Leadership, Power and Ethics – Huh?

So by now we’ve all heard about the scandal with retired general and former head of the CIA, David Petraeus. Some of my European colleagues have balked that we can be a bit uptight in the U.S. when it comes to mixing business and personal – and that may be the case. However, as that is the culture in which we live (and lead) - those in positions of power need to conduct themselves within certain boundaries. Obviously someone failed to have this conversation with David Petraeus or former Lockheed Martin CEO, Christopher Kubasik.

As an organizational development and leadership practitioner - I often work with C-Level executives and Military and Civilian leaders. Sometimes the work is focused on them - leadership development and coaching - though often it is focused on the organizations they lead and helping them to improve in one way or another. Regardless, I often stress to leaders in positions of power that their actions, ethics, values, and behaviors have a direct impact on the attitudes and behaviors of those they lead and thus on the organizational culture. Those impacts can be positive or negative.

As Ken Hultman and Bill Gellerman say in their book, Balancing Individual and Organizational Values, ethics are standards of good/bad or right/wrong behavior, and morals are standards for avoiding or minimizing harmful or bad behavior/wrong behavior. Thus, a moral is also an ethic, but not all ethics are morals. They are internal to a person. Organizations as such don’t have values and ethics, but since they are comprised of human beings, their cultures are shaped by the values and ethics of those human beings. If those human beings at the top – leadership – commit unethical behaviors - what kind of message does that send to those they lead?

In the recent cases of David Petraeus and Christopher Kubasik - did their unethical actions have a negative impact on their respective organizations? Kubasik’s actions “did not affect the company's operational or financial performance," the company has stated. Though damage control has already begun, I think time will tell. I do give Lockheed credit – they have a written code of ethics for employees, when they found out their leadership violated this code, they forced his resignation. The CIA and the government on the other hand, have been a bit slower in taking corrective actions.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” - Lord Acton

As an OD practitioner I was once told something by a mentor that still sticks with me today, you may not be able to make people change their values; however, you can help them see the wisdom of changing their behaviors.  As Cameron & Quinn state “An organization’s culture is reflected by what it values, the dominant leadership styles, the language and symbols…” Interviewing 1709 CEOs from 64 countries and 18 industries, (from September 2011 to January 2012) IBM identified that the top organizational attribute to draw out the best from their workforces was ethics and values (65%). So what does it say about the culture of an organization when those selected to lead it have somewhat sketchy values and ethics?

Values and ethics are important, and apparently power does corrupt.

“Values (and ethics) are the fuel which drive the engine of desire to make vision a reality…” – Broholm

What kind of reality do you want for your organization?

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions - an Organizational Improvement & Strategy firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

CEO to Commander in Chief: Do The Same Skills Apply?

Achieving the leadership status and title of the Commander in Chief – President of the United States of America - is the highest appointed leadership position one could achieve.  Sure – being a CEO is also a great achievement and the role is also intricate and complex. But leading a group of employees is much different than leading an entire nation.

I mean…they don’t call the President the Commander in Chief (CIC)  for nothing!

With an election happening next week, leadership qualities are coming to the forefront.  One candidate was a former CEO. So - putting on my organizational development practitioner hat - politics aside, left or right or red or blue, this raises an interesting question.

Just because someone was a CEO does that mean they have the leadership skills to be Commander in Chief (CIC)?

Some may argue that good leadership is good leadership –- whether you’re managing kids at home, serving as the CEO of a company, or as the Commander in Chief of a nation.  (for more on our take on good leadership, feel free to see some previous articles on the topic  including  one relating to politics)

Can CEOs run the U.S. equally or better than a candidate with a traditional political background?  Various articles and studies have been done on this topic. The reality is, that though many leadership roles do require similar traits, they may also require different decision making processes and application of those skills and traits. Just because you may have certain skills and traits to be a success in one leadership role doesn’t necessarily mean you have the skills and traits to be successful in another.  Even if you do - can you execute actions using those skills and traits in a way that will contribute to success in the same way for  two different roles.

“…. 56% (of CEOs surveyed) also believe maintaining voter confidence is more difficult than securing the support of shareholders and directors as CEO.”

– Korn/Ferry CEO Survey Aug. 2012

Let’s take a look at some key leadership traits, and considerations, from the perspectives of CEO and the Commander in Chief:

Accountability

• CEO – CEO’s and the CIC often have a different view on accountability. Though CEOs are hired, they are not often elected to serve the people, but to serve the shareholders. Since CEO’s are mostly accountable to boards and shareholders, decisions can often be driven by money, and not what is in the best interests of those they lead.  A CEO is often more accountable for balance sheets than the welfare of their employees.  This can often prohibit them from putting the interests of their people ahead of that of finances.

• CIC – Though the balancing of financial matters and people matters is a shared struggle to an extent - the CIC is elected by all the people, not just appointed by a select group of peers - and thus is accountable first and foremost for the well being of those who elected him/her.  One could argue that level of accountability includes commitment to balance sheets, though, when looking at financials, the CIC is most often doing so from the perspective of what is best for the people.  In addition, the CIC is required to make life and death decisions, not just financial decisions. The CIC is accountable to serve the people who elected him/her, and not shareholders, in financial matters and matters of life and death. Most CEOs are not.

