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.

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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.

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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.

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J.C. Penney – During Times of Change – Funny Commercials Aren’t Good Enough!

After a full on rebranding, new strategic direction, and massive organizational changes designed to reinvent the retailer and improve profits - J.C. Penney suffered a dismal 1^st quarter. A lot exists for shareholders and stakeholders to be frustrated about – and much of it relates to organizational development and leadership (or poor leadership).

CEO Ron Johnson did have a vision - to get rid of the nonstop product promotions at the store and move to three kinds of prices (everyday, monthly specials, and clearance). He announced new designer partnerships and a new spokeswoman and advertising star, Ellen DeGeneres. He also introduced a new logo, and new color-saturated advertisements that barely mention price. Within four years, he said, the stores would be completely redone, each divided into about 100 small boutiques with a service center that he called “town square.” Ron has vision - but what he lacks is thoughtful and holistic understanding and execution.

*Update: As of June 18th, 2012 J. C. Penney Company, Inc. ousted its JCPenney brand president, Michael Francis, who oversaw the retailer's merchandising and marketing operations, with a terse statement that "We thank Michael for his hard work at jcpenney and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Before leaders begin making organizational changes, no matter what successful past experience at other organizations may lead them to believe - it is necessary to collect current organizational data – data from stakeholders, data from employees, and most importantly, data from customers. Change can’t be rushed. It is said by some that a transformational change such as the one Penney’s is undertaking can take an average of 7 years – yup, you heard that correctly. Change isn’t easy folks, and doing it right takes time – just look at Pier 1.

So – just a few things (I have quite a list but I’ll spare all the details for now as I wouldn’t want to sound like a preachy CEO) Mr. Johnson should have done prior to jumping on the “turnaround CEO” bandwagon:

• Data: It’s extremely difficult to turn around an organization for the better if you don’t have a recent understanding of what “better” means. Now I’m not talking about just financial numbers, web traffic, etc. as I’m sure plenty of that was collected and analyzed. I’m talking about direct from the consumer’s mouth data. Before revising pricing methods and slashing merchandise promotions, ask customers how they would feel if prices were lowered all the time across the board. It doesn’t necessarily matter if customers “get” your pricing as long as they’re happy with the price, product, and service. Perhaps some customers prefer the feeling of getting a bargain, maybe they enjoy coupons (as evidenced recently in this case), perhaps they don’t like receiving a large number of promotional e-mails and ads but a few specifically targeted to their personal buying habits…point here is you don’t know what the customer wants unless you ask them – so take the time to collect data on your customers needs, wants and desires and don’t just assume you (cough: the leader) knows best!

• People: It’s imperative your employees have a solid understanding of why changes are taking place and how the changes impact them. Communicate with the workforce.  Not just so they have an understanding of how the change impacts them, but also so you can build their commitment to the process.  Employee commitment is imperative to maintain high performance and customer satisfaction during times of change. Penney’s employees, particularly the sales associates, were accustomed to a certain way of doing their jobs – selling and dealing with merchandise price cuts and promotions and customer service – in certain ways. They learned how to make a commission, when to push items, and when not to.

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
- Dwight Eisenhower

Personal example – I bought a massage power recliner from J.C. Penney. When I first saw it listed online it was one price, when I went into the store to actually see it in person it was a different price. When I didn’t commit that day the sales associate gave me his card. I called him back a week or so later and the chair was miraculously over $150 cheaper with free shipping – if I came in to purchase that week. The sales associate knew the pricing system, he knew the price would be lowered, and he knew he could offer me free shipping as the price would probably be lowered yet again in a few more days. I felt like I got a good deal, I got my chair same day, and he made his commission of a higher amount. I was a happy customer and he was a satisfied sales associate.

If changes in process and procedures are going to occur that impact the day to day of how employees perform their jobs, then not only do you want to communicate those changes and ask for feedback – you also want to make sure you provide any needed training so they can succeed. Otherwise performance suffers, retention suffers, customer service declines, and shareholders don’t end up happy.

