Results vs. Activities | A blog by Envisia Learning for those who are truly interested in increasing organizational performance

TGIF – Let’s Trick The Customer

January 27, 2012 by Bill Bradley

As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.

Quote of the Week:

“Well if this is the wrong number, why did you answer it” James Thurber (How come wrong numbers are never busy?)

Humor Break: Remember “Laugh-In”? “One ringy-dingy….” aimed a spoof of customer service at the phone company and concluded with the message, “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the Phone Company.”

Stat of the Week: February is around the corner. It is the month of Love (Valentine’s Day). I thought I would declare the month “Customer Appreciation Month” and focus on the customer. Since it isn’t quite February, I will begin a “Customer Unappreciation Article”. Pepperdine University Professor David McMahon wrote a scholarly yet very readable article about how to manage customer waiting time. My Stat of the Week is pretty loose this week, but in the article he lists a number of ways to deal with wait times. The whole article was so logical and well-reasoned that I couldn’t help but sit back a feel satisfied…until I started to challenge some assumptions. Two in particular stood out. (1) the organization’s time is more valuable than the customer’s and (2) the purpose isn’t to minimize or eliminate wait times, but to make wait time more palatable. On second reading the article is all about how to trick the customer. My favorite example, how a telephone company kept customers waiting and charged them for the waiting time.

Action Tip: If you haven’t lost your sanity but want a quick way to voice a complaint and (maybe) even get a response, try the 3rd party website MeasureUP . If you have lost your sanity and really want to rant, google “ihate(name of company)”. Here is one of the most popular rant sites. I have even considered using on several occasions: ihatedirecttv Blog. (Not well done, goes from earliest posts to latest post???, lots of literacy issues, but lots of posts.) I have read that Direct TV monitors this site for statistical purposes and according to one source on the site, action was actually taken.

Volunteering: One place being put on hold could be deadly is with teenagers in trouble. Every town needs consiencious adults as telephone volunteers. Google “teen telephone crisis hotlines” for a crisis center in your area. Don’t wait. Don’t leave them waiting.

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To Share or NOT to Share 360-Degree Feedback Results

January 26, 2012 by Sandra Mashihi

“What one hides is worth neither more nor less than what one finds. And what one hides from oneself is worth neither more nor less than what one allows others to find.” -Andre Breton

In most 360-degree feedback processes used for developmental purposes, the participant is the only person who gets to keep a copy of the individual summary feedback report.

Sharing reports can come in multiple parts, so that only some portions can be shared in one chooses to and feel more comfortable. The different parts of the report/results can include content of the report, executive summary, distal portion of the results, and the action plan. For example, if a participant is uncomfortable with sharing results, he or she may feel more comfortable to share an executive summary, rather than details of the content.

In some cases, the report might be made available to an internal or external coach the participant is working with or a trainer or facilitator who is conducting an organizational workshop. It is typical for talent management and succession planning purposes that a copy of the feedback report might also be made available to one’s manager or the human resources department.

Of course, a participant who has a good relationship with his or her manager and engages with the manager as a performance coach will be expected to openly share his or her feedback report, whether formally part of a 360-degree feedback intervention or not.

Coach’s Critique:

An issue of concern that often comes up in my coaching practice has to do with the sharing of the 360-degree feedback report. Generally, the only person that can see the report is the participant. However, in many cases, the HR representative and/or participant’s manager wish to see the results of the report. This may lead to the participant feeling anxious and uncomfortable to feel exposed by his or her manager. My clients have shared concerns that showing their 360 results place them in a position where their manager can hold anything against them. Furthermore, they feel that they were promised confidentiality and would prefer not to share their results. On the other hand, managers would like to see the results in order to be involved in their development and hold them accountable. So, how do we balance the two?

For one thing, it is important to clarify all boundaries regarding sharing 360 degree results during the contracting phase in order to avoid any conflict of interest after the 360 feedback results.

In addition, if a participant is uncomfortable to share all aspects of the results, it’s a good idea to encourage him or her to share only aspects of the report. For instance, many participants are comfortable with their manager to see their quantitative data, but are reluctant of sharing the open-ended comments.

What has been your experience with sharing 360-degree feedback results?

