How Do Leaders Empower Their Culture? - Part #1

Not too long ago, I was meeting with a mid-level manager about the implementation of a new way to do customer service, i.e. a whole new service delivery model, including a new position plus a new TO to match the new service delivery model. He was deeply frustrated, not with the model, the position or the TO changes. He was frustration with not being heard as to his concerns about the speed of the implementation process and not being included in the process of defining the new KPIs to determine implementation success.

“I hear your frustration,” I responded, “and let’s pause for a moment. I can not change the pathway of how we got here. There are many leadership lessons that you and I can learn from what has taken place.

Now, given we can’t change the past, let’s look at what to do moving forward. First, can you tell me what is the goal or strategy that is driving all of these changes?”

What followed was a journey of understanding the WHY factors, not just focusing on the WHAT, i.e. what had happened. Some days we do not get to choose how things unfold and yet we have to continue to move forward effectively. One key to this process is to make sure we as a leader, no matter what level we are within the company, can create clarity. And in this situation, we also need to connect that clarity, e.g. about the new model and TO changes, back to the overall strategy and goals within the current strategic plan.

When I am dealing with situations of this nature, I think of Herminia Ibarra and her book, Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015). In it, she writes: “… the quality of a leader’s idea is not the only thing people consider when making up their minds about whether to engage with a leader. Naive leaders act as if the idea itself is the ultimate selling point. Experienced leaders, on the other hand, understand that the process is just as important, if not more so. How they develop and implement their ideas, and how leaders interact with others in this process, determines whether people become engaged in the leaders’ efforts.”

Ibarra’s formula for success comes down to the following: the idea + the process + you = success in leading change. What we have to remember as leaders is that, as she continues, “… the you part always trumps the idea and is the filter through which people evaluate the process.” In short, it all boils down to the quality of people’s relationships with others before they engage in making change. This depth of clarity about the importance of alignment with overall strategy plus building healthy work relationships is what leaders do every day to empower their organization’s culture.

From my vantage point, when I find an organization and an empowered culture, I really pay attention to the leaders. Those leaders who empower their culture do something that at first seemed inconsequential but upon hours of reflection, I have come to the conclusion that it is critical to their success. They are constantly networking, i.e. friend-raising, but more important they are building networks of people. They are not connecting people with just themselves as much as with other leaders within and outside the company. By constantly connecting people to people, these leaders understand that this network of connections has the potential to become a network of support for empowered action and perspective. Furthermore, sometimes this network will help people operationally focus on their internal responsibilities or their own personal or professional development, but what I notice most of all is how much this network helps people with strategic focus and understanding the bigger picture.

This week I challenge you to continue building your own network and also to helping others to build their networks. The combination of the two would be a force multiplier for all involved.

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

How Do Leaders Build Cultural Clarity And Alignment? - Part #2

Some days we get so busy solving problems as leaders and managers that we forget that most people will shift their thinking only after new behaviors have led to results that matter to them and have been validated by others. The best leaders understand this and recognize that building cultural clarity and alignment is playing the long game. As Jon Katzenbach, Ilona Steffen and Caroline Kronley in their article,“Cultural Change That Sticks,” Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012, note “deeply embedded cultures change slowly over time.” We have to be patient then with this level of work.

Still, I have seen alignment take place over the course of my career. In these organizations, leaders make some unique choices. First, results matter within these organizations, i.e. qualitatively and quantitatively at all levels of the organization, not just at the senior team level. You can visit with front line staff or the senior most people and all of them are talking about outcomes and results. 

Second, there is “line of sight” within these organizations. My daily actions and my quarterly goals all connect with the current strategic plan and with the overall mission. Here, alignment is defined as shared beliefs and shared behaviors which achieve a collective goal, outcome, or result. It is not a vague  idea but instead is an executable reality and choice.

Next, the leaders of these companies agree with John Doerr in his book, Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs (Portfolio, 2018) when he writes: “Healthy culture and structured goal setting are interdependent. They’re natural partners in the quest for operating excellence.”

From my perspective, there also is one more small but important difference in these organizations, namely there is a clear difference by all involved about what are committed goals, i.e. ones tied to metrics and well defined action plans, and aspirational goals, which reflect big picture, higher-risk, more future-tilting ideas and efforts.

This week, I encourage you to sit down with your team and discuss the following two questions: Do we know the difference between committed goals and aspirational goals as a group? Are we clear about who is working on which ones? This level of dialogue and the resulting clarity will make a big difference this coming summer.

