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Set the Stage for Engagement

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Low pay is a dissatisfaction for employees but high pay by itself won’t keep the best people around. Transactional leadership might be a motivator when money and better benefits are available, but today’s climate seems to lend itself more to transformational leadership where a caring leadership can stimulate innovation, creative thinking, and productivity.

In Healing the Wounds, David A. Noer writes how the emotional impact of downsizing and the subsequent extra workload disturbs employee morale and productivity long after the fact. The study found that such feelings of stress, fatigue, and depression can last five years and more, imposing a strain on organizations’ competitiveness. Not only was there a sense of unfairness and anger over top management pay and severance, but symptoms of insecurity, anxiety, and fear that discouraged innovation and creative thinking. As Noer wrote, “There seemed to be a much stronger feeling among lay-off survivors that the organization was not in the business of looking out for its employees and that their loyalty was to themselves and to their unit, not to the overall organization.”

Clearly, after as much as five years, employees still suffered from the “survivor-blaming phenomenon,” as Noer called it. Managers and their staffs were unhappy and could be easily tempted to check out other job possibilities if they surfaced. New recruits heard stories that made them question their decision to join the company ranks.

Gallup, one of the world’s top research organizations, has always found the ratio of engaged to disengaged employees to be problematic. The recent economy would suggest the situation to have become more severe. This would suggest a review of corporate management practices to see that these 12 elements as proposed by Gallup are supported within the organization:[wcm_restrict]

  1. Ensure that employees know what is expected of them at work.
  2. Provide the materials and equipment employees need to do their work.
  3. Give your employees the opportunity to do what they do best every day.
  4. Every seven days, if you can, give recognition or praise to employees for doing good work.
  5. Demonstrate that you care about your employees as individuals.
  6. Encourage your employees’ development.
  7. Show your employees that their opinions count.
  8. Convey to your employees how important their job is to the organization.
  9. Emphasize how important quality work is.
  10. Provide a climate in which employees can socialize when there is time.
  11. Every six months, find the time to discuss employees’ job progress.
  12. Provide an opportunity to learn and grow. Not only consider mentoring and classroom instruction but investigate online training.

Experience shows that these 12 practices form the foundation for employee engagement.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Florence Stone is editorial director for AMA and editor of MWorld, AMA’s quarterly membership journal. She is the author of Coaching, Counseling & Mentoring, The Manager’s Question and Answer Book and The Essential New Manager’s Kit.

To learn more about the American Management Association, click here.

Relational Leadership and Employee Retention – A Match, part 2 (Segment Two)

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In Part Two – Segment Two will complete the discussion on a trusting organization. These 10 principles of trust when employed consistently to your entire organization without bias will build a bridge of loyalty that will stand against the elements. People do not willingly leave organizations built on moorings as strong as trust.

This article will examine the last five Building Blocks of Trust. All of the building blocks are important and it is essential to note that you cannot selectively skip one in favor of another. Companies that score high in the Trust Index will see lower turnover and greater productivity.

Figure 1: The Second Five Building Blocks of Trust

[wcm_restrict]In the workplace very little goes unnoticed. What is celebrated an expression of what you value as a leader. You always want to be careful to send the right signals to employees. If you say everyone matters in the business’s success, then your celebrations must include the potential for all employees to be recognized for their efforts. Celebrations do not have to be elaborate or costly but they must be broad, sincere, and meaningful. By their nature celebrations often include fun, thus if well thought out, you are able to reinforce two building blocks at a time.

For example, Discover Bank held monthly meetings of all staff by location and shift. Relevant information was shared, birthdays, anniversaries, births noticed, accomplishments cited, and volunteerism recognized. Senior leadership was always present and involved. A party atmosphere was created with balloons and music. Everyone in the company looked forward to these meetings and they set a tone that everyone was respected and valued. It reinforced all the people-centric policies of the company.

Leaders sometimes forget that new hires are a reflection of the belief systems they established. Every attempt must be made to integrate the company’s value system into its hiring profiles. New hires must reflect the company’s core beliefs.