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1/26/12: Top Talent Development Posts this Week

January 26, 2012 by Wally Bock

Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces on talent management in Asia, the business case for talent management, preparing managers for the future, talent “portfolios,” and mobile learning and ROI.

From Kate Sweetman on the HBR Blogs: One Talent Strategy Isn’t Enough for Asia

“I posed this question to a group of executives in a successful Asian-headquartered bank during a recent consulting engagement: ‘Considering for the moment only our current set of employees, where do we devote development resources to get the leadership talent we will need in the next three to five years?’ The bank operates in almost 20 Asian countries, employs tens of thousands of employees and makes very good returns on a substantial asset base. The company’s strategy is to take full advantage of being a local player in emerging Asian growth markets while deepening their leadership pool and strengthening their talent pipeline.”

Wally’s Comment: Don’t pass this up just because you’re not doing business in Asia. Kate Sweetman (named an “Emerging Guru” by the Times of London) points out that managers in different countries have differing perceptions of their talent development needs. Your company has countries, too. There may be a “marketing country” and a “manufacturing country” for example, or, perhaps, a “New York country” and a “Kansas City country.”

From Josh Bersin: The Business Case for Talent Management: Steve Ballmer Agrees

“Talent management makes money. If you are trying to build a business case for a corporate talent management program, here is some astounding data: Of the 700+ organizations we studied in 2010 and 2011, only 7% told us that they have a “strategic talent management” program.”

Wally’s Comment: Read this post to find out how big the difference is between those with a “strategic talent management program” and the others. You’ll also see how talent management plays out at Microsoft.

From Hay Group: Converting existing managers into future-ready leaders

“For future-ready leaders, there is a critical need for organizations to convert their existing managers into leaders who can leverage their team’s potential and ensure a proactive workforce. Companies need to redefine their business models, customer relationship models and workforce models to translate future business expectations into results.”

Wally’s Comment: This post is here because of the term “future-ready.” The best talent development programs prepare people to be able to succeed in whatever future shows up, not in a single, painstakingly-specific future predicted by the planning department or a high-priced consulting firm.

From Ron Thomas: Managing Talent: Why You Should Treat it Like a Marketing Portfolio

“While reading a recent issue of Advertising Age, I came across an interesting article about branding — not from a qualitative state but from an analytical and quantitative approach. The article was based on work done by Stengel (along with Millward Brown) identifying the 50 fastest growing brands in terms of value and consumer preference.”

Wally’s Comment: Portfolios have been a staple of strategic planning for a few decades now. Ron Thomas suggests they’re an effective tool for talent management, too.

From TLNT: Maximizing the ROI on Employee Training with Mobile Learning

“No executive in their right mind would argue with the fact that employee training is a basic business necessity. When organizations experience growth, change or competitive pressure, gaps emerge between what employees know and what they need to know in order for the company to remain relevant in the marketplace.”

Wally’s Comment: “Mobile learning” is one of those buzz phrases with substance. Mobile learning is also a way to summon information when you need it.

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Let’s Give The Kiddies A Chance

January 25, 2012 by Bill Bradley

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: Values and Visions

Competency: visionary leadership

Who benefits: primarily employees in leadership positions, secondarily anyone with an interest in the future of work

Consultant Usage: should be on every organizational consultant’s reading list … this is where your clients are going

What’s it about? January is an optimistic month. Everything is new and fresh. We still believe this year will be better than last year. (Well, despite efforts to the contrary, most of us aren’t ready to acknowledge that it is one of those awful and gloomy election years. Why can’t we do elections in September through early November and not ruin a perfectly good summer?)

Back to a new and fresh January. Might be a good time to look at some new and fresh ideas from the upcoming generation. How about a newly published book on what is on the minds of young leaders today? The book cover summarizes it this way: “Globalization. Sustainability. Technology. Diversity. Learning. Convergence of the public and private sectors. These are the big issues on the minds of young leaders today—the challenges they most want to, and must, pursue.”

I am old. There are several generations chasing me. No generation yet has solved the biggest problems facing countries and industries. I keep hoping there will be a generation that “gets it”. I want to know what the youngest working generation is thinking. I tried to catch a young executive recently, but I was too slow and he slipped away. I guess he figured my generation had its chance he wasn’t going to be slowed down by an old codger. (Oh yeah, just wait till Clint Eastwood gets a hold of him!)

