This is the formula for success!
Just came back from a fascinating conference in Las Vegas where I heard Bill Fields speak. For those of you who aren’t familiar, he headed up Walmart’s US Retail Stores Division in the 1990’s. A highly successful businessman he has become an advisor to the company I have recently joined. As he walked on stage with a beautiful dog, (I think it might have been a black lab) my first thought was “he’s blind”. Not the case. He shared that there was no one home to take care of the dog, so he brought Tank along with him. A man of his wealth I can only assume he had his own plane so traveling with Tank was easy. Observing his sensitivity to his dog while on stage demonstrated just how much heart the man had. His speech was inspirational to the distribution network of this 5-month-old new company. He shared the progression of his career at Walmart having worked directly with Sam Walton for years. By bringing normally unavailable products to rural communities throughout the US Walmart changed the nature of geographic distribution throughout the country. Their strategy was to produce a better life for those living in rural America.
Bill learned the importance of Products, Promotion and People. During this discussion, he referenced a speech he heard Gen. Colin Powell make about the first Gulf War. According to Fields he spoke of 12 rules for leadership and management. Once he discussed the 12 he then said, “throw those 12 away all you really need to know is rule 13 and 14.”
Rule 13: When in charge take charge. Make things happen for yourself those you love and care about.
Rule 14: Do the right thing. Perhaps, let your conscience be your guide.
I began to think about how many people in managerial positions actually take charge. I can recall a number of client situations where people did not feel they had the authority to take charge. Consequently enormous amounts of energy and probably resources and money were wasted. And, what about the energy of the individual feeling disempowered?
Do the right thing. How many times do we compromise our own values and ethics? I know so many who do what they think their boss or another might want them to do. It takes courage to do what you think is right. Recently in a Fortune magazine feature it talked about the fortune 500 companies looking to hire returning young military officers. They liked the way they could make decisions in the midst of a great deal of uncertainty.
Bill Fields said, “Walton could make ordinary people achieve extraordinary things if they would work together as a team.” Fields believes the key to everything in life is having high expectations. “We get what we expect.” When I see some of our youth living in fear and taking jobs they don’t value it pains me. Their expectations are so low. It’s impossible to have an engaged organization if you don’t have high expectations. Perhaps a formula we should consider is:
High expectations+taking charge+doing the right thing with integrity= an engagedorg.
What Do Competitive Sports and La Famiglia Have in Common?
Not sure any of you saw this in the Sunday New York Times, but I found the article about “Bench Strength” very interesting. The interview was with Sharon Napier, CEO of Partners+Napier, an ad agency based in Rochester NY. It’s obvious Sharon is building an engaged organization. I resonate with her on a number of different levels. Sharon’s values and beliefs about people and the roles they play in her company are similar to mine. As a sportswoman in high school and college, she likes to use sports metaphors in her organization. She references the experience students have of being a star in high school, then being the 9th player in college. While this may be difficult for some to digest, the point of her sports analogies is that everyone on a team has a role, and each role has a specific purpose. People must be clear about their purpose on the team so that they can step up, but also so that the team can realize its potential.
Secondly, Sharon names family as one of her key corporate values. We both come from Italian heritage and “la famiglia” is an important aspect of life. It assumes a certain loyalty, sticking together and compassion and caring for family members. Growing up in this culture creates a sense of belonging, appreciation and being valued for all involved. Transferring these values to the workplace helps create engagement. I am sure Sharon, like myself, has had to clarify family as a value statement for those who have not had a positive family upbringing.
