One of the most important books I’ve read is Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. I strongly recommend this book. Here is a short, but important, video of Frankl. We are all, in the end, searching for meaning, for what is meaningful to us. Frankl has a remarkable story and can help be your guide.
It used to be we thought leaders were the smart ones. They had all the answers. They were the ones who knew all and could be counted on to answer any question in a pinch. And their actions were never, ever, questioned.
Alas, some leaders still feel that way. They plod blindly along, not ever knowing how their actions impact those with whom they work. I suspect they are seen by those around them as the “know-it-all-who-doesn’t-really-know-anything”. You know the type, right?
But the role of a leader these days is far too complex to be done in a vacuum. Leaders need information about how they’re doing, what they’re doing well and what they can do better.
What are we talking about? It’s called feedback, and as much as some might fret, it’s not hazardous to their health.
We grow when we can take feedback from others. Sure, some things folks tell us may not be on target, but most of us have blind spots, behaviors and attitudes that get in the way of our effectiveness. I admire the candor of this leader, who posted this comment on True Insider, a web site that offers employees an opportunity to converse with each other about their work experiences:
Some of the greatest feedback that I’ve ever gotten has been from team members who have just wanted to share something they thought we could do better and as a (supervisor) it’s my duty to make my team happy and learn from that feedback. I have not always been a great leader. I have to learn from my mistakes and be open to feedback. If it hadn’t been for some great team members that have demonstrated courage and told me what they didn’t like, I probably wouldn’t be very good at my job.
Bravo to this leader. It’s not easy to ask for and receive feedback. Sometimes your ego can get bruised, but if you’re willing to accept feedback from colleagues you can often push through some of those blind spots.
Try a little feedback on for size. Trust me, you’ll live to tell about it.
(Photo from luckyfish on Flickr)
CK Prahalad died last week– he will be missed. Here’s a short interview.
In the 2000 movie The Legend of Bagger Vance Matt Damon’s character, playing in a competitive golf tournament, sees his ball shift slightly as he moves a leaf away which, according to rules of the game, is a penalty. He does the right thing and calls a penalty on himself, adding to the drama of the movie and the honor of the Damon character.
Real life and art came together this past weekend when professional golfer Brian Davis, in a sudden death playoff to win his first PGA event, saw his ball move when he apparently touched a loose twig during his backswing. He promptly stopped, and after deliberation with an official (who didn’t see the violation, nor did his playing partner) called a two-stroke penalty on himself. Afterward Davis remarked: “It was one of those things I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. And I thought we’d check on the TV, and indeed there was movement.”
Brian Davis penalized himself and lost the golf tournament, but won the admiration of fans and peers. The eventual winner, Jim Furyk, said: “To have the tournament come down that way is definitely not the way I wanted to win. It’s obviously a tough loss for him and I respect and admire what he did.”
One of the unique aspects of golf is that players can, and often do, penalize themselves. Players are asked to help in enforcing the rules of the game. Brian Davis did that. To many what happened–a small twig moving slightly on his backswing-may not seem like a grave infraction. But the rules of the game are designed to make sure no golfer gets an unfair advantage over other players, and moving a loose impediment near the golf ball might do that. Ergo, it’s a rule and there’s a penalty and Brian Davis, in spite of the obvious consequences to himself, called the penalty and lost the match.
In the course of writing Re-Engage we saw a significant difference in leaders at highly engaged companies. We identified seven differentiators between leaders at winning Best-Places-to-Work employers. One of those differentiators is trust in the honesty and integrity of senior leaders. Listen to employees where engagement is low comment about a lack of trust based on shaky integrity:
“I’ve seen my managers lie to their employees about their loss of benefits and other issues.”
“Although the CIO says he has no plans for outsourcing, there have been at least two meetings with large international outsourcing companies.”
“Human Resources is often rude, disrespectful and dishonest. I feel like if I were to have a problem with a manager that would require HR’s attention, I could not trust them to keep my name confidential or to appropriately address my concerns.”
“The upper members of the management team are not forthcoming. They give an air of suspicion and distrust to their employees. Fishing for information to use against each other is not an appropriate tactic.”
Contrast these comments from employees who feel a strong bond of trust with their leaders:
“I’ve worked in environments where I didn’t entirely trust the CEO and management, which is why working here is so refreshing. I believe the management team has a lot of integrity, and it’s genuine.”
“I believe leadership is honest and provide crucial information about the current state of our industry in light of the economic down turn. This transparency has kept me here.”
