Now Is The Time For More Coaching

For many leaders who are overwhelmed by the never ending COVID-19 situation, coaching has mostly defaulted to two main actions, namely telling people what they should have done and attempting to fix their problems. The result is a weakening of the supervisory relationship and the possibility of creating active disengagement by the employee. 

I understand why a leader would be choosing to act in this manner. He or she has reached their limit of how much chaos they can tolerate around them so their goal is to reduce disequilibrium and restore a degree of control, predictability and order in their circle of influence. However, the price of this choice is quite high because the person being coached can perceive these actions by their supervisor as signaling that they do not matter and that their job does not matter. As Patrick Lencioni points out in his book, The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, formerly The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and their employees) (Jossey-Bass 2007): “people want to managed as people, not as mere workers.”

When successful coaching takes place, a leader will focus on two categories, namely skills and knowledge based coaching or mindset based coaching which directly impacts their willingness and commitment levels as an employee to move forward through a challenging situation. Yet, upon significant reflection, I have observed that the best coaching happens when the person being coached feels the support of their supervisor and when the supervisor helps the person being coached put things back into perspective and subsequently understanding. Many times this act of support and realignment of perspective by the coach involves a tremendous amount of concentrated listening with the goal to create an in-depth understanding of how the person struggling comprehends what is happening around and within them.  

The other part of this successful coaching process involves listening and giving feedback rather than constructive criticism. However, we as leaders and coaches need to remember that right now people have a limited bandwidth for receiving feedback. Most employees are barely coping with the amount of on-going disruption and chaos in their work and home lives. They are are doing their best in a COVID-19 centric world and feeling exhausted by the constant lack of structure and normalcy in their day to day lives.

During this global pandemic, the best coaches I have visited with by phone understand one small but significant fact about coaching people. It all begins with the building and maintaining of trust. In the May-June 2020 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Frances Frei and Anne Morriss wrote an exceptional article called “Begin With Trust: The first step to becoming a genuinely empowering leader.” As Frei and Morriss explain, “In our experience, trust has three drivers: authenticity, logic, and empathy. People tend to trust you when they believe they are interacting with the real you (authenticity), when they have faith in your judgement and competence (logic), and when they feel that you care about them (empathy). When trust is lost, it can almost always be traced to a breakdown in one of these three drivers.” The article points out a variety of strategies if you are experiencing problems in any one of the three drivers of trust.

At the same time, Frei and Morriss also point out one more important thing about trust. As they write, “We’ve argued that the foundation of empowerment leadership is getting other people to trust you. That’s certainly true, but there’s one last thing you need to know. The path to empowerment leadership doesn’t begin when other people start to trust you. It begins when you start to trust yourself.” 

This is a major insight into great leadership and empowerment. And the best leaders recognize that the pathway to trusting one’s self is to have a variety of allies and confidants who can hear you, help you, and ask you thought-provoking questions so you are constantly creating a greater depth of internal clarity and understanding. When we as leaders want to unleash the creativity, talent and commitment to learning and subsequent action within our companies, then building trust at all levels of the organizations begins with creating a greater level of internal clarity and integrity.

I encourage all of you to read the above article during the coming days. I also encourage you to coach more, be more supportive and to be open to being coached more. With all that is before us right now, we need allies and we need confidants as we process our own thoughts, feelings and struggles during these most unique times.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do effective leaders do goal setting and execution? - part #5

When think about the importance of evaluating goals post the execution stage, I decided to turn to my Kitchen Table Cabinet. I already knew my own thoughts on this subject but I wanted to hear from others who I consider wise and insightful. Here is what they reminded me about evaluating goals:

- ownership of the goal is required for a successful evaluation. 

- evaluating a goal without the goal connecting to a greater purpose or mission will not yield a successful change in action over time.

- the evaluation process needs to be meaningful for all involved.

- evaluation starts by creating a safe and nonjudgemental space for sharing.

- routine accountability systems and goal evaluation systems are interconnected.

