Leadership Articles

SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE IS DETERMINED BY PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND EFFICIENCY. THESE ARE ALL ASPECTS THAT MUST BE CONSIDERED WHEN PLANNING OR WORKING ON ANY PROJECT IN RELATION TO YOUR TEAM AND TO YOUR COMPANY.

Have you ever worked on a project or initiative that was not going well?  If everyone knew it was failing, why was there not even an attempt to stop it?  What does that cost us as leaders in our companies and organizations?

TAKE ACTION WITH YOUR WORDS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T KNOW WHEN TO SAY ENOUGH?

Often times, under pressure, it is difficult for people to speak up and get the courage that they need in order to stop a project that is failing. It is unclear whether this issue is caused by a mixture of pride and hubris, dogged determination, or  just the feeling that “quitting itself is failure.”

However, it struck me hard one morning on my way to a client that in order to be a highly productive team or organization, we have to know when to end an effort that is failing.

I passed a man holding a sign that read, “Hunger Strike, Protesting not being allowed to see children since 2001.”

He had been standing in the same spot for 11 years to protest, not being able to see his children due to divorce. I was struck by the fact he was standing in front of a train station that was nowhere near a courthouse or media outlet.

When I asked him why, he stated that he had gone through his court appeals, and that no media outlet would listen to him.

Because of this, his family had given up on his cause.

He told me:

“I’ll never give up because I’m not a quitter!”  

He had lost his job, his house, his life savings, his friends, his family, and everything else.

Nothing at work seems that dire.

TIME TO TAKE NOTE

Similarities between this man’s plight and unspoken clients in the workplace:

• Unwillingness to remove a leader that was obviously failing because “it would make us look like we didn’t know what we were doing.”
• Unwillingness to change a reorganization that occurred 2 years before because “the senior leader pushed for the reorganization, and changing things now would make him look bad.”
• Unwillingness to change a marketing plan that not only want not working but was turning customers away because “we invested time and money into this and we are going to make it work.”
• Unwillingness to find a new partner to work with on an employee survey that had proven to be flawed because “the senior leader that selected the vendor would be cast in a bad light.”

This list could likely be endless.  But why do we do it?

FAILURE TO QUIT

If your organization sticks with a mediocre idea, facility, or team too long because it lacks the guts to create something better, you have failed.

Failure to quit infects the health of your company like a disease.

Our unwillingness to admit when we are wrong, and “course correct,” limits our ability to grow, prosper, and drive innovation.

Scott Anthony, in a recent HBR blog wrote:

“That led me to think of the parallels inside some of my corporate clients. Most corporate cultures fear failure so viscerally that they will lock up great talent in a fatally flawed project, investing resources well past the point where everyone can see that the plug should have been pulled.”

What you can do better:

ADMIT FAILURE; THAT THERE IS A NEED TO “COURSE CORRECT”

Honestly admitting that the initial original solution was not optimal is a sign ofstrength, even if the problem still needs to be solved.

Leaders that can admit they are not perfect and are willing to change course are seen as winners. There are also seen as profitable… see recent news about Domino’s Pizza.  

“Failure is a necessary part of a flourishing innovative ecosystem. Not every idea is destined for greatness. A talented individual working on an idea with fatal flaws by definition isn’t working on an idea with transformational potential. When great talent is stuck working on the wrong things, the ecosystem as a whole suffers. The failure of failure leads to stagnation.”-Scott Anthony HBR.or

SEEK INPUT FROM THOSE AFFECTED BY THE “FIX THAT FAILED”

The people affected by the failed solution can see the good, the bad and the ugly of how the solution worked and how to make it better.  With the firm knowledge that things can’t go back to the way that they were, everyone can work towards a more effective way to solve the problem.

“IMPLEMENT THE “NEW” SOLUTION AND CHECK TO SEE PROGRESS. CHANGE THE COURSE IF IT IS NOT WORKING. 

This is by no means saying that you should change direction at the slightest hint of upset or when the first issues arise, but when there is a consistent drumbeat of data that shows the solution implemented is not working, (New Coke, McDLT, Netflix’s recent issues only to name a few), admit it isn’t and change it!

Refusing to admit failure or that a solution implemented is not working is a recipe for killing innovation and inviting bigger failure in the future.