• Accountability: Mr. Johnson seems to be coming off like a stereotypical ivory tower CEO. Not an in touch and transparent leader. From what I’ve seen, his attitude regarding the current earnings announcement was a bit disingenuous. In typical financial fashion, the numbers were manipulated to try and sound somewhat positive. Oh Ron, just own it! Be a grown up, be an honest, transparent, accountable, and authentic leader. Acknowledge that things aren’t going exactly as planned – and don’t whine and make excuses - but let us know you see it too, and tell us the steps you plan to take to reevaluate and improve. That’s what builds trust in a leader - and in my experience trust in leadership can usually be correlated to high performing organization with committed employees, loyal customers, and increased performance (I really should do a study on that, if anyone knows of one please share!)

I do enjoy the new J.C. Penney commercials, but I’d enjoy shopping there a lot more if I knew the retailer had honest, transparent, committed, accountable leadership who elicited and acted on customer, stakeholder and employee feedback – but hey, that’s just me.

"Lead and inspire people. Don't try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led."
- Ross Perot

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.

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What Is Change Management & Why Is It Important to Your Organization?

As an Organizational Development (OD) and Change Management practitioner I often get asked by leaders – so what does that mean? Why are these things important to my business?  And how can they help me create a high performing organization?

Well…let me explain the executive summary (OK well the sort of executive summary)…

What is change management? 

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it." – Kurt Lewin

• The definition of change management varies. Many exist, some simple, some complex.  I’ll refrain from getting overly scholarly (you’re welcome).  To synopsize for the busy executive, change management can be defined as a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state.  It can be applied to situations such as downsizing, growing organizations, or even adding new technology. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to understand, commit to, and accept and embrace changes in their current business environment. A part of change management is also managing transition – and though related, change and transition is not the same thing.  Some definitions go even further to define differences between change management and change leadership (in my experience I see them very interrelated – one referring to the tools and technologies and the other referring to those individuals utilizing such tools, technologies and frameworks to lead change efforts.)

Why is change management important – how can it help?

• If changes are occurring in your organization – strategic changes, tactical changes, leadership changes, technology changes – then those changes are going to have impacts and effects on your people and processes (among other areas). To help minimize those impacts and effects, from having unintended negative outcomes, it is necessary to have “change management” methodologies in place with skilled resources delivering and executing on those methodologies, principles and processes. This helps to minimize possible negative outcomes and increase positive results. Change itself is a process – managing it, leading it, achieving it is also a process and one that should not be viewed and managed with a one size fits all approach. Approaches and actions should be customized to fit your organizational circumstances.

My take - as an organizational development practitioner, I view change management methods as just one of many tools in your toolkit used to help achieve positive organizational improvements.

Feel free to learn more on the Tolero Think Tank.

 

What is organizational development (OD)?

• The definition of Organizational Development (OD) varies even more than that of Change Management. Again, many exist, some simple, some complex.  And again, I’ll refrain from getting overly scholarly (you’re welcome).  To the busy executive, OD is basically the application of tools, methods, frameworks and technologies and processes to make your entire organization (yes, that includes people) more productive, profitable, and innovative. OD is an ongoing, systematic process of implementing positive and effective organizational change. Organizational development is known as both a field of applied behavioral science and as a field of scientific study and inquiry. It is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on many other disciplines such as sociology, psychology, communication, cultural anthropology organizational behavior, economics, political science, neuroleadership and theories of motivation, learning, and personality.

Why should you consider OD initiatives to support your organization in achieving desired outcomes?

“…Think of an organization as all the clothes hanging on a clothes line. All parts are connected. If you pull on the socks the towels move…”

- Arthur Friedman

• One of the distinguishing characteristics of OD is that it is based on collaboration and a “helping relationship.”  OD takes a total system view — the organization as a whole, including its relevant subsystems in the context of the total system. Thus, OD interventions and improvement strategies can focus on the whole system or on multiple levels of the system such as groups, teams, and individuals. OD interventions should be clearly tied to strategic goals and objectives. Parts of systems are not considered in isolation; the principle of interdependency, that is, that changes in one part of a system affects the other parts, is fully recognized. These interventions and improvement strategies can focus on various initiatives within the organization such as change, communications, strategy, culture and process.

So, why should you care about these things?

• Well you want to be successful, don’t you? Isn’t that why you took on organizational improvement efforts to begin with – to innovate, to reinvigorate, to become ever better. To prevent your organization from potentially failing before you even start – understanding and skillfully executing various principles of change management and OD are a necessity to success!

About Scott Span, MSOD: is President of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Management firm.  He helps clients be responsive, focused and effective to facilitate sustainable growth.