With the above conversations in mind and lots of time to reflect over the summer, I realized the following. First, evaluating a goal is a form of feedback. For it to work at the point of evaluation, there needs to be a steady diet of feedback before hand to make the evaluation of the goals more meaningful. We forget that people need attention and when we give it to them in a safe and nonjudgemental environment, they will receive it better. Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall  in their thought-provoking book, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World, Harvard Business Review Press, 2019, write that “Positive attention… is thirty times more powerful than negative attention in creating high performance on a team…. If you want your people to learn more, pay attention to what’s working for them right now, and then build on that…. get into the conscious habit of looking for what’s going well for each of your team members…. tell the person what you experienced when that moment of excellence caught your attention - your instantaneous reaction to what worked.” In short, people need attention and we as leaders can give it in such a manner that an evaluation is seen as helpful and productive.

Over the course of my career as an executive coach, I have been called in to coach an entire senior leadership team after they have all participated in a 360 feedback/evaluation process. As part of this work, every leader has received a 1.5 inch thick book with graphs, charts and page upon pages of written feedback. For those involved, it is overwhelming to read pages and pages of competencies and detailed descriptions. The charts are complicated and indicate that most everyone was average. As per the norm, the written comments are all over the board and either depressing or confusing. At the end of reading all of these evaluation books, I can even be depressed and feeling hopeless.

When starting a project of this nature, I routinely sit down with each executive and ask the following question: “Did you read the entire book?”

“Yes” or “I skimmed it” is the common response.

Then, I ask, “How did it make you feel?”

The answers are often “depressed”, “confused”, or “angry”.

“Okay, “ I reply. “So, how do you think you are doing? And what do you think you need to work on in order to be a better leader within this company?” 

Every time, those involved give me a frank and honest assessment of what they needed to work on and how long they thought it would take. In short, nearly everyone is good at evaluating themselves and can reliably determine what they need to work on in order to be better.

Finally, when it comes to evaluating goals, focus on the outcomes from completing the goals. Some will be short term outcomes and others will be long term outcomes. Your ability to help people understand these outcomes will help them in the future work more effectively on future goals.

This week, give more feedback, and routinely ask people to evaluate their own performance. These two action will generate positive outcomes over the long term.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do effective leaders do goal setting and execution? - part #4

When executing a goal, I love Marcus Aurelius’s mindset as described in Ryan Holiday’s book, The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Penguin, 2014. “Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” 

As we move from goal setting to the execution stage, we need to discuss two items with all involved. First, we need to define what is the difference between a goal and a priority. As we all know, priorities will surface. We also know that most people don’t know how to determine if something should be more important than executing their goals.

Second, we need to discuss how to prioritize all of one’s different goals. With three to five goals as the norm for peak performance, which one should I focus on first? Remember people will always prioritize day to day work over a goal.

Furthermore, every one needs time to work on their goals. As Greg McKeown, in his excellent book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Crown Business, 2014, writes: “What we can’t do is concentrate on two things at the same time…. Multitasking itself is not the enemy of Essentialism; pretending we can “multifocus” is.” In short, the execution of goals comes down to time and attention

Next, we as leaders need to understand that effective execution involves an accountability system. As Ken Blanchard in his book,  Leading At a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations, Prentice Hall, 2006, wrote: “To obtain desired performance from its people, an organization must first have a well-defined accountability system.” He also pointed out that “People must also know what a good performance looks like.”

When we keep the above in mind, we recognize that people need regular feedback about their work. And supervisors need people who are working on goals to send progress reports about how they are doing on their goals. As Gary  Keller with Jay Papasan in his book, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, Bard Press, 2012, notes, “Individuals who wrote their goals and send progress reports to friends were 76.7 percent more likely to achieve them.”

