Recommended Readings

In the January-February 2014 issue of the Harvard Business Review, I found numerous articles worth reading.

First, I encourage those interested to read “What VUCA Really Means for You” by Nathan Bennett and G. James Lemoine. A two paragraph article with a dynamic diagram explaining how to prepare and think about working in a VUCA, i.e. volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, environment.  For those executives thinking about 2018 and 2020, this is a great little article to read before communicating about the future. The diagram alone is worth the effort. Here is a link: http://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you/ar/1

Second, I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy” by Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill and Robert Thomas. Based on their research of BlackRock, the Tata Group and Envision, the authors found that these “three companies  demonstrate the essential attributes of a game-changing organization: They are driven by purpose, oriented toward performance, and guided by principles.”  However, in the process of conducting interviews with these three companies, the authors discovered a “fourth thread that weaves them even more tightly together: Each is supported by a game-changing talent strategy.” As they write, “those talent strategies balance four inherent tensions: They support both strategic and operational superiority; they are globally scaled yet locally relevant; they foster a collective culture yet enable high potentials to thrive as individuals; and their policies endure yet are agile and open to revitalization.” For those in the financial services industry in particular, this is a must read for 2014.  Others will find the content helpful and thought-provoking. Here is the link: http://hbr.org/2014/01/building-a-game-changing-talent-strategy/ar/1

Third, I was delighted to read “The Big Lie of Strategic Planning” by Roger L. Martin, who is the coauthor with A.G. Lafley of Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (Harvard Busines sReview Press, 2013). This is a must-read article for all who are doing or planning to do strategic planning.  As he points out, “In an effort to get a handle on strategy, managers spend thousands of hours drawing up detailed plans that project revenue into the future. These plans may make managers feel good, but all too often they matter very little to performance.” What we as executives and leaders often forget is that “strategy making is uncomfortable; it’s about taking risks and facing the unknown. Unsurprisingly, managers try to turn it into a comfortable set of activities.” As I noted in this blog yesterday, the current result is a turn toward modest aspirations.  To help leaders reconcile with feeling uncomfortable during strategic planning, Martin recommends the following:

- “Keep it simple. Capture your strategy in a one-pager that addresses where you will play and how you will win.”

- “Don’t look for perfection. Strategy isn’t about finding answers. It’s about placing bets and shortening the odds.”

- “ Make the logic explicit. Be clear about what must change for you to achieve your strategic goal.”

A wonderful article and another great read for every senior team thinking about the future.  Here is the link: http://hbr.org/2014/01/the-big-lie-of-strategic-planning/ar/1

Happy reading!

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

Real Support and Real Solutions

Every Sunday evening, many front line employees and even some managers experience the blues, an awful feeling of dread and depression as they consider going back to work. Patrick Lencioni acknowledges this common experience in his book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and their employees), Jossey-Bass 2007. He explains that our jobs are often miserable because we don’t understand how our work makes a difference and we can not measure our own progress. Furthermore, we often feel like no one cares about our work. The result is that many employees feel anonymous and irrelevant.

Great managers understand this reality and work hard to not let it happen within their circle of influence. They strive to point out how the work their people are doing matters. They want employees to know that they are not seen as mere workers but as individuals with unique gifts and talents. They remind others that their presence in the work place is important and does make a difference.

The key to this whole process is to answer three questions that Lencioni puts forth in the aforementioned book:

- Do I really know my people?

- Do they know who their work impacts and how?

- Do they know how to assess their own progress or success?

When we create this depth of clarity and alignment within all that we do as leaders and as managers, then we create a powerful and focused culture through out the organization, one where the blues on a Sunday evening rarely happen.

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

Two Key Concepts For Success as a Middle Manager

When seeking to become a better middle manager or to coach someone into becoming a better middle manager, there are two key concepts to review.

The first is to understand the difference between leadership and management. The best way to do this is to review the following key material by Marcus Buckingham in his delightful book, The One Thing You Need to Know ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success, Free Press, 2005. As he writes, “To excel as a manager you must never forget that each of your direct reports is unique and that your chief responsibility is not to eradicate this uniqueness, but rather to arrange roles, responsibilities, and expectations so that you can capitalize upon it. The more you perfect this skill, the more effectively you will turn talents into performance.