Lastly, Sharon is a woman business owner. Having served on the Board of the National Association of Women Business Owners and President of the NYC chapter, I recognize that many women are comfortable with their feminine energy and can bring the universal feminine into the workplace. Having received an MBA in her mid-forties, much of Sharon’s business acumen has been developed over her lifetime. My hunch is Sharon can draw from the strength of her energies to successfully manage her business. A model for all of us to consider in pursuit of building engaged organizations.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
We need to celebrate as much as we can. That is why I’ve chosen to write this short blog on Cinco de Mayo. It commemorates the unanticipated victory the Mexican Army had over the French in 1862 in the town of Puebla. Only relatively recently has it become a popular holiday in the US. Here in NYC, Mexican restaurants are booked all day and the Tequila is overflowing. I thought I’d take the liberty of launching our new newsletter on this day as well. So let’s have a virtual toast to you and us, and the continued connection we will have. In NYC, the weather has been playing havoc with us since January. Winter was very cold, like the winters of yesteryear of which we really hadn’t had any during the last 10 years. For the past week it’s been July/August in May with the thermometer reaching 90 degrees last weekend. March was the rainiest on record and April was the warmest ever.
Last weekend we had a thwarted terrorist attack in Times Square. A vigilant street vendor alerted the police to an SUV parked in a turning lane. A former Vietnam Vet the street vendor has been at that intersection for years. At dinner the other night I heard people expressing a new appreciation for street vendors. The salt of the earth this is the entrepreneurial spirit in its infancy. Just thinking about the Vietnam Vets, many of whom came home with disabilities to be met by jeers from a country so conflicted about that war that we couldn’t acknowledge and celebrate their service.
Fast forward thirty years and the vigilance and focus that may have helped these men survive the rice paddies of Nam prevented a terror attack where hundreds if not thousands could have been injured or killed.
We launch our monthly newsletter this week. Our intention is to write interesting short articles and to reprint others I think might peak your interest. Occasionally I’m going to incorporate personal journal entries, which I think you might enjoy as well.
The world is a topsy-turvy place these days with volcanoes erupting, earthquakes happening throughout the world, flooding and that’s only the natural disasters. Then we have unemployment, business failures and people just trying to get by. It’s a time for us all to be reflective, identify what’s truly important and celebrate whenever an opportunity presents itself.
We at BEI would love to have you register for our newsletter. You can do so by clicking here the box below. We welcome your feedback as we want everything we publish to be relevant and thought provoking.
How Acknowledgement and Action Can Improve Your Organization
Today I want to speak about Acknowledgement and Action respectively the third and fourth A’s in improving managerial effectiveness. To recap, the Four A’s (Awareness, Appreciation, Acknowledgement and Action) refer to the mindset and behavior of individual managers. Unfortunately we live in a time plagued by blame and denial. How often have you heard someone either deny they had anything to do with an outcome or blame a co-worker or other department for poor performance? It’s rampant.
Acknowledging your part in a particular outcome is an important step in taking responsibility for one’s actions. I recall a situation when I was President of a professional association years ago. We had our annual awards dinner and did not sell enough tickets to cover our budgeted costs. Even though we ended the year in the black I felt it imperative to call Board members and take responsibility for the failure of the dinner fundraising initiative. I also felt it was important to model good managerial accountability. Being authentic requires acknowledging the impact your decisions or behavior have on others. When you are the senior executive you must acknowledge responsibility. The one caveat I’d say is that in a positive situation you want to praise the efforts of those who helped along the way.
Taking action is also something we need to do more of in organizations. I’ve been with many clients who’d rather wait and see what happens than act on the courage of their convictions. We forget that our employees model their behavior on ours and get frustrated with them when they don’t act as quickly as we’d like. Taking action doesn’t mean taking giant steps. As those who have participated in recovery programs know all to well taking one step at a time in the right direction keeps you on the right path. Too many of us have gotten mired in our own procrastination. Wanting to be or do the best we become paralyzed. Some refer to it as analysis paralysis. Taking action even small steps helps us to be more effective.
Let us know how you are using the Four A’s to improve your managerial leadership.
