Redefining The Hybrid Office

This month leaders and managers all over the country are trying to figure out what to do with the office given the impact of the Delta and Omicron variants. In this actively COVID influenced world and market place, the hot topic is the definition and reality of how to create a successful hybrid office model. Lynda Gratton in her thought-provoking article called “How to Do Hybrid Right” in the May-June 2021 issue of the Harvard Business Review, notes that most leaders define the hybrid office by physical location rather than a combination of time and place work arrangements. Upon reflection, I think this is an important first step in the discussion around what is a hybrid office. 

However, I think we need to look beyond just time and physical space if we are going to create a successful hybrid office. We could define office space as a physical location within a set time period, i.e. office hours. But recognizing the magnitude of the challenges within the work environment, e.g. staffing shortages, growth expectations and the impact of supply chain challenges, I think we should define the hybrid office space as being a psychologically safe work environment within a physical or digital location.

Still, we need to zoom out before we zoom in to define and solve this problem. Currently we are operating within an on-going VUCA environment, borrowing a term from the United States military. This kind of environment is defined by being volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Here, instability is chronic and uncertainty is permanent. Change is accelerating and disruption is common.

As experience tells us, psychological safety without accountability and demanding goals, owned and understood by those who have to execute them, is merely a comfort zone. And in a comfort zone, people are not challenged and do not work hard to achieve their goals or get better at their jobs. 

But listen to people who like where they work and they will say the following common phrases: “this is a good place to work” and “this is the place I am meant to be.” They are saying this in spite of demanding goals and accountability. They also are saying this while operating within a global pandemic and a VUCA environment. It is not the physical location or the defined office hours that is generating these comments. It is the health of the work environment within the physical or the hybrid space that makes all the difference.

Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Jossey-Bass, 2012), defines organizational health by the following characteristics: “minimal politics and confusion, high degree of morale and productivity, and very low turnover among good employees.” Given what we have experienced since March of 2020, this sounds like seventh heaven, a true aspirational goal to achieve.

To make that a reality during the next two years, managers and leaders, and all those who supervise and coach them need to remember the following four core concepts: 

- focus on teams.

- create understanding, not just awareness.

- build on strengths.

- focus on purpose.

When it comes to thinking about the subject of the hybrid office, take the above into consideration and focus on organizational health, not just whether the office is in a physical or digital space.

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

Communication Is Complicated

Some days in the world of leadership, all the problems we deal with are communication problems. For example, someone said something and a whole batch of people misunderstood it. Then, things go down hill fast. On another day, not enough was communicated and then everyone is surprised, frustrated and annoyed. Whatever the case, communicating is easier said than done.

So where do we begin to get better at this? 

Here are two tips to make the first 90 days of this new year go better.

First, we need to recognize that many communication problems are actually balance-of-power problems. As Richard Farson points out in his book, Management of the Absurd, it is only “when the balance of power is relatively equal that truly candid communication can and should take place.” I think this is something that many leaders tend to forget. They often assume that we are all equals when it comes to communication. In reality, there is a power differential taking place every day. The leader is the supervisor of others and as such, they can fire people if things go wrong. Subordinates do not forget this even when they are communicating. They are cautious even when trust is high. 

Second, Farson notes that “listening can … be a disturbing experience. All of us have strong needs to see the world in certain ways, and when we really listen, so that we understand the other person’s perspective, we risk being changed ourselves. Similarly, listening to others means having to be alert to one’s own defensiveness, to one’s impulse to want to change others. That requires a level of self-awareness, even self-criticism, that is not easy to endure.” As he continues, “Yet the popular view persists that our leaders must be great communicators, inspiring and succeeding because of their speaking ability, not their listening ability.” 

I don’t think we focus enough on listening as leaders. Instead, we get caught in transmission mode rather than in reception mode. As Ron Heifetz wrote many years ago, “leaders die with their mouths open.” If we want to prevent this from happening, we need to speak less and listen more. We also need to focus more on improving our relationships with others. This is the right way to begin the new year. As you continue to move through this week, remember the realities of the balance of power and, when appropriate, speak less and listen more. 