I once hired someone with excellent “pedigree” i.e. fine university training, JA program volunteer, excellent work record in finance and extraordinarily enthusiastic about Junior Achievement. I was blind to the fact that he was a bit “uppity” and often talked down to people. He used words that most people never heard of. When I discussed these observations with him, he said it wasn’t up to him to lower himself to others’ level. That’s when I knew I had made a mistake. So I said, “I made a mistake, I own this, I am going to fix it, and I am not going to do it again.” I gave him 4 months to find a new job.

To some, saying your business philosophy includes connecting with people and caring about them sounds soft. It just doesn’t project the hard-nosed, thick-skin vision that many have of the successful business leader. You connect with people by demonstrating that you are sincerely interested in them and helping them in a time of need. It is possible to be hard-nosed and caring.

Charlie Cawley, legendary leader of MBNA (the credit card giant) is an excellent example. He drove hard bargains and held exacting expectations but he also let newlyweds borrow one of his antique autos for their wedding day or provided for funeral cars and the funeral meal for grieving employees. Contradiction in terms? I think not; he demanded the best for his business and supported his employees in times of great joy or sorrow.

If you allow the “Golden Rule” to be your guide and measurement in your dealings with people, you will likely pass the many tests of trust that will confront you daily. If you are viewed as a trusting organization and a learning, thinking organization you are well on your way to being a relational organization. People who are fortunate to work in these environments are energetic, enthusiastic and loyal.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Frank McIntosh is author of The Relational Leader (Course Technology PTR, Cengage Learning 2010). During his 36 year career, Frank has worked with many of the most recognized companies and executives in the world. He has provided consulting services for peers across the country and helped initiate Junior Achievement programs in Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan. Frank was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame in October 2008, one of 38 individuals so honored and the first not-for-profit executive to receive this distinction in Delaware’s 300 year business history. To read Frank’s complete biography, click here.

For more information regarding this subject, visit Frank McIntosh at his website www.FJMcIntosh.com.

Relational Leadership and Employee Retention – A Match, part 2 (Segment One)

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In my previous article I discussed creating a “learning – thinking” organization. Part Two will be presented in two segments and focuses on creating a trusting organization. To be trusted is to be authentic, a trait of a relational leader. Authenticity emerges from The Building Blocks of Trust as the foundation of the leadership quotient.

This article will examine the first five Building Blocks of Trust. Companies that score high in the Trust Index will see lower turnover and greater productivity.

Figure 1: The First Five Building Blocks of Trust

[wcm_restrict]Consistency is essential to trust. It’s the cornerstone. Consistency establishes the baseline for expectations. People’s work style flows directly from this information. Leaders, whose actions are scattered, cause workers to become disconcerted. This trait is among the most challenging because performance can’t be part-time, it must be all the time.

Baseball provides an excellent example. Umpires determine that a pitch is a ball or strike based on what is called the strike zone (roughly from the chest to the knees and over the plate). While the area is defined, umpires will tend to establish their own version of the zone, usually close but not always the same. Batters accept the difference as long as the umpire is consistent with his calls throughout the game. Players adjust and the game goes on without strife.

One view of fairness is that workplace practices are sensible for all parties. Also, it is important that individuals feel that their views are heard and listened to by someone in authority to act. It is not about getting your way. The individual believes that her perspective has meaning and is respected. Organizations like this are thought of as open.

For instance, at WL Gore and Company, any associate can call and talk with another associate (even if their last name is Gore) to discuss a thought or issue that bears on the success of the company. There are no boundaries and no closed doors. Gore is a very successful company specializing in its world renowned fabrics and becoming increasingly successful in medical products.

Words will always infer what actions will be observed. This alignment is a critical success factor in any human endeavor. If you are misaligned or inconsistent, you sow the seeds of mistrust, immediately. Be mindful that most people have not worked in a relational organization, so there is a built in sense of wariness that you must overcome as a relational leader.

To the above point everyone is human and thus will make mistakes. Typically making mistakes is OK; what‘s not OK is when the leader doesn’t admit to the error. Sometimes the nature of leadership requires decisions be made quickly, often in a crisis mode. These situations carry with them the highest degree of potential for error. Leadership’s big test is how it responds to mistakes.

True leaders can stands up and say, “I made a mistake, I own this, I am going to fix it, I’m not going to do it again.” I offer the difference of the public’s reaction to Tylenol versus British Petroleum, two CEO’s – one believed and one not so. One led their company to greater heights, while the other was pulled off the job.

