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

Context for Leaders

Where have we been, where are we now, and where do we want to be??

Where have we been, what have we learned and how can we leverage it for the present and future?

• Unless we learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it, is a misquote of someone famous. I see organizations and leaders reliving their past failures regularly. It reminds me of Groundhogs Day.
• Without awareness and intentional decisions to change, leaders are caught in a swirl of repeating mistakes.
• Personal awareness is a competency that can be taught.
• Intentionality of behavior is a competency that can be taught.

Where are we now requires a 360-degree look at the current state of leadership, the business, the economy, etc. as perceived by self and others.

• It encompasses a behavioral audit to determine why people are behaving as they are. The more unconscious our behaviors the more things that happen to us and we don't know why. The same is true of organizations.
• Determine what is happening in all aspects of your personal and organizational context - rational, irrational, emotional, intellectual, habitual, social, cognitive, intuitive, reflexive before really believing what your personal filters are telling you.
• Get the full picture so you can deal with reality.

Where do we want to be requires research, listening, asking questions and constantly learning.

• Learning is the key to leadership - listening to your inner thoughts, hunches, intuition; others ideas, fears, interests, aspirations; the external worlds news, stories, research papers, periodicals, etc.
• Staying in touch with where the world, your industry, your country, your family, consumers, buyers, the environment, energy, education and politicians are headed.
• Synthesizing all this into a perception for where it is all headed and, as a consequence, where I (as a leader) and we (as an organization) want to be.
• How do we position ourselves to remain a viable ongoing concern?
• How do we assure relevance for clients?
• How do we compete effectively in an ever changing world where the relevance of our product/service may become eclipsed overnight?
• How do we crystallize this into a cogent, comprehensive, understandable future vision?
• How do we communicate and engage others to align and give of themselves in the achievement of this vision?
• How do we accelerate our move and/or evolution in the direction of this future vision?
• How do we sustain the gain once we have made a shift or changed significantly?

How do we assure this one time success is retained, embedded and reused again and again as more and faster change is required of us and our organization to remain ongoing, viable entities?

Of course, we have a way to do this that works for our clients when it comes to change, leadership, competing, relevance, energy, engagement, learning, sustainability, etc.

What are you doing in this regard?

Chad

Leading at the Top

Assuming accountability and taking risks in order to lead in your industry. Eclipsing the competition by being first.

Leading at the top requires leading from a future focus.
Future meaning decisions based on assumptive data, leading edge trend identification, non-rational hunches, listening to peers and others who theorize or have political agendas they are attempting to influence with, etc. In other words, leading at the top is frequently based on unsubstantiated guesses and weak analytics forecasting future areas of interest for the business.

Obviously, in this environment, you want your leaders to gather as much reliable data as possible and speak to as many experts and knowledgeable individuals as is feasible. You want them to respond and make decisions in a timely manner so your business gains advantage over its competitors.

You also want your top leaders to exhibit confidence such that you personally and all followers in the organization feel secure in taking action and investing in achievement of the strategies, goals and vision identified. You want your top leader to be consistent in messaging, as well as having the tenacity to maintain the course even in the face of unknown and unexpected roadblocks.

A tough role, to lead into a future with tenuous links and connection to the past. One that many top leaders struggle with and fight personal demons of fear to initiate and maintain. One that erodes ones perception of capability and rightness for the role if successive failures (wrong calls) take place.

But none-the-less one that is critical if one is to be a successful top leader who leads into the future and continuously wins the competitive challenges.

Think about it - how do you prepare and hone this capability in your top leaders??

Chad

Presenting for Accountability

When presenting new strategies, tactics, skills, etc. with the expectation that the audience will carry away knowledge, skills and accountability, try these techniques.

1) Deliver context for importance from a value and benefit perspective. Share the big picture and how the knowledge, skills, information that will be presented fit into the picture.

2) Involve the audience in the presentation such that they have to think through and synthesize the information. Use questions, small group processing, partnering, etc. and have them present their findings for others to learn from. This also holds them accountable for results and outcomes from their discussion/dialogue.

3) Use visuals (not Powerpoints) to provide a context and framework for the information presented. Ask the audience to put themselves in this picture as a leader for the application of the information, knowledge, skills. Have them create personal visuals, then ask them to individually post and present them within the larger context visual. This will build social accountability for the leader role they share.

4) Model and have them model the behaviors associated with application of the knowledge, skills, etc. in a behavior rehearsal, scenario, case study. This must be done in a way that the behaviors can be seen and/or heard, not just cognitively processed.

5) Ask them to identify and plan for (write down a plan) an immediate opportunity for application on the job, that day. Have them share it with another person for feedback, expansion and ideas. Partner them with a person for observation on the job and immediate feedback after the application.

6) Provide a job aide for application that is simple, clear and reusable. The devil is in the detail, so Do It Right The First Time (DIRFT) and you won't have to be redoing it, repairing it, and having it fail due to the audience not assuming accountability for leading change.