This week, remember to help people make meaningful progress on their goals. The outcomes will be spectacular.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

What are the keys to being a successful team leader? - part #2

Successful leaders seek out feedback on a routine basis and listen carefully to it. Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen in their book, Thanks For The Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (Penguin Books, 2014), ask the question, “Is it possible that feedback is like a gift and like a colonoscopy?” They note that we often think about feedback within the framework of “Who is giving me feedback?”, “Why are they giving me feedback?”, “Where is it coming from?”, and finally “Where is it going?”. As they explain, in order to understand feedback, we must know where it coming from, i.e. their data and/or interpretations, and where it is going to, i.e. their advice, consequences, or expectations.

Marshall Goldsmith in his book, Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts - Becoming the Person You Want to Be, (Crown Business, 2015) reminds us that “anybody can change, but they have to want to change. Feedback tells us what to change, not how to do it. But when you know what to change, you’re ready to start changing yourself…”

Successful leaders understand the above and keep asking for feedback on a regular basis. They want it because they will learn from it and they do it because they want to role model this action so others will engage in this practice as well.

In short, great team leaders and great teams believe that doing something with a group of people you trust and respect makes a  profound difference. They also understand that doing something that you look forward to doing each day also makes a big difference.

This week be a leader who role models the importance of receiving feedback and changing yourself because of it. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

What is the connection between organizational history, culture and meaningful work within successful organizations? - part #1

As we sat down for dinner, I realized that I had not seen her in quite a while.

“So how have you been?”, I asked her.

“Overwhelmed” was her response. “I’ve had to work on all four pillars of the organization, namely people, structure, systems and culture.”

“It’s been painful,” she continued. “These are good people. We are good people, but we have no control over all the changes that are taking place. It is waves upon waves of unforeseen variables and choices being made by people who do not realize the impact of their actions. It breaks my heart to lead through such difficulties.”

“I am so sorry you are having to go through this,” I responded.

And she wept quietly at the table. They were tears of grief, tears of anger about stuff over which she had no control, tears of letting go of control, tears to finally be with someone who gets the pain of leadership and tears of realization that it is going to get harder before it gets better.

Right now, life is dynamic, not linear. We can not control so much that is going on and yet we have to move forward together through the pain.

Since the Fall 2018 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, I have learned three important lessons. First, we need to pry ourselves away from screen time interactions and analysis, and reconnect with people, mission and meaningful work in person. Dashboards tell us some of the story but never the whole story. As Gregory Boyle in his exceptional book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship (Simon & Schuster, 2017), reminds us: “Everything that counts can’t be counted.” There is a time and a place for fast leadership, but I believe we need to invest in slow leadership, namely the work of building and maintaining key relationship. Metrics help, but relationships are the foundation of successful action.

Second, we need to remember that deciding something and doing something are two different things. We have lost track of this in the work of fast leadership, particularly in our work with younger leaders. “I sent the e-mail” is not executing a decision.

Third, organizational culture, once established, can not be solved by reductionism. Trying to change group behaviors through individual goal setting, measurement and accountability will only work so far. We forget that our organizational culture reflects our collective behaviors. For example, you can not remove the ingredients within a baked cookie, i.e. the culture. You can not undo things to change things; you can not move backwards to make it better. Instead, you have to start over. This must be a re-founding by returning to our identity/purpose, reclaiming what we still believe in, a reclaiming of what gives meaning to what we are doing and what we aspire to be. It all depends on the values we embed at the start of this process.

Therefore, it is time for leaders in large and small organizations to engage in restorative processes. We must restore and/or build new processes where people feel confident and smart again. We need processes where we make sense of what formerly made us feel overwhelmed. We need experiences where “We are all in this together” takes on new meaning.

The first way to do this is to engage in more strategic dialogues. The goal of a strategic dialogue is to create strategic awareness, strategic understanding, and strategic perspective, which will result in better strategic choices and operational choices.

Strategic dialogues are a capacity building exercise. An effective strategic dialogue is the combination of three elements, namely education, awareness, and the building of commitment. Successful strategic dialogues are often facilitated so the leader or leaders can just focus on listening.

Within a strategic dialogue, focus on three areas. First, explore strategic context or if you do not like that word then use the words “strategic landscape.” Here, I encourage you to answer the question: Why are we moving forward? The big picture outside the organization needs to be explored and in particular, explain how the customer has and has not changed over time.