The leader actively listens and observes. She is open to the thoughts of others. It is arrogant for an individual to believe she possesses the only good ideas. The conundrum for leaders is they are expected to generate the ideas, when they know there are other thinkers in the organization. Systems that are open to “creativity anywhere” will outdistance those in a closed system.

Next week we will complete our examination of the remaining Building Blocks of Trust.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Frank McIntosh is author of The Relational Leader (Course Technology PTR, Cengage Learning 2010). During his 36 year career, Frank has worked with many of the most recognized companies and executives in the world. He has provided consulting services for peers across the country and helped initiate Junior Achievement programs in Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan. Frank was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame in October 2008, one of 38 individuals so honored and the first not-for-profit executive to receive this distinction in Delaware’s 300 year business history. To read Frank’s complete biography, click here.

For more information regarding this subject, visit Frank McIntosh at his website www.FJMcIntosh.com.

Relational Leadership and Employee Retention – A Match, part 1

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Even if you do not have an actual figure, most business leaders realize that there is a substantial cost to employee turnover. This series of articles will address relational leadership methods you can employ right now that will tip the turnover scale to your favor.

The Relational Leader: A Revolutionary Framework to Engage Your Team (Course Technology PTR, Cengage Learning 2010)
by Frank McIntosh

 

The Relational Leader presents a framework to use as a compass point so that you can project a consistent message and methodology to your people. The book will expose you to the principles of relational leadership and show you how the principles when applied in tandem, can produce substantial results.

People are the core of this leadership style. How you approach people and the environment that you provide for them to work in revolves around seven attributes called: Fairness, Character, Trust, Fun, Celebration, Attentiveness, and Purpose.

You will understand how these attributes affect people through the eyes and experiences of highly successful leaders. You will learn how to put the attributes in play for yourself in your own leadership situation.

This book will explore how our institutional leaders can make claim once again to ethical, fair, and purposeful practices that underscore the value of human beings as the linchpins of our society. The methods presented in the book will help you build a motivated and responsive team within your workgroup.

You do not want to stop turnover; you want to control it. Not all your hires will perform as you hope and some people will just naturally burn out. How can you mitigate these circumstances?

Today’s article will address creating a ‘learning – thinking’ organization. I will share a few key thoughts to get you started.

Low turnover and effective recruiting go hand in hand. Your business environment and culture bear heavily upon your ability to attract and retain the best people. The following are some of the significant success factors in building a winning environment. Your people:

  1. See themselves as growing.
  2. Feel their contributions – big or small – are valued and recognized.
  3. Appreciate that significance is placed on building relationships through shared experiences.
  4. Observe evidence of an overriding commitment to people in the organization.

It’s a great compliment to invest time and money in an individual’s development. A learning – thinking organization will have development plans for the company and personal plans for individuals (based on their strengths) that increase their capacity. The following is an example to improve organizational needs:

  1. Assess individual and company strengths while also determining the top three or four organizational needs.
  2. Create a Strength Inventory for the company (see Table 1 below) on a spread sheet.
  3. Identify top strengths (individual or organization) that can positively impact needs.
  4. Assemble diverse teams by appropriate strength to address the organization’s needs (e.g. 5 people with technical strengths).

Strength Inventory – Sports Stars, Inc.
 Individual    Strengths    
 Ted Williams    Technical*  Disciplined  Analytical
 Larry Bird    Competitive  Doer  Adaptable
 Bobby Orr    Self-Assured  Developer  Energized*
 Tom Brady    Strategic  Communicator  Deliberate
 Organization    Strengths    
 Sports Stars, Inc.    Blend of Experience*
(range of people with
different times on job)		  Market Share*  Location

* Top 4 Strengths to be used in needs analysis and improvement

Table 1: Strength Inventory Example

In the example below, the organizational needs appear at the top of each column. For illustration there are two strengths from both the organization and the individual. I assigned them to the needs as appropriate. The teams assembled by strength concentrate on improving the need assigned. You will need multiple teams from each strength area. People representing the organizational strengths are selected ‘at large’ and have demonstrated an impact on that strength in their daily work.

