CAN THE WORLD'S YOUTH TEACH US ABOUT LIFE AND ENGAGEMENT?

What is there to learn from winning medals and competing?  Obviously I am still enamored with the Olympics, and apparently I'm not the only one as the viewership for these games far surpasses anything in recent times. There is so much to learn from these young athletes. Their wisdom, spirit, creativity, gumption and determination are awe-inspiring.  Take this video, for example:

Apolo is not only a brilliant and strategic skier, but he gets the true spirit of the games and the competition. Perhaps an 8th medal today will further distinguish him as the most medaled American in winter Olympics history.

The Ice Dancing competition was stunning. The two American teams, the gold medalist Canadians and the Russian team all sincerely congratulating one another after the winners announced.  The commentator kept referring to best friends and competitors. Last night I saw a 16-year-old Australian figure skater who just found out on Feb. 2nd she would be competing in the Olympics skate her heart out in a personal best performance without any mistakes.  Not close to being in medal contention nonetheless she gave it her all.

And then there is the heartbreak and pain of the speed skater that won gold but was then disqualified because of an illegal lane change. The video clearly shows his coach telling him to change lanes prematurely.  He was inconsolable, and the anguish on the coach's face that made the error is etched in my brain.  How will they get over that? Click here for video.

I watch these young people from around the world and learn about playing the game of life.  They are committed and totally engaged.  The balance of personal best and glory with team spirit and national pride is something from which we can all learn.

I contrast this with the President of Toyota USA and their CEO from Japan, Mr. Toyoda talking to Congress about the massive recalls.  Did Toyota abandon its value on quality ad customer service to become the world’s largest car manufacturer?  Workers from American plants are demonstrating in Washington in support of their company.  It’s clear that the regulators did not have the resources to fully analyze the new electrical and mechanical systems in the cars. People have lost their lives, and Toyota will continue to lose hundreds of millions.

Perhaps there is something to learn from the grace and determination of these athletes at the Olympic Games.  Integrity, honor, determination, practice, being totally engaged separates us apart from our competitors.  Let's begin to eliminate winning at all costs in all our endeavors. Let's embrace learning how to truly compete from a place of personal best, honor and integrity and sportsmanship for ourselves individually while at the same time demonstrating the leadership to build more engaged organizations.

When Was The Last Time You Caught A Fever?

Don’t know about you, but every two years I come down with Olympic fever.  I am not a particularly athletic individual although in the past I enjoyed skiing and playing tennis. However when the games begin I get totally engaged.  First off I loved the opening ceremony.  This year I wondered how it would compare to China’s 2008 extravaganza, and was pleasantly surprised that no comparison was necessary.  Vancouver Olympic organizers created an all-inclusive panoply of Canadian culture. Although mourning the untimely death of the young Georgian Luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, the games have gone on and the organizers seem to have held his untimely death and the joy of competition in a respectful balance with neither overwhelming the other.  The organizers have faced a series of challenges, death of an athlete, criticism regarding the luge run itself, an arm of the cauldron inside the BC Arena not opening during the torch lighting phase, and yesterday the ice machines for the 500 meter speed skating race not working properly delaying the race more than an hour.  Mother nature has played havoc with the weather with rain and fog surpassing snow resulting in unprecedented postponements, and surprising upsets.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Olympics.  From the comfort of my living room however, I relish the sense of oneness I perceive.  I love having athletes from so many countries competing to do their personal best.  I admire their tenacity and conviction, their years of training, the personal cost in time away from family and in monetary value.  Some leave their families as young children to go into nationalized programs others like one of the American pairs skaters, a husband and father whose business card lists a myriad of job titles-the things he’s done to support his young family and pursue his skating.  Eighteen months ago he was thinking of quitting and now he is representing the US at the Olympics.

If you take the time to look beyond the faces of the athletes during the medal ceremonies you see the pride people have in their teams and the specific athletes. The difference between gold, silver and bronze sometimes is miniscule…tenths of a second. Athletes seem to have a code of respect for one another that is sometimes lacking in our everyday worlds.