Transparency

• CEO – CEO’s don’t often see a need for transparency. They very rarely share personal information – which they may not want to share publicly. The job of a CEO doesn’t require corporate citizenship or social responsibility in leadership. Though more CEOs are making the choice to be socially responsible - it is not a mandate of the job.  Besides very specific legal mandates and policies - nothing requires that a CEO be transparent (though those that are not will most likely see a negative  impact on performance.) The CEO’s leadership often tends to be extremely secretive as CEOs often think personal information is not in the domain of those they lead.

• CIC – The CIC knows that not even the most intimate moments are off limits. The CIC is required to think through decisions, beyond profit and loss statements, and to consider all available points of view. When communicating his/her decision, the CIC is often required by law to do so in a transparent manner. Of course politics is politics, scandals are scandals. Not every CIC chooses to be or can be transparent about every decision -whether personal or legislative – however, the expectation of transparency tends to be more prominent both from the CIC perspective based on the expectation from constituents. The general public, as often supported by law, can demand much more transparency from the CIC than employees can from a CEO.

Engagement

• CEO – Engaging in authentic communication is an imperative trait for any great leader if they wish to have supportive and trusting followers.  Though it is important for a CEO to be a tough, no-nonsense, competent negotiator, it is also easy for a CEO to take a ‘my way or the highway’ view. This view will often alienate followers, not engage their support. If someone doesn’t like what the CEO is saying, then as the head honcho, it’s often too bad. CEOs don’t often invite disagreement. They can feel little need to explain or justify their thoughts and decisions and this view can often negatively impact followership engagement.

• CIC – Can the CIC also take a ‘my way or the highway’ view to communication and decision making?  Sure they can.  However, they will often get little accomplished in doing so (particularly reelection). It is often the support of the constituency that helps the CIC drive their agenda through the legislative process. The CIC needs to take a different view on engagement if they intend to govern in the best interest of the people. This view not only includes being a competent negotiator, it also includes a certain leavel of diplomacy and the ability to engage with those they serve to gather varying opinions and information, and adjust decisions accordingly. These are skills many CEOs don’t often choose to exercise as they often see no need.

Now – to be clear I’m not saying that it’s not possible that leaders of corporations can make good leaders of government and vice versa. And I'm also not saying that all CEOs and all CICs are the same. What I’m saying is they tend to look at things a bit differently, thus even if sharing the same skill set, they often take different actions motivated by those different views and experiences. It's less about the debate of having the skills (assuming one does) and more about the ability to apply them in a given situation. Thus, being a good leader at one job is not necessarily synonymous with being a good leader at the other.

Leadership ability is often the deciding factor as to whether something succeeds or doesn’t – in business and in politics.  Whether you’re debating who to vote for or who to work for – take a hard look at their leadership skills as related to their work, and ask yourself – do they have the skills to succeed in this role? Am I ready to follow their lead?

NOTE: This article is not intended for political debate and does not endorse a specific candidate. It is simply to raise the question of leadership qualities, and if in fact they translate from one position to another, using a real time example of such an instance.

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions - an Organizational Improvement & Strategy firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

 

Do I Really Want To Work Here? What Are You Doing To Keep Me Engaged?

Many of us have experienced that moment - that moment when the excitement of a new job or new role begins to wane and we feel less than enthusiastic about going to work every day – the engagement decline.

When you get that “Ugh, I so don’t want to come to work today…” feeling, often the catalyst can occur for many different reasons.  It could be changes within the organization, or the impact of outside environmental factors. Perhaps a lack of feeling challenged due to poor skills to role match, leadership changes or managerial style played a part, or maybe a technology or cultural change was the catalyst. Regardless, employee engagement has begun to decline.

“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”
~ Anne M. Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox

So – what can be done about the decline in engagement before it gets worse?

Building a successful business requires more than just saying you value employee engagement – it requires creating a culture of high engagement. If you want people to be engaged they need to feel valued, heard, and appreciated. They need to see where they fit into the organization, feel that what they are doing is making an impact to overall organizational performance, and feel as though the opportunity exists for ongoing learning and development. Simply put – they need to enjoy coming to work every day (ok, almost every day) and be inspired to give 100%.

So how do you prevent that moment when the excitement begins to disappear - the engagement decline – and show those working within (and with) your organization that you do in fact have a culture of high engagement?

High level – we’ll offer a few qualities that may trigger an engagement decline and a few that help create cultures of high engagement.

Low Engagement	High Engagement
Unclear performance goals and expectations	Clear performance goals and expectations
Non merit based pay and promotion	Merit based pay and promotion
Lack of leadership interest in employees	Leadership takes interest in employees
Minimal opportunities for learning and development	Ongoing opportunities for learning and development
Un-collaborative environment	Collaborative environment
Not all people feel equal and valued	All people feel equal and valued
Poor communication and feedback(voices not heard)	Frequent feedback and open communication (voices heard)
No recognition for performance	Recognition for performance
Lack of alignment of values and culture	Alignment of values and culture
Minimal interest in customer satisfaction	Concerned with customer satisfaction

Organizations are quickly recognizing that having a strong and committed workforce is a key success factor for creating a high-performing organization. Yet many are still uncertain about where to start designing employee engagement and recognition programs.

So how do you create an organization of high engagement?

For starters, here’s a thought – ASK YOUR PEOPLE! Many organizations have not actually elicited employee feedback regarding these types of programs. What do your people think – have you surveyed the workforce on their thoughts? Successful engagement and recognition programs require employee input. If you’re a leader, have you asked your employees what motivates them? If you’re an employee, has leadership in your organization asked what motivates you? If yes, has the organization taken your feedback and turned it into actions?

