Fear Increases Productivity For Some

A few interesting findings from the Fear Survey

Some business leaders feel that fear has increased their organizational productivity.

1. They are producing more per person than in the past.
2. People are staying on the job longer (reduced turnover). The consequences of this are reduction of the learning curve impact from on-boarding new employees.
3. The longer employees are on the job, the faster and more effectively they produce results.
4. People feel they have to demonstrate their strength of performance in order not to be laid off.
5. People are producing better quality and less waste because of tenure, fear of losing their job, etc.
6. There are fewer people and they are assuming expanded accountability for performance. So more is being produced by fewer people.
7. Do you have additional reasons?

What is the fear that is driving this increase in productivity?

• People are in fear for job security.
• Fear of income flow loss.
• People are in fear of the unknown future.
• People are in fear of losing their importance (their job is their image of themselves).
• People are in fear of not finding as good a job as they currently have.
• People are in fear of not finding a title as good as they currently have (career progression fear).
• Others??

The question is; "Is this increased productivity gain sustainable as the economy stabilizes and/or improves?"

What are your thoughts?

Chad

http://brightsideblogger.blogspot.com/

Take a look at the Bright Side blog.
I'll still be posting thoughts to this blog as well as to the Bright Side one.
Chad

Strategic Planning is relevant to the context

I was working with an executive last week to prepare for a strategic planning session to update a plan that had been initially assembled in February.

What I learned and pondered after a couple of pre-planning sessions was:

1. Sometimes we have a solid grasp of "what" we want to do, to the exclusion of considering alternatives.
2. Most of us feel very comfortable with a pre-economic downturn model for strategic planning.
3. Some corporate C-suite executives thinking is still at the level of the business entity.
4. Some corporate C-suite thinking is not yet broad enough to encompass a singular corporate entity concept in context and scope.
5. Some people are far too controlling around the "what" is to be focused on, and limit the scope of their direct reports accordingly.
6. Sometimes the "How" to get work accomplished is neglected in the push to get the "What" done.

My awareness (some new, some renewed) from this encounter were:

1. Leaders are still trusting their company's future to plans based on past history.
2. Corporate entity scope and context are significantly different than internal divisions/groups even if these internal entities are larger than most free-standing companies.
3. Leaders who control the strategic planning process too tightly are doing a disservice to their direct reports career development.
4. Fear of the unknown causes some leaders to limit others view of the possibilities and options present even in difficult times.
5. The discipline to balance the "What" and "How" of performance is understood and valued by only the most experienced top leaders.
6. As Chris Argyris would say, "Teaching Smart People How to Learn" is a tough job.

What do you think??

Chad

LQ - Leadership Quotient

Yes, IQ and EI are both necessary requisites for being a leader.

I could also make the case that there are other behaviors required for leaders to be successful.
Behaviors such as:

• Risk-taking - being first, standing out in front, taking the heat, not being sure of the action, but certain if its' rightness and that there is a need for action
• Courage - to stand alone, to take action, to face criticism, to face ridicule steadfastly
• Self-trust - that I can endure and survive, that I will be okay, that I am right
• Perseverance - to endure the loneliness, to stay the path, in the face of resistance
• Tenacity - stick-to-itiveness, never say die, maintain direction against all odds, dogged pursuit of a better future
• Transparency - of reasoning, or future vision, of fears and self-doubt, of failures, of weaknesses, or personal reasons for change, or self
• Self-insight/awareness - a solid grasp of who I am, my values, my intent, my struggles, my weaknesses, my strengths, my mission
• Focus on the future - the vision for change, the value and benefit of achieving the vision, the all-encompassing desire to move in the direction of a dream for something better than what exists today
• Other-orientation - An appreciation for how difficult transversing the gap to the future will be and sharing it openly, allowing people the choice to lead and follow to the future, an appreciation for others strengths/weaknesses and choices

What additional ones do you have in mind?

Chad

Omar Kayam Quote

This quote resonates with me as we go through these tough economic times:

"On the plain of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, on the dawn of victory, stopped to rest and resting died."

We all wait for something - our expectations could be that:

• We are waiting for another person to act, be accountable, respond positively, say "Yes", ...
• We are waiting for the right moment when we have time, when we finish our degree, when we feel good, when the opportunity is right, or when we....
• We are waiting for our new budget, our friend, somebody to ask us, other people to start, ....
• There is never enough money, there is never enough trust, there is never enough time, ...
• Others resist change, others aren't capable, others aren't interested, others aren't available, ...
• I don't have enough resources, I don't have enough authority, I don't have enough support, ...
• It's too risky, it's not important, It's not a leap improvement, It's not worthy, ...
• He/She is not worthy, they are not on board, we are not all aligned, the plan is not perfect, ...

My belief is that some internal fear is causing us not to act and resists movement or taking action our our part. This hesitance keeps us following the same path, protecting the present, protecting ourselves when we should be moving forward, making progress and moving into the unknown.

What are you waiting for?

Chad

It's Not Just Innovation!

It's not just innovation that is needed to get us out of this economy!

1. To be innovative you need learning agility.
2. To be innovative you need a supportive environment.
3. To be innovative you need high level structure supporting / encouraging it.
4. To be innovative you need courageous risk taking.
5. To be innovative you need tenacity and persistence.
6. To be innovative you need feedback and recognition.
7. To be innovative you need consistent, sustainable processes and systems.
8. To be innovative you need trust.
9. To be innovative you need leadership support.
10. To be innovative you need accountability and ownership.
11. To be innovative you need metrics.
12. To be innovative you need a context and reason.

What other things are needed to initiate, support and sustain innovation???

Chad

Strategic & Operational Leaders

Periodically I run into issues where strategic and operational leaders at the C-suite level are not well connected, linked and aligned about their business priorities and programs.

This disconnection creates waste;

• Waste from duplication of effort,
• Waste from misaligned performance,
• Waste from confusion that slows performance down,
• Waste from conflict between followers.

Connected, aligned and linked organizations benefit from the:

• Synergy of collaborative contributions,
• Speed of execution without interpersonal interference,
• Focused application of resources on priorities,
• Power of many focused on specific outcomes.

So, do you need better alignment at the top to maximize organizational performance?

Chad