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

Dealing with Complexity and Uncertainty in the New Year

Right now, I am visiting with many different leaders from many different organizations. Over and over, they tell me that when they sit down to figure out where to focus and what to do during 2022, they find themselves in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. First, they recognize how raw they are feeling from the constant, and daily battle with the endless stream of adaptive problems. They also are caught in the howling chaos of everything needing a decision and yet no decision ever being the final decision because the inputs that define the problem keep changing. The combination of feeling raw and not getting any closure has generated deep frustrations and a lack of confidence in themselves and lack of confidence in their teams. In the midst of this never-ending chaos, they are all seeking a pathway to clarity about how and where to go.  

The following three steps will help deal with this level of complexity and uncertainty in 2022. They sound simple, but they are not easy. They require discipline and commitment. Over time and with patience, they will make a difference.

Step #1: Change Your Inputs.

As Ryan Holiday wrote in his book,  Stillness Is The Key (Portfolio/Penguin, 2019): “The space between your ears - that’s yours. You don’t just have to control what gets in, you also have to control what goes on in there.” Many leaders are caught in the “CNN Effect,” namely an endless, twenty-four hours a day, media cycle of new information. The result of this constant stream of pendulum swinging information is that leaders are hyper-reactive and drowning in analysis paralysis. The solution is to limit your inputs and to seek information from a more diverse collection of sources. When we change the inputs, i.e. the channels we focus on, we are able to slow down, think carefully, and stop reacting.

Step #2: Seek Perspective.

When feeling raw and overwhelmed, it is time to get together with your mentors, allies and confidants. Seek their wisdom and counsel on how to move forward. In particular, ask them what they are doing to stay centered in an uncentered world. You will be delighted and amazed with the diversity of answers. Many of them will give you fresh insights of how proceed in this whirlwind of adaptive challenges. 

Step #3: Get Outside And Go For A Walk.

“Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness,” writes Kierkegaard. “I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” When we choose to step away from the computer and it’s endless stream of e-mails, we reclaim our ability to think proactively. When we take time to see the clouds move across the sky, feel the wind on our face, and observe the changing of the seasons, we are resetting our internal capacity to manage stressful situations and complex problems. As I learned from my late mother, “there was never a night or a problem that could defeat a sunrise and hope.” Getting outside for a walk is the first step to making wise choices.

The coming 90 days are not going to be easy. Wild and crazy things will happen. Challenging questions and complex solutions will have to be considered Still, how we respond to them is our choice. Start today by choosing to be more centered and grounded at home and at work. As Andy Grove, former CEO of INTEL, wrote, “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.” Same goes for leaders and leadership. Today is the first day to make some improvements.

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

Preparing Generation C Leaders For 2022 And Beyond

With the arrival of COVID in early 2020, we encountered a new demographic sub-group called Generation C or Gen C, namely children born during a global pandemic. They are part of a larger demographic group called Generation Alpha which is defined by people born after 2010.

In the world of leadership and management, we also have a unique sub-group of people, namely those who were new to management and leadership positions shortly before and now during the entire global pandemic. They have not experienced a normal transition into these key positions. Instead, they have spent most of their time as new managers and leaders dealing with an overwhelming number of adaptive challenges and uncertainty.

These Gen C managers and leaders, for lack of a better term, are creative, connected and outcome focused. They also are missing fundamental skill sets and experiences which previous first time managers and leaders had when entering and working in these important positions.

Recognizing that this group has managed and led others through a turbulent, global pandemic, an important question arises this winter: What can we do to assist them now in their growth as managers and leaders as we all move into 2022 and beyond?

I had not really thought about Generation C leaders until I got a call from a student of mine who had moved into his new job in management just as the pandemic started. In the beginning, he mostly worked from home and he had not met any of his team in person, only on Zoom. Furthermore he struggled with coaching his team and struggled feeling part of a team. He also struggled with the coaching he had gotten. What he wanted to talk with me about was how to lead his team and help his team work through some current and upcoming challenges. The result was an in-depth, engaging and lively conversation.

As many of us know, being a manager or leader during a global pandemic has been hard. However, being a new manager or leader during a global pandemic has been very hard and it continues to be very hard. When listening to both groups, experienced leaders and managers and new leaders and managers, one common theme is surfacing, namely that time was the critical factor in the beginning of COVID. And, it is still the critical factor today.

In the beginning of COVID and through to the current situation now, there have been numerous problems, i.e. crisis, technical and adaptive. One thing we have learned during the different stages of this pandemic, there never is enough time to create long term solutions, because the ever evolving inputs keep changing and modifying all plans, actions and systems. The degree we have been successful in defining and solving these problems with their ever changing inputs has been mission critical to positioning the company for 2022 - 2024. In short, our degree of responsiveness to these complexities has made a major difference. 