Short answer – use the 3 steps below to develop and excel in the “High Engagement” qualities listed above.

• Ask your employees what they want, listen, and take action. What types of knowledge and learning opportunities can help them better perform their jobs? What types of knowledge and learning opportunities make them feel challenged as individuals?  Why are the highly engaged so engaged? Why are the low engaged not more engaged? What would make them more engaged? Collect the data and act on it. Offer options based on employee input. One of the quickest ways to increase performance is to increase engagement. One of the quickest ways to increase engagement (or at least so we’ve found) is to make sure your employees feel heard, valued, and appreciated.

• Provide opportunities for learning and development. Brown bag lunch and learns, webinars – take advantage of various formats available for employees to share knowledge and interests with others who may benefit– to challenge others and feel challenged. Providing employees the opportunity to transfer knowledge increases an employee’s communication skills. This is an easy way to provide recognition, which contributes to making employees feel valued and heard, increasing engagement.

• Hire people who fit your culture and share your organizational values. When hiring people don’t just hire based on skills and experience. Hire also based on cultural fit. All people are different, some may excel in certain cultures and some may not. If you’re a creative entrepreneurial organization that doesn’t have an overly rigid structure, then hire people who thrive on that type of environment, not people who thrive in a more overly structured environment. Values alignment is imperative. Hire people who share the values of your organization not those who may be in conflict with them. Many tools and technologies are available to help in the assessment of cultural fit of new hires.  Once you hire people, who are skills and cultural fit, communicate early and often. Let people know where they fit into the organization, and make sure they understand how and what they are doing is making an impact to overall organizational performance.

• Understand your needs and admit you don’t know what you don’t know. If specific learning and development or organizational changes are requested by employees, and are of value to the organization and customers, and you don’t have the capability in house to deliver then look outside. Partner with other organizations or outside resources on learning and development, organizational communication and change, and leadership development and coaching offerings (not to toot our horn, though c’mon it is our blog, Tolero Solutions can help with designing learning and development programs and delivering employee engagement recognition strategies – contact us for more info)

“You shouldn’t be looking for people slipping up, you should be looking for all the good things people do and praising those.”
~ Richard Branson, founder of Virgin

Here’s hoping that most of you desire to have a culture of high engagement –and strive to create and maintain an organization where people really want to work!  What triggers your engagement decline feelings? What do you think are the impacts, if any, of not focusing on engagement and retention?

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions - an Organizational Improvement & Strategy firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

Diversity Matters to Your Bottom Line

If you read our article: Do I Really Want to Work Here: What Are Your Diversity Practices Telling Me? ...  you may be thinking (well, or at least so some of you have told us) , “valuing diversity sounds great, but it takes work. How is embracing diversity going to increase my organizational performance?”

A few thoughts, on why embracing diversity is not just the right thing to do, but is imperative to organizational success…

Companies that diversify their workforces have a distinct competitive advantage over those that do not, especially in the coming years as the diversity of our population increases as does globalization in business. There are several predominant factors that motivate companies to see the importance of having diverse workforces. A recent report from the Society for Human Resource Management identifies six key reasons embracing diversity should be part of an organization’s strategic goals and objectives:

1) Greater adaptability and flexibility in a rapidly changing marketplace

2) Attracting and retaining the best talent

3) Reducing costs associated with turnover, absenteeism, and low productivity

4) Return on Investment (ROI) from various initiatives, policies and practices

5) Gaining and keeping greater/new market share (locally and globally) with an expanded diverse customer base

6) Increased sales and profits

In a quick search, we've found several other studies on the importance of diversity in creating a high performing organization:

• Leveraging Diversity to Improve Business Performance


• Diversity Initiatives  in the Workplace


• The Effects of Diversity on Business Performance 

Here’s hoping that most of you desire to be part of an organization that embraces diversity –and strive to create and maintain an organization where people really want to work!   What do you think are the impacts, if any, of not valuing diversity?

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

Do I Really Want to Work Here: What Are Your Diversity Practices Telling Me?

Have you ever walked into an organization and just got that “Uh, why does everyone look the same” feeling… I know I have. You may have heard the expression, people are like snowflakes, and no two are the same – that's diversity folks. In today’s ever diverse business environment, for organizations to excel, they must pay attention to - and show they value - the diversity of employees and customers.

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations – Vulcan proverb

 

Many of us know from the first time we enter into an organization, whether as an employee or a consultant, that what they say is not what we see – or feel.  So, what are some things that may trigger your “where is the diversity…” feeling?

If you want high engagement, people need to feel as though they can “bring their full selves” to work! We realize it can occur because of many different factors – however - we are intrigued by organizations that don’t pay attention to diversity. Perhaps they just don’t notice what a negative impact lack of diversity appreciation can have?

Regardless, building a successful business requires more than just saying you value diversity. It requires creating and espousing the traits of an organization that embraces diversity, so employees, vendors, and stakeholders can feel safe and comfortable and “bring their full selves” to work –an organization that is respectful, appreciative, trusting, understanding and engaging.

So what won’t trigger that “where is the diversity” feeling and show those interacting with your organization that the organization does in fact value diversity?