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Why is no one talking about the 'pink elephant' in the room? Or are they?

So your organization is going through some type of change. How can lack of communication during times of change affect your productivity and profitability? More than likely your employees know what’s going on earlier than you may think.  Actually, if your organization is currently going through a change, employees and customers are probably talking about it as you read this. So it would best if you addressed that *‘pink elephant’ in the room and nip that ‘water cooler’ talk in the bud soon as possible!

Whether it is downsizing, merger or acquisition, implementation of new technology, or change in strategy, regardless of the situation, honest, transparent, and timely COMMUNICATION with employees and stakeholders is imperative to success. Without information, assumptions form.  Assumptions lead to rumors.  And rumors can impact performance and can sabotage positive change.

As your employees are spending time talking about whatever it is that is going on in your organization and worrying about how it impacts them and what it means to their jobs, they aren’t getting their jobs done – they aren’t fully engaged and high performing.  They are likely unmotivated and less likely to bring forth new, innovative ideas – ideas that could be helpful on how to improve productivity, profitability, procedures, and processes and positively assist with the changes in your organization.

“In most organizational change efforts, it is much easier to draw on the strengths of the culture than to overcome the constraints by changing the culture.”   - Edgar Schein

Your employees are one of your organizations greatest strengths - draw on them, respect them, communicate with them and keep them engaged!

 

So what should you do about this…

How do you halt the rumor mill and keep engagement stable during change?

• The short answer (in case you didn’t notice my not so subtle attempt to call it out above) is to communicate, communicate, communicate.  A detailed communications strategy developed specifically for the change effort is also helpful.  A change management framework and plan of execution are also necessary for success. After all, you can’t just stay quiet, snap your fingers and expect everything to turn out as you want (if you master that, please let me know!).

What if you can’t divulge all the details?  How do you address that with employees and stakeholders?

• Let’s face it, you can always divulge something. No one enjoys lack of information; however, few enjoy information overload either. It’s about balance. Communicate in small bites. Start with communicating information that has been agreed to by leadership, is timely, and has a direct impact on employees and stakeholders. Be transparent that certain details are not yet worked out and some information may be at a very high level – however, what is ready to be shared is being shared with the appropriate audiences and more information will follow.

“Good communication does not mean that you have to speak in perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs. It isn't about slickness. Simple and clear go a long way.”  – John Kotter

What are some other actions you should take to address possible employee issues during times of change?

• Aware leaders are quickly recognizing that having a strong and committed workforce is a key success factor for achieving desired goals and objectives during a time of organizational change – and for a high performing organization in general.  Specific actions help to support and achieve positive outcomes. As mentioned, one easy way to maintain an engaged and committed workforce – and customer base - is with open, honest, and timely communication.

 So a bit more about that process...  

Once the changes are ready to be introduced to the masses, the process must include corresponding communications and change management efforts. These efforts should include specific and detailed plans and actions that run in parallel, not independently. Without a strategic communications plan, it is extremely difficult to determine the who, what, when, where, and how the information should be introduced. A detailed communications plan should outline the content, vehicles, and frequency of communications with the various audiences and include methods to receive feedback. This can help minimize certain employee concerns associated with organizational changes – concerns that if go unaddressed can have a negative impact. Careful communications and change planning and execution are imperatives to minimizing resistance, increasing understanding, obtaining and maintaining engagement and performance, and supporting achieving successful outcomes.

So the moral of the story – let me put it in the words of a manager I worked with on a recent change effort…

“…I’m not a child, don’t treat me like one.  Communicate with your employees; don’t treat them like they’re your children who don’t know what is really going on.  They are more perceptive than you think, and can sense that change is imminent.  We all know something is going on, we know changes are happening. Tell me the truth. The sooner I know the truth the sooner I can determine how I can help – or get out of the way.”

So – have you ever been an employee in a situation like this? If so, how did you react? What was the environment like at work? How do you think things could have been handled better? What was the outcome of the change? We’d love to hear your story. 

Oh – and leaders of organizations who had successful change efforts – we’d love to hear your stories as well!

Keep an eye out for another article we’ll post shortly which will discuss more about change management  – what is it and why is it important.