Embracing That Which We At First Don’t Like
Last week we discussed the importance of awareness in becoming an engaged manager. This week my focus is on the second of the Four A’s which is appreciation. Searching the dictionary for a definition of appreciation we find words such as gratefulness, positive opinion, valuing something highly, full understanding, and a statement of praise. As managers we are accountable for the outputs of our employees. We want them to put forth their best efforts and be the most effective they can be to complete the tasks assigned them in the best way possible. How do we do that?
There are specific skills managers can learn to be effective in assigning tasks and monitoring progress. These will be topics for future blogs. However a manager’s mindset towards employees and for that matter, colleagues can have significant impact on their own and other’s effectiveness. When we as managers come from a mindset of appreciation we create a work atmosphere in which others want to do their best. It is important for managers to come from a mindset that appreciates different behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. You don’t have to like it but you can appreciate the difference and try to learn from it. This can be the difference between a highly successful organization and one that doesn’t realize its potential.
I find the best way to discuss this concept is to go back to the “golden rule” with which most of us are familiar. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you! Thousands of years old it still rings true. People want to be appreciated. They want to be thought of highly and positively, be fully understood, have their efforts met with gratefulness. Be appreciated for the contribution they make. Kind words, and sensitivity go a long way.
Most of us are frazzled, ever busy, having little time to stop and think or thank someone for what they just did. Our interactions with our employees can develop into us barking orders treating them as if they are mechanical beings. This serves no one, and builds resentment on the part of many.
To develop a mindset of appreciation, use these simple tips.
- Ask yourself each day “Have I expressed my appreciation to any of my employees today?”
- Notice how quickly you can get irritated with an employee and ask yourself why? Then ask, how might I express my appreciation to this person?
- Think about how you feel when your boss or a colleague expresses their appreciation for your efforts or behavior. Recognize others are not so different. Mimicking the behavior of a colleague with a mindset of appreciating others might be a good first step. But be sincere about it as people can see through inauthentic attitudes and ehaviors.
If you try these simple suggestions you will find after a short period of time your mindset will change to one of appreciating others which affects everyone on the team.
Principles of Engaged Management Part 2
“Know First Who You Are, And Then Adorn Yourself Accordingly.” - Epictetus Being a fully engaged manager requires a willingness to grow, accompanied by a mindset that life is a journey. Personal growth is a life long process. Similar to maturation, it can happen whether we are conscious of it or not. We all mature naturally, some realizing our full potential others not coming close to it. However having a commitment to personal growth allows us to be an active participant in the process.
Last week we introduced you to BEI’s Four A’s to Greater Personal Effectiveness. Today we’d like to look a bit closer at the first A. Awareness. Most would agree that awareness is the first step in personal growth. It requires self-reflection, being responsible and accountable for ones actions and thoughts. Let’s look at these elements more closely.
Self-reflection is the skill that allows us to think about our lives on both a macro and micro level. The focus is both within and outside of us. Often we are concerned about what other’s think and not enough about what we think. I’m reminded of the many times I’ve worked with managers in companies who felt their hands were tied by a company policy. Many felt forced to act in ways that went against their own beliefs, fear causing them to compromise themselves.
Jay Niblick states in What’s Your Genius “conventional belief on being successful focuses on having as much factual and technical knowledge as possible.” Additionally, “the Genius Project highlighted another kind of knowledge---self knowledge—as the key to being not just good, but great.”
I am equating success with engagement because being engaged directly correlates to authenticity. When we know ourselves we can be authentic. There is no accident that “Know Thyself” the inscription above the entrance to Apollo’s Temple at Delphi in ancient Greece is so frequently quoted. Niblick clarifies the true meaning as know of yourself as in “the answer lies within.”
This is a great little book, which guides you through some preliminary steps of your internal journey to awareness. There are many other steps available to you such as learning about your behavioral style, or your emotional intelligence quotient but these do not address the deeper question of who am I.
This celebratory season of Easter provides a great opportunity to journey within and engage with who we are. It’s our job to figure out how we can best contribute to the universe, and knowing who we are is a great first step.