High level – we’ll offer a few qualities that may trigger that “where is the diversity” feeling and a few that help create cultures that embrace diversity.

Doesn’t Embrace Diversity	Embraces Diversity
People don’t “bring their full selves” to work	People “bring their full selves” to work
Pay and promotion of one group over another	Equal pay and promotion based on performance
No visible diversity at all levels	Visible diversity at all levels
No diverse recruitment strategies	Diverse recruitment strategies
Homogeneous mentoring and coaching	Cross cultural mentoring and coaching
No supplier diversity programs	Dedicated supplier diversity programs
All people don’t feel equal and valued	All people feel equal and valued
Practices Oppression	Values Equality
Poor Engagement	High Engagement
Exclusive	Inclusive

 

So how do you create an organization that values and embraces diversity?

...for starters, begin with diversity in recruitment, we often use and customize, our Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle™ with our client’s.

Short answer – use the 3 steps below to develop and excel in the “embraces diversity” qualities listed above.

Policies and Initiatives: The first step in creating an organization that embraces diversity is for leaders and employees to create diversity policies Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization’s functions and purpose and create specific diversity strategies’ and initiatives. Diversity needs to be defined broadly and should encompass a wide range of policies and initiatives that meet the diverse and changing needs of employees and customers – ranging from recruitment to engagement and retention. Leaders and employees should take active roles in defining and implementing these diversity policies and processes which, in order to succeed, should be fully aligned with the organizations strategies’ and objectives. In order to develop and maintain effective diversity policies, leaders should view employee participation as a necessary part of any diversity initiative. Diversity policies must support employees in learning how to effectively interact with and manage people in a diverse workplace. Policies should recognize and encourage employees to continue to learn new skills in dealing with and managing people. They should also recognize the impact that diverse clients will have upon the success or failure of the organization. Diversity policies should promote learning and education, equality, and appreciation.

Leadership Commitment: The next step to creating an organization that embraces diversity is to obtain leadership commitment. Accountability for achieving diversity goals and objectives needs to be directly tied to incentives and pay increases. The degree to your diversity initiatives will be successful relies on the involvement and commitment of leaders. Organizations which have leaders who are actively involved in implementing diversity initiatives create cultures that embrace diversity by inspiring their employees. Committed leaders champion diversity by infusing it into all organizational processes and ensuring that diversity is integrated into the core values of the organization. They recognize diversity as an important goal, and position the responsibility for meeting diversity goals not merely with human resources departments or diversity offices, but with top-level and senior executives – and themselves. Leaders that are committed to diversity provide the visibility and time and resources to make diversity happen. These leaders view diversity as both a top priority and a personal responsibility.

Engagement: The third step in achieving creating an organization that embraces diversity is - always focus on the people. We’ve said this before, and we think it so important we’ll say it again, organizations can’t exist without people. People make the difference in every business. Once you have diversity strategies and initiatives in place, and accountable and committed leadership, you need to engage employees in your diversity practices – and get them to engage with one another. Design ongoing communication systems to create and reinforce the workplace diversity commitment and practices to all employees with an emphasis on why it is important and what it means to the organization. These communication systems should encourage peer to peer learning and knowledge sharing increasing diversity awareness amongst employees. Additionally, training and empowerment initiatives provide a foundation, for all levels of the organization, to foster the accomplishment of diversity goals. These can include cross cultural mentoring and coaching and employee led learning events. Another way to engage employees in sharing and embracing diversity is via affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs). These groups can be groups of people with common interests, identities, and issues like African American, Women, LGBT or even more defined in scope as aligned to your specific organizations products and functions - such as Women in healthcare, Young IT workers etc. It is also helpful to keep the workforce engaged in diversity initiatives by developing organization-wide assessment and evaluation systems to monitor diversity progress throughout the organization.

Diversity: the art of thinking independently together. - Malcolm Forbes 

Here’s hoping that most of you desire to be part of an organization that embraces diversity –and strive to create and maintain an organization where people really want to work!  What triggers your diversity “gut check?” What do you think are the impacts, if any, of not valuing diversity?

Stay tuned for more articles in our “Do I Really Want to Work Here…?” series!

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

Do I Really Want to Work Here: What’s Your Culture Telling Me?

Have you ever walked into an organization and just got that “hum something just doesn’t feel right feeling”… I know I have (more times than I’d like to count). Many of us know from the first time we enter into an organization, whether as an employee or a consultant, that what they say is not what we see – or feel. The ever so important “gut check” we shouldn’t ignore.

“Corporate Culture can have a significant impact on a firm’s long-term economic performance.” – John Kotter

So, what are some things that trigger your culture gut check?

• We realize it is probably because of many different factors – however - we were intrigued that more  people are not interested in how to create a high performance culture. Perhaps they just don’t notice what a negative impact poor culture can have? Regardless, building a successful business requires more than just saying you have a good culture, it requires creating and espousing the traits of a high performance culture so employees, vendors, and stakeholders can see you “mean what you say” –a culture that is open, honest, trusting, transparent and engaging.

So what makes a high performing culture?

High level – we’ll offer a few qualities that may trigger your “gut check” and a few that make for a high performing culture.

Poor Performing Culture	High Performing Culture
Poor Communication	Open Communication
Secrecy	Transparency
Mistrust	Trust
Abuse of Power	Socialized Power
Inflexible Structures	Flexible Structures
Uninventive	Innovative
Unclear Strategy	Defined Strategy
Practices Oppression	Values Equality
Poor Engagement	High Engagement
Rigid Processes	Flexible Processes

 

So how do you create a positive and high performing culture?