This week, seek out your Gen C leaders and managers. Engage them in a thoughtful dialogue about their challenges. Offer support and perspective when possible. They will appreciate it and you will learn many things from them in the process.

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

Two Keys To Success In 2022

There are days when the world of leadership is filled with meetings, e-mails, reports and deadlines. We get caught in “go mode” and are running mentally and physically from one thing to another. At points like this, we forget some key concepts about being a successful leader. As this new year begins, it is time for us to slow down, pause, and remember that the ways we think about people and problems can clearly shape what we see and what we do.

First, we need to differentiate between problems and predicaments. Richard Farson in his book Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership  (Simon & Schuster, 1996) explains that problems can be defined and then solved. Predicaments, on the other hand, are something over which we have no control. Instead, we need to learn to cope with them over time. 

From my experience, a predicament requires us to see a bigger picture and to understand how it is evolving over time. We may or may not be able to influence it. So, the only choice is to figure out how we want to control our thinking about it. We do have a choice when it comes to this option.

Second, we as leaders must remember that it’s not so much what we do as much as who we are that makes a difference. Our character and our integrity are the first language. Our speaking and subsequent action are the second language. In essence, our being always impacts and transforms our doing.

As this first week unfolds before us, and as we set our sights on achieving our first quarter goals, I encourage you to differentiate between problems and predicaments. I also encourage you to focus on being a person of integrity more than just being a busy person. The combination of these two things will make a difference at work and at home.

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

The Path Forward

This morning, I would like to let you know that I will be retiring from public speaking and work related travel this upcoming November. I will continue my executive coaching, and would be glad to continue working with you and your team as needed by phone. 

This year, I will offer the final From Vision to Action Leadership Training, and the final Spring and Fall Roundtables.  

Here are the agendas for the final two Roundtables.

Spring 2022 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable:

Dates and Location: April 6 - 7, 2022  - Courtyard, Ankeny, Iowa

Cost: $ 295.00

One Day Roundtable Attendance Rate: $ 200.00

Agenda:

“All work is teamwork,” writes Marcus Buckingham. Team leaders “help us to see where to focus and what to do.” 

Given the importance of teams to handle the ongoing adaptive problems associated with a global pandemic, the Spring 2022 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable will focus entirely on the subject of teams and teamwork.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

- 8:30 am - 9:00 am - Arrival & Visiting Time

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How can we help teams work better with a combination of adaptive challenges and technical problems?

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How do we build a shared mindset and understanding on a team?

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking 

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - How do we help teams set goals and own them during the execution stage?

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - How do we improve individual and team performance through coaching?

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

Thursday, April 7, 2022

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do we conduct ourselves with the utmost integrity as leaders?

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Fall 2022 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable:

Dates and Location: September 21 - 22, 2022  - Brown Deer Golf Club & Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa

Cost: $ 295.00

One Day Roundtable Attendance Rate: $ 200.00

Agenda:

For the last 36 years, I have been teaching, consulting and coaching people about leadership, strategic planning, and organizational change. The majority of this work has revolved around how leaders engage with people, systems, culture, and the strategic nexus. Given this will be my final Executive Roundtable before I retire from public speaking, I want to dive deeply into each of these areas, and share lessons learned from helping others navigate the world of organizational change. On our last day of the Roundtable, I will talk about lessons learned when we make a commitment to walking a path with heart. I look forward to our time together as we share, explore and remember what matters most during these challenging times.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

- 8:30 am - 9:00 am - Arrival & Visiting Time

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Leaders and the Strategic Nexus

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Leaders and People

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking 

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Leaders and Systems

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - Leaders and Culture

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

Thursday, September 22, 2022

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Making A Commitment To A Path With Heart

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

I just wanted you to know this information today so you can plan accordingly. 

I hope you can join me and others as we come together in 2022 to explore, share and learn about these important subjects. If you want me to save you a space, please call or e-mail. Thanks!

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

The Map and The Compass

As this new year begins, we are struggling as leaders. We are worn to the core by this endless pandemic, economic uncertainty, and significant challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff. We see many risks around every corner and minimal rewards. We wonder what is the right path to take in 2022.