Principles of Engaged Management Part 1
I was driving back to the city this afternoon and started thinking about the roles of managers in engaged organizations. An Engaged Organization is a total systems approach to building successful companies. We, BEI define success as realizing business goals, developing an engaged workforce, with engaged manager(s) working together to produce outstanding products and services and creating shareholder value. Most of you reading this blog are in managerial roles, running your own businesses, or volunteering in organizations that are meaningful to you. People infuse organizations with a life force. Organizations exist even if there are no people to do the work. Organizations have a purpose, a network of roles and relationships, with assets such as machinery, technology, and bricks and mortar, even if there are no people to do the work. Imagining such a structure is like thinking about a play that has been written but never performed on stage. I have much to say about this invisible structure but will save that for another time.
Today I want to speak about how you as a manager can be engaged in focusing your life force and that of your workers to deliver the products or services of the organization. Most managers we talk to are quick to say how stressful their work is and how busy they are. No doubt it is almost impossible to slough off from work in today’s environment. Whether it is striving to reach a goal or downright fear of being let go, most of us are always busy at work expending energy.
But are we engaged? Engagement requires commitment, focus and caring. One way to gauge whether you are an engaged manager is to think about what we at BEI refer to as the Four A’s For Improving Effectiveness.
The Four A’s are:
- Awareness: Being conscious of your own behavior and the behavior of others, including cultural differences and stress related performance issues.
- Appreciation: This builds on awareness, an understanding of how differences can impact the workplace.
- Acceptance: Accepting a person for who they are and a situation for what it is.
- Action: Making necessary adjustments to accommodate differences, and/or improve a situation.
Managers who are engaged are conscious of what is going on among their workers, as well as inside themselves. They attend to the Four A’s so that they can personally be more effective, and work towards helping their employees work better together - individually and collectively. Understanding a situation allows a person to think of actions that may be taken to improve a situation.
I’d like all of you to do a little reflecting during the next week. Take a few moments to think about yourselves, and rate your self on a scale of 1-5 on each of these dimensions. Which of these A’s do you need help on? If you’d like, let us know and we will be able to provide some helpful hints to improve in any of these core competencies.
In the many years that I have been consulting I have yet to come across a manager who did not care deep down about their competence or how they treated their people. Many of them just didn’t have the awareness, understanding, and tools to fine-tune their own skills. BEI looks forward to providing our readers with new perspectives and helpful tools to become more engaged and effective managers.
In like a lion, out like a lamb
Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the U.S. Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle as part of a ceremony honoring Women’s History Month. This was my first experience speaking at an active military base. I have always had a spot in my heart for the men and women that serve our country and came away from NWS Earle so proud of the men and women I met from the Commanding Officer (CO) down to the seamen. Bright, inquisitive, skilled and caring individuals I walked away with a sense of pride in the Navy. Talk about engagement! The servicemen and women and those employed by the Department of Defense who attended the ceremony, were courteous, curious, involved and questioning. They were open to new information, knowledge, and willing to share their own point of view. One person talked with pride about how far the Navy has come in bringing women into the organization. The CO added that since the Navy recruits new people regularly they must be vigilant to insure the equality and continually heighten awareness of issues and concerns and provide support.
Other things that peaked my attention were:
- There was cordiality as well as formality something those of us out of the service don’t usually experience. Everyone I met was polite and welcoming. Security at the entrance gates was firm and followed protocol.
- When I walked into the building with CO Captain Harrison, he was announced and everyone stood. Don’t recall ever having had an experience like that.
- Everyone is addressed by their last name or rank so that there is really no way to know if you are addressing a man or a woman unless they are in front of you.
I think we can learn from some of these young men and women, and their leaders who have decided to serve their country.
My talk included a funny clip from the movie Operation Petticoat (view clip at the bottom of this page). I introduce Deborah Tannen’s research from her seminal work, You Just Don’t Understand. Tannen looks closely at the differences between how women and men are socialized and how this can lead to communication challenges.