Fortunately I don’t have to continue to run in futility. Three distinguished recent Harvard MBA grads, along with some very well-known and impressive advisors have written Passion and Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders. They write from their own passions and insights gained from a survey of 500 students from top U.S. business schools.

Those young’uns sure are an optimistic bunch. They seem to think they have what it takes to make the world a better place. I get the feeling they don’t waste too much time watching the nightly news or listening to the talking heads. The media does an excellent job of telling us what is wrong. These young folks seem a lot more interested in showing us what is right.

Well bless their pointy little heads and I hope they are right. It’s January, the optimistic month. Give a read to what these 20-something optimists have to say. Wouldn’t hurt if our older generations would get behind them. Just maybe they can fix what we didn’t.

Catch you later.

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Coaching Exercise of the Week: “Do It NOW”

January 24, 2012 by Sandra Mashihi

This free exercise, and dozens of others, were created for our book, Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It. You can learn more about Clueless by visiting our site or you can buy it from amazon.com today.

Purpose of Exercise: With this form, clients can identify areas of procrastination and commit to taking action.

How to Administer and Use this Exercise to Facilitate Behavior Change: Often times, individuals procrastinate what they have always wanted to do in their work and life. This can demotivate clients, as they may not feel like they are accomplishing what they are set out to do. This exercise embraces the idea that life is short, and as time goes by, people are less likely to do the things that they value. It can help them think about and identify the different aspects of their work and life they have always wanted to achieve. Once they identify those areas, they can commit to taking action, NOW!

To download “Do It Now”, please click here. To view the table of contents, preview a free chapter, and order Clueless please go to: http://www.envisialearning.com/clueless_book.

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Lessons from the Leadership Development Top Ten

January 24, 2012 by Wally Bock

On January 12, 2012, Chief Executive published “40 Best Companies for Leaders 2012: How Top Companies Excel in Leadership Development.” On the eighteenth, they came out with “10 Best Companies for Leaders: How Focusing on Leadership Development Creates a Competitive Advantage” which went into more detail on the very best of the best at leadership development.

The list itself is fascinating. Six of the ten companies are more than a century old. The youngest is almost forty. That’s impressive, since the “average lifespan of a multinational-Fortune 500 company or equivalent” is forty to fifty years. You could conclude that attention to leadership development and succession planning might have something to do with that longevity.

Three of the CEO’s have been with their company for their entire career. One other, Jeff Immelt, spent a brief time at Proctor and Gamble (#1) before moving to General Electric (#3). In an era with lots of job-hopping, that’s pretty impressive and may say something about the quality of the longer-lived leadership development programs.

When you look at these “top ten” companies in depth there are three red threads that run through the profiles. These top companies give leadership development time and attention and they address leadership issues vertically and horizontally.

Give It Time and Attention

This is nothing new. We’ve said it about top companies for leadership development for years. They make it a priority. Top management gives it time. 3M CEO George Buckley, for example, “spends over a fifth of his time on talent issues and teaches strategy and leadership to executives who meet twice a year.”

Vertical Development Thinking

For many companies, succession planning is something you only pay attention to for your top executives. These companies have a more “hire to retire” approach. At IBM, for example, the company creates “Success Profiles” for all leadership roles and considers both “pipeline identification and development.”

Horizontal Development Thinking

These top ten companies seem to recognize that some leadership roles require deep technical expertise and special leadership practice. At Caterpillar, the Leadership and Technical Development Program (LTDP) includes:

Product Development
Manufacturing Engineering
Metallurgical Engineering
Welding Engineering
Supply Chain Management
Environment, Industrial Health and Safety

I take two thoughts away from this. First, the basics of paying attention, involving key executives, and intertwining development and succession planning are still the way top leadership development companies operate. Second, the major trend is to think more broadly and deeply about talent development than ever before.

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So How Do You Really Measure Emotional and Social Competence?

January 22, 2012 by Ken Nowack

“Nearly 80% of people believe they are among the top 50% most emotionally intelligent people”

Peter Salovey

There are at least three distinct approaches to measuring EI and emotional and social competence representing different models.

The first, delineated by Reuven Bar-On, was influenced by his interest in the aspects of performance not linked to intelligence; the second, often tied to Daniel Goleman’s interpretation, approached EI through competencies; and the third, represented by Mayer and Salovey and colleagues, was influenced by their interest in the relationship between cognition and emotion.