Second, explain strategic direction by answering the question, Where are we going? As leaders, we do this by connecting the why from above dialogue with the where of this question. In particular, explain how the company’s strategy has changed over time in order to meet the changing needs of our customers.

Third, explain the strategic nexus or philosophy by answering this question, How will we do this? Being mission-driven, and values-led means there needs to be  alignment and interconnection between mission, vision and core values with the current strategic plan. In particular, explain why the company’s mission and core values have not changed over time. 

For leaders to do the above successfully, they are going to need to get very good at the following two behaviors: sharing over telling and listening over responding. Now, some of you may be thinking what is the difference between sharing vs. telling and listening vs. responding? Mutual respect is one major difference. When leaders choose to share and listen during a strategic dialogue, there are no leaders or followers. There is no us vs. them. There is instead a collective we.

From my experience, this level of work requires leaders to utilize deep listening. This is a way of hearing in which we are fully present to what is happening in the moment without trying to control or judge it. We are hearing others with an open mind and a compassionate heart.

When we engage in restorative processes, we must engage in routine coaching in order to build capacity. From the person who is being coached, this means they are feeling heard. From the person who is doing the coaching, they must show up and be present. It is more transformational coaching rather than technical coaching. 

For coaching at this level to be successful, there needs to be the right environment for coaching. Many leaders think we are in sync with our environment, but actually it’s at war with us. As Marshall Goldsmith points out in his top-notch book, Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts - Becoming the Person You Want to Be, (Crown Business, 2015), we think we control our environment but in fact it controls us. Our environment changes us, and a changing environment will aways change us. Therefore, if we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us. And the result turns us into someone we do not recognize.

From my experience, the right coaching environment is one where certain elements are not changing, namely ample time, an uninterrupted space,  mutual respect, deep listening, two way dialogue, and active note taking.

Furthermore, when we engage in restorative processes, we must also engage in regular feedback. Feedback is vital to coaching. However, feedback is rarely given because it can make the coach and the person being coached uncomfortable. Returning to the aforementioned Goldsmith’s work, we forget that a coach is a follow-up mechanism. He or she instills accountability. At the highest level, a coach is a source of mediation, bridging the gap between the visionary Planner and short-sighted Doer in us. The Coach meshes our inner Planner with our inner Doer.

This week think deeply about strategic dialogues, restorative processes and how to take your coaching work to the next level. Given the dynamic world we are living in, this level of leadership is sorely needed.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How Successful Managers Help People Achieve Their Goals

In the beginning, let us remember the following:

- business is personal.

- people commit to people first, not just plans, goals or objectives.

- on-line communication and collaboration works better once there has been extensive face-to-face communications.

- small leadership actions send big signals, especially when they relate to core principles and values.

One problem I see routinely now is that too many people are forgetting the above fundamentals when it comes to helping people achieve their goals. We must remember that successful managers recognize that real achievements require real effort. They also understand where this effort comes from. 

First, we all know we can not change people. Instead, we can only change the environment around people, and then they change themselves. The key from my vantage point is that the best and most successful managers help people achieve their goals by creating psychological safety. Then real effort follows.

Psychological safety begins when managers ensure “that no one is penalized if they ask for help or admit a mistake,” notes Amy C. Edmondson in her article called “The Competitive Imperative of Learning,”July-August 2008, Harvard Business Review. As she continues, “Psychological safety is crucial, especially in organizations where knowledge constantly changes, where workers need to collaborate, and where those workers must make wise decisions without management intervention.... It is built on the premise that no one can perform perfectly in every situation when knowledge and best practice are moving targets.”

She further explains that “Psychological safety is not about being nice - or about lowering performance standards. Quite the opposite: It’s about recognizing that high performance requires the openness, flexibility, and interdependence that can only develop in a psychologically safe environment, especially when the situation is changing or complex.... Psychological safety makes it possible to give tough feedback and have difficult conversations - which demand trust and respect - without the need to tiptoe around the truth.”