According to Tannen, conversation is what men use to negotiate their status in an organization and keep people from “pushing” them around. Men use talk to preserve independence and autonomy.
Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and familiarity. For women, talking is the foundation of building relationships, so being best friends, for example, means sitting and talking.
In conclusion, a shift has been taking place that has had men and women throughout the world moving from a family-based relationship orientation to one of men and women being managers, colleagues and team members. Carlotta Tyler in her work on gender appreciation highlights this paradigm shift. Emphasizing appreciation rather than differences is for many a safer place within which to explore beliefs, stereotypes and behaviors that get in the way of more effective communication. More effective communication is an essential ingredient of an engaged organization.
Reflections on Women Leaders During Women’s History Month
I’m speaking at the US Navy Weapons Station Earle this week, and in preparing for my talk I have uncovered some tidbits about women's military history that have helped me reflect on the strides women have made in leadership over the past few decades. First of all, in the Spanish American War women served as nurses, but it wasn’t until World War I that women were allowed to serve in non-nursing roles. Loretta Perfectus Walsh was the first woman to enlist in the military (non nursing), joining the Navy in 1917 and within days became a Chief Petty Officer. Yet even today with 20% of the military being women, there is still a lot of ground to cover. We embark on the 21st century with choices to make. We can focus on appreciating men and women or emphasizing our differences. One of my colleagues, Carlotta Tyler said, “During the past three decades, increasing numbers of women have joined men in mainstream workplaces and, in the past decade, in responsible professional and managerial capacities. There can be difficulty understanding one another and the rules of engagement. There can be clarity and comfort, creativity and productivity interacting. It's a choice”. You can read below a soldier’s story. From the blog Military Women Veterans Yesterday Today and Tomorrow:
Dear Capt. Barb I was a Marine in Desert Shield/Storm. I was assigned to MWSS273, out of Beaufort, S.C. My unit flew out on Christmas Eve, and landed in Jabail, Saudi Arabia on Christmas day. Of 500 in my unit, 17 were women. Myself and 5 other women are among the 100 Marines that built the larges/longest mobile runway in the history of organized military WORLDWIDE, and we did it twice! I am now 10 years into a police career, and know a lot of former Marines who give me the credit earned. Still, no one understands that I was THERE! I captured an Iraqi soldier. I had another Marine die in my arms, from Nerve Gas poisoning. Still, most credit only goes to the men, God Bless them too though. Thank you for this site. I cannot say it didn't bring back some hard memories, but at least, it recognizes that we were there. And we live with hard memories too, and we are proud too, and we would do it all over again...too. On a side note, even though my unit took fire...a lot...we were not afforded the Combat Medal, because women were not "in combat" so the records show. All 17 of us were bussed south when the IG came AND the unit records were changed to reflect only male Marines. My only hurt is not to have been awarded the Combat Medal, when it was earned. Thank you so much, again, for this site. Tracy Abernathy-Walden"
Furthermore, Hilary Clinton, the strongest female presidential candidate to date, was still treated somewhat differently than her male counterparts in the last election. To hers and President Obama’s credit, she serves on his cabinet (see this article I co-authored for a more thorough analysis: But Can She Type?). We’ve come far and yet still have a long way to go. Regardless, I am hopeful we will see a woman President of the US in my lifetime.
Other news that may be of interest:
According to Maureen Dowd’s column this morning in the NY Times, President Obama applied pressure and Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed to get the health reform bill passed. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/opinion/24dowd.html
Fortune Magazine has an article about how companies are hiring returning military officers, many of who are women. The attraction is their ability to deal with ambiguity, uncertainty and to lead. They are being enrolled in executive leadership programs at GE, Walmart and Pepsico. http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/companies/military_business_leaders.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2010030509
The luck of the Irish
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Amazing how once a year people from all over the world choose to wear green and celebrate everything Irish. People whose heritage has nothing to do with Ireland celebrate St Patty’s day throughout my city. Is it that way in your neighborhood? What is it about this day that gets so many people engaged? We talk about the luck of the Irish I’m not sure whether there is any truth to that statement. I’ve looked for the origin of the phrase but have come up unsuccessful. But here is my spin on it…..
