Whose idea was that? Everyone’s.

Which deserves more reward – ideation or participation in idea formulation? Some organizations reward individuals for their ideas, while others believe it is better to reward participation in idea sessions.

Many leaders are reluctant to acknowledge that they are opposed to an idea because of their feelings about the individual who proposed it. While we live in a culture that celebrates individual contributions, we also desire reward for our own contributions to an idea's evolution and ultimate culmination.

Oftentimes, when one person drives their idea into action – and does not welcome ideas and feedback from others – it is doomed to failure. If you desire buy-in, collaboration, shared commitment and accountability, then give others the opportunity to offer their opinion and play a role.

While collaboration is invaluable, too much groupthink also presents a problem. How is the individual who brainstormed a new product feature (or new product) commensurately rewarded for his/her contribution? It is critical to share ideas with others and collaborate to deliver results.

However, when it comes to performance evaluations, a manager typically will review not only how much of a team player someone is, but also what s/he individually contributed. It is important to clearly articulate the organization's leadership model – i.e., what you value, your commitment to development and helping each employee succeed, and how successful performance is rewarded.

Both the employer and employee require an understanding about expected performance, results, reward, and the balance. If you, as manager, specifically and clearly define the terms for each employee's contributions and recognition, you will lay the groundwork for a high-performing staff and highly rewarding work environment.

"Etiquette" versus "Getting the Job Done"

There’s an interesting new book out on workplace etiquette, which I read about in Forbes. It shed some light on new discourse between managers and employees… though I’m not sure I completely agree.

The author, Vicky Oliver, advises that when it comes to communication, be it by phone, text or e-mail, many of us managers need to be more mindful of business etiquette. Apparently, leaving a voicemail message when you know the recipient isn't there to pick up the phone is bad form. Seriously? Well, then why do we have voice mail at all?

Oliver also advises managers to never send communications late at night. She says: “If you get a brainstorm at midnight, go ahead and write that note, but put it in your draft folder and then hit send at 9 a.m. It's bad boss etiquette to harass your employees with notes after hours or on the weekend."

So here’s my issue: I have no problem with employees setting boundaries and not feeling obligated to work 24/7. But in my role as a leader, responsible for innovation, my creativity does not always come during “formal” work hours, which are mostly booked solid with client and staff meetings. So when I have some time to think, reflect and ponder, it often spurs creativity and it’s more efficient for me to share these ideas with my team when they come to mind. And my team is globally dispersed. So when it’s 9:00 a.m. in Philadelphia, it’s midnight in Sydney. How does Oliver’s etiquette fit into this scenario?

I don’t advocate using technology as a collar to keep employees “on call” 24 hours a day. But I do expect to use technology as a way to enable my team to accomplish more, getting it done better and faster. My perspective is that if you want to be highly valued as a member of the team, you need to be available, flexible and responsive. These are some of the values that separate average employees from the star performers. Not everything fits neatly into a 9 to 5 box. Sometimes it just comes down to getting the job done.

I believe that my employees will perform better if they have a clear understanding of where we are heading, what is expected of them, if they are empowered to do what they do best and if they trust me to lead them.

Which side of the fence do you sit: being up on the latest etiquette or getting the job done?

Making Innovation More Than a Buzzword

I read with great interest Ric Merrifield’s blog post where he commented: “My growing fear is that innovation is on course to become the fad of the day in the same way quality was in the 90s.” Far from a “fad”, I believe innovation is core to growth for many businesses and it is not likely to get blown away by the next breezy trend. The foundation to creating innovation in your firm is to develop a culture that supports risk taking. It’s not about fads, trends and buzzwords. It’s about creating an environment that promotes creativity.

Complacency can ruin any good business. Just look at Blockbuster who announced last month they are filing for bankruptcy after not being able to anticipate, adapt and cater to new market and customer demands.

As Fast Company reports, there’s a strong correlation between innovation and failure. One of the worst habits organizations get into is that of not taking any risks. Place the bet on smart people who push the envelope. These are the ones who will help spur innovation. Fostering innovation is about the way you do business as much as who does business with you. Recreate the same uncreative processes, fail to listen to your customers, miss market trends and you’ll have the same uncreative business.