Yet many managers wonder how to actually create this level of safety. As Edmondson explains successful managers do two specific things. First, they “explicitly acknowledge the lack of answers to the tough problems groups face.” Second, they “ask questions - real questions, not leading or rhetorical ones.”

Remember: be more aware of the importance of psychological safety and create work environments where safety and trust are the foundation for all we do.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How Do Leaders Consolidate Initial Improvements And Continue To Produce More Change? Part #2

Last week, we looked at the personal level of work related to this question. This week, I want to look at the organizational level.

First, leaders start making change happen by increasing the level of urgency rather than panic in the organization. However, after the first short term win, they often resort to solving immediate problems. They undersell the urgency factor and as a result people believe “We’ve won” and thus “We’re done.”

To change this situation, leaders must keep showing people why continued urgency is needed. We need to celebrate the short term wins and connect current successes to past decisions that were based on the proposed strategic direction and current strategic plan. Nevertheless, we need to continue to point out why on-going improvements are needed.

Second, we must have the courage and fortitude to confront embedded bureaucratic and political behaviors. This will not be easy and may require all of us to review the book, Crucial Conversations. We know that by doing this level of work we will encounter situations where opinions will vary, stakes will be high and emotions will run strong and deep. Still, we do not have the luxury of avoiding these challenges. Strategic blindness and context blindness are real.

When engaging in this kind of work remember to follow the late Stephen Covey’s advice: “Seek first to understand, second to be understood.” This involves making it safe to share and always monitoring your own behavior. Some days we get so busy solving problems that we do not realize that our behavior is constantly sending a message. 

Finally, do not forget that resistance is a form of feedback. The goal is to be open to feedback. There may be important information within it that will help you and the organization as a whole.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

The Power of Good Feedback

In the late 80’s, I started teaching people about feedback. It was an important skill in learning how to be a good leader. Given the response and interest, this subject became a routine part of my work for many years.

Recently, when reading another book, I became aware of the following book: Stone, Douglas. and Sheila Heen. Thanks For The Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, Penguin Books, 2014. I was intrigued if this new book was going to be helpful in educating leaders. After the first chapter of Thanks for the Feedback, I realized that I had stumbled upon a master class in communication and feedback. Very well written and extremely practical, the book outlined many key concepts that I found most helpful in my work as a consultant and an executive coach.

As the authors explain in the introduction, “When we give feedback, we notice that the receiver isn’t good at receiving it. When we receive feedback, we notice that the giver isn’t good at giving it.” The key player from the authors’ perspective is the receiver, not the giver. As they continue, “Receiving feedback sits at the intersection of these two needs - our drive to learn and our longing for acceptance…. Receiving feedback well doesn’t mean you always have to take the feedback.” 

Stone and Heen point out there are three different kinds of feedback, each with a different purpose. They are as follows:

- Appreciation which motivates and encourages.

- Coaching which helps increase knowledge, skill, capability, growth, or raises feelings in the relationship.

- Evaluation which tells you where you stand, aligns expectations, and informs decision making

As they note, we need all three, but often talk at cross-purposes because we are not sure which kind of feedback we are giving and which kind we are receiving. Overall, I was impressed with this book because it not only helped me in understanding how to receive feedback but also how to give it. 

Given all of the reading I have been doing this summer, I have found this to be an excellent resource for people in leadership positions. It will help you in your work and it will help you when you are coaching others. So, when you have the time, add this one to your reading list and enjoy participating in a master class on communication and feedback.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Holding People Accountable - part #2

In order to hold people accountable in an effective manner, leaders need to create an environment where people feel safe to be coached, to receive feedback, and to give it. This is a huge step in the process and will take some heavy-lifting by all involved, because it will first and foremost require us as leaders to proactively ask for feedback and to be willing to receive it. We need to be the change we wish to see.

Second, we need to role model the importance of receiving regular coaching ourselves. We need to be coached as well as to coach. If we are strong enough to receive feedback and be held accountable through coaching and supervision, then we can start to build a safe environment for accountability.