Celebration, smiles, and a sense of belonging adjectives describing this day all help people feel engaged. Most of us have a need to belong, feel part of something larger than ourselves, and need a reason to celebrate. St. Patrick’s Day provides such an outlet. Couple that with the coming of Spring, letting go of a long harsh winter, the thought of new life sprouting from the land as Spring arrives and its no wonder we have a cellular experience of awakening, and new beginnings.
Now you might say how does this tie into creating an engaged organization? If your organization is in the doldrums, your employees, or you yourself feeling the heaviness of the recession and the slow recovery, you might want to engage in some discussions of new beginnings, a new season, encourage new creative thinking-brain storm, put out an anonymous internet based suggestion box.
Dream and ask the question if we were your ideal place of employment what would be happening there? What could we change here now to make things a bit better? What could I do differently? What could you do differently?
Engaged organizations are all about creating opportunities for people to feel part of something larger than themselves. They are about respect, integrity, and clarity of purpose. They are also about sharing the good with the bad.
When I think about the “luck of the Irish” I realize that as a people the Irish have gone through a great deal yet they are known to celebrate life, smile and most importantly move forward.
Enjoy the day and let me know what you are thinking.
How taking daily supplements can build an engaged organization
Recently I joined Donald Trump's new business The Trump Network as an independent marketer. This marks his entry into the growing health and wellness industry using as his vehicle network marketing. (You can find out more about this at www.trumpnetwork.com/rosemarybova Happy to discuss the whys and wherefores of this decision privately, just call.) The flagship product is Custom Essentials, customized supplements based upon their unique Priva Test results. This test identifies your metabolic end products, which become the basis for the formulation of your unique daily supplement regimen. While taking my pills this morning, today’s blog entry came into my mind and a light bulb went off.
Custom Essentials is a great metaphor for building an engaged organization….
Most corporate executives want to do the right thing for their customers and their employees. Some of you may disagree with this but in my experience people would like to do the right thing. Corporate leaders try to keep up with the latest developments in leadership and human resource technology as well as other technologies directly related to their products or services. The dilemma they face to go with the one-size fits all version or spending the extra time and money to get a customized analysis? We know the result. All too often the choice to “go for it” requires taking a stand, separating oneself from the pack. For many that energy has gone underground.
An engaged organization is a comprehensive and complex system. It is unique just as we individuals are. Many of us have spent hundreds of dollars buying supplements without knowing our personal metabolic needs and studying the wellness field. In corporations millions of dollars are spent each year on programs intended to improve overall organization effectiveness. All too often leaders focus on symptoms rather than root causes. An engaged organization is willing to study itself, to identify its strengths as well as its weaknesses. Many managers have gotten complacent, with greater comfort in a wait and see what happens in both our lives and in how we lead in the workplace. We’d rather react than be proactive. This is especially the case now in the recession. We do not have a proactive or preventative mindset. Such a mindset has courage as a staple. I think Toyota is a great example of this.
For years Toyota was the premiere company in quality and customer service. I would love for a graduate student in organization development to do a PhD dissertation on the demise of Toyota over the last 15 years or so. Their attitude was preventative, an eastern cultural mindset. After WWII they worked with Edwards Deming to address actual and stereotypical beliefs about quality. Those of us who have been around long enough know they introduced the quality circle concept…which brought workers together on a regular basis to discuss ideas for improvement and concerns. The demise of Toyota we are seeing unfold before our eyes has its roots in decisions that were likely made 5-10 years ago the ramifications of which are only showing up now.