...for starters, check out our whitepaper on the topic titled: What is a High Performance Culture? Creating a culture that supports long term growth and sustainability.

Short answer – develop and excel in the “high performing culture” qualities listed above – you can get started in 3 steps.

Direction: The first step in creating a high performing culture is defining your direction. An organization cannot achieve a high performing culture without having a clearly defined direction - a detailed strategy, including a clear mission and a defined vision statement. The strategy should help determine who you want to be, where you want to go, and how to chart the course to help you get there. The strategy should answer several imperatives, including but not limited to: what can we do best? Do we have flexible processes and structures in place to support execution of our mission? What motivates our people the most and how do we provide that to them? What is essential for our financial stability? And how do we exceed customer expectations and define and measure success?

Communication: The next step to achieve a high performing culture is communication; frequent, transparent, and authentic communication amongst leadership, employees, stakeholders, and customers is a necessity. To keep audiences engaged in your products and services, and committed to the organizations’ strategy, mission and vision, they need to know what is going on and why (within reason).  If you want to create a high performing culture, it is not enough simply to communicate; methods for receiving and acting on feedback received from target audiences must also be developed.  Develop communication plans and processes to ensure that all audiences (internal and external) are reached with the content vehicles and frequencies appropriate for them to remain interested and engaged.

Engagement: The third step in achieving a high performing culture - always focus on the people. We’ve said this before, and we think it so important we’ll say it again, organizations can’t exist without people. People make the difference in every business. To achieve a high performing culture, you must recruit, engage, and retain the right people for your culture.  Many things bring employees through the front door, but bad work environments drive them out. To not drive them out you need to build a highly engaged and committed workforce. Let employees know they and their ideas are valued and that they work in a culture where their voices can be heard. Creating this type of environment increases employee motivation and retention and reduces employee turnover. This type of positive environment helps people reach higher levels of productivity. Success depends on knowing and understanding your workforce and valuing each employee's satisfaction, motivation, well-being, and development. People are the company. High performing organizations recognize and embrace this fact.

"Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times."    

 -Niccolo Machiavelli

Here’s hoping that most of you desire to be part of a high performing culture –and strive to create and maintain an organization where people really want to work!  What triggers your “gut check?” What qualities or strategies do you think make the difference between a poor culture, and a high performing culture?

Stay tuned for more articles in our “Do I Really Want to Work Here…?” series!

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

The Domino Effect – Don't Play Games With Your Organizational Success

Have you ever played dominos?  If so – you know how long it takes to set up the pieces in whatever pattern you choose.  Yet regardless of how long it took you to set up the pieces – once you push that first piece over – it takes seconds to cause a change reaction that brings everything to the ground.

 (Today’s Millennial’s probably have an app that does it digitally for them…)

Dominos are actually a learning lesson when it comes to business.  An organization will spend months, if not years, setting up the pieces together in a pattern that yields growth.  Then at one point – someone  adjusts or replaces one of those pieces and that change inadvertently knocks over the other pieces  – and it causes a chain reaction - the domino effect. This occurs when a small change causes another similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. It typically refers to a connected sequence of events or linkages within systems.

Organizationally, the domino effect can be caused by the replacement or addition of new technology; it could be an acquisition, or downsizing of the organization.  Regardless - the catalyst that sets the dominos in motion is some type of change – businesses need to navigate these changes carefully and be sure the changes, or the people making the changes, aren't like a bull in a china shop.

"Everything affects everything else in one way or another. Whether you are aware of that or not does not change the fact that this is what is happening. That's why I say a business is a system. This systems perspective reminds us that this is what is going on. And when you see it this way, you can manage your business better. You appreciate, for example, that any action will reverberate throughout the entire company. This causes you to pay more attention to what you do, and learn the right lessons from your experience." - John Woods

Unfortunately that’s not how most businesses approach changes – with a systemic focus - most actually don’t take into consideration all the interconnected parts of the organization that could set the domino effect into motion, impacting the success of the change, productivity and profitability.

Want to make sure your company doesn’t go through the domino effect? 

 Follow these simple steps:

• Plan for Change: Don’t forget organizations are interconnected systems. Change in one area has a direct impact on other areas. Learn how to successfully plan for change, implement, communicate, and create employee involvement and commitment, and measurement systems during change. Remain flexible and open to adapting the structures and processes as needed.

• Develop a Strategy: Have a developed and detailed change strategy, including a clear mission and a defined vision statement. The change strategy should help determine why you are taking on the change, where you want to go, and how to chart the course to help you get there. Does it answer organizational imperatives? Can leadership clearly communicate the strategy? Do employees understand why the changes are happening and how and where they fit into making them successful?

• Engage your People: Organizations can’t exist without people. People make the difference in every business. To achieve a high performing culture, you must recruit, engage and retain the right people for your culture.  Build a highly engaged and committed workforce. It is people who measure the organization’s progress and steer its direction. It is the people and their capabilities, individually and collectively, that ultimately determine if changes are successful. Always put your people first – both daily and during times of change. Challenge them, engage them, and support them. Provide for your people and they will provide for you.