To excel as a leader requires the opposite skill. You must become adept at calling upon those needs we all share. Our common needs include the need for security, for community, for authority, and for respect, but for you, the leader, the most powerful universal need is our need for clarity. To transform our fear of the unknown into confidence in the future, you must discipline yourself to describe our joint future vividly and precisely. As your skill at this grows, so will our confidence in you.”

In order to become a better middle manager, the first step is to clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations.  While this sounds easy, it is most often forgotten in the daily rush to just get stuff done. A good executive coach can make a profound difference in helping this process take place. They can ask questions and share insights which build awareness and understanding. So, in review, to understand the difference between management and leadership is vital to long term success in management positions. When we manage well and lead well, we create capacity within the organization at a whole new level.

The other key concept is to recognize the power of building on strengths. As Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Gallup Press, February 2007), noted, “If your manager primarily ignores you, your chances of being actively disengaged are 40%. If your manager primarily focuses on your weaknesses, your chances of being actively disengaged are 22%.  If your manager primarily focuses on your strengths, your chances of being actively disengaged are 1%.” 

The above numbers related to engagement are stunning. Yet, we as managers and leaders have to recognize that we often get stuck focusing on what is wrong and trying to fix it, rather than building on people’s strengths. While building on strengths takes time, it also results in longer term commitment and success.

Putting the two concepts together is the key to being a successful middle manager. In the beginning, you must recognize the unique talent in each of your direct reports and then to build on these strengths. When we do this, then we will achieve a greater level of engagement and performance by all involved.

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

Three Key Numbers

If I could hand a single laminated card to every young leader, it would have the following information on it from a March 08, 2007 Gallup Management Journal interview with Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Gallup Press, 2007).

“If your manager primarily ignores you, your chances of being actively disengaged are 40%.

If your manager primarily focuses on your weaknesses, your chances of being actively disengaged are 22%.

If your manager primarily focuses on your strengths, your chances of being actively disengaged are 1%.”

Every time I read the above three sentences, I am reminded of how powerful these three simple actions can be.

If all leaders, young and old, were to focus on people’s strengths and talents, we would transform the world.

Maybe it is time to start handing out those laminated cards.

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

People management

THEME: Transformation in the Midst of 2009

FOCUS: People management

Monday morning: September 21, 2009

Dear friends,

Performance management and managing talent are the new buzz words for the fall. They are hot topics in every corner office in the country. While the best companies began working on this back in ‘05 - ‘07, if not before, every one else has hopped on this band wagon now and started to focus on these issues. I routinely get calls from current and perspective clients where the major problem is the lack of a performance management system. But, if the best companies were working on this nearly 4-5 years ago, what are they doing now?

As I wrote in last week’s Monday Thoughts, the best are building community. In particular, they are attempting to build and maintain healthy social relationships and networks. Still, when I reflect, visit and dig into what exactly the senior executives are doing, I discover that they also are returning to some important but not necessarily flashy or best seller level work, namely redefining or rebuilding clarity about mission and purpose.

We live in a world which has been shaken, if not stirred, during the last 12 months. People have been in denial about our interconnectedness and have been moving at rocket speed for so long that the recession over the last 12 months has really shaken up their perception of themselves and their world. As a result, some people are feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Others are numb from it all. Some are keeping themselves busy in order to maintain their denial. Finally, those who are still employed after all of the layoffs and restructurings, are attempting to stay under the radar screen. They are survivors and they are swamped by doing all of the work of others plus their own piles.

The big question many are asking this month is simple and complex: “Why?” In a fragmented world where hope is lost and struggles abound, many people are questioning their own self-worth and the worth of the work they are doing.

Here is where performance management needs a sound foundation because having a workable system will not make a difference unless there is a clear reason for why we do what we do. In successful companies, clarity of mission or purpose is the bedrock of everything else, especially people management. It creates focus and clarity. When combined with a well designed set of core values, it can help people not only know what to do and how to do it, but also why we do what we do.

Recently, I was visiting with a new manager at a company I have worked with for many years. I asked him what he had learned after 6 months. He said to me that the mission and core values are talked about at every meeting. “They are not words on the wall around here,” he explained. “They are really used to make decisions.” I smiled because I find this happens in all of the best organizations. It also is the critical difference to making performance management work so well. When a matrix for decision making is in place, then a performance management systems works so much better than if it is just a system for setting goals and checking on goals.

This week, go back and review how you are creating clarity about the mission of your organization. Also, continue to talk about mission and core values as you build or rebuild your organization’s performance management system.

Enjoy your week,

Geery

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

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257