These three approaches have led to diverse and non-overlapping measures of EI characterized as: 1) Personality oriented (e.g, Bar-On Emotion Quotient Inventory); 2) Competency or “Mixed” model oriented (e.g., Emotional Intelligence View 360); and 3) Ability or skill oriented (e.g., Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test; MSCEIT).

Issues with Ability Based Measures of Emotional Intelligence

Independece from personality measures (e.g., five factor models)
Weak convergent validity with other cognitive ability measures (i.e., they don’t highly correlate with IQ)
Scoring issues (i.e., lack of agreement and some controversy on how these assessments are scored)
Confounded with a measure of knowledge (i.e., they seem to be measuring what someone “knows” as well as emotional intelligence)

Problems wiht Self-Report (Mixed) Measures of Emotional Intelligence

High correlations with five factor personality measures (i.e., the overlap is so high it suggests that some measures of EI are really nothing more than another personality inventory)
Limitations of 360-feedback (e.g., inflated self-ratings, moderate correlations between and within rater groups)
Limitations of self-report (how do you measure EI in people who lack emotional intelligence?)
Tend to ignore context, situation and setting (EI is not a useful predictor of performance in jobs that don’t have high emotional labor or are socially demanding)

Our own “mixed measure” of ESC called Emotional Intelligence View 360 based on the Goleman construct has some strengths and limitations as all measures. Our EIV360 appears to be statistically unique from ability based measures (very low correlations with the MSCEIT), correlated with the most popular measures of transformational leadership and predictive of both academic and work performance.

In a review by Joseph and Newman (2010), they found a negative association between measures of EI and work performance when jobs do not require strong social skills. Although the sample sizes for this analysis were rather low (N = 220 and N =223, respectively) it does suggest that EI is important for positions like sales, customer service and leadership and less important in predicting performance and success when high levels of interpersonal interaction are required¹.

A newer 2010 meta-analysis by O’Boyle et al. included 65% more studies and twice the sample size to estimate EI and job performance outcomes².

Their findings extent those of Newman (2010) and suggest that trait, personality and mixed measures demonstrated corrected correlations ranging from 0.24 to 0.30 with job performance. Their research also shows that all measures show incremental validity over cognitive ability and personality measures.

Measurement of emotional intelligence (ability based) is most likely different from other approaches (personality and mixed) but all techniques tend to significantly predict job performance, health and social competence particularly in roles and positions requiring high interpersonal interaction. So, depending on your purpose (e.g., selection versus development of talent) some approaches to measuring EI might be better than others.

The one big lesson from the confusion in the measurement of emotional intelligence is that “it’s not HOW smart you are that counts, but how you are smart…Be well….

Joseph, D. & Newman, D. (2010). Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 54-78 [↩]
O’Boyle, E., Humphrey, R., Pollack, Hawver, T. & Story, P. (2010). The relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10.1002/job.714 [↩]

Posted in Engage, Relate, Select

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TGIF – TGINM

January 20, 2012 by Bill Bradley

As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.

Quote of the Week:

“Sunday morning my head is bad, but it’s worth it for the time that I had. But I got to get my rest … ‘Cause Monday’s a mess,” Fats Domino

Humor Break:

Bev: Al, you look depressed.
Al: It’s been a tough week.
Bev: It’s only Monday!

Stat of the Week: Thank Goodness It’s Not Monday. If you had a bad week, you might want to blame it on Blue Monday, which just may be the SADdest day of the year. According to a British researcher January 16 was (and will be) the #1 psychologically gloomiest day of 2012. (Well, at least we got it out of the way … now it’s just onward and upward). This is based on his theory that factors like the weather, post-holiday debt, and low motivational levels makes the third Monday of the year the gloomiest date on the calendar. However, before you get too excited about the worst is over – consider the upcoming winter blues, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) (a form of depression that affects less than 5 percent of the U.S. population, typically during December, January, February, and March), a lonely Valentine’s Day, Tax Day (April 15), Daylight Savings Time and humdrum holidays.

Have a nice day.

Action Tip: Sounds a little silly, but the best cure for a mild case of the winter blues or SAD is getting outside when there is sunshine. If you are a little down, put on a jacket and get out there! (If you are down Big Time, seek professional assistance. There are specialists for this type of depression.)