However, the subject of holding people accountable in a successful manner begins long before the actual accountability moment takes place. As leadership happens between the words, it is the same with accountability. Accountability starts before the moment of accountability takes place.

In short, I agree with Roger Wagner and James K. Harter,  PhD in their book, 12: The Elements of Great Managing, Gallup Press, 2006, when they wrote, “Before a person can deliver what he should as a manager, he must first receive what he needs as an employee.... One of the most fundamental needs of a great manager is . . . a great manager.”

This week, be a great manager!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Two Final Keys to Being a Successful Manager

When I was young, I was often told “do not sweat the small stuff.” When I got older, I was often told “it’s the small stuff that makes the big difference.” I have come to the conclusion that both perspectives are correct. 

Some days we do “pole vault over mouse droppings”. Oon other days, very small actions can make a major difference. The key is to know what are the small things that we need to pay attention to during a busy day.  Here are two that I often have to coach people on when they get busy in management positions.

First, welcome new ideas and perspectives; do not shut them down when they are not yours. The challenge is to be constantly ready and open to listening to new ideas. Marshall Goldsmith in his delightful book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Hyperion, 2007, reminds us that many people in management and leadership positions often get caught “adding too much value:, i.e. having the overwhelming desire to add their our two cents to every discussion, plus starting every response to a new idea with with “no”, “but”, or “however.” When we overuse negative qualifiers, we are secretly saying to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.” This does not help you or the organization move forward.

Second, learn to invite feedback, but always clarify non-negotiable issues and the decision-making process. Feedback and constructive criticism are often interchangeable in the literature. I prefer feedback and others prefer constructive criticism. The key when inviting feedback and/or when giving it is to realize that relationships matter. Therefore, speak and listen respectfully. Always share observations rather than judgements. Next consistently review expectations and assumptions. Be prepared and organized in your thoughts, and realize that reactionary comments rarely yield clarity. Finally, check your own intentions for asking for feedback and check your own intentions before giving it. 

These two little things do matter. Being conscious of them helps you not loose perspective when the world gets busy and complex. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Change And Resistance

Like peanut butter and jelly, or mac and cheese, change and resistance often go hand in hand. For many young leaders, encountering resistance is very difficult. Some freak out and others loose perspective. What they don’t know is that many older and more experienced leaders have the same reaction.

In the beginning, we all need to realize three important truths about resistance. First, people do not actually resist change. What they resist is the loss of control and confidence. They also are reacting to is the pain that will come with change

Second, when discussing change, we should expect resistance. As Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford in their article called ““Decoding Resistance to Change,” Harvard Business Review, April 2009, note, “Resistance is, in fact, a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do.... Dismissing the feedback deprives you of potentially valuable information, costs you goodwill, and jeopardizes important relationships.” Remember it is just feedback.

Third, don’t take resistance personally. Someone in your position on the organizational chart has to communicate the change. If it is you, learn to let people challenge your ideas and perspective. Support people and respect their perspective. Remember as I pointed out last week on this blog, “they don’t know what they don’t know.” Frequently people resist change because no has pointed out that not changing is more dangerous than changing.

Over time and with good support, all of us can learn to handle change and resistance. It just takes some willingness to listen and be respectful.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

Improving Middle Management Effectiveness - Part #2

Picking up where I left off last Monday, the role of the middle manager is mission critical to more and more organizations. Yet, rather than take them for granted, more and more companies seek to improve the performance of the these key people. Last week, I explained the importance of teaching them active listening skills. This week I want to focus on a few more ideas.

First, help middle managers understand that it is important to welcome new ideas and perspectives. Too often, I have witnessed middle managers and even senior managers working with middle managers shut down different perspectives when they are not their own. This destroys personal trust at the team and the individual level but also can damage strategic level trust. The key is to welcome new ideas and be open to listening to them. Too many times, we manage by ego rather than by utilizing the strategic nexus.