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

How Do Leaders Build Cultural Clarity And Alignment? - Part #1

When I step back and look at the big picture, I hear and see three things from leaders at this time period. First, we live in world filled with contradictions and we are craving “islands of sanity”, using a Margaret Wheatley term, in the midst of it all. We live in a time period of profound and deep loneliness. It is not just lonely at the top of the organization. It is now lonely everywhere. We also live in a time period where many people are feeling profound and deep discouragement. This in combination with being over booked, over extended and over committed has resulted in many feeling like they and their teams are “stuck in the weeds.” However, in the midst of all of this, we, as leaders, are suppose to create, maintain and preserve cultural clarity and alignment.

Second, many leaders are coming to the same conclusion as John Doerr in his book, Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs (Portfolio, 2018) that “alignment is rare.” Studies suggest that only 7 percent of employees “fully understand their company’s business strategies and what’s expected of them in order to help achieve the common goals.” Furthermore, notes Doerr, a lack of alignment, according to a poll of global CEOs, is the number-one obstacle between strategy and execution.

Third, “cultural inclinations are well intrenched, for good or for bad”, explains Jon Katzenbach, Ilona Steffen and Caroline Kronley in their article, “Cultural Change That Sticks,” Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012. Myself and many others are seeing this on so many levels.

Brene’ Brown in her book Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone (Random House, 2017) writes that “research participants described a diminishing sense of shared humanity. Over and over, participants talked about the concern that the only thing that binds us together now is shared fear and disdain, not common humanity, shared trust, respect, or love.”

With the above in mind, we, as leaders, know that we must visit more with people at all levels of the organization, understand their perspective, and involve them in the planning for the future. We also know that changing just a few critical behaviors within the culture is a lot of work.

When I step back from all my meetings and reflect on where I see cultural clarity and alignment taking place, I note two small, but very important things taking place. First, the leaders who are visiting with people at all levels of the organization are somehow creating safe spaces for discussion. With so many people feeling like they are outside their comfort zone, moving through a trough of chaos which at times is feeling like either the pit of despair or a trough of continual panic, these safety zones are so important for leaders and followers to share, be heard and dialogue. At times, I think this happens best because of a good strategic level question that is timely and worth exploring, but also because of the presence of a facilitator. However, in the end, I think it really comes down to committing the time and resources to do it on a regular basis.

Second, I believe the leaders who are creating cultural clarity and alignment honor the strengths of their existing culture. In particular, I have noticed that the leaders within those organizations are clear about two things, namely that they can articulate the strengths of their company culture, both operationally and strategically, plus they can articulate what alignment means within their organization.

This week, I encourage you to reflect on these two questions: What are the strengths of your culture? What does alignment look like within your organization? Your answers will be helpful to you and many others in the coming days and weeks.

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 Excellence, Culture And Strategy? - Part #4

Picking up where I left off last Monday about connecting culture, strategy, operational excellence and customer intimacy, leaders next must provide psychological safety with candid feedback. When psychological safety is present, people feel free to “speak truthfully about problems without fear of reprisal”, as Gary P. Pisano wrote in his article, “The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures” in the January-February 2019 issue of the Harvard Business Review. 

From my perspective, in integrated organizations, psychological safety is a two-way street. If it is safe for me to criticize your ideas, then it must also be safe for you to criticize mine. However, as Pisano points out, many leaders often confuse “politeness and niceness with respect”. They forget that “accepting frank criticism is one of the hallmarks of respect.” At the same time, the best leaders know and role model clarity that “there is a difference between being candid and just plain nasty.”

Second, leaders, who want culture, strategy, operational excellence and customer intimacy to be integrated within their organization, encourage collaboration but know it comes with individual accountability. As Pisano notes, well-functioning and integrated organizations “need information, input, and significant integration of effort from a diverse array of contributors.” Employees seek help from others and they have a sense of collective responsibility. 

However, these same leaders do not confuse collaboration and consensus. As he explains, “… consensus is poison for rapid decision making and navigating complex problems associated with transformational innovation.” In short, a culture where there is collaboration and accountability is one “where individuals are expected to make decisions and own the consequences.”

Third, the outcome of this level of integration is often a flat organization, i.e. on the organization chart. What the best senior executives know is that flat organizations need very strong leadership. In these kinds of companies, people are expected to take action, make decision, and voice their opinions. 

Yet people must understand that within flat organizations, decision-making is often decentralized. Therefore, people need access to relevant information to make these decisions. They also must understand strategic priorities and direction. 

My challenge to you this week is to reflect on all of the above blog entries on this subject, take your answers from last week, and then to discuss it all with your team. It is time we sit down collectively and explore big ideas. We need to find common ground and common perspective if we are going to be successful during the next 12 - 18 months.

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