Volunteering: Nothing cheers you more than helping someone less fortunate. Pack up some old clothes and take them to your local homeless shelter. See how you feel after your delivery!

Posted in Balance

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How Should 360-Degree Feedback Data be Collected and Shared?

January 19, 2012 by Sandra Mashihi

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. -Peter Drucker

Once the 360-degree feedback tools have been taken, the next step is to collect the information then share it. It is important to ensure that how 360 degree feedback is process and shared is done effectively to ensure to maximum results.

Today, almost all 360-degree feedback is collected using online surveys (although handwritten assessments may still be required in special circumstances). Previous research (Smither, Walker & Yap, 2004) demonstrates the equivalence of handwritten and online assessments. However, it is also recommended, when possible, to supplement online surveys and assessments with selected interviews or focus groups to ensure a greater specificity and clarity of feedback responses.

When sharing data, here are a couple best practices that make or break the effectiveness of the tool.

360-degree feedback combined with structured follow-up and coaching leads to better performance outcomes.

Being Prescriptive is key in interpreting feedback to others.

An interesting study by Robert Hooijberg and colleagues looking at what makes coaching effective surveyed 232 managers from diverse organizations3. One of their key questions asked, “What did your coach do that you found effective?” From the view of the client or participants, three major categories determined feedback success: 1) Interpreting results (34.8%), 2) Inspiring action (27.5%) and 3) Professionalism (23.3%). The majority of clients thought the best coaches were those who analyzed strengths and weaknesses, helped assimilate feedback and make concrete developmental recommendations.

Coach’s Critique:
With all the effort and trouble that gets put into implementing a 360-degree feedback process, it would seem to be a waste to make the mistake of neglecting the proper and effective way of sharing and interpreting 360-degree feedback results. Coaching a client through interpreting feedback results, encouraging motivation for behavioral change and follow-through on development effort can indeed make a significant difference to the outcome of the 360-degree process. Without coaching or at least a structured follow-up to the participant, there is no way of ensuring participants have accepted their feedback and gained awareness in a way that proactively motivates them to develop.

Often times, vendors and implementers of 360-degree feedback tools provide the program, get back the results, and assume that the rest of it is corrected! Unfortunately, they make the mistake of diagnosing their employees without prescribing a plan of action. This type of behavior is similar to going through a series of medical x-rays, being diagnosed with an illness, NOT being given a prescription for the medications and/or procedures in curing the illness. Inevitably, the illness is likely to grow and get worse. So, what was the whole purpose of taking x-rays?

What has been your experience with effective approaches in sharing 360-degree feedback?

Smither, J., London, M., Flautt, R., Vargas, Y., & Kucine, I. (2003) .Can working with an executive coach improve multisource feedback ratings over time? A quasi-experimental field study. Personnel Psychology, 56, 23–44. [↩]
Thach, E. (2002). The impact of executive coaching and 360-feedback on leadership effectiveness. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 23, 205–214. [↩]
Olivero, G., Bane, D., & Kopelman, R. (1997). Executive coaching as a transfer of training tool: Effects on productivity in a public agency. Public Personnel Management, 26, 461–469. [↩]

Posted in 360 Degree Feedback

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1/19/12: Top Talent Development Posts this Week

January 19, 2012 by Wally Bock

Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces about talent management lessons from the NFL, culture vs. pay in retention, training budgets, and a list of best companies for leadership development.

From David Wilkins: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Talent Management Lessons from the NFL

“It is a busy time of year for fans of NFL football. An exciting regular season recently wrapped up, one which saw several records broken. Now the playoffs are underway, with some exciting games this past weekend, including yet another impressive result from Denver’s QB Tim Tebow in an upset win over Pittsburgh. But something else happened recently in the land of the NFL, which along with a few other examples from recent history, are fodders for some lessons on the importance of succession planning and broader talent management in the workplace. I’ll proceed by reversing the standard order and tackle first the Ugly, then the Bad, before ending with the Good.”

Wally’s Comment: In the first of two posts on talent management lessons from the NFL, David Wilkins draws a set of lessons from how different pro football teams have handled talent management issues.