* The phrase 'white elephant' in the room can also mean the same as 'pink elephant' in the room, and 'pink elephant' can  also be referenced regarding alcohol and hallucinations...so the color of the elephant in the room doesn't make much difference and isn't really the point. The color is simply a  unique qualifier to further bring the point to the forefront - the point being   a huge elephant exists and no one is talking about it!

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

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*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.

Blog Series: Part 2 - So You Hired a Gen Y – Now Get The Most Out of Them!

Blog Series: So You Hired a Gen Y – Now Get The Most Out of Them!
A Tolero Solutions blog series on how to utilize Gen Y using the Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle™  

By: Scott Span, MSOD


Phase 2 – Assess

In a previous post So You Hired a Gen Y – Now Get The Most Out of Them Through My Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle™! I provided a high level overview of my Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle ™ model, designed to help recruit, engage, and retain Gen Y. The article and associated webinar / workshop have generated positive feedback, and much discussion; due to the high demand, I’m writing a 6 part series that details possible strategies to get the most of your Gen Y employees.

Phase 2 of the Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle ™ 
Assess:

In phase 1 of the Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle ™ I discussed the importance of communication; however, how do you know if what was communicated was understood? That is where phase 2 comes in, assessing the new Gen Y employees understanding of what they heard, and how they are going to apply that information.

Let’s face it; we all hear things in different ways. Remember that game from when you were a child (though a Gen Y was probably busy playing Nintendo), 'whisper down the lane?' By the time the original message traveled through several people to the last person, it was never the same as originally stated by the first person.

It shouldn’t simply be assumed that the new employee has a solid understanding of what was communicated or that they feel comfortable with what they heard. Gen Y appreciates being asked for their opinions, and values the opportunity to share perspectives. It is important to check in and ask them to vocalize their understanding of what was communicated.

How did they interpret what was communicated?

What is their understanding of their new role and responsibilities as it was presented to them?

How do they view where they fit into the organization?
 
Then give thought to how these responses align with the organizations messaging and expectations.

What often happens is you may find two somewhat different interpretations exist of what was communicated. If the employee begins work and they and the organization are not on the same page from day one, it can lead to an immediate mismatch of a cultural fit and skill utilization, leading to decreased engagement and lost productivity. Listen to how the new hire tells you what they heard and how it was communicated, and be prepared to have further discussion. You should be open to make potential changes to their role and responsibilities as a result.

It is important to fully assess the new hires skills, and areas of interest. Often employees are squeezed into a specific role without the organization ever really exploring what they have to offer in other areas. Therefore, it should not be assumed that the new hire does not have skills of value outside the role they have been hired to fill. Various tools and methods can be used to thoroughly assess the employees understanding of their role and responsibilities, as well as their skills, competencies and interests. Gen Y enjoys being challenged, and they enjoy diversity of tasks. It is important to assess these things as it relates to not only the role they will be performing, but also the organizational culture and structure. You may find that they are best suited for a completely different role than they are performing currently; one which may be a better fit and increase engagement and productivity.

Following the Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle ™ can help you to get the most out of your new Gen Y employees. Additional steps and action items are developed at each stage, customized to your specific type of business and organizational culture. Customized workshops have also been developed around this approach. If you are Interested in additional strategies and learning more about how to implement positive Gen Y recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies please contact us or at scott.span@tolerosolutions.com

Lead or Fail: Successful Leadership in Turbulent Times

Guest post written by Scott Span, MSOD for Linked2Leadership on June 8th, 2010

Leadership isn’t what it used to be. The corner offices are slowly disappearing. The days of barking orders and expecting people to blindly follow are over. 

Accountability, responsibility and transparency are on the rise – though someone should tell that to BP CEO. Workforce demographics and diversity are changing. The days of leading like Franklin M. Hart Jr. are over.

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It Ain’t Easy

This is not to say that being a leader was, or is, ever easy; or that earlier fundamentals should be tossed aside. However, in tough times, remaining a great leader can be even harder.

So what makes a successful leader in turbulent times? First and foremost, the ability to adapt your leadership style to changing environmental influences is key to being a successful leader. Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup says that “in the new normal,” old ways of doing business won’t work anymore.

“The men and women who will conquer this new world will be the ones who best understand their constituencies’ state of mind.” ~Jim Clifton


By state of mind, Clifton is referring to new revelations being uncovered by behavioral economists — starting with the discovery that human decision-making is more emotional than rational. As a leader, Clifton shares a similar mindset to many behavioral scientists and organizational development practitioners.