7) Schedule a conference call or update session to share how the first application fared and what they did to make it better the next time they applied the knowledge, skill, etc. This could be accomplished on a shared website, etc. as well.

Thoughts?

Innovation Customized to Company Size

Innovation Presentation went very well - Wow!!
Question about large versus medium/small business differences is good.
Although large businesses have the capability and capacity to establish more formal systems with more infrastructure associated with them, small/medium size businesses can use the same strategies and systems in a less formal (more informal) way to accomplish the same purposes.
For example - A large company may purchase a software system for stage-gating new product approval process, whereas small/medium companies my use Excel or a paper-based process for tracking, etc.
Another example - Large companies may have a highly structured process and role focused on the screening of new ideas, maybe even associated with an incentive program for accepted ideas, etc. Small/medium companies have less volume and can handle this less formally, maybe with less stringent criteria for idea screening and maybe with an informal recognition program to encourage and reward idea generation.
The challenge for organizations of any size is to take the principles and practices from successful companies (who compete effectively using innovation as a strategy) and adjust them to fit your culture and size needs.
Chad

Thriving In Challenging Times

THRIVING IN CHALLENGING TIMES

Are fear, anxiety and worry rampant in your organization? What is your awareness?

Fear limits us from taking action. Fear of:
• Job loss, lack of security
• Failure
• Loss of control
• Not being valued
• Not performing to expectations
• Add the fear you recognize exists in your workplace

Michael Jordan’s (NBA Basketball star) steps for combating fear:
Step 1. Ask God, Source, the Universe, or whatever your preferred name for the higher power might be to help you with the problem you’re struggling with.
Step 2. Learn everything you can about the preferred subject and then learn more. This will give you the confidence to move forward. (AWARENESS)
Step 3. Just do it, don’t hesitate, don’t think about it not working, think about how great it will be when you accomplish the task at hand. Never quit and always keep your eye on the end result. (RELEASE FEAR & REPLACE WITH ACTION – BUILD)

A BUILD question: What specific fear or worry is blocking you from taking action to reach a target? Identify one concrete action step you will take today to begin to “Just do It”. Identify the root fear or anxiety or worry you will put aside in order to take action. Reflect on your learning from the action and improve it. Keep going, don’t stop, focus on how great it will be when you reach your target or goal.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. (TAKE ACTION DESPITE THE FEAR)
Nelson Mandela

Whatever you fear most has no power.. it is your fear that has the power. (AWARENESS)
Oprah Winfrey

Knowledge is the antidote to fear. (AWARENESS)
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Passion as a leader tool

Passion is talked about in the workplace and good leaders use it as a tool for engaging others.
Unfortunately, expressing emotions in many organizations is taboo, even though good leaders do it within their own groups and keep it hidden from the larger organization - as if it were a weakness.

Is this a self trust issue or fear of ridicule/criticism, or what?

It's about time we all understand the value and benefit associated with expressing real and transparent feelings in the work world. They are what make us a whole person who has feelings and desires, wants and needs. They are what engages others at a deeper level than logic alone. They are what triggers excitement and enthusiasm for change and the achievement of stretch targets. They are many time the spark that engages others to learn more and commit to leading in their own way.

There are appropriate and inappropriate applications of passion/emotions in the workplace. The key is to only share your emotions/passion when you are truly passionate about a subject and the success or failure of it.

Versus using emotions to manipulate others in an external manner, true leaders will only express their emotions when they personally feel them from inside. They then transparently share these emotions and feelings with others in a respectful manner. This is what engages others to connect and learn more so that they can make a rational decision whether to follow or not.

Thoughts?

Leading Self, First

Before one can lead others effectively, one must be able to lead ones self effectively.

What does this mean?
1) Personal discipline in all aspects of life; Physical, mental, fiscal, social, spiritual, emotional, ...
2) Trust in self to operate consistently from a solid set of values
3) Personal integrity to do the things you say you will do
4) Transparency of intent focused on worthy and honorable outcomes
5) Truthfullness in all words and actions
6) Risking to stretch, experiment and learn from all experiences
7) Love of learning, imprvoving and growing as you strive for perfection

What other criteria would you add?

Chad

Leading with behaviors

Leading with Behaviors

What are leadership behaviors?

Why are they important?

How would Fun, Faith & Fire look as leader behaviors?

Fun

• Being engaging and engaging others
• Smiling
• Energized vocal variety
• Animated motions
• Fun words

Faith

• Demonstrating belief by doing and acting on change
• Standing up against resistance and barriers
• Continuing the fight in the face of adversity
• Collaborating to build strength

Fire

• Exhibiting emotional transparency
• Exciting self and others
• Intensity of voice
• Modeling a wide variety of engaging behaviors
• Taking risks to push out of the box of the "same old" and ordinary

What do these look like and sound like? Behaviors are in the "real world", not inside the head, so their impact is felt by others in a sensory way - heard, seen, felt.

What do you think???

• Is leadership a behavior-based role or an intellectual one?
• Is it about doing or planning?
• is it about action or...?
  
  Chad