“I grew up with my grandfather. He had his own business in which he regarded honestly and integrity an important aspect of his business. Our CEO leads with those same traits. I have the highest regard and complete trust in the leadership here. I am also confident that next generation of leaders will lead in the same manner as we continue towards the future.”
Over the past few years we’ve had more than our share of dishonest leaders. In the wake of all the corporate scandals I’m sure there are some laws that could help reduce the chance that executives could bilk us.
But what might really help is if more leaders acted like golfer Brian Davis.
They would act like the rules meant something and policed themselves. They would call a penalty even for the slightest of infractions, because they know that any violation is a violation, plain and simple.
When the “twig moves” a penalty is assessed.
According to our research leaders at winning workplaces seem more likely to have figured that out, which leads to greater loyalty and effort from their employees. Want to be a better employer that is revered by employees, customers and shareholders? When the twig moves, do the right thing.
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”.
You may recall this movie co-starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine and directed by Frank Oz-terrific title. Sadly, it is also an all-too-common synopsis of how employees at many workplaces feel about the individuals who hold leadership positions where they work.
In Re-Engage we identify seven themes that differentiate senior leaders who have created highly engaged workplaces from those leaders who can fairly be called “dirty, rotten scoundrels”. The most engaging leaders:
1. Use their personal power to engage and are committed to creating a great workplace,
2. Inspire confidence in their decisions and direction,
3. Build trust through their honesty and integrity,
4. Practice open, two-way communication,
5. Shun the temptations of executive greed and strive to pay fairly,
6. Genuinely value employees as people, and
7. Lead with respect, not coercion, control, fear, or intimidation.
To illustrate these themes, here are a few comments from employees who must live under opposite conditions–the oppression of leaders whose actions have led to highly disengaged employees:
“They cut out our benefits when the company shows no signs of slowing; blaming the economy, yet managers still got their bonuses.”
“Leaders are exploiting us to the fullest in order to increase company profits.”
“I feel that the company doesn’t value its employees. They demand things with no benefit or feedback from the employees.”
“The entire country is in financial stress and yet somehow this company manages to find a way to place the lack of sales on its employees.”
“There is very little trust that the managers will follow through with promised rewards and a general feeling of not being valued. Being told that we are ‘lucky to have a job’ makes people feel like they are being taken advantage of because they have no other choice.”
The leaders of these employees should heed the words of the great U.S. general and President Dwight Eisenhower, who said: “You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” Employees at disengaged workplaces are judging their leaders guilty of assault, and the productivity and engagement of employees suffers as a result.
We admonish every leader to examine the seven themes that differentiate effective leadership as seen through the eyes of employees. You may also want to consider the following questions:
Believe us, your employees know the difference.
A conversation I overheard at my favorite local burger joint today:
John: Hey Steve, great to see you! How’s it going?
Steve: Good. A lot better than when we were working together at ____. (To save embarrassment and a likely law suit, the employer shall remain anonymous.)
John: I hear you– I’m so glad to be gone from that place and out of the control of the owner. You couldn’t trust a thing the man said, or most of his supervisors. The only one you could trust was Bill. He was young, but was smart and you could count on what he said.
Steve: Yea, Bill is great. In fact, he hired on with my new company. We’re working together again, and our new boss couldn’t be more pleased. Bill is still pretty young, but he’s smart and shoots straight.
John: So Bill’s working with you, huh?
Steve: Yep. We’ve got some openings. Want me to put a good word in for you?
The same story, over and over. Employees being chased out by dishonest leadership. I kept thinking how glad the competition must be to have an employer who chases good employees, particularly a young “up and comer”, right into their hands.
This Associated Press article features Leigh Branham, my co-author, talking about the importance of employee retention for small businesses:
Many employees of small businesses are grateful to have a job, even as salaries are frozen or cut and they’re asked to take on more responsibility. Company owners shouldn’t take those good attitudes for granted — they need to show workers some loyalty so staffers don’t jump ship when the economy gets stronger.
“This is a crucial time,” said Leigh Branham, owner of Keeping The People, a human resources consulting firm in Overland Park, Kan. “Employees are testing you to see how loyal you are to them, to decide if they’re going to stay.”
The article presents several excellent ideas for keeping employees in these more difficult times.
Hopefully, you’ll read the article, manage accordingly, and “pass the test”.
Excellent interview in the New York Times of Gary E. McCullough, president and chief executive of the Career Education Corporation. The entire interview is worth a read. Here are two sections I found particularly instructive, the first on the value of senior leaders paying attention to the needs of staff and how even seemingly small gestures can make a big difference:
Q. What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?
A. The biggest one I learned, and I learned it early on in my tenure in the Army, is the importance of small gestures. As you become more senior, those small gestures and little things become sometimes more important than the grand ones. Little things like saying “please” and “thank you” — just the basic respect that people are due, or sending personal notes. I spend a lot of time sending personal notes.