Second, invite feedback but clarify the non-negotiable issues and the process of decision-making. Too many times, people use feedback and constructive criticism in the same sentence. Some are even calling it constructive feedback. While I prefer feedback and others prefer constructive criticism, the keys to giving feedback begins when we realize that relationships matter. Speaking and listening respectfully plus sharing observations rather than judgements makes a huge difference.

Next, it is important to review expectations and assumptions on a regular basis. Think Q1 in the Q12 from the book, First, Break All Rules and realize that many people do not understand what is expected of them. Finally, when giving feedback, be prepared and organized in your thoughts; this yields clarity rather than reactionary actions. When we as managers and leaders check our own intentions when asking for feedback and check our own intentions before giving it, we do a much better job of it.

Third, remember clarity and ambiguity do not co-exist peacefully. Right now, many organizations and many mid-level managers are suffering from constant change, economic uncertainty, and strategic ambiguity. We forget some days that mid-level managers want black and white answers to their questions, and right now the common response to their questions is the words, “it depends” This answer results in tremendous frustration and anxiety for middle managers.

Therefore, we as senior leaders need to eliminate strategic blindness and context blindness. Remember strategic blindness happens when we do not see our strategy as a whole organization, and instead only execute the parts of the strategic plan that we like. Context blindness happens because we can see the whole organization but we can not see the environmental context within which the whole organization is working and moving through. These are normal problems that mid-level managers have and with regular coaching and feedback can be corrected.

Finally, we need to continue to explore and clarify decision-making. Too many senior leaders and too many mid-level managers do not comprehend the difference between operational decision-making and strategic decision-making. Most think it is the same thing. While the mission, vision and core values may be the same, the critical elements that are considered are different in strategic and operational decision-making.

This week and this fall continue to help your mid-level managers and supervisors understand the importance of welcoming new ideas, inviting and giving feedback plus clarifying decision-making. All of this will make a difference when it comes to executing better in 2012.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

Trust Your Gut and Seek Feedback Regularly

It is common during an executive coaching session for me to ask the person that I am working with a simple but powerful question, namely “What does your gut tell you to do?” I some times follow this up with another equally powerful question, namely “Do you trust it?” The busier we get and the fuller our lives are we at times miss the subtle but important signals that we or our team may be out of alignment with the strategic nexus, the sum of the organization’s mission, vision and core values plus the strategic plan. I regularly advise executives to check their gut. This source always leads to profound insights.

I also advise them to ask a large variety of people for feedback about how they, their team and their company are doing. This may not be easy but it does yield tremendous perspective.

A long time ago, I decided I would ask our two young sons how I was doing as their Dad. Given both were very little, I did not think this was going to be so hard. Still, I wimped out and waited until my wife was away one night for dinner. Then, I made our children their favorite meal from scratch, mac and cheese plus peas. Once seated over a great dinner I asked, “So, how am I doing at being your Dad?”

As you might guess, I got an ear full. They gave me feedback about everything from putting them in time-out too often to not allowing them to watch more TV. Once they started, it was a solid 20 minutes. I should have taken notes but all of it was good and all of it was important. I learned a lot and made changes accordingly.

They key is to ask the questions. This summer trust your gut and seek feedback regularly from a variety of sources. It will make a world of difference over time.

P.S. Here is some excellent summer reading.

First, I loved reading William C. Taylor’s (co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company magazine) article in the summer 2011 issue of Leader to Leader called “Are you “Humbitious” enough to lead?” Covering a diversity of topics from leadership to innovation, it a wonderful read during the hot days of summer. Here is the link: http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=875

Second, I discovered a delightfully short but wonderfully interesting blog entry by Tony Schwartz on the Harvard Business Review web site. Called “Ten Principles to Live by in Fiercely Complex Times,” Schwartz answers the question, “What enduring principles can you rely on to make choices that reflect, openness, integrity and authenticity?”. I know you will enjoy this one. Here is the link: http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/07/ten-principles-for-living-in-f.html

Happy summer reading!

