Trust in managers is in short supply these days. According to Deloitte’s annual Ethics & Workplace Survey, 48% of employed Americans report a loss of trust in their employers and 46% say lack of transparent communication from their companies’ leadership are the primary reasons for pursuing new employment at the end of the recession. Clearly, something is wrong.
Truly great leaders have acute self-awareness. They regularly look in the mirror, questioning, pushing and critiquing their own performance and perceptions.
Sure, 360 degree assessments can help in a formal way to gather feedback about what others think of your leadership style. But with social media, there are also many informal ways to solicit this input. Track sites like glassdoor.com to read employees’ candid perceptions of companies and their top leadership. In fact, your own firm may be rated on the site.
If your employees don’t trust you, they won’t follow you. And if they don’t follow you, no one is executing the business strategy. In essence, workers want to be able to follow inspiring leaders who demonstrate values they can relate to, someone who is authentic, has a vision, listens, communicates openly and honestly, supports and recognizes high performance and shows that he or she authentically cares.
Great leadership is neither a profession nor a science, but a practice. As Talent Management reports, individuals cannot lead others until they have mastered their own state of being — who they are, what they believe and how they behave. State of being speaks to the sum total of managers' attitudes, beliefs, actions and values. It spans their vision of the future and presence in the moment.
There has likely never been a time when leaders are under so much scrutiny to behave credibly and ethically. Credible leaders are trustworthy, competent, dynamic, inspiring and accountable. It’s not enough to demonstrate one or two of these attributes. Today, a credible leader needs to hold all of these attributes, while being proficient and competent to execute strategically. It is each leader's responsibility to build an engaged, high-performance workforce.
Do your employees perceive you as trustworthy and credible? Are you ready to take a look in the mirror?
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Why Aren't We Getting Anything Done?
As BNET reports, U.S. companies’ return on assets (ROA) have progressively dropped 75% from their 1965 level despite rising labor productivity. Even the highest-performing companies are struggling to maintain their ROA rates and are increasingly losing their positions as market leaders.
In essence, we’re getting less done. Why? Lots of reasons, but let’s hone in on one… How long does it take to identify a problem, evaluate the opportunity or challenge, strategize a course of action, create a plan and execute? How many task forces do you put into place, how many meetings are held, and how many people are offering feedback before anything gets done? And worse, how many times do the task teams fall apart, lose focus and momentum, and fail to follow through on goals or actually take any positive forward action?
It’s hard work and it takes strong self-management skills, determination and a real commitment to get things done in the operating environments of many businesses today. Too many initiatives hit a wall when the real work needs to get actioned. Everything we do doesn’t need to be accomplished by a team. We need to empower individuals – coach them to reach out to key stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned and on board, seek guidance from experts and colleagues – and work smarter and faster.
As leaders, we need to ensure we aren’t road blocks to productivity. It may feel risky to loosen control and resist micromanaging. But a good leader empowers his or her people in ways that make employees want to do their best. Encourage employees to work to their strengths. It’s in our nature to be driven to perform and achieve personal accomplishments. Give power to individuals and then recognize and reward them for taking the initiative, running with a solution, and coach – rather than direct or criticize – if the course of action needs to be adjusted. The end result is better performance, higher productivity and stronger commitment.
How much are your employees getting done these days?
In essence, we’re getting less done. Why? Lots of reasons, but let’s hone in on one… How long does it take to identify a problem, evaluate the opportunity or challenge, strategize a course of action, create a plan and execute? How many task forces do you put into place, how many meetings are held, and how many people are offering feedback before anything gets done? And worse, how many times do the task teams fall apart, lose focus and momentum, and fail to follow through on goals or actually take any positive forward action?
It’s hard work and it takes strong self-management skills, determination and a real commitment to get things done in the operating environments of many businesses today. Too many initiatives hit a wall when the real work needs to get actioned. Everything we do doesn’t need to be accomplished by a team. We need to empower individuals – coach them to reach out to key stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned and on board, seek guidance from experts and colleagues – and work smarter and faster.
As leaders, we need to ensure we aren’t road blocks to productivity. It may feel risky to loosen control and resist micromanaging. But a good leader empowers his or her people in ways that make employees want to do their best. Encourage employees to work to their strengths. It’s in our nature to be driven to perform and achieve personal accomplishments. Give power to individuals and then recognize and reward them for taking the initiative, running with a solution, and coach – rather than direct or criticize – if the course of action needs to be adjusted. The end result is better performance, higher productivity and stronger commitment.