Know when to quit so that energy can be put towards a plan, solution, or person that will make the difference.

As a leader do you see these failures in your workplace? Is it time for people in your organization to speak up? What can and will you do to fix this issue so that your company can thrive?

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This blog also appears on the Linked2Leadership Blog.  Please visit them!

THE 99TH PERCENTILE

Each day people strive to:

• Do their jobs well
• Get through the day
• Reach their goals

But what do they do better than anyone else?  What does their team, organization, company do so well that no one else could possibly compete?

WHY DON’T WE ASK THE QUESTION?

In a recent client meeting, we discussed the idea of increasing productivity and effectiveness in the organization.  I asked, “Why do you want to do that?” “What is the reason we want to be more effective”.  As you could imagine, there were some quizzical looks.

“What would you suggest?” the CEO of the organization asked me.

“Well,” stalling a little for time. “Maybe we could think of something a little different.  What is it that we are better than 99% of other companies doing or providing?  What can we do, as an organization, do help our folks manifest that?”

“I’m not sure what that is,” the CEO admitted.

“Maybe we should focus on figuring out what that is.  Being effective and productive will be a natural outcome.”

After working with a number of organizations, I felt like another conversation aboutbeing more effective and productive was like telling school-kids to get into a straight line for lunch in front of the bathroom.  It was a conversation that didn’t really make sense.

It seemed silly to me that there was time and energy spent on trying to be better at something we were not even sure mattered.

“Let’s figure that out.” The CEO responded.

STRIVING IS NOT ENOUGH

As we took the journey to determine what, if anything, the organization was better than 99% of all others a reoccurring issue arose.  Words.

At our first update meeting, a few of the senior executives brought up some ideas:

• We strive to be the best at customer service
• We strive to be the first choice of our customers

Strive?  How does one strive, I thought.  Could you pull a hamstring striving too hard?  Is that inspirational?  Would a World Cup Football/Soccer team put that up on the locker room wall – We are Striving to Be the Best in the World?

Let’s all think about that….The answer to that would be NO.  Striving is a concerted effort not to fail.  No employee will be moved by that.  You are either 99% better than any other organization or you are not.  If you are not, that is okay.  But be honest about it.  There is no partial credit in business.

The decision was made to eliminate striving, trying, intending, attempting, etc.  from the end result.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE NOT THE BEST?

The question that many of the managers and executives asked was, “What happens if we say that we are 99% better than anyone else at (fill in the blank) and we are not? Won’ that be demotivating?”

“That is a great question.  The short answer is no.” I said.  “Let’s just say that you proclaim you are 99% better than anyone else in the world at making coffee.  There is a taste test done and it ends up that you are not.  You come in 3rd, so you are better than 90% of all other companies at making coffee.  Is that bad?”

“No, but that is not what we want.” Stated one of the executives.

“True, but now you know where you are and can either accept it or work towards making it so.  That is when you are going to look for how to be better and more effective by eliciting your employees’ help.  That is where the magic is.  You already have the knowledge internally.  All they need is a spark to make it real for them.”

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT?

The very best method to determine what your organization does better than 99% of all others is to ask.  It may not be what the core business is or even what the desired “best” would be.  But, the magic is in finding out.  I suggested that the client ask:

• Customers
• Vendors
• Employees
• Loan providers/Creditors
• Advisors
• Their Spouses

It is a great idea to ask face-to-face if possible.  If not, a survey will do.  Make it easy for the folks answering the questions.  Let them be as honest as possible However, this is not just a whining session.  There are thousands of questions to ask, but three that are needed:

1. What is it that we do better than anyone else in our industry?
2. What is it that we are known for?
3. What is the one thing that we are known for that we would not be proud of?

This will give you a good flavor for what the organization does well and not so well.

WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT?

The mistake that most organizations make is that they bring in external consultants to figure out how to grow marketshare and increase their effectiveness. Consultants can help, guide and give advice but cannot and should not do the work.  Coming from a consultant, that sounds crazy.  But, it is true.
This work needs to be headed up by and resourced with internal people.  Nothing is worse than having an external person set direction for an organization.  They have no stake in the end game.  Not to mention that there is natural push-back internally.  It is a GREAT idea to have a consultant or consulting company resource a “non-core” activity. For the future success and continued growth of the organization it is vital that a vast majority of the effort comes from within.