From Elizabeth Stuart: Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Talent Management

“Houston football fans had something to rejoice about this year. For the first time in franchise history, the Houston Texans made the playoffs. In a league dominated by high-profile celebrity quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees, the most remarkable aspect of the Texans’ playoff run is that they were led by a first year quarterback, T.J. Yates. Five months ago, before the start of the season, few people in Houston, let alone the rest of the nation, were even aware Yates existed. Thankfully for Houston fans, the coaching and management staff made adequate preparations in case something happened to their starters. When the Texan’s starting quarterback and his backup suffered injuries in the middle of the season, Yates, a 24 year old, third-string rookie had to step in to fill the most important position on the team.”

Wally’s Comment: Elizabeth Stuart concentrates on one team and extracts a set of lessons that’s different from the post above, but complementary to it.

From Derek Irvine: Retaining Employees: Is it About Better Pay or Better Culture?

“Have you ever quit a job to take less pay? Some scoff at the idea, but after the years of fear, anxiety and overwork post-recession, a good company culture in which employees feel valued, appreciated and able to contribute to meaningful work is more important than salary level. A pair of studies found just that:”

Wally’s Comment: Why do people stay? What should you pay attention to? Derek Irvine looks at culture and compensation as components of an employee value proposition.

From Bersin: Yikes. Training spending up 9.5%, highest increase in 3+ years! A renaissance.

“Wow. After more than three years of decline in spending, corporate training budgets just jumped up 9.5% last year. (Just released, 2012 Bersin & Associates Corporate Learning Factbook®). Good news for corporate HR teams and business leaders in general”

Wally’s Comment: Josh Bersin shares his analysis of why training budgets are headed upward. Insightful as usual.

From Chief Executive: 40 Best Companies for Leaders 2012: How Top Companies Excel in Leadership Development

“The best companies for leaders generate dramatically greater market value over time than the weakest companies for leadership development.

Leading public company CEOs commit a higher priority to leadership development in spite of the added burden of more complex and “distracting” environments with added pressures for short-term financial results.

Smaller and private company CEOs spend more of their personal time (25 percent versus 15 percent) on both developing others as well as developing themselves, but are less likely to install systematic processes for leadership development.”

Wally’s Comment: This is the most recent Chief Executive version of best companies for leadership development. For comparison read Fortune’s “25 Top Companies for Leaders” which was published in November 2011.

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Yesterday is so … Yesterday

January 18, 2012 by Bill Bradley

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

Competencies: executive leadership, visionary leadership

Who benefits: executives, consultants and students of organizational change

Consultant Usage: organizational development consultants, executive coaches, large scale change agents

What’s it about? It’s a new year. Time to think big. Today’s review is about a book that hasn’t even been published (although you can order it if you like). The author of the book is Gary Hamel. He is currently the Professor of Strategic and International Management at the London Business School. He has been around long enough to write a number of well received books. He writes about the Big Picture.

Unless you are a very senior executive, this book is not practical. This does not diminish its value. It is still educational to all readers of management and I would consider it a must read for consultants who deal directly with the C-suite.

Dr. Hamel rejects the notion of doing better. He wants to reinvent management as currently practiced and to rethink the fundamental assumptions we have about capitalism, organizational life, and the meaning of work.

Here is a quick summary to help you determine if this is a good read for you:

He says he is writing an essential agenda for leaders everywhere who are eager to…

“defeat bureaucracy
astonish their customers
foster extraordinary contribution
capture the moral high ground
outrun change
build a company that’s truly fit for the future”

To get there he writes the book centered on five paramount issues:

“Values: With trust in large organizations at an all time low, there is an urgent need to rebuild the ethical foundations of capitalism. What’s required is nothing less than a moral renaissance in business.

Innovation: Innovation is the only defense against margin-crushing competition, and the only way to outgrow a dismal economy. In too many companies, innovation is still a buzzword, rather than the responsibility of every single individual. This must change.

Adaptability: In a world of accelerating change, every company must build an evolutionary advantage. The forces of inertia must be vanquished. The ultimate prize: an organization that is as nimble as change itself.

Passion: In business as in life, the difference between “insipid” and “inspired” is passion. With mediocrity fast becoming a competitive liability, success depends on finding new ways to rouse the human spirit at work.

Ideology: Today, businesses need more than better practices; they need better principles. Bureaucracy and control have had their day. It’s time for a new ideology based on freedom and self-determination.”