If you value innovation and want to instill it as a cornerstone to success in your organization, then you will need to establish the kind of culture that is conducive to sustainable innovation — one that enables innovation to become part of your company's DNA, rather than being yet another buzzword. Demonstrate to people that ideas are at the heart of what your organization values. Give people room to grow, to explore new ideas; build a strong sense of openness and trust and community; and facilitate the internal mobility of talent. All of this will go a long way to fostering sustainable innovation.

Is innovation a fad or a cornerstone in your organization?

The Benefits of Impromptu Chitchats

Is the water cooler conversation dead? Maybe so. With many companies today stretched so thin, leaders are expecting people to take on more, expanding their responsibilities and increasing productivity goals. Add to the mix the growing trend of working virtually, office chitchat is on the decline.

However, impromptu chitchat can have real value. As MIT Professor Sandy Pentland reports on the results of a new study proving the benefits, he says: “Individuals who talked to more co-workers were getting through calls faster, felt less stressed and had the same approval ratings as their peers. Informally talking out problems and solutions, it seemed, produced better results than following the employee handbook or obeying managers’ e-mailed instructions.”

Office chitchat is often perceived as unproductive down time. But, in reality, it can lead to innovative problem solving, new ideas, stress relief and collaborative efforts that actually increase both productivity and performance. And it can be fun, too!

Sure, when chitchat is excessive it can lead to frustrations and lowered performance. So, help employees to learn the skills to move on from unproductive conversations. It’s ok to tell someone you’re “on a deadline” or “have a call to join”. However, managers should encourage conversations among team members - and not just email exchanges. An office devoid of personal interaction can create an atmosphere that’s unpleasant, even oppressive. It’s human nature to interact. The relationships that are built out of sharing can go a long way toward building a cohesive team. And, it’s well known that relationships with co-workers are the main reason employee stay with their current employers.

Encourage employees to reach out to one another to help solve problems and create solutions, even if they work virtually. Use technology, such as the telephone, Instant Messaging, wikis and other tools to help them keep engaged with each other. And as the leader, it's important to role model this behavior.

When was the last time you stopped to chitchat?

Solve a business problem: develop employees

We all know that organizations are facing a much more difficult landscape than they did two years ago. Organizations at the forefront of their industries are the ones that attract the best and the brightest talent who bring the innovation and creativity needed to win.

Organizations that value their employees know that they bring a unique set of experiences and expertise. They realize those in the trenches can see where efficiencies can be created and are often the best source for innovation. Encouraging employees to share their perspectives and insights will help an organization enrich its offerings, address organizational issues, become more creative, more efficient, offer a fresh point of view, and escalate the competitiveness of their organization.

Employees want to be involved in business strategy execution and in helping their employer to be more successful. These future leaders want to play an active role and contribute to its success in a meaningful way. Employees are no longer content watching from the sidelines; they want to be part of the decision process.

However, study after study share findings indicating future leaders are poised to leave organizations once the job market improves, while engagement research shows that keeping employees engaged is a key to retention.

Leaders must address how to improve engagement while staying focused on business needs. Developing employees is highly correlated with increased engagement and employee retention. However, simply developing employees may not lead to improved organizational results. There needs to be a link between development and the strategic goals of the organization. An Emerging Talent Program focused on identifying and developing high potentials is a catalyst many high performance organizations use to engage and retain their best and brightest. With direction and input from senior leadership, employees identified as “Emerging Talent” are given organizational goals to research, analyze, and make recommendations on. Examples include identifying additional solutions or offerings, establishing more effective practices, and identifying new market strategies. Throughout the program senior leadership assesses the direction of the projects and makes refinements where necessary to ensure constant alignment with business objectives. Recommendations are then reviewed by senior leadership, decisions are made based on strategic priorities, implementation owners are identified, and action plans are created. Throughout this implementation process the Emerging Talent members are fully involved, and their development continues to expand as a result. Upon completion of the one-year Emerging Talent program, members become mentors and coaches to the next program class to help share their insights and give feedback on the direction of the projects.

Organizations that engage employees through development activities, such as an Emerging Talent Program, while focusing on strategy, increase engagement and retain key talent, creating the high performance workforce needed to move the company to the forefront of their industry. When implemented as part of an organization’s overall business and talent strategy, engaging high potentials by offering development opportunities solves a critical business issue: having the right people with the right skills in the right roles.