"General Systems Theory … says that each variable in any system interacts with the other variables so thoroughly that cause and effect cannot be separated. A simple variable can be both cause and effect. Reality will not be still. And it cannot be taken apart! You cannot understand a cell, a rat, a brain structure, a family, a culture if you isolate it from its context. Relationship is everything." - Marilyn Ferguson

So, organizations are interconnected systems. Changes in on area have a direct impact on changes in other areas. Even though the pieces to your business aren’t actually dominoes – you should treat them as such.

 Because once the dominoes start to fall – it takes a long time to set them back up.

About: Scott Span, MSOD is President of Tolero Solutions - an Organizational Improvement & Strategy firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more effective, productive, and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

 

How to be a Boss: Are You a Good Boss or a Bad Boss?

Sounds a little bit like the Wizard of Oz, we know.  Similar to that classic story - what type of boss you are can determine if your people respond to you more like Munchkins or Monkey Soldiers. While we were writing this blog with our marketing partner, Preactive Marketing, we found something interesting while we researched this topic, and it made us raise an eyebrow.  How to be a boss generates roughly 20 million monthly global hits – yet how to be a good boss generates only 33,000 monthly global hits.

A good boss makes his men realize they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could.

- Charles Erwin Wilson

So why is that?

• We realize it is probably because of many different factors – however we were intrigued that people are not more interested in how to be a good or even great boss. Is mediocrity taking over? Perhaps the reason is people are more focused on searching for the topic based more on the particular role than they are from the perspective of how to excel in that given role. Or maybe it’s because of the uptick in entrepreneurship. Regardless, building a successful business requires more than being a boss, it requires being a good boss – one who can create followership, build trust and maintain engagement.

So what makes a good boss or a bad boss?

High level -  we’ll offer a few qualities that make a good boss and a bad boss.

Good Boss	Bad Boss
Vision	Tunnel vision
Transparency	Secrecy
Inspiration	Pessimism
Authenticity	Disingenuous
Honesty	Dishonesty
Trust	Mistrust
Socialized power	Personalized power
Values equality	Practices oppression
Recognition for a job well done	Ignoring a job well done
Helps other succeed	Only helps themselves succeed

 

So how do you become a good boss?

Short answer – develop and excel in the “good boss” qualities listed above – you can get started in 3 steps.

Feedback: The first step in being a good boss is feedback – soliciting input from those you lead regarding your actions and behaviors and how those behaviors positively and negatively impact them.

Awareness: The next step in being a good boss is having self awareness – taking the feedback on those actions and behaviors that may negatively impact those you lead and making a conscious effort to be aware of when they are occurring and why.

Action: The third step in being a good boss is action – take action to increase your positive behaviors and decrease those with a potential negative impact. Training, coaching, and mentoring are all great ways to increase and develop new skills that can have a positive impact on those you lead.

When the best leader's work is done the people say, "We did it ourselves." - Lao Tzu

Here’s hoping that most of you desire to be good – even great – bosses!  So what qualities or strategies do you think make the difference between a boss, and a good boss?

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions - an Organizational Improvement & Strategy firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more effective, productive, and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

You're Fired…But Help Us Anyway! GSK Acquisition Sends Executive Team Packing

GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) a British drug maker, recently purchased the Human Genome Sciences (HGS) based in Rockville, MD.

Their first order of business - fire the executive team and most of the board of directors - seems they chose the often too typical and sometimes detrimental approach - we bought them so let’s get rid of their people and processes and do it our way. Why wouldn’t GSK take - what I think to be - the smart approach to an acquisition – let’s try and retain the intellectual capital (you know, the people who know stuff) of the company we purchased and explore how to best transition knowledge and merge our cultures and strategy?

Now to be fair, it’s not uncommon in M&A situations for the acquiring company to oust some high level executives and to begin consolidation of certain functions – though there is a way to approach it which can yield a higher rate of long term success.

“Leadership that's reliant on mergers and acquisitions is dangerous leadership.” - John Varley

For one thing, if you’re the acquiring company, don’t replace the entire executive team with your own people – this not only sends the wrong message to employees (which can have a direct negative impact on engagement and retention and thus performance), but you also risk losing leadership with a deep understanding of the culture and politics of the organization. For GSK to purchase HGS - I am sure there had to have been a lot of great work being accomplished by the staff employed by HGS.  These are folks who helped to shape the organizations success, which contributed to why GSK acquired the organization to begin with.

This type of action usually contributes to employee concern - most of the staff is probably hanging by the water cooler gossiping about what took place, updating their resume, or looking at new jobs fearing they'll be next.

It's a common result from something that could have been solved by a little thing called "communication and transition management."

The investment made by GSK (3.6 billion is no chump change) could very well endure months, if not years of work to recoup their investment.  Those executives who were fired couldn't possibly share all of the insider knowledge they possess in 1 month.  When September begins - there will be people, process, and strategy issues to deal with – some that could have been lessened or prevented.