His view is that one of the most fundamental states of mind that leaders need to understand is the needs and desires of their employees: “…their will to work, their will to live, their will to revolt, their will to follow you.

Another element of state of mind is emotional affect: “how much stress your constituency feels about money, about trying to get to work, about their relationship with their boss.” Clifton believes that to be a successful leader you have to firmly understand states of mind.

In his view, everything important; everything human comes down to states of mind. The leader who is the best at understanding, relating to and communicating states of mind will be the one who wins.

Not that leadership is about winning or losing, however it sure is about winning over those you lead. As an organizational development practitioner and behavioral scientist, I share Clifton’s views; understanding and exhibiting certain human behaviors help to shape great leaders and great organizations.

“Leadership is best viewed through the eyes of the follower.” ~Tom Schulte

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Behave Yourself!

Here are some behaviors of great leaders during turbulent times:

Transparency

People can usually tell when “something is up.” So before the rumors begin flying and productivity is impacted, leadership should tell employees. When making strategic decisions, determining organizational changes or facing issues that impact employees, successful leaders need to be transparent with their workforce about how these matters arose, their thought process for dealing with them, and how their solutions may directly impact those they lead.

Communication

Being in a leadership position can sometimes be a solitary role. Often leaders make decisions in a vacuum and rely on managers or supervisors to communicate important information downward. Successful leaders lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when leaders “set the example,” that communicates to their people that they would not ask them to do anything that they would not be willing to do themselves, this only helps to make leaders seem more human to employees. Particularly in turbulent times, people value direct interaction and communication from leaders. This not only helps to show that leaders are remaining committed to the people in organization, but also offers an opportunity for them to step out of the “tower” and build relationships with employees.

Trust

Trust is a fundamental behavior for any relationship, both personal and professional. According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb & McKee, 2009). They found that: Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization. Trust must be earned. Leaders can earn employee trust by helping employees understand the company’s overall business strategy, informing them how they contribute to achieving key business goals and sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee’s own division is doing relative to organizational objectives.

It is much easier for employees to trust a leader that shows an interest in them.

Compassion

The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to the organization; compassion for employees and both their professional and personal situations. His Holiness the 14th Dali Lama says, “I call compassion the global staple…for all people in every endeavor.” In employees’ eyes, what leadership does affects the organization’s objectives and their well-being. When a person is deciding if they respect a leader, they don’t think about attributes, rather they see what leaders do. Observations can often tell an employee if a leader is an honorable and trusted person or a self-serving person, one who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. When leaders show compassion and understanding for employees and their situations, it becomes easier for them to notice that their leaders are interested and concerned, and not as self-serving as possibly thought.

Self Awareness

Successful leaders have a heightened level of self-awareness, they have an understanding of themselves, their behaviors and actions, and how those behaviors and actions are interpreted by, and directly impact, employees. A good example of leadership self-awareness is exhibited in the U.S. Army’s leadership philosophy of “be, know, do.” Be proficient and competent, know yourself and your strengths and weaknesses, and do take responsibility and lead by example. Always be open to further growth and learning. Professional coaching is also a great well to help further develop leader self-awareness.


A colleague shared a speech with me given last year by Marillyn Hewson, President of Systems Integration-Owego, Lockheed Martin Corporation on the subject of leadership in turbulent times. To Marillyn, leadership is a set of personal behaviors that set the course and create an environment that energizes people to meet a goal.

Marillyn says “…it’s easy to be a leader when everything is going great. The challenge is how you act when things go wrong. In times of great change… or tremendous challenge… that’s when the leadership fundamentals matter most.”

Most competitive and sustainable organizations have great leaders at the top, and in the ranks!

Do you think you are one of those great leaders? Do you exhibit the best behaviors in the ares of transparency, communication, trust, compassion, and self-awareness? If not, what are your points of struggle? What are you doing to better your daily behaviors to become a person with even greater influence? I ‘d love to hear your story!

Guest Post: Setting and Maintaining Boundaries with Others by Mark Sachs

The ability for us to set boundaries and limits with others effectively has a huge impact on our ability to do our best work.  Examples of setting boundaries are telling people “no” when it is appropriate and telling others what is acceptable to you.  Effectively setting and maintaining boundaries helps you take better care of yourself, maintain self-respect, and increase your ability to control your work and your life.