If you want more of Dr. Hamel, you can read his earlier thoughts (2007) on the same topic in his well-reviewed The Future of Management.

And finally, if you have the curiosity, you can compare Hamel’s 2012 five paramount issues with Peter Drucker’s The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization.

2012 is now with us. Embrace the change.

Catch you later.

Posted in Develop, Engage

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Coaching Exercise of the Week: “Organizational Assessment-What are My Options?”

January 17, 2012 by Sandra Mashihi

Purpose of Exercise: Help clients explore options within or outside their current organization.

How to Administer and Use this Exercise to Facilitate Behavior Change: This exercise is a great tool to help your clients learn about their career options. Specifically, this questionnaire allows for a facilitative conversation around a clients preference in terms of pace of work, interpersonal working relationships, mentors, guides, identification of cultural norms, and how they see themselves within the context of their organization. By utilizing this tool, clients can identify the appropriate career path that suits them, as well as the resources that can be of support to them in their career development.

To download “Organizational Assessment: What Are My Options?”, please click here. To view the table of contents, preview a free chapter, and order Clueless please go to: http://www.envisialearning.com/clueless_book.

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Grow faster!

January 17, 2012 by Wally Bock

Deloitte is out with the January 2012 edition of the Talent Edge 2020 project. Here’s the firm’s short summary of their findings. You can download the full report in PDF format here.

“Despite a new wave of uncertainty, many leading companies are pressing forward and reshaping their talent strategies. Many executives foresee leadership shortages in the year ahead and are looking at programs to accelerate leadership development within their companies. At the same time, given the stalled economy, many companies are seeking new sources of growth and are tailoring talent plans to address differing regional needs to support effective talent strategies and business operations.”

The italics are mine. “What,” I wondered, “is ‘accelerated leadership development’?” The report provided this answer.

“… the goal of accelerated leadership development is to create a deep pipeline of potential leaders with capabilities that match each organization’s particular business needs.”

Creating a deep leadership pipeline doesn’t strike me as something you can do quickly. When you do, you court serious dangers, no matter which way you try to accelerate the process.

You can bring in more leaders from outside. The upside could be fresh ideas. The downside is that there’s a longer adjustment period for a leader from outside than if you fill the position from inside. The dangers are higher failure rates and cultural damage.

You can identify more people inside your company that should be considered for promotion to high levels. That won’t happen without more developmental assignments, more coaches and mentors and a greater time investment by those who review potential leaders. You can’t do that without putting strain on the organization.

You can accelerate the development rate of those you’ve already identified as high potentials. Then you risk moving people into positions before they are prepared to handle both the transition and the position.

The development of both individuals and teams takes time. If you push that process too hard, what you wind up with is failure that’s hard to recover from.

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Maybe You Can Just Visualize Becoming a Better Leader…

January 15, 2012 by Ken Nowack

“I visualize things in my mind before I have to do them. It’s like having a mental workshop”
Jack Youngblood

As a kid, I played baseball and probably made over 1,000 double plays successfully–at least in my mind. I used to visualize every moment of receiving the ball from the shortstop to avoiding the slide from the base runner to get the runner out. In games, I actually did a great job of quickly turning the pivot and getting both runners out.

I’ve always wondered if my mental practice made a difference and now it seems I might actually be “wired” in my brain to be more successful than many people (hear that Brian Saebean?).

We have known for many years that mental rehearsal is almost equivalent to physical rehearsal in terms of enhancing skills and performance.

In 1995, a Harvard neuroscientist named Alvaro Pascual-Leone conducted an incredible study¹. He divided volunteers into two groups with the first practicing a five-finger piano exercise for five days for two hours. At the end of each session they measured neural activation using transcranial-magnetic-stimulation (TMS) and they noticed that even after one week of practice, a stretch of the motor cortex in the brain related to finger movements took over surrounding areas demonstrating new neural circuits being established.

Pascual-Leone also asked a second group to only imagine playing the same piano piece mentally and again his research team found that the mere mental rehearsal of doing something like playing the piano altered the physical structure and function of our brain. Performance between the two groups was almost identical when both groups were tested after the two week period demonstrating for the first time the real power of mental practice.

