Tag Archive - element

Honesty Doesn’t Seem To Be The Best Policy

May 20, 2010 in Business, Leadership with 14 Comments

recognition Honesty Doesnt Seem To Be The Best PolicyBased on experience, both working in the trenches and from the outside as a consultant, I have found that honesty doesn’t seem to be the best policy in corporate America. When it comes to “evaluating” (or recognizing as I like to refer to it as) people fairly about their work, most companies fail miserably. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric Company and author of the book Winning, says that companies who don’t give honest and descriptive feedback cannot expect to be very effective at managing them. Instead, leaders need to make sure the proper steps are in place to the people within the organization receive relevant feedback.

Feedback needs to be based on criteria that both management and employees agree on. These types of evaluations can come in many different forms. I’ve found that most companies base wage compensation increases on performance evaluations that occur annually and sometimes, semi-annually. But more frequent and informal feedback can make all the difference in the world. Welch writes, “I’ve evaluated twenty or so direct reports with frequent handwritten notes that included two pieces of information: what I thought the person did well, and how I thought they could improve.”

According to Welch, even organizations that have good evaluation systems are usually missing the most important element…integrity. Since most organizations focus solely on the bottom line, managers most often overlook personal conduct when result is big profit. To close, merit-based awards and proper recognition, Welch says, should be a standard. After all, everybody likes to know that their commitment and efforts are appreciated.

I’d like this to be an open discussion using the comment box below… how are you maintaining a transparent work environment?

Four Basic Skills of Leadership

March 3, 2010 in Leadership with 38 Comments

leadership basics 300x169 Four Basic Skills of LeadershipThe skills of leadership need to address each of the key elements which make up the ‘problem space’ of leadership: (a) oneself, (b) one’s relationship with one’s collaborators, (c) the system in which one is acting and (d) the goals to be achieved by oneself and one’s collaborators in that system. This entry will cover a numerous skills addressing these various elements of leadership: self skills, relational skills, strategic thinking skills, and systemic thinking skills.

Self skills are how the leader handles himself or herself in a particular situation. Self skills allow the leader to choose the most appropriate attitude, state-of-mind, focus, etc., with which to enter a situation. In a way, self skills are the steps by which the leader leads himself or herself.

Relational skills have to do with the ability to recognize, encourage, and communicate with other people. They result in the ability to enter another person’s model of the perceived world or perceptual space, establish rapport and guide that person to recognize problems and objectives. Since leaders must reach their dreams and accomplish their goals through their influence upon others, relational skills are one of the most important aspects of leadership.

Strategic thinking skills are necessary in order to define and achieve specific goals and objectives. Strategic thinking involves the ability to identify a relevant desired state, assess the starting state, and then establish and navigate the appropriate path of transition states required to reach the desired state. A key element of effective strategic thinking is determining which team members and tasks will most efficiently and effectively influence and move the present state in the direction of the desired state.

Systemic thinking skills are used by the leader to identify and understand the problem space in which the leader, his or her collaborators and the organization is operating. Systemic thinking is at the root of effective “solution creation” and the ability to create functional teams. The ability to think systemically in a practical and firm way is probably the most definitive sign of maturity in a leader.

Do you apply any of the four leadership skills in your life? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Destroy Bureaucracy!

February 11, 2010 in Leadership with 23 Comments

destroy bureaucracy 300x202 Destroy Bureaucracy!I’ve always hated bureaucracy.  To me, bureaucracy is the enemy. Bureaucracy means waste, slow decision making, unnecessary approvals, and all the other things that kill an organization’s competitive spirit.  I’ve spent many years battling bureaucracy, trying to rid any company I’ve worked with of anything that would make it less competitive.

I feel that ridding any company of bureaucracy is everybody’s job. Over the years, I’ve urged all of my co-workers and employees to “fight it, kick it.”  That’s why “disdaining bureaucracy” became such an important part of my first organization’s shared values (the list of behaviors that were expected of all SFS /Alloy Software employees).

When a young intern asked me what he should do when he encounters bureaucracy in a large corporation, with a smile, I advised him to “get a hand grenade…and blow it up” (figuratively, of course).  Again, I feel that it is everyone’s job to at least try to rid any organization of wasteful bureaucracy.

But isn’t that easier said than done?  Yes, even organizations that do a good job of eliminating this cancerous element can’t kill it permanently.  That’s why I’ve referred to bureaucracy as “the Dracula of institutional behavior,” because it had a way of rising from the dead every few years and sucking the life out of what ever is left.

Anything that you can do to simplify, remove complexity and formality, and make the organization more responsive and agile, will reduce bureaucracy:

Drop unnecessary work: Most organizations have far too manyrules, approvals, and forms. Work with colleagues to figure out whichof these old ways of doing things can be either eliminated orimproved.

Work with colleagues to streamline decision making: If it takes an organization a week to make a decision, the process needs to be simplified. If no one can remember why your organization does something a certain way, chances are that it is more complicated than it needs to be.

Make your workplace more informal: Send handwritten notes instead of memos (I love handwritten notes, and it is “Geoff,” not“Mr. Snyder”), keep meetings conversational (rather than formal and rigid), and encourage dialogue up and down and the entire organization.