When I grasp the depth of these challenges, I am reminded of a term used by John Paul Lederach, namely that we are past our “known cartography.” We are wandering through this landscape and there are no familiar landmarks to guide us. Even worse, there are no maps that explain what to do next after nearly two years of COVID. In simple terms, we feel lost and the future is murky at best.

This morning, I also am reminded of a quote by the Irish poet, David White: “Our language is not large enough for the territory in which we have entered.” In the midst of this unknown cartography, we struggle to find the words to describe what is happening within us and what is happening within our organizations and our teams. Past terms and metaphors just do not capture what is happening. 

For example, some call what we are experiencing as pandemic fatigue. This is a good term, but I feel it no longer captures the depth of how we feel. We could try “pandemic exhaustion” or “pandemic depletion” but after living month after month through this pandemic, it feels more like a convergence of exhaustion, grief, fatigue, and weariness with a touch of hopelessness and depression. Whatever the right word or words are, we know the feeling, and we are tired of it.

When navigating this new year, many leaders are looking for a map. We want to chart our path and then make progress each quarter. To do this kind of navigation, one needs three things. First, a leader needs an accurate map that will provide us with known landmarks and concrete information about the landscape before us. With this kind of information, we can use a form of navigation that involves figuring out where we are, plotting a course, routinely marking the distance we’ve traveled, and maintaining a constant sense of direction.

The difficulty with this form of navigation is that all we have is the map and our perceptions of what is happening around us. A map also assumes the environment is stable and not changing which currently is not the case. In the midst of COVID, we live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment where many things are influencing others things that are then influencing us. In simple terms, it is hard to navigate a path to the future when the mountains, the trees and the buildings around us are all in constant motion. In short, the current maps do not help us find a fixed position by which we can then chart the path.

Second, we need to clarify strategic intent. While the future is murky and the map is not totally accurate, we can be clear about our intent. For example, we can seek conservative growth within an unstable environment. Or we can deepen our current customer relationships so we do not loose them over the next 12 months. Finally, we can build more internal resilience in systems, people and project management, knowing that there will be more unforeseen events in our near future. Clarity of intent grounds us as we tentatively move into this new year.

Third, we need a compass. When trying to determine where we are on a map, a compass can tell us where north, south, east and west are. With these directions, we can determine not only where we are but what direction to move.  Still, unless you can figure out where you are on a map, you can not easily find a sense of direction.

With the above in mind, I wish I could create a leadership GPS system or an organizational GPS system that would calculate accurate and instantaneous latitude and longitude coordinates so that everyone would know where they are and how to proceed. But since this is not an option, I think I will return to the map and compass for navigation even if they are imperfect.

Years ago, I read an article about a teacher who taught her very young students how to not get lost in the woods. She would gather students at the edge of the forest and then walk in about 50 yards. Then, she would stop and the students would look at a rock with lichen. Then, they would move on about 50 yards to a stump with some unique shelf fungus. Next, she would walk another 50 yards and they would look at the bark of a tree. After four or five stops, she would ask the group to find their way out of the forest. Initially, the students would feel lost and not be sure about which way to go.

But, she would calmly ask them what was the last interesting thing they talked about as a group. Then, someone would recall the bark of a tree. So they all walked a short distance back to that tree. Next, it was a short walk to the stump with the shelf fungus. Then, they moved on to the rock with interesting lichen. With each familiar landmark, the group would back track until they came to the place where they had originally started. The teacher called this making a mental map and remembering what they had learned along the way.

Since the day I heard about this, I have loved this idea. This mental mapping into an unknown area is a great concept. By taking short walks and then pausing, the group did not find themselves overwhelmed by the size and scope of the forest.

Right now, I think we need to break the coming 2022 year into small journeys of 60-90 days. Then with clarity of strategic intent, we need to move forward and then pause. While we may not focus on the bark of an interesting tree, we can pause and check on lessons learned and to make sure we are moving cautiously in the right direction given our strategic intent. 

Now as to the compass, I think this needs to not be a physical compass as much as a metaphorical compass. This kind of compass is based on our core values as people and organizations. We need to stay true to what we believe. True north values, such as treating everyone we meet with respect and acting with the utmost integrity no matter the time, place or situation, transcend the outer landscape around us. This is the inner landscape of character and integrity.

This coming year, I believe it is with integrity, respect and a clear sense of thoughtful action that we will chart our path and navigate the complexities that are before us. The future is unknown but we can be grounded in disciplined thought and action each step of the way.

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