Thinking about this I wonder how many people have the experience of being totally engaged with their work, and/or their organization.  What if we lived in a world where this experience was the norm rather than the exception to the rule?  I reflect on an earlier blog about Zappos and how people love working there.  What kind of world would we have if most people enjoyed their work and felt they were paid fairly for their efforts?  What can you do to become more engaged at work?  How can you lead your company to become an engaged organization?

Was It Really Just A Show?

It’s the day after the 44^th Super Bowl and many people are scratching their heads wondering what happened to Peyton Manning and the Colts last night.  The underdog New Orleans Saints with quarterback Drew Brees tying a Super Bowl record with 32 completed passes, and coach Sean Payton making gutsy plays whipped the Colts. But wasn’t this more than a football game?

In my mind it was a metaphor for the comeback of the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, and perhaps all the out of work people in the country.  The hundreds of thousands who think their careers are over can take a lesson from Drew .  This was about heart and soul and the fact that this team recognized it was not only playing for personal glory or the glory of the owners, the Benson family.  This team was showing the people of the 9^th ward in N’Orlans, inhabitants of the gulf coast, and perhaps Americans in every town or city who are hurting, that heart and soul, spirit and conviction can make the difference even when the odds are stacked against you.

As most everyone who watched the game knows after the Super Bowl, Undercover Boss the new reality program aired.  I am no fan of reality TV but being a management consultant I was curious about this program.  So I watched as Waste Management’s Larry O’Donnell went undercover at a number of locations. I was touched by the spirit of the American worker which shown through like starbursts.  Hopefully Larry’s awareness of the negative impact of some of his own policies will enable him to become a more effective manager.

So what’s the point?  There are a few.  Effective managerial leadership as exemplified by the coaching staff and quarterback of the underdog Saints can indeed inspire workers to align, come together and do extraordinary things.  The entire organization was engaged in a goal larger than themselves. American workers, the ordinary women or men throughout our country has heart and soul and wants to work, to do a good job and be recognized for it.  We need to engage them.  Our system is out of whack, particularly with executive compensation at obscene multiples over first line workers.

Its time to celebrate the American worker at whatever level she or he is, and recognize each of us in our own way contributes to the whole whether it be a company, team or our communities.  Engagement makes the difference! Lets learn to engage our workers, colleagues and volunteers.

Can Politics Screw Up Engagement?

A few things happened this week that have got me wondering why and how politics can muck up systems. So bear with me as I connect some dots.  I happened to catch the end of an interview on BBC America regarding excessive executive compensation.  The interview was with someone who did or currently works at a firm like Goldman Sachs who was talking about how bonuses affected what he did throughout the year.  He talked about “sucking up to the boss”, and back stabbing fellow workers in an effort to outshine his peers. Distasteful comments, although I found it refreshing to hear someone tell the truth about the impact of incentive compensation on workers and the culture within which they work. For those interested in alternative compensation look at Elliott Jaques’ work on Felt Fair Pay.  Simply brilliant and elegant!

I also heard Teresa Heinz being interviewed on Good Morning America and a comment was made regarding how often on the 2004 campaign trail she was called out for making candid comments.  Her response this morning was and I paraphrase here, “I always speak from the heart and I’m never intending to be hurtful”.

My sweetie and I listened too president Obama’s State of the Union speech late week and both of us were struck by his comments regarding elected officials in Congress to serve the people not their own ambitions.  All of this got me to wondering….

How have we as a nation, in our institutions, corporations and even our social lives become so distanced from doing what is right in situations. Granted “what’s right” is subjective, but more importantly how have we lost sight of what is important to each of us? Work systems have become just as politicized as our political system.  In speaking with a client recently he said “this is a very political place”.  We have a senior consultant here, helping people to become more politically savvy.  To myself I wonder “why”?  Wouldn’t we want to eliminate politics from work systems?  Politics running rampant in the workplace breeds distrust and uncertainty.  An engaged organization requires a foundation of trust.  There are many ways to build trust some of which reside in individuals like knowing your moral compass and values and behaving in ways consistent to them.