How much are your employees getting done these days?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Shhh... Listen to the Secret of Onboarding Success
I followed with great interest a recent LinkedIn HR discussion thread where the question posed was: In one word, what would you like to show/teach a new employee on his/her first day of work with you? More than 1,000 people shared their opinions. Many provided much more than the requested “one word.” In essence, they didn’t listen to the request. They were so absorbed with dishing out their advice that they didn’t tune in to what was being asked of them. This provides interesting insight into why people struggle in their roles: they fail to listen. “Listen” might be the most important word of advice you offer to every new hire.
Listening is key to help new employees ramp up quickly, acclimate to the company’s culture and kick start their contribution to the team and the organization. It involves not only hearing the spoken word or comprehending the written word, but also involves the ability to understand and observe actions and behaviors. When onboarding an employee, it is essential to provide coaching and guidance, including stressing the importance of listening. Too often, new employees – anxious to prove their value – fail to listen closely and don’t clearly understand expectations. Listening helps to trigger important questions new employees need to ask to gain further insights. Careful listening can level-set and establish clarity – ensuring a new hire meets objectives most important and relevant to his or her immediate manager, the team and the organization.
Careful listening helps new employees better understand the organization’s culture and climate, management styles, business issues, team dynamics, expectations and concerns. It creates the foundation for the new working relationships. Once the new employee fully understands the work environment and goals, she or he is better positioned to take action with confidence and bring value and achieve results that are aligned with the needs of the team and the organization.
No matter how well we listen, for most of us there likely is room for improvement. Next time you are onboarding an employee, help them to understand the importance of listening as a skill to level-set all stakeholders and set priority expectations.
Listening is key to help new employees ramp up quickly, acclimate to the company’s culture and kick start their contribution to the team and the organization. It involves not only hearing the spoken word or comprehending the written word, but also involves the ability to understand and observe actions and behaviors. When onboarding an employee, it is essential to provide coaching and guidance, including stressing the importance of listening. Too often, new employees – anxious to prove their value – fail to listen closely and don’t clearly understand expectations. Listening helps to trigger important questions new employees need to ask to gain further insights. Careful listening can level-set and establish clarity – ensuring a new hire meets objectives most important and relevant to his or her immediate manager, the team and the organization.
Careful listening helps new employees better understand the organization’s culture and climate, management styles, business issues, team dynamics, expectations and concerns. It creates the foundation for the new working relationships. Once the new employee fully understands the work environment and goals, she or he is better positioned to take action with confidence and bring value and achieve results that are aligned with the needs of the team and the organization.
No matter how well we listen, for most of us there likely is room for improvement. Next time you are onboarding an employee, help them to understand the importance of listening as a skill to level-set all stakeholders and set priority expectations.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Stressed Out With Change?
According to a recent poll conducted by Right Management, 71% of senior executives and human resource professionals said their jobs are more stressful amid the current demanding and changing business environment. No big surprise, really… who isn’t feeling like this lately?
One of the main triggers of stress is understanding what you can and can’t control. Stress can be a common cause of negativity, driven by a lack of understanding for the business rationale behind change initiatives, the role each employee plays in making the change work, as well as an inability to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. Focusing on the factors you can influence and control helps to develop a more positive and productive response to change.
We’ve conducted research in this area and found that nearly one in three employees don’t adapt well, if at all, to changes at work. More than 9 in 10 employees are disengaged when organizations don’t implement change well. For employees who said leadership managed change effectively, only 40% were disengaged. Improving change effectiveness positively impacts performance. Our studies also identified the top global drivers of effective change management. The number one driver: senior leaders implement effective change. However, our results revealed that less than one in two employees work in organizations where senior leaders are perceived to implement change effectively. And only one in three people believe that the reasons for decisions are fully explained.
What can workers do – at all levels of the organization – to reduce stress and cope more effectively with change? Take a look at the three main pillars that provide the foundation for our ability to adapt to change:
-- Attitude. A feeling or emotion toward something that impacts what we think, feel and do. Attitude is impacted by our openness to change, our ability to embrace it, adapt to it and persevere through change.
-- Self-management. Being able to manage your own emotions and behaviors to increase personal resilience in a range of situations. This is also a pillar in developing strong emotional intelligence. Your ability to control your emotions and the self-confidence that comes as you successfully navigate interactions all contribute to a strong sense of self-management, particularly important during times of change.