The inability to set and maintain boundaries effectively with others often results in projects not being completed to plan, on time and on budget; people allowing others to take advantage of them, and miscommunication.

To help organizations prevent these pitfalls to productivity I have developed the highly interactive and experiential workshop, Getting What You Want:  Setting and Maintaining Boundaries with Others. Participants in this workshop will learn:

• What a boundary is 
• Examples of setting effective boundaries  
• Why it is often difficult for us to set and maintain boundaries 
• What you can do to help set and maintain boundaries, and five simple, essential steps to doing it effectively 

The workshop also provides participants with a 10-page boundaries handbook.

Time is provided for the opportunity to discuss with others, in a confidential setting, any boundary issues you are facing and to receive feedback from the facilitator and others about how you may best work through these situations.

The workshop also provides an opportunity for you to start to take action on setting or enforcing a boundary. 

People who are interested in making changes to set and maintain boundaries often require encouragement beyond the initial workshop.  In addition to the half or full-day workshop, at no additional cost, participants can take advantage of individual telephone consultations with the facilitator for two weeks following the training.  These consultations can include celebrating any successes or receiving coaching about any difficulties in setting a specific boundary.     

The workshop has been presented to both private and public sector organizations including NASA, FEMA, FDA, IRS, and Department of Agriculture. 

See what others had to say about this highly interactive and valuable workshop:

• The interaction and openness was great.  Mark let the conversation flow while not diverging from the core topic.  Very well done.
• I liked how we worked in small groups and we talked about real issues we were dealing with.
• It was helpful to see movie clips of boundaries issues and discuss them. 
• The boundaries handbook we were given had lots of helpful information.  I also liked the boundaries affirmations card he gave to us.  

If you or your organization is interested in learning more about setting and maintaining boundaries then this insightful and informative workshop is a great way to start!

About the Facilitator:

Mark Sachs is an organization consultant and executive coach. His areas of specialization include increasing communication among staff, developing effective teams, assessing organizational effectiveness, and managing change.  He has an MS in Organization Development from the American University/NTL Institute, and BA and MA degrees in Sociology from Rutgers University.  He is also a graduate of Coach University.  

Mark may be reached at ma.sachs@verizon.net, 301-588-3858, and www.markasachs.com

Guest Post: Organization Re-Alignment: A Chat with Scott Span of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Consulting

By Tony Deblauwe

Workbabble.com

Organization Re-Alignment: A Chat with Scott Span of Tolero Solutions Organizational Development & Change Consulting

An increasing amount of attention is being placed on how organizations perform business and deliver results. Though there are still plenty of uncertainties, as organizations transition from pure survival mode to competitive growth, many have begun evaluating their current state and how connected and engaged their people are to the organization. After some time, organizations have begun re-evaluating their business structures and strategies, and re-aligning their people to adapt to renewed growth in the economy.

As President of Tolero Solutions - Organizational Development & Change Consulting, Scott Span, MSOD has plenty of experience navigating leaders and organizations through change in turbulent times to a place of long term sustainability. The term “tolero” means to endure and sustain, and this philosophy lies at the heart of Tolero’s strategy. With all the change and buzz about the importance of employee engagement in the air, Span points to several areas where companies need to communicate what their doing to employees (and communicate it fast). Span offers three ways organizations can re-connect and re-engage their workforce:

Communicate & Align Strategic Direction: According to Span, companies’ have the wait-and-see mode of operation that has plagued many businesses over the last year, and it’s time to snap out of it. Specifically they have to become more competitive and prepared for new opportunities. The trick is – you can’t do that until you’ve defined your strategic direction and reconnected with your people. If your people have lost touch with what you’re trying to accomplish, you won’t go very far toward remaining competitive. Span suggests leaders and managers review what has happened, what’s changed and why, and connect their people to any new changes, new visions and tactics which arise as a result. This communication and involvement during any transition will help remind people what the core needs of the organization are and where they fit in, putting temporary setbacks in perspective.