Finding Your Next Big Idea

You never know where the next great idea is going to come from. Creative ideas and innovative thinking are what it takes to succeed in today’s hyper competitive market. The best place to look? In your own workplace. Employees have a lot to contribute. In fact, 57% of employees say they regularly make suggestions in the workplace.

Employees really want to be heard. Making suggestions signals they are thinking about the performance of the organization and want to contribute in a much more meaningful way. And this can be a great opportunity for organizations – if you have the right organizational culture, processes and leadership to support and leverage it.

An important demographic to consider are those just entering the workforce. They bring a new perspective and aren’t encumbered by the old way of doing things. They have lots of ideas. What motivates this group is the opportunity to contribute at a higher level, play a more active role in the organization and grow in their career. This is an important group to engage. Why? They are our future. However, most college graduates don’t expect to stay long in their first job. Consider how to encourage younger workers to contribute creative ideas as a great way to engage them, develop them and build long-term commitment.

Given flatter organizations and potentially less opportunities for promotion, encourage innovation and help younger workers to feel part of the organization by listening and supporting ideas. Use the opportunity to develop employees by having them be accountable for implementing their ideas and measuring the impact. Encourage suggestions but provide coaching to ensure the suggestions are meaningful and executable. Have them make a compelling business case, research any associated costs and related trends. It’s also a great way to raise individual visibility and credibility throughout the organization.

Be sure employees’ ideas and suggestions are not only acknowledged, but that employees have a chance to make them happen.

Do you work in an environment that encourages employees of all levels to make suggestions?

The benefits of being insubordinate

As marketing guru Seth Godin writes: “What’s the opposite of insubordinate? I guess it’s subordinate. Which is better, I wonder. Is it preferred to do exactly what you’re told, to be clearly subordinate to the system, to the boss, to the short term demands of the organization - or are we better off doing the right thing instead?”

In my opinion, there is tremendous value as a leader to having at least a few insubordinates on your team. As senior leaders, many of us have witnessed CMOs who are surrounded by “yes” people where he/she gets too much agreement and too little candor. Often even the CMO recognizes it and doesn’t know what to do about it.

The challenge is to encourage every team member to speak up, to facilitate more back-and-forth, even if it means dissent from the CMO’s point of view. This also means enabling them to take action without “checking all the boxes,” letting them do what they think is right and allowing them to stake their reputation on it. Insubordinates are often the ones most responsible for moving the company forward – sometimes taking back doors to get stuff done – with the best interest of the company in mind. Insubordinates are the ones who tell it like it is and aren’t satisfied maintaining the status quo. I appreciate it is hard to do this if your organization has a culture that punishes people for pushing back or for taking calculated risks. But there is great value and a need for people who are prepared to challenge and push at times without dancing around the issue or flowering the delivery.

Senior leaders today are inundated with information and competing demands on their time. They are flooded with data, torrents of email and unplanned requests. So team members sometimes find they’re not actually accomplishing anything, but merely passing messages back and forth, waiting for decisions to be made. Make sure the vision is clear and keep the culture productive and high-performing by embracing a little “insubordination”.

What’s the ratio of subordinates to insubordinates that surround you?

Optional leadership

Some 90% of the world’s top firms are led by Boomers or older. Sure, it’s fine to acknowledge that the age of the working population is expanding and that older workers are staying in the workforce longer. But at some time, these leaders need to make room for the next generation of leadership: Generation X.

According to generational expert Tammy Erickson, who recently presented a Harvard Business Review webinar on “The Leaders We Need Now: Are We Ready for Gen X to Take Charge?”, Gen X will lead by exploring option after option. This new band of leaders, who are currently aged 31-49 years old, hold valuable, contemporary traits and perspectives that will alter how leaders drive organizations forward.

Erickson believes that Gen X leaders have a sense of alienation and a preference for the alternative. They are inclined to innovate and look for different ways to advance objectives. As leaders, Gen X will explore options to solutions more freely, which could be a point of contention for those of other generations who prefer sticking to an agreed upon and fixed path.