Keeping consistent and using examples from the automotive industry one might think of Hyundai. Known for its lack of quality but low pricing when first introduced into the US it has steadily grown in reputation and sales. “Over a 12-year period Hyundai's U.S. market share steadily crept up from 0.6% to 4.2% in 2009. The automaker's share of sales took a great leap forward last year to 4.2%, Autodata says.” This type of turnaround can only happen as part of a conscious effort to improve. Although still viewed as a value play with customers its price has inched much closer to that of its competitors.
What does this mean for those of us wanting to build engaged organizations? The work requires us to truly understand and know our companies. We must put them under a microscope to see what’s really there, what’s not visible to the naked eye. The analysis must be based on a set of organizing principles that are consistent and hold up whether in good times or bad. We need to know our corporate values and overall business strategy, have the right network of roles in place to support the business strategy and realize both long and short term goals, have the right people in the right roles, and the polices, systems and procedures that support getting the work done in a timely fashion. In my next few blogs I intend to address some of the basic principles of an engaged organization and some of the how to’s. Let me know what you are thinking.
As the World Changes, What Remains the Same?
I had breakfast this morning with a friend and colleague whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time. As small business owners, we found ourselves sharing how each of our businesses is going through major transition. Transformation is likely the more accurate term. Advancement in technology has altered how and what we both do. She designs marketing materials and we design organizations. Current technology allows for a company like mine to design our own marketing materials. Information available on the internet, such as articles and research providing how-to’s on managerial education give companies access to knowledge pertinent to my craft. Coupled with the downturn in the economy, organizations are less likely to invite consultants in to do special projects. Under all this stress what is remaining the same?
It’s the importance of teams and individuals working effectively. Most in the corporate world have experienced colleagues being let go. This is met with a sign of relief “thankfully its not me” and fear “will I be next”? It is also met with the work of the departed being reallocated to currently existing roles. The precarious corporate climate makes it unlikely any worker will stand up and say “I can’t take on another thing”. Are you as a manager willing to look at how your department is organized to produce work? Are you willing to take time out of busy days and speak with your employees individually and as a team to explore what if anything can be done differently? Are you willing to ask them what is going on in their lives? Are you interested?
What remains the same is people-the human element of the work. Technological advances provide a competitive edge when they are first introduced, but once more available the playing field is leveled. Most companies can access technology at significantly reduced prices. It’s in a company’s workforce that competitive advantage resides. This is where the science and artistry of accountable, managerial leadership comes in. Accountable managerial leadership is a term first used by Dr. Elliott Jaques in his seminal work Requisite Organization…A Total System for Effective Managerial Organization and Managerial Leadership for the 21st Century (revised second edition 1996 Cason hall Publishers) and further refined in Social Power and the CEO…Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System (2002 Quorum Book)
People are the competitive advantage. The Vancouver Olympics illustrate this. Technologically advanced skis, skates, snowboards, and sleds were available to all competitors. The athletes and their coaches, their vision, goals, skill, practice and strategic mindset to deal with the unexpected, made the difference with who came home with medals. The Vancouver Organizing committee planned and constructed a vision, mission and the venues within which the games were held. They were launched by an all-inclusive Opening Ceremony, and could have taken on the pallor of the untimely death of the Nodar Kumaritashvili the young Georgian luge slider who died during a practice run. They acknowledged and respected his death and the games went on. Again at the closing ceremony Nodor was acknowledged demonstrating how in the midst of adversity success can be achieved.
Those of you who know me personally know Dr. Jaques was my mentor and know that Requisite Organization forms the foundation for our work at BEI building engaged organizations. I will incorporate specific principles in upcoming blogs in an attempt to make his brilliant findings more available. More than ever we need effective managerial leaders and strong teamwork. I’ve attached an inspirational video about teamwork available on You Tube. It’s worth the view. Assume a male created it as it uses male pronouns. Make your own adjustments. Have a great week and let me know what you are thinking.
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 44th 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 9th 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.