Figure 1: Organizational Need to Individual Strength Alignment

The matrix that you have created becomes the key to a functioning thinking – learning organization. It will help you arrive at effective strategic decisions thus maximizing success in your company. The concept of building on strengths is a powerful motivator. People like to do things they do well. By helping them to do them even better, it makes sense that they will begin to contribute to the whole at a much higher level. Also, they will feel a personal commitment to the growth of the business, because it becomes a part of who they are.

A learning structure built on these principles will give you the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of people throughout the organization. You will also create multiple opportunities for meaningful shared experiences resulting in a bond that will give cohesion and a shared will to succeed. Finally, it becomes abundantly clear that leadership is committed, first and foremost to its people.

People in organizations like this do not leave. People who find organizations like this want to get in. This is one example of relational leadership at work; there are many more.

About the Author

Frank McIntosh is author of The Relational Leader (Course Technology PTR, Cengage Learning 2010). During his 36 year career, Frank has worked with many of the most recognized companies and executives in the world. He has provided consulting services for peers across the country and helped initiate Junior Achievement programs in Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan. Frank was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame in October 2008, one of 38 individuals so honored and the first not-for-profit executive to receive this distinction in Delaware’s 300 year business history. To read Frank’s complete biography, click here.

For more information regarding this subject, visit Frank McIntosh at his website www.FJMcIntosh.com.

StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article

Tactical Execution – Some Things Get Better with Time, at least for a while

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution ArticleExperience is almost universally valued. Those possessing it are viewed as being superior; able to perform tasks with more practiced efficiency and more easily recognizing and responding to challenges that would otherwise inhibit forward progress. The question, therefore, is this: “For a given position, will one’s experience-based effectiveness grow without limit?”[wcm_restrict plans=”41005, 25542, 25653″]

Personal experience, workforce observations, managerial interviews, and academic research suggest that experience-based performance improvement is not unlimited. Changing business environments and workforce demographics will always converge to create new, unique challenges. Yet, for most, the peak proficiency gained while doing one’s core work is not likely to radically change because, at the micro-level, experience creating changes tend to occur more incrementally. Without significant changes and challenges at the manager or contributor levels, learning stops once peak proficiency is attained through repetitive practice.

Through an informal combination of experience, observation, and research, and assuming an individual ascending to a position possesses a knowledge, skill, and experience basis that makes him or her equal to the task, I have found that a three year period often represents the time-based experience needed to reach peak experiential performance. (See Figure 1) In the first year of assuming a new position, an individual embarks on a rapid learning curve; routinely facing unexpected challenges and simply learning and becoming qualified to perform routine day-to-day tasks. Having established this baseline knowledge in the first year, the individual begins to experience a recurrence of similar challenges leading to proficiency in the performance of routine tasks in the second year; enabling him or her to more efficiently navigate these obstacles and to become more proactive. In the third year, leveraging the practiced knowledge, skill, and experience acquired, the individual attains peak performance proficiency, becomes recognized as a high performer, and is considered for career broadening assignments. At this point, the individual must stave off the overconfidence that can lead to complacency and diminished performance. It is also at this time that the individual, if not reassigned or presented with other challenging growth opportunities, will stop developing; resulting in plateaued performance and subsequently yielding no additional benefit growth to the organization or the person.

StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Drawing

Final Thoughts…

The time to reach ones peak performance potential varies based on individual ability and assignment characteristics. Three years to peak proficiency assumes an executive, managerial, professional, or knowledge-based position. These offer the individual with an evolving task and problem set that, while possessing similar characteristics, does differ from day-to-day and assignment-to-assignment. Other positions can be so highly repetitive and/or require a low enough skill level that they can be mastered in a much shorter period of time. While individuals in these positions will experience a similar learning curve, they progress through each phase at a much faster rate and achieve peak proficiency in a much shorter time frame.

An organization realizes an ever increasing risk of loss once an individual reaches peak performance. While executives and managers often want to ensure a subordinate can sustain peak performance for some period before offering broadening activities or promotion, individuals, particularly top performers, will desire new and interesting challenges more immediately. Increased communication and a balanced approach to professional development is required to retain the employee; lest they be lost to other organizations willing to provide such personal and professional gratification.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”41005, 25542, 25653″]

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