Don’t Neglect Individuals: Tied directly into communicating, a renewed strategic direction is how leaders and managers reach out and drive a resurgence in team spirit and employee engagement. In particular, Span notes that if people have kept their heads down just to get by, they may have started to feel like a cog in the machine – not being noticed for say - doing the job of the three people who were let go or couldn’t be hired because budgets were tight. Public recognition for a job well done and non monetary benefits or spot financial bonuses as revenues increase are useful ways to show appreciation. Simple recognition is often a quick and easy way to increase engagement and retention.

Training and Development: Often in tough times training and education budgets are slashed. Span believes with increased engagement comes a need to reinvigorate training and development opportunities and up-level skills. Where possible, offering employees targeted and strategic decisions on training and education opportunities is vital to sustainability. Providing employees room to grow competencies either through classroom training or attending industry leading trend seminars is key to successful realignment.

Span also sees a heightened interest in organizational assessments. As many organizations are just beginning to reinvigorate and realign, organizational assessments are a fairly quick and easy way to provide data on current and future state. This is right in line with the concept of engagement and realigning priorities and people. Determine where you are before you decide where you want to be. Span also sees executive coaching increasing. Leaders and managers are realizing that they may need to change style and approach to attract, engage, and retain current and new talent. Span also sees an interesting shift occurring now, as workface demographics are changing, is an increased focus on generational diversity programs.

Companies realize that Gen Y employees have different needs than Baby Boomer employees, and Gen Y represents a key part of their recruitment strategy and future bench strength. Companies want to understand the view points and communication styles of the various generations so that employees can have a basis of understanding and flex to each other’s unique point of view and approach.

Span sees slowed continued growth for the months to come. He believes that organizations that realign and refocus on people now will remain competitive and sustainable; and be able to survive the inevitable bumps in the road that will continue to occur until relative long term stability returns.

The People Side of Change in Technology Implementations

The Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) market is now worth upwards of $21 billion. Going into 2008, Cambridge, Mass.-based market researcher Forrester predicted a compound annual growth rate of 4.2 percent for ERP solution packages, and that number has continued to climb. The use of technology in the workplace is expanding at an astounding rate. While there are no exact 2010 year to date numbers for ERP market share or growth, industry executives say it's clearly a burgeoning market. In an effort to make operations more streamlined and effective, more organizations are implementing ERPs to assist them do business. Despite this increased growth many organizations aren't achieving their desired return on investment with their new ERP because they don't account for the people side of this change.

According to Wikipedia, an ERP is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise wide system environment.

As noted in a study conducted by Deloitte and Gallup Leadership Institute, streamlining and consolidating is great from a technology operations point of view; however, what is the impact to the people side of the business? The end users and current employees, who will have to use the ERP in their daily work, are often overlooked in the implementation process and this can lead to a bumpy and sometimes unsuccessful implementation. To ensure productivity remains high (although a slight dip is normal) and to facilitate a smooth transition with minimal resistance, change management is a critical component to success.

Most of the way work gets done will change once the ERP is implemented. Employees who are accustomed to completing tasks in a certain way will have to learn new skills and new ways of doing things. Roles and responsibilities may change, functions may be consolidated or eliminated, and interactions with customers and stakeholders may be redefined. For successful implementations, sponsorship and governance are imperative. Organizational impacts such as structural and cultural changes often occur, and policies and procedures are sometimes rewritten. Change management around technology can sometimes be a daunting task. A skilled ERP change management resource should have experience designing and implementing solutions in all these areas as well as a fundamental understanding of the technology.

A qualified ERP organizational change resource should be a people focused change management professional. They should also have the following skills to best assist your organization during an ERP implementation:

• Experience: They should have experience working in change management, organizational culture, strategy and strategic communications. They should also have a comfort level with technology and experience with process and requirements definition, defining roles and responsibilities, and designing organizational culture and structure.

• Basic understanding of ERP systems: Most ERPs are designed in modules, and can be implemented in pieces or all at one time. A trained resource not only knows what an ERP is designed to do, but also understands the basic functionality of each module and how the various modules integrate with one another. They should also have experience with project planning inclusive of planning and managing the implementation and impacts of multiple modules simultaneously.

• Understanding of ERP terminology and technical language: Often the ERP change management resource serves as a liaison between the functional (eg. HR, finance, policy) and technical people on the project. Therefore, they must have the ability to facilitate discussions and clearly communicate across teams of various skill sets. This involves being able to understand and speak in both technical and functional terms and have the ability the ‘translate’ needs and requirements in simple language. They should also have an understanding of specific ERP related terms and acronyms (Eg. SIT, CIT, User Interface etc.)