I’ll never forget one of the interactions we had with my commanding general of the division in which I was a platoon leader. We were at Fort Bragg, N.C. We had miserable weather. It was February and not as warm as you would think it would be in North Carolina. It had been raining for about a week, and the commanding general came around to review some of the platoons in the field. He went to one of my vehicle drivers and he asked him what he thought of the exercise we were on. To which the young private said, “Sir, it stinks.” I saw my short career flash before my eyes at that point.
He asked why, and the private said: “There are people who think this is great weather for doing infantry operations. I personally think 75 and partly cloudy is better.”
And so the commanding general said, “What can I do to make it better for you?” And the private said, “Sir, I sure could use a Snickers bar.” So a couple days later we were still moving through some really lousy weather, and a box showed up for the private. And that box was filled with 38 Snickers bars, which is the number of people in my platoon. And there was a handwritten note from the commanding general of our division that said, “I can’t do anything about the weather, but I hope this makes your day a bit brighter, and please share these with your buddies.”
And on that day, at that time, we would’ve followed that general anywhere. It was a very small thing, and he didn’t need to do it, but it impressed upon me that small gestures are hugely important.
And a wonderful illustration of how staff judge your actions, your “comportment” as they used to say, and what you can do to develop deep and abiding relationships that will make a big difference in you people perceive you as a leader:
There was a woman named Rosemary who long ago retired from Procter & Gamble. Rosemary was a cafeteria worker, and at the time at P. & G., we actually had a cart that would come around at 7, 7:30 in the morning. They would ring a bell and you’d go get a cup of coffee and a doughnut or a bagel or something to start off your day.And Rosemary had an uncanny ability to discern who was going to make it and who wasn’t going to make it. And I remember, when I was probably almost a year into the organization, she told me I was going to be O.K. But she also told me some of my classmates who were with the company weren’t going to make it. And she was more accurate than the H.R. organization was.
When I talked to her, I said, “How’d you know?” She could tell just by the way they treated people. In her mind, everybody was going to drop the ball at some point, and then she said: “You know you’re going to drop the ball at some point, and I see that you’re good with people and people like you and you treat them right. They’re going to pick up the ball for you, and they’re going to run and they’re going to score a touchdown for you. But if they don’t like you, they’re going to let that ball lie there and you’re going to get in trouble.”
Again, I think it’s those intangible things. I had taken the time to get to know Rosemary and know that her husband’s name was Floyd and know the thing that they did in their off-time was bowling. So, it is all those little intangible things that you see, not when you’re sitting around a table in a conference room, but what you see in other ways.
Kudos to Mr. McCullough for being the kind of leader that seems in short supply these days– one who has willing followers.
From The Daily Drucker, by Peter Drucker and Joseph Maciarello:
One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it. In a period of upheavels, such as the one were living in, change is the norm. To be sure, it is painful and risky, and above all it requires a great deal of very hard work. But unless it is seen as the task of the organization to lead change, the organization will not survive. In a period of rapid structural change, the only ones who survive are the change leaders. A change leader sees change as an opportunity. A change leader looks for change, know how to find the right changes, and know how to make them effective both outside the organization and inside it. To make the future is highly risky. It is less risky, howeve, than not to try to make it. A goodly proportion of those attempting to will not succeed. But predictably, no one else will.
Questions to consider:
I recently analyzed employee engagement surveys for two different employers. In both cases I found a group of employees who had significantly lower results than the rest of the company. As I dug deeper into the results, including the anecdotal comments, the same problem in both employers become clear:
Bad, rogue management.
What sickened me most was what these rogue managers were doing to “motivate” employees in the midst of this economic crisis. In both cases they were telling employees:
“you better keep your nose to the grindstone, because if you don’t I can hire a dozen others just like you who don’t have a job. And don’t making any demands, because I’m in charge here.”
Could someone please tell me why ANYONE would think this strategy is going to make sense for these businesses now or, importantly, in the future?
Nauseating.
Our research tells us there are other employers who are not subscribing to this kind of fear mongering and are, in fact, managing in a more engaging manner and, in doing so, achieving outstanding results.
The “you-bet-your-job” attitude on the part of some so-called leaders isn’t the cure to our economic woes.
For more information on what some outstanding employers are doing to engage employee in difficult economic times please read Beating the Bear Market with Engaged Employees
Mark Hirschfeld 