 and 85 percent of all change initiatives fail.  It is vital that a new way to make organization’s change is resilient.

Are you ready to leverage and embrace opportunities to become more efficient, effective and profitable? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
 
This blog also appears on the Linked2Leadership Blog.  Please visit them!

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.

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

Leaders: Watering During A Drought

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

Often times when the economy gets bad, one of the first areas to get cut is training and development. Although not vital to keeping the doors open, ensuring the development of employees is one of the most important tools for driving future growth and innovation.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t some training that could be eliminated or reduced.
But, just like watering the garden during a drought, there are some plants that should be watered to ensure the gardens growth when the drought is over.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR LAND 

There are a few lessons we can learn about development from taking care of the land during a drought:

1. Not Everything Should be Watered the Same Amount

The hard truth is that there are some training initiatives and programs that are necessary to ensure the growth of the organization, and there are some that are simply just nice to have.

It is important to use this time to eliminate training that doesn’t have impactand redirect those budget dollars to training shown to make a positive difference.

Some areas should be cut in order for other areas to get more needed funding.

2. Monitoring the Crop
It is vital at all times, but especially during “a drought,” to be able to identifythe training that has impact on on-the-job performance. –
 
The training that can cause increases in efficiency, effectiveness, customer satisfaction, etc. should be those “plants” that get extra water during a drought.
 
Great training can be seen as a strategic advantage.
 
Monitoring training impact can lead you to those great training programs more quickly.
 
3. Don’t Forget to Weed

Don’t hesitate to drop development programs that have little or no impact. It is important that you are showing fiscal responsibility during the “lean times”.
 
Regardless of the economy, it’s important to focus energy and resources in continuing to develop your folks in an organization.
 
What do you need to cut back on in order to help your business grow? Which areas in your company need to be “watered” the most? I’d love to hear your 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.

26 Aug 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Human Resources Articles, Leadership Articles Permalink

Making Work Meaningful – Everyone Deserves A Little Dessert

Sticky Post By On August 26, 2015

It is important to recognize everyone’s accomplishments and the things they do better than anyone else.  This helps people gain confidence and momentum in their roles and to feel good about their efforts.  However, in the rare case that you cannot find something positive to say, realize that either you are not looking hard enough or you are guilty of tolerating poor performance.
 
NO CAKE FOR YOU

It is far easier to remember all of the various and sundry things that team members don’t do well. In fact, there are many times where it feels like poor performance is the focal point of all of the conversations and where all the energy is spent with team members.
 
CASE IN POINT

A manager that I once worked with named Dave took a negative approach to his leadership role. What he was to pick assignments for his team members based where they would do the least damage! I was stunned. There is no opportunity for growth in managing like this. This type of precautionary leadership limits the ability of team members to be innovative, creative, and really to use their talents most effectively.
 
No one can be beaten, belittled, or cajoled into working harder for very long.
For some reason, this scenario reminds me of the cake scene in the movie “Office Space.” As funny as this scene is, it really is important to give each person a little “dessert” or acknowledgment of the great work for which they are capable. High-performance teams focus on leveraging the strengths and talents or “the individual cornerstones” that each person contributes to the team.
 
ICING ON THE CAKE

A recent client that I worked with was a perennial winner of her company’s “best manager of the year award.” She had been moved to a number of different departments to take on failing teams within the organization.
 
Each new team that she took over became a high-performing team in a very short amount of time. But contrary to modern management modality, her results didn’t come from by firing current employees and hiring new people on the team.
 
Her stellar results came from her focus on understanding the value that each person brought to the team. Then, her success was cemented by giving her team members the opportunity to utilize their skills and strength as much as possible.
 
When I asked her what the secret of her success was, she said this:
 
“I look for the ‘frosting.’ That is, I look for each team members’ sweet spot and then exploit it so that they are doing what makes them happy and what makes us the most successful.”

THE PERFECT CAKE

REMEMBER THIS:

1. Don’t focus solely on what your team members don’t do well.  Building a high-performance team takes the dedicated efforts of each person. Putting someone where they will do the least damage is a recipe for low performance and little (if any) dedication or improvement.
 
2. Look for the talent, or individual cornerstone, of every person on your team.  They were hired because of some talent or strength that set them apart. Look for the best. Talk to them about their “individual cornerstones.” Give them projects/tasks to let them focus on using those individual cornerstones (talents) that make them unique.
 
If you are spending more time trying to give people assignments that they won’t mess up rather than taking the time producing exceptional work, there is a big problem with your leadership.
 
Teams can’t survive, let alone thrive, by avoiding failure.
 
The better way to go is to take the time to really learn what makes your team members special.  You will be surprised at how a problem employee can turn into a superstar when you let them shine.
 
How have you seen leaders learn to look for the hidden talents of their team members?  
Can a high performance team have members that are not dedicated?  What tactics have you seen to leverage the talents of team members?

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.

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