Here is how you can avoid losing money in your acquisition and get the most out of your investment:

• Leadership…leadership of the acquiring organization needs to take time to build relationships with the leadership of the organization they’re purchasing. Those leaders know the culture, the politics, the unspoken rules and processes to get things done. They have built important trusted relationships with employees and stakeholders. Acquiring this knowledge takes more than a 30 day “stay on board and help” plan. If the new organization just swoops in and fires them all then they lose this important knowledge and those relationships.  Lack of knowledge transfer and relationship building can have a negative impact on the ease of transition and the overall success of the acquisition

• Communication…communication is imperative for a successful acquisition.  Clear communication strategies must be implemented inclusive of audience specific messaging. Content, vehicles, and frequencies must be identified for disseminating the right info to the right people at the right time. Leaders, employees, stakeholders and even vendors need to be made aware of what the acquisition means to them and how it impacts their jobs and roles and responsibilities. Once people start assuming the worst and making up their own versions of what is happening, it becomes very hard to reverse the trend. Without clear and targeted communication the rumor mill begins, and this impacts performance and profitability.

• Change and Transition…change is an inevitable part of a merger or acquisition – so is transition. You must have a plan – an actionable plan – in place to address both. Change is never easy. Change is a bumpy process. But why is change so hard? Change is hard because it is an emotional experience for most. An emotional experience, particularly an experience one often has little choice in being part of, creates resistance. Resistance is a natural emotion, though an emotion that can make change even harder.  However, resistance must be managed to harness that energy for positive change. Managing resistance requires focusing on not just change, but also transition. People go through the phases of transition at their own pace, not necessarily at the pace of others or the pace of an organization. People need to be supported in each phase. To ease the difficulties of the change process a focus on transition must run in parallel to a focus on change.

For an acquisition to be successful the organizations must truly merge and become high performing and enable meaningful change to improve their programs, services, products, and processes, to create new value for the organization's stakeholders.

"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

Moral of the story – when an acquisition is taking place – don’t take a “my way or the highway”  a “we’re bigger and better” or “thanks now get lost” approach. Take the time needed for leadership (old and new) to build relationships and understanding and create a smooth transition strategy for all involved.  This helps alleviate anxiety – allowing the staff to focus on what they do best and helping to create a new combined success.

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

 

Culture is...

Part Three in a Summer Series on Creating a High Performing Organization: 

According to our marketing partner –Preactive Marketing – the phrase “culture is…” generates roughly 20 million global hits. This indicates it is quite a popular topic and that people are interested in what culture is - and why having a high performance one is important.

We’ll share our thoughts, though we also prefer to hear from you, so share your opinion!

Culture has different meanings to different people – so how would you finish the sentence – Culture is…

I would finish it something like this:

The shared assumptions, values and beliefs of a group of people. The way in which a group of people solves problems. - Geert Hofstede

Wise words from good ol Geert. The term culture has many meanings.  Whether written as a mission statement, spoken, or just understood, organizational culture describes and governs the ways a company’s leaders, employees, customers and stakeholders think, feel and act. Culture may be based on beliefs or spelled out in your mission statement.

Simply put - culture can be defined as, “the way work gets done around here. Organizations can’t excel for the long term if they don’t have a high performance culture – for more on the aspects of creating and maintaining a high performing culture - check out our whitepaper - What is a High Performance Culture? Creating a culture that supports long term growth and sustainability.

So…

Why is your organizational culture so important?

• Culture has a direct impact on employee performance, engagement and retention, and thus also a direct impact on innovation, customer satisfaction, and bottom line revenue.  For example, a culture of poor communication, lack of transparent and authentic leadership, abuse of power, and inflexible structures and processes is most likely a culture that would not be categorized as high performance or sustainable for the long term ; As this type of environment wouldn't make employees want to give their best and thus negatively impact the bottom line. 

• On the flip side, however, a positive culture can drive high performance and to create an environment of innovation and sustainability.  Organizations that have flexible processes and structures which help facilitate cross communication; encouraging people to share ideas and concerns with leadership usually excel. If people enjoy working for your organization then in most cases they give 100% engagement toward helping the company succeed.

• Culture is the identity of a company, and because of that, in some ways it becomes an identity of those who work there, as well. The people end up affecting the culture as much as the culture is affecting them. So while there are many definitions of organizational culture, all of them focus on the same points: collective experience, structures, beliefs, values, norms, and systems. These are learned and re-learned, passed on to new employees, and continues on as part of a company’s core identity.

A company’s culture says a lot about an organization and the direction they are headed - success or failure can hinge on culture. In the words of another organizational culture guru:

“The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.”  - Edgar Schein

So – culture is how “work gets done around here.”  To get work done well a  positive culture is needed for organizational, employee, and customer satisfaction and success. And who doesn't want to be success!

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

Strategy is...

Part Two in a Summer Series on Creating a High Performing Organization: 

According to our marketing partner – Preactive Marketing – the phrase “strategy is…” generates roughly 13.6 million global hits. This indicates it is quite a popular topic and that people are interested in what a strategy should contain and why having one is important.

We’ll share our thoughts, though we also prefer to hear from you, so share your opinion!

Strategy has different meanings to different people – so how would you finish the sentence – Strategy is…

I would finish it something like this:

A strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique.- Michael Porter

Wise words from Mr. Porter. Based on how most define strategy, the main reason for the existence of strategy is to achieve end goals. Organizations can’t succeed at getting where they want to go if they don’t have a plan of how to get there.

So…

Why is having a strategy important – why conduct strategic planning?

• A solid strategy is the cement and mortar in the foundation of any successful organization (that’s just one reason we offer our clients consulting services and training on this topic). You’ve got to have a plan – actionable processes.