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #2

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #2

Monday morning: December 7, 2009

Dear friends,

Some days, we forget that resistance comes in code.

Last week, I referenced the work of Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford, in their article, “Decoding Resistance to Change”, Harvard Business Review, April 2009. As they wrote, “Resistance is, in fact, a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do.”

When this feedback is delivered, many leaders do not understand it and get lost. To help them decipher this feedback, I often encourage leaders to read the following article about the work of Peter Senge called “Learning For A Change” in the May 1999 issue of Fast Company magazine. Here is the web address of this article: < http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/24/senge.html >.

For example, when a leader receives the following feedback, “our customers don’t want it”, “our competitors aren’t doing it”, or “why turn things upside down if our performance is good enough”, morelikely the followers are strugging with how the initial changes were presented and do not understand the context and urgency for change.

If a leaders hears “We don’t have time for this stuff!” or “We have no help!”, they need to realize people need control over their schedules in order to give the new ideas and systems the time and effort they deserve. They also need regular support, coaching and resources to learn the new way.

Finally, leaders may encounter a group of people who say “This stuff isn’t working!” or “We keep reinventing the wheel.” Clearly, a great deal of resistance comes when early results do not meet the expectations and traditional measurements that a group is used to working with and delivering to senior leaders. Furthermore, some groups will struggle if past changes are never integrated into sustainable change.

In the end, resistance Is reduced through timely and accurate information, involvement, and intervention. The goal of every change initiative is to mobilize talent and imagination which can not only challenge the status quo but deliver better results.

This week, read the aforementioned article with your team plus practice deciphering the code.

Have a great week,

Geery

Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #1

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #1

Monday morning: November 30, 2009

Dear friends,

Last week, I shared the following quote by Robert E. Quinn: “Excellence is a form of deviance. If you perform beyond the norms, you disrupt all the existing control systems. Those systems will then alter and begin to work to routinize your efforts. That is, the systems will adjust to try to make you normal.”

Right now, many people in many different organizations are feeling the pressure to be “normal.” Exploring new ideas and new ways of working outside the box are not always welcome during tumultuous times. People seek order and predictability when they are in a continued period of instability.

When we push change or excellence, we, at times, encounter resistance. Realizing that people do not resist change as much as loss of control, we come to understand that what people are resisting is the loss of identity, values and self-worth that comes when orderly and predictable systems and patterns of work are changed.

There are days when we as leaders get so wrapped up in our work that we forget that change is a process, not an event. Gene E. Hall and Shirley M. Hord in their book, Implementing Change: Patterns, Principles, and Potholes, Allyn & Bacon, 2005, note that there are significant differences between the development and the implementation of change. An organization does not change until the individuals within it change. Therefore, facilitating change needs to be a team effort.

Every week, I meet leaders and organizations that are not prepared for resistance. As I mentioned before, people don’t resist change. They resist the loss of control and/or identity, and the pain that comes with this loss. But too many times, when encountering resistance, we as leaders focus on attitude when in reality those we are working with may need new knowledge, skills, and support .

Recently, Kevin Cashman in his book, Leadership From The Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life, Berrett-Koehler, 2008, reported that the Saratoga Institute did research on poor interpersonal skills. After interviewing 19,700 exiting employees and their bosses, they discovered that 85% of bosses said that former employees left for more compensation and opportunity. On the other hand, 80% of the exiting employees said they left because of poor relationship, poor development and poor coaching from the boss. It is important that we as leaders recognize that resistance starts with the health of the relationship between a leader and a follower. Unhealthy relationships increase the potential for resistance.

Therefore, I encourage leaders to expect resistance. As Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford, in their article, “Decoding Resistance to Change”, Harvard Business Review, April 2009, point out, “Resistance is, in fact, a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do.” As they continue, “Dismissing the feedback deprives you of potentially valuable information, costs you goodwill, and jeopardizes important relationships.”

This week, I encourage you to discuss the subject of resistance and loss, plus practice receiving feedback.

Have a marvelous week,

Geery

Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257