From a structural standpoint political behaviors in a work system are a direct outgrowth of a poorly designed network of role relationships, managerial accountabilities and authorities.  Work is important to people-of course to earn a salary so that they can feed their families but also to provide the satisfaction that comes with completing a task and being acknowledged for your efforts.  When there is uncertainty in reference to: what is to be done, who is to do it, how one role interfaces with another, and the authority one role has over another people being the creative beings they are make it up. Uncertainty breeds fear in many. People turn to personal currency and favors to get things done.

I like President Obama am optimistic about the future of our country and the future of business. We have an opportunity to build engaged workplaces.  It requires managers to step up.  Exercise courage to speak out and begin to truly identify what needs to be altered in their companies. They need to welcome input from the frontlines. It also requires employees at all levels to learn to speak their truth and put forth ideas for improvement.  We also need to look at how we design the network of role relationships upon which we build our companies.  Managers must ask themselves and others in the organization the difficult questions.  I am not saying this is easy but its necessary.  Our future and the future of our children and grandchildren depend on it.

Sax And The City

The other night I heard Jimmy Heath the world-renowned jazz saxophonist at a new club in Harlem.  It was sponsored by JazzMobile a wonderful not for profit committed to bringing jazz into communities and teaching young people about jazz.  We were up close and center less than 10 feet from the musicians.  I learned a lot about engaged organizations while being transported to wonderful places listening to the tunes they played.  First off… Jimmy Heath at age 83 is a small-framed man playing a large tenor sax.  Music radiated throughout his body.  As he played-every cell was engaged.  When one of his musicians was featured he watched with joy and moved his body to their improvisations.  The group was comprised of four other musicians ranging in age from mid twenties to early forties.  What an engaged organization they created on stage.  From different races, ethnic groups and generations together they created beautiful music.  When the pianist accidently hit the wrong button on the electric piano and it turned off in the middle of a solo the others stepped in so quickly that if it wasn’t for the technician running on stage to remedy the situation most of us wouldn’t have noticed anything was wrong.  How wonderful to witness people at work radiating their own joy and pleasure at what they are doing and adding value to their customers’ evening.  Just another indication of the benefit of an "engaged org".

A Little Bit Of Sole

Recently I had lunch with Tony Hsieh, CEO at Zappos.com.  If ever in Las Vegas take a break from gambling and the shows and go on a free tour of Zappos.  Tony and his colleagues have spent the last several years creating the art of Zappos’… a work culture like nothing else you have ever seen or experienced.  I’ve consulted to hundreds of companies in my career and never have I seen such an overtly distinct work environment.  Beneath the feather boas, plastic ornaments, jungle like cubicle areas, and playful work environment lies... a dedicated workforce.  Walking through the offices I thought, how fitting being in Las Vegas the city which prides itself on bright lights, the constant ping of slot machines and the hopes and dreams of tourists.  The colorful fluff people used to decorate their cubicles, halls and conferencing areas overwhelmed me. Workers designed the quiet room, requested the popcorn machine and Rosie the coffee machine.

To me the place had a carnival atmosphere.  What also amazed me were the people who said hi as you walked by, or blew horns, clearly proud of their company.  Amidst the sensory overload people hard at work and having a good time.

Tony and his colleagues have continually asked people what’s important to them at work.  How novel…they listened and incorporated their ideas. The result -the Zappos culture.  Not sure this is for everyone but it is clear that when you pay attention to employee input you build an engaged workforce.

Welcome to Engaged Org!

Bova Enterprises, Inc. Advisors to Management is proud to launch our brand new blog, ENGAGEDorg. We look forward to creating on-going dialogue on the theme of creating engaged organizations and workforces.  We have much to share and learn.  This blog will create stimulating discussion and useful ideas.  We welcome your input.

Rosemary A. Bova

President and Founder of Bova Enterprises, Inc.

BEI helps organizations increase their effectiveness and profitability. BEI works hand in hand with its clients to develop the best solutions for their unique situations. BEI analyzes challenges clients face, customizes an approach and then implements it to catalyze the company's development.  Our clients come away with the know-how to sustain the improvements, resulting in long term savings, increased productivity and financial growth.