• Collaborative approach: ERPs cross multiple parts of the organization, and even reach outside the organization to customers and stakeholders. The ERP change management resource should be responsible for establishing a sponsorship and governance structure inclusive of individuals at various levels and across all affected areas. It is imperative that the change management resource have a collaborative style, one that helps to engage key people from all impacted areas. Assertiveness is also important, as often information and details are required on very specific and tight deadlines and obtaining this information may require a high degree of persistence.

• Skilled in strategic communications: Many ERP efforts run into roadblocks because communication planning is either not executed in parallel with change management or is not executed early enough. Experience with communications planning and execution with multiple audience groups, cross functional communications, and the ability to communicate with the various audiences simultaneously is a necessary skill for an ERP change management resource. Most change management professionals do have some level of experience in communications; however, for an ERP implementation, a higher degree of experience in this area is recommended.

To ensure the money spent on an ERP offers the streamlined operations and return on investment expected, people and change issues can not go unaddressed. It is critical to have an experienced ERP change management professional guide this process from day one. After all, a piece of technology is only as effective as the people who choose to use it.

Welcome to The Tolero Think Tank blog!

Welcome to The Tolero Think Tank blog!
http://www.tolerosolutions.com


This blog will serve as place for myself, and those affiliated with Tolero Solutions, to share their thoughts, ideas, and information relating to various areas of organization development. For those who may not be familiar with me or Tolero Solutions, allow me to make an introduction.

Tolero Solutions – Delivering organizational improvement solutions and facilitating sustainable growth.

Tolero Solutions is an independent Organizational Development and Change Management consultancy specializing in facilitating sustainable growth by developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused and effective. The name Tolero was chosen because of the two Latin meanings – to endure and to sustain. These words describe what we do perfectly– we support people and organizations as they change and develop. By designing and implementing enduring solutions, it enables leaders, teams and individuals to identify and navigate priorities; collaborate for success, and accelerate and achieve sustainable results.

Tolero Solutions and their team of Strategic Partners is led by President Scott Span, MSOD. Scott is an organization development and change management practitioner with experience working in strategic and transformational change. Scott has worked both internally, externally, and as an independent contractor in the Public and Private sector. Scott is a resourceful and innovative problem-solver with a belief of lifelong learning and personal growth. He effectively manages people, processes, technology, and projects helping individuals and organizations to attain their desired goals.

He delivers results through assessing client objectives and organizational culture, and applying a sundry of organization development theories and methodologies for a customized solution. While maintaining a collaborative working relationship, he works at multiple levels of the organization to transform "as is" business and system processes to address future needs, thus helping clients attain their desired "to be" states.

Scott has successfully facilitated interventions and introduced various new programs to staff teams, individuals and organizations. His results have not only helped achieve desired goals, but have also increased personal growth and development, leading to a more efficient and effective work environment with increased return on investment.

Prior to forming Tolero Solutions, Scott worked at several consulting firms of various sizes including Accenture, where he worked as both an external consultant with the global Organization and Change Management practice delivering organizational change solutions to clients in various industries, and as an internal consultant working for Careers, Performance, Rewards and Engagement where he helped to design a global recruitment, retention and, engagement strategy.

He holds a Masters in Organization Development (MSOD) from American University and the NTL Institute. He is also certified in the (FIRO-B) FIRO Element B behavior instrument powered by The Human Element. Additionally he holds Process Mapping and Balanced Scorecard Certifications. Scott also holds an active security clearance.

Tolero Solutions maintains a network of highly skilled Strategic Partners with diverse service offerings in various areas of expertise who stand ready to deliver results to your organization.

At Tolero Solutions we believe strongly in collaboration, not only in our relationships with our clients, but also with our highly qualified and skilled network of strategic partners. It is our belief that if people and organizations have a specific skill and area of expertise for which they have a knowledge and passion, then why not partner with them to facilitate an opportunity for them to leverage their skills and passions and deliver the best possible results for our clients.

Our participative, dynamic style means that you work with experienced consultants who get actively involved to fully understand your issues and facilitate change.

“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi

As this blog grows and develops we hope that you find the topics of interest and we look forward to your comments, feedback and suggestions.