Additional research has also demonstrated how meditation over time actually causes a significant reduction of brain activity in an area of the brain associated with sensations of pain. In a new study, researchers took 15 healthy volunteers who had never meditated and had them practice a 20 minute class just four times. The participants in the study reported a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness in response to a pain inducing heat device was placed on their legs. Mental practice in the form of meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine which typically reduces pain by 25 percent².

In another widely reported study, eight weeks of 27 minutes per day of mental rehearsal of mindfulness meditation results in measurable changes in brain regions associated wtih empathy and stress³. None of these changes were seen in the control group, indicating that they had not resulted merely from the passage of time.

Visualize Becoming a More Effective Leader

Each day you can mentally rehearse being more effective as a leader by:

See yourself allowing others to complete their thoughts and ideas before you share your recommendations, suggestions and ideas.
Visualize yourself speaking to a group and commanding a high degree of attention, respect and agreement with your message.
Rehearse and visualize yourself maintaining emotional control and being poised under interpersonal pressure and conflict (being non-defensive and open minded).
See yourself in a positive mood that rubs off on other talent and results in enhanced engagement and commitment to their job and tasks.
Mentally practice soliciting and seeking feedback from others and welcoming this as a gift to continuously improve.
Imagine using more participative leadership styles and involving more of your talent in problem solving, decision making and planning processes.
Focus on your peers saying to each other about how they would like to “follow” someone like you, believe you are always candid and direct with them and work in a collaborative, rather than, competitive manner.

So, maybe you can actually practice becoming a better leader just by deliberately practicing it in your mind. As Robert Collier said, “See things as you would have them be instead of as they are”….Be well….

Pascual-Leone, A. Nguyet, D.,Cohen, L., Brasil-Neto, J.,Cammarota, A.; & Hallett. M. (1995). Modulation of muscle responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation during the acquisition of new fine motor skills. Journal of Neurophysiology, 74, 1037-1045 [↩]
1.F. Zeidan, K. T. Martucci, R. A. Kraft, N. S. Gordon, J. G. McHaffie, R. C. Coghill. Brain Mechanisms Supporting the Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation. Journal of Neuroscience, 2011; 31 (14): 5540 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5791-10.2011 [↩]
Britta K. Hölzel, James Carmody, Mark Vangel, Christina Congleton, Sita M. Yerramsetti, Tim Gard, Sara W. Lazar. Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain graymatter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2011; 191 (1): 36 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006 [↩]

Posted in Balance, Develop, Engage, Relate

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TGIF – “Paraskavedekatriaphobia”

January 13, 2012 by Bill Bradley

As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.

Quote of the Week:

“Face it, you’re screwed. Today is Friday the 13th — the unluckiest day on the calendar — so try not to crash your car, fall down a flight of stairs, set yourself on fire or do anything else that might compromise your well-being. And for God’s sake, stay away from men in hockey masks.” Claire Suddath (Time Magazine)

Humor Break:

Bev: Al, do you believe that getting married on a Friday the 13th brings bad luck?
Al: Of course, why would Friday the 13th be an exception?

Stat of the Week: 17 to 21 million Americans have a fear of Friday the 13th (paraskavedekatriaphobia). The Stress Management Center Phobia Institute lists the following Friday the 13th statistics: Famous people scared of this day include former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who would not travel on the 13th day of any month or have 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also scared of 13. It is estimated that $750 million are lost in business on Friday the 13th because some people will not travel, shop, or leave their homes at all. Symptoms of people with a phobia of this day can range from “mild anxiety and a nagging sense of doom to full blown panic attacks.”

Action Tip: If you are paraskavedekatriaphobic, remember you are not alone. If you are not, be a diversity friendly person and don’t make fun of those who are … which means watch what you say in public. A little sympathy is the preferred support.

Volunteering: Black cats may or may not bring bad luck. But for many animals if wasn’t for bad luck they wouldn’t have any luck at all. Consider adopting a pet from your local animal shelter. If that isn’t possible, volunteer to help your local animal shelter for a couple of hours a week. And if that isn’t possible, volunteer your kids. Great way to instill the volunteering spirit and teach responsibility.

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Maybe You Can Just Visualize Becoming a Better Leader…

Maybe You Can Just Visualize Becoming a Better Leader…

TGIF – “Paraskavedekatriaphobia”

TGIF – “Paraskavedekatriaphobia”

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