-- Relationship management. The ability or willingness to carry out interpersonal interactions in a way that increases the likelihood of beneficial outcomes. Your skill at building relationships, combined with influence, provides you with the ability to build agreement and affect positive change.
In the words of John Wooden: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
Are you stressing over what you can’t control?
One of the main triggers of stress is understanding what you can and can’t control. Stress can be a common cause of negativity, driven by a lack of understanding for the business rationale behind change initiatives, the role each employee plays in making the change work, as well as an inability to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. Focusing on the factors you can influence and control helps to develop a more positive and productive response to change.
We’ve conducted research in this area and found that nearly one in three employees don’t adapt well, if at all, to changes at work. More than 9 in 10 employees are disengaged when organizations don’t implement change well. For employees who said leadership managed change effectively, only 40% were disengaged. Improving change effectiveness positively impacts performance. Our studies also identified the top global drivers of effective change management. The number one driver: senior leaders implement effective change. However, our results revealed that less than one in two employees work in organizations where senior leaders are perceived to implement change effectively. And only one in three people believe that the reasons for decisions are fully explained.
What can workers do – at all levels of the organization – to reduce stress and cope more effectively with change? Take a look at the three main pillars that provide the foundation for our ability to adapt to change:
-- Attitude. A feeling or emotion toward something that impacts what we think, feel and do. Attitude is impacted by our openness to change, our ability to embrace it, adapt to it and persevere through change.
-- Self-management. Being able to manage your own emotions and behaviors to increase personal resilience in a range of situations. This is also a pillar in developing strong emotional intelligence. Your ability to control your emotions and the self-confidence that comes as you successfully navigate interactions all contribute to a strong sense of self-management, particularly important during times of change.
-- Relationship management. The ability or willingness to carry out interpersonal interactions in a way that increases the likelihood of beneficial outcomes. Your skill at building relationships, combined with influence, provides you with the ability to build agreement and affect positive change.
In the words of John Wooden: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
Are you stressing over what you can’t control?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Building Virtual Capacity
There’s a technological revolution taking hold across the globe which has the power to change where, when and how we work - enabling organizations to be more agile and innovative. It’s fueling a growth in virtual workers, which is also being supported by many businesses as a way to reduce costs, increase employee engagement and empower individuals to have greater flexibility in how they accomplish work.
According to recent studies, virtual companies - companies that use technology to link a geographically dispersed staff - are showing an increase of 8% to 15% in productivity. Key to that gain in productivity is the virtual company's workforce. As McKinsey reports, boosting productivity of knowledge workers and virtual employees is not a one size fits all approach.
How these workers interact with colleagues plays a large part in their success. We’re moving to a social business model that stresses our ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, not just in personal interactions but also in virtual interactions. Virtual interactions can be tricky – often, there are no visual clues for guidance and it requires a stronger emphasis on good communication and self-management skills. Basically, working virtually requires a different set of behaviors and motivations.
As this pool of mobile talent continues to grow for many organizations, assessments can play a practical role in evaluating whether employees have the right behaviors and are motivated to be successful in working virtually, or identifying gaps that might impede their success. Good assessments will help identify a potential employees’ adaptability, autonomy, decisiveness, dependability, stress tolerance and resourcefulness. In short, whether or not a person will be successful as a virtual worker.
Are you assessing the behaviors needed for your employees to succeed in an increasingly virtual and social working environment?
According to recent studies, virtual companies - companies that use technology to link a geographically dispersed staff - are showing an increase of 8% to 15% in productivity. Key to that gain in productivity is the virtual company's workforce. As McKinsey reports, boosting productivity of knowledge workers and virtual employees is not a one size fits all approach.
How these workers interact with colleagues plays a large part in their success. We’re moving to a social business model that stresses our ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, not just in personal interactions but also in virtual interactions. Virtual interactions can be tricky – often, there are no visual clues for guidance and it requires a stronger emphasis on good communication and self-management skills. Basically, working virtually requires a different set of behaviors and motivations.
As this pool of mobile talent continues to grow for many organizations, assessments can play a practical role in evaluating whether employees have the right behaviors and are motivated to be successful in working virtually, or identifying gaps that might impede their success. Good assessments will help identify a potential employees’ adaptability, autonomy, decisiveness, dependability, stress tolerance and resourcefulness. In short, whether or not a person will be successful as a virtual worker.
Are you assessing the behaviors needed for your employees to succeed in an increasingly virtual and social working environment?
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