Here is a good process to implement:

1. Create a compelling strategy around the 99% effort –

• A promise for Life – Abbot Laboratories
• Relax, it’s FedEx or FedEx and forget it

2. Align your culture to the strategy
3. Tap your internal brain power to realize the strategy
4. Check in with key stakeholders (those folks you asked earlier) to see how you are doing
5. Revise your efforts based on your progress
6. Repeat

Are you ever done?

No. The effort to become and stay at the top 1% of all your competition is a never ending battle.  It is not only worth fighting but the only way to ensure that your organization stays creative, engaged, profitable and productive for the long term.

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.

Do you deal with an organization or service provider whose performance is lacking, but somehow you continue to accept their poor performance? If you honestly think about it, you’ll probably answer “yes.” But don’t fret too much because we all do it to some degree. But why do we put with mediocrity and worse?  What is the benefit from it?  What can we do about it?

Do smart people really allow themselves to be in a bad situation for prolonged periods of time?

How long did you let it go on?

Bad marriages, hostile workplaces, and even unsafe living conditions are just some of the things that we see and read about on a regular basis that show us that we put up with unsatisfactory conditions in our lives.  Most of us know people and deal with these levels or poor performance in our lives much of the time.  We can see that these low-level providers are unproductive at best and unhealthy at worst.  We often complain about them, much of the time.  But seldom do we work up the courage to alter them.  We do this because of something called “learned helplessness.”

Learned Helplessness

Based on a theory discovered by Martin Seligman, people who see themselves in situations where they have no control are reported to have higher stress levels and lower productivity. 

It can be related to the workplace easily:

An uncontrollable situation can be harmful to a person even without it being physically painful or recognizable to them. Feeling helpless can do serious damage to motivation in any situation, even those filled with luxury and privilege. An example of this is the poor little rich boy whose daddy does everything for him.  As a kid he breaks a window with a ball, and daddy fixes it.  He gets regrettable grades in school but gets into college anyway because daddy gave a big donation.

After graduation, he gets a job with a big salary and a corner office in daddy’s firm. He has learned that
Surprisingly, the poor little rich boy’s situation is similar to the unhappy worker suffering under a hypercritical boss.

While the worker is overloaded with criticism and the rich boy has an overabundance of goodies, both lack a sense of control. Neither feels they can influence what happens to them. Seligman emphasizes in his research on learned helplessness that it is not the quality of the situation that causes feelings ofhelplessness and depression. Even though we tend to think that the cause is punitive circumstances, situations filled with rewards can also lead to the same debilitating learned helplessness and depression when the person does not have to perform to get those rewards.

When we don’t feel like we have control, the workplace can be “toxic”.  Given the economic situation, there are many organizations, departments and teams where employees perceive a sense of learned helplessness.  True or not, it can be detrimental.  It can lead to simple forgetfulness, decease in attention to safety and outright aggression.

What can a leader do to impact organizational learned helplessness?

1) Determine what is vital to the organization’s success.

Identify the critical keys to the organization’s (company, group, team, etc.) success.  This is not a simple undertaking, but one that is necessary to long-term and sustainable success.  It is akin to Jack Welch’s belief that GE should be in the top 3 of every industry it played.  Or, it could be like Lexus’ “beat Benz”.  Many organizations try to be too many things to too many people.  They think by taking on more they can please many but end up disappointing instead.  Organizations should focus on what they do well (core competencies).  Find ways to expand them and do them even better.

2) Uncover the trends in your organization

Too often trends within the organization, including learned helplessness, are unknown at best and accepted at worst.  In order to shed light on the current situation it is vital that an engagement study is conducted.  The results of the study will uncover the nature of the organization and highlight issues/opportunities.  It will show where learned helplessness may lie within the organization and where things are exemplary.

3) Acknowledge what is so.

The road to recovery from any bad place starts with acknowledging where you are.  It is very important to not be overly harsh nor sugarcoat the situation.  If your team or organization seems to be in a pattern or viscous cycle of:

• Constant personal problems
• Failure to meet deadlines
• Chronic business partner or internal customer issues

Then it is time clearly state what the problem is and what it is costing you. Quantifying the cost is the first step to understanding what you are losing by keeping the status quo. The status quo in many cases is the enemy of altering the pattern of learned helplessness.  Even if the current situation is not desirable, the “devil that you know is better than the devil you don’t” to most people.