Instead, Gen X leaders hold strong survival skills and can handle change with resilience. Remember, these are the people who, as kids, saw their parents experience widespread layoffs for the first time, rising divorce rates, falling standards of adult behavior such as Watergate, and removal of political barriers such the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

As leaders, we can expect Gen X to be fiercely independent. They will meet their commitments. They will take their own employability very seriously. They will be ready with a well-nurtured portfolio of options and networks. And they will be practical, incisive and hold value-oriented sensibilities.

But the greatest difference in their leadership style will be the continued pursuit of options: optional career paths, lifestyles and business solutions. How will the rest of the workforce fare with such option-based leadership?

Scare tactics: keeping the adrenaline going

No one would dispute an undercurrent of fear continues to run through our current economic climate. Yet fear, as it relates to creative tension, can be a valuable tool for motivating high performers.

Nothing innovative or truly cutting-edge is born of complacency. Leaders need to motivate employees by inspiring them to achieve their maximum potential. To be sure, the balance between fear and creative tension is a fragile one. But when this balance is achieved, its payoff will be a high performance culture.

In a sense, high performers thrive on fear. They are inherent risk-takers who have little interest in playing it safe. As such, they operate best in a culture where creative tension is the norm. They bristle at the idea of being micromanaged. Yet, born decision-makers, they also have no qualms about being held accountable. Rather than shy away from responsibility, they embrace it. Rather than walk away from a challenge, they meet it head-on. Leaders need to find a way to effectively stimulate these high performers while simultaneously affording them the freedom they need to succeed.

Of course, creating a culture of fear benefits no one. Creativity cannot thrive in an environment where fear — a fear of failure, primarily, and its dreaded consequences — is prevalent. Leaders need to be sensitive to creating a culture in which the creative process, often in the form of risk-taking, is not simply tolerated but actively supported and sustained as a means to achieving success.

And to that end, a little fear can go a long, long way.

See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It

Today you presented a report on a key strategic initiative. Your report was well researched, well supported by the facts and well argued. The team seemed to like it. You've done a good job - you've delivered - but have you been accountable?

Accountability is more than having an idea, writing a report, sharing research or providing metrics. A recent article in Talent Management, Think Positive: Transforming Accountability, defined accountability this way: "see it, own it, solve it, do it." In writing your report, sharing your findings and making recommendations, you may have seen the challenge and even figured out a way to "solve it." But it's in the owning and the doing that real accountability lies. Your idea is only as good as your success in implementing it.

Owning and doing, as well as seeing and solving, are the backbones of a true workplace culture of accountability. Building a culture based on these cornerstones inspires innovation, experimentation and risk taking. It encourages employees to find more meaning in their work and to contribute at a higher level - with an impact on organizational performance that can only be positive. If you want your organization to be a market leader, you could do worse than taking on the seeing, owning, solving and doing accountability challenge.

Fanning the Flames of Passion In Your Workforce

Passion for work can be elusive and difficult to quantify. However, as it pertains to the next generation of employees, passion is a huge and undeniable component of what makes them committed and engaged. It is also what inspires the creativity and innovation that is their hallmark.

The next generation of employees insists on feeling passionate about what they do. It has high expectations for work that has meaning and value, work that provides them with developmental and learning experiences. Not content to perform tasks and follow orders, they want to be fully participating and making a difference in an open and dynamic environment – signaling a significant culture shift in how and why we work.

How organizations acknowledge this shift, address the needs of this segment of the workforce, and inspire passion will be what differentiates the winners from the losers. It’s poor business sense, if not professional suicide, to neglect to tap the potential of these creative young people. An organization unwilling to adapt will not be able to succeed; put simply, stagnation equals death. Without the sort of passion — in part defined by the sheer potential for creative and innovative ideas and solutions — endemic to the next generation of employees, businesses are destined to wither and die.

This generation expects to be challenged, to have its horizons broadened at every opportunity. Leaders need to supply these opportunities, to set these personally and professionally enriching challenges. This means that leaders also need to be vigilant about recognizing a person’s unique talent and rewarding a job well done, whether via formal performance evaluations or more informal conversations acknowledging meaningful contributions. Finally, leaders need to do just that: lead by example. The next generation of employees takes its prospective company’s values to heart. It scorns insincerity and won’t tolerate hypocrisy of any kind. Therefore, leaders must be prepared to “walk the talk” if they expect the next generation of employees to loyally and proudly — and passionately — follow.