A plan and process for how to:

• Handle change


• Manage for results


• Provide customer support


• Increase adaptability


• Promote communication


• Guide management decisions


• Remain future-oriented

The strategy is a supporting document that should contain actionable processes to help you answer important questions and achieve success – it should also outline what success looks like for your organization and how you measure that success. The strategy should assist in defining target markets, processes, structures, roles and responsibilities, and key customers and stakeholders.

• How does an organization develop a strategy?

Carefully – this shouldn’t be a rush job. The strategy is like the compass for your organization, it provides direction. Developing a strategy should include several components. A solid strategy should include a focus and analysis on both internal (history, politics, culture, structure) and external factors (competitors, customers, environment, laws and policy).  The organization should also include the development of the mission and vision of developing a strategy as well as targets, goals and initiatives, and measures of success.

So, in short, the strategic planning process should ask and answer the following questions (here is your cheat sheet!):

Where are we now?

• Internal/external  environmental assessment


• Customer and stakeholder identification

Where do we want to be?

• Mission


• Vision


• Targets


• Initiatives


• Objectives

How do we measure our progress?

• Performance measures and KPIs

How do we get there?

• Supporting strategies and initiatives


• Action plans


• Tracking system

You see…strategy is a facet of business that is imperative to succeeding.

“He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”  -Winston Churchill 

If you don’t know where you are going - how will you ever get there!

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.

Bullies on the Bus – Bullies in the Boardroom!

I’m sure you’ve seen it in the news, or at least heard about it - the bullied bus monitor. A bus monitor, 68 year old Karen Klein, was bombarded with a stream of profanity, insults, jeers and physical ridicule by multiple middle school kids as she rode the bus. I’ll spare the specifics as to the obscenely rude and hurtful remarks uttered by these kids – one, because it really angers me personally and professionally, and two, because you can find what they said in the cell phone video and in various news stories.

Though as an organization development practitioner and trained behavioral scientist, and someone who works with organizations and the people in them – this story did get me thinking, both about today’s youth and tomorrow’s leaders. You see they are one in the same - and that’s a bit concerning to me. Bullies on the bus can become bullies in the boardroom.

"The serial bully, who in my estimation accounts for about one person in thirty in society, is the single most important threat to the effectiveness of organisations, the profitability of industry, the performance of the economy, and the prosperity of society."

- Tim Field

Now, I’m not saying all kids are bullies, and I’m not saying all kids will grow up to be leaders (sorry to all those parents out there giving gold stars for every little thing, but c’mon, seriously). However, I am saying that as these bully kids grow up, and begin to enter into our larger and diversified global business world, they’re going to have to learn some tolerance, respect, and understanding for others– not to mention some self awareness - particularly those who want to become quality leaders!

So a bit of advice on why not to be a bully leader:

• People may do what you want if you bully them, they may be intimidated by you, though they will most likely never respect you. Without mutual respect, you usually can’t have an honest and trusting relationship – the type that is really productive both personally and professionally.

• Bullied people are usually not happy people. Unhappy people are usually not engaged people. Lower employee morale and lower employee engagement contribute to lower customer satisfaction and lower customer satisfaction contributes to decline in profits.

• Reputation is important for a quality leader. If you have a reputation for being a hardnosed, detailed orientated, assertive go-getter who still listens to others ideas and values and recognizes a job well done, that’s not necessarily a bad reputation. Actually,  some people thrive under that type of leadership. However, if you have a reputation for being a self serving, obnoxious, intolerant, tyrannical leader then most likely your bad reputation will precede you. If you have a bad reputation, good luck attracting the best and brightest talent to want to follow you and help you succeed.

Now, we all know bullies exist in the workplace, some may have been bullies on the bus and some may have become bullies as they escalated in their careers. Regardless, I’m sure you’ve most likely encountered one or more in your professional career.

So how do you deal with a workplace bully?

You deal with a workplace bully in much the same way you deal with anyone else who pushes your hot buttons – and for those details, I’ll direct you to our previous article: Are Your Buttons Getting Pushed? 3 Tips On What You Can Do.

 

Though in a nutshell:

• Breathe: Yes, I know we all do that anyway, but I mean really breathe. Just stop and take a few of those yoga style deep breathes.

• Communication: I know you’re probably thinking – well of course I communicate. Yes, we all do, both verbally and non- verbally. We also all have distinctive communication styles and preferences.  In short, if you feel your buttons getting pushed as someone is communicating with you, tell them.

• Feedback: Giving and receiving feedback is imperative to making sure your hot buttons don’t get pushed, and is imperative to helping to not push others – it’s a cycle.  And per these kids who think bullying others is cool – they won’t think it’s so cool when it’s the ones they’re bullying who grow up to be the quality leaders they report to in the workplace!

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

~ Jim Rohn

And per Ms. Karen Klein – I certainly hope she uses some of that money everyone’s been sending her to start an anti-bullying non-profit organization – after all she is now in position to help shape some of the future quality leaders of tomorrow, and we can never have to many of those!

* As an update: It seems that the kids involved have in fact received punishment.  As of June 30th, they received one-year suspensions from school and regular bus transportation, they will be transferred to the district Reengagement Center, and will also be required to complete 50 hours of community service with senior citizens and must take part in a formal bullying prevention program.

* As another update: Harassed bus monitor starts anti-bullying foundation

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients to facilitate sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused, productive and profitable.

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

________________________________________________________________________________

*All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, publication, and all other use of  any and all of this content is prohibited without authorized consent of Tolero Solutions and the author.