4) Align strategy/uncover culture

Next it is vital to begin the work of aligning strategy and culture throughout the organization.  This can be accomplished in a number of different ways but should not be taken lightly.  The first step is to educate and communicate to leaders.  Due to changing need of employees, having a powerful on-line tool is critical to making this a reality.  Of course, a comprehensive game plan- including communication, tools, etc. – is necessary.  The first six months is critical and can work to make the cultural/strategic alignment a reality.

5) Show managers /leaders there is another way

Probably one of the most important methods of breaking out of organizational learned helplessness is to educate leaders/managers about alternatives.  It is vital to have consistent and readily available training and tools to show managers how to do things differently. Making it easy to understand and implement is important.  Not that the change itself is going to be easy but the “how” must be easy to find and use.

6) Reward innovation and smart risk taking

There is a saying – “People do what they rewarded to do”.  That is true, but even more true is that people are compelled by what others rewarded for doing.  This is where the rubber hits the road.  True innovation should be rewarded.  People and teams that get results in different ways SHOULD BE REWARDED.  Unless it is either illegal or demeaning, innovation must be cultivated and encouraged actively.  This goes hand in hand with smart risk taking.  People should be rewarded for failure if they tried something that did not work and helped the organization learn.  Of course the risk cannot have sacrificed organizational reputation, clients or be unethical.  Outside of that, risks and the people that take them should be commended.  Taking smart risks and stretching to be innovative is a sure fire way to break the cycle of learned helplessness and make sure it doesn’t come back.

Can you break the cycle?

There a numerous instances of organizations breaking out of the malaise of learned helplessness.  Although not an exact science, the organizations that were able to get past LH used some combination of the six steps outlined.  Ford Motor Company is a perfect example of a company that has broken the cycle of learned helplessness.  Hundreds of teams have accomplished this feat within companies.  Go ahead give it a try, if couldn’t get any worse…

Is your organization suffering from Learned Helplessness?  What are you doing to determine if your organization’s state? Or are you just hoping that things will work themselves out? 

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.

Do you ever wonder if we are in the age of corporate insanity?  Einstein said that the definition of insanity was trying the same thing over an over again and expecting a different result.  Corporations seem to do this frequently.  It is as if they are using the same beat no matter type of song they are playing.

A recent example of learned helplessness in organizations is the use of layoffs to prop up profits and drive stock prices.

Even though it has been proven time and time again that layoffs do not work companies still use them as a method to cut down costs.

(For those of you unfamiliar with 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.)

Of course when business is lost costs need to be cut.  For most organizations the majority of costs are in people.

Therefore, the quickest and easiest reduction is to eliminate them.  But, that has been proven to reduce productivity, creativity and loyalty to the organization.  Then when the economy picks up, which it always does, employees leave as quickly as possible.

Can you feel the stupid?

But, in the defense of these companies, that is common wisdom.  It is like bloodletting used to common practice among physicians.  Now it seems ridiculous, but at the time it was an acceptable and even promoted practice.

What to do then?

Look for a way out of the learned helplessness pattern  – grow the business.  That’s right; actively look for ways to get more and different customers.  Successful companies grow their businesses and take market-share in down economies.  There is no way to cut or reduce expenses to grow the business. You can’t cut your way to profitability…ever.

Here is an easy (and therefore hard to implement) way to break out of this learned helplessness cycle:

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 and customer assessment or survey that will give a sense of how engaged the organization and customers are to the strategy.

2. Give managers the tools to drive engagement and find new ideas (for revenue and cost containment)

Front line leaders are the key to driving success and growing the business.  It is IMPERATIVE to give them the tools in a practical, easy to use method.  This same tool should be used to drive alignment and find new areas/ideas for growth.

3. Push accountability for growth down to the lowest level

Don’t try to make all the new ideas come from one part of the company. No one department has the lock on creativity (another example of learned helplessness).  Organizations that grow, like 3M did with Post-Its, look for ideas from everywhere. Give everyone ownership to innovate and grow. It will drive passion and increase loyalty.

Don’t fall into the trap of cutting to save the organization.  Focus energy on increasing customers, growing market-share and keeping the customers you have.  The rest will take care of itself.

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.

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.”

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!