Culture trumps Strategy in Business Success

March 11, 2013 by

Strategy-in-Business-Success-Heidi-Alexandra-PollardEvery business has a culture – some are inspiring and healthy, others are crippling and toxic. The level of an organization efficiency and wellness is a direct reflection of its culture.

Traditional corporate cultures are no longer adequate to succeed in the new world of business. Cultures that originated in the era of the industrial revolution are now obsolete precisely because they discourage learning, change and innovation.

A huge demand exists for a new type of culture in our organizations today in order to become productive, profitable and sustainable well into the future.

Why culture is critical

Workplace wellness isn’t just a factor of the employees fitness or BMI ratings, it is particularly characterized by how motivated, inspired and engaged the workforce are to do great work. Key indicators of healthy workplaces are the presence of creativity and innovation and an energy of possibility – which all result in a positive, sustainable culture.

Unhealthy cultures tend to devalue creativity, stifle innovation and leave their workers feeling miserable and frustrated, stuck in the rut of the daily grind and stressed by the demands of productivity they no longer have the energy to face. Managers tend to create these cultures by discouraging new ideas, frowning on change and stymieing enthusiasm. The result, major disengagement that sucks the life out of the organization and its people.

The best culture is a UQ culture       

While understanding and managing culture is fundamental to success, for many organizations, the idea of going down the road of a ‘cultural change’ initiative is too daunting. It needn’t be. It is possible to convert low-engagement teams and cultures into engaged, high-performance UQ Cultures with some intent and a slight shift focus.

In UQ (Uniqueness Quotient) Cultures there is a subtle shift to WHO people are rather than WHAT they do. That is, WHO they are is more important than WHAT they do. A strong UQ culture shapes how employees perform and gives them a strong sense of purpose.

What is a UQ culture?  It’s one that is powered by an inner force, it’s who they are and why they do what they do, it’s one that has a unique, competitive edge. In today’s crowded marketplace organizations need to be able to stand out as Unique and different from their competition with a unique brand. A strong UQ culture is the key to setting a business apart from its competition and ultimately attracting and retaining high quality employees to grow with the organization.

With companies large and small competing for the same global talent pool, a UQ Culture will set them apart and deliver tangible, measurable benefits to any business.

Micro-managers Kill Culture

Micro-managers or Container Managers are those managers who find it hard to let go of the reins, to trust the team and get out of the way. In some ways, this is counter-intuitive and atypical of traditional role models and therefore understandable, however in high performing UQ Cultures there is always more macro managing than there is micro-management.

Container Managers are typically good at doing what has to be done. They are good at dealing with facts and not letting their emotions or other people’s emotions get in the way of making a decision. They are great at developing procedures, implementing plans, and no-one can do the job as good as they can. However, their tendency to hold onto decision-making and undertake jobs that could be delegated is not conducive to the creation of a UQ culture full of motivated, inspired, and engaged staff.

Container managers are typically responsible for the bottleneck in organizations, where innovation is stymied and ideas are shelved. They may be producing revenue and results however they rarely create a leadership pipeline, are reliant on the command and control approach and can ill-afford time off as their teams become co-dependent. This approach may have worked in 1965 but it will not allow a company to survive in 2020.

The New Leadership Alternative

One way for organizations to begin to shape and construct a more positive and productive UQ culture is to start with its managers and leaders – importantly with those in linchpin positions – in middle management.

In their book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown discuss how great leaders extract at least two times more capability from their people than poor leaders.

A UQ culture is one that does just that by turning managers into Expander Leaders who live by the motto that you have to give power to empower.

Expander Leaders value inclusiveness and participation, they hand over the decision-making process, and let their employees govern themselves. Expander Leaders deal with the facts, but also consider how it impacts people. They listen to their employees, realize their strengths, tap into their potential, and include them in the growth of business.

Expander leaders create healthy relationships, a caring environment and an openness to trying new things which brings out best in their team. By appreciating others, engaging in purposeful conversations and helping their people to find work they love to do, they create driven, loyal employees who are engaged and energized, and want to make a valuable contribution to the organization and go the extra mile.

Essentially, it takes an attitude of figuring out how best to serve the teams, rather than asking the teams to best serve you. ~Heidi Alexandra Pollard Tweet this!

Expander leaders create UQ Cultures by:

  • Telling their people WHAT needs to be done and WHY but letting them figure out HOW
  • Not shooting them down for any crazy ideas, instead COACHING them to find ways to improve or refine their ideas
  • Treating their people as human BEINGS not DOINGS and getting to know their Uniqueness and what makes them tick
  • Not only TELLING them what to do all the time, instead ASKING them how they envision the future and how they would create a more successful, sustainable company.
  • Encouraging rebellion, creativity and risk-taking
  • Recognizing and rewarding achievement, progress and innovative behaviors

Do you consider yourself an Expander Leader? In what way have you contributed to your team? Share your thoughts below.

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A Myth That Thwarts Leadership

March 10, 2013 by

Myth-That-Thwarts-Leadership-Susan-MazzaWhile sitting with a group of teachers as they reflected about their own leadership, it became clear quite a few of them were struggling.

This group was known as the Leadership Team for their school and most had been part of this group for a few years.  Yet when asked to assess themselves as leaders the majority of them were seemingly paralyzed. As we discussed why… an underlying theme emerged.

While they had respect for their principal they did not want to ever be like many of the people in leadership positions they had seen come and go.  Blinded by what they thought being a leader was supposed to look like, they did not even consider the possibility that they could determine the kind of leader they wanted to be.

The notion of leading without a title has gained ground, yet the grip of past interpretations of what it means to be a leader continue to have a tight grip on many organizational cultures, not only in education, but in business and government as well.

It is particularly strong when you have highly technical people who pride themselves on their knowledge and skill in their craft.  Sometimes promotions are granted as a way to reward them financially even though these individuals often have no interest in managing or leading.  Yet if you listen closely you will discover that lack of interest in managing or leading is only part of the story.

Having been an IT professional for many years before becoming a leadership coach and organizational change consultant, I have explored this resistance to becoming a “leader” from both the inside and the outside.

What I have observed is that often people do not want to become a leader because they think they will have to become like someone else.  That someone else is often already “above” them on an organization chart or in a position of power that has impacted them in some way.

There is an unspoken belief for many that if you get to a certain level or position you will have to change who you are.” ~Susan Mazza Tweet this

For some it seems they would have to become like people for whom they do not have very much respect.  What that “certain level or position” may be cannot be defined globally.  It is very personal.

This belief is a myth that continues to thwart the loud call for leadership from every corner of our world. It is a myth that for many is barrier between the concept of leading without a title and embracing that they can and often are already leaders as a reality regardless of their position or role in life.  It is also a myth that keeps people from embracing the call to lead in their current role or position.

Being the most effective leader you can be requires that you become the most powerful expression of yourself rather than attempt to emulate someone else.

A leader is someone who takes action to make a difference where they work or live in service of a commitment to something that contributes to others.  In the framework of Random Acts of Leadership™ that means speaking up, stepping up or standing up in service of your commitments.

It is only when we start to consider leadership at the level of action that we can begin to observe the simple yet potent acts of leadership that are committed everyday by people at all levels in organizations and all roles in life.

Just look around you and you will see examples every day leaders – people who are speaking up, stepping up and standing up for something that matters to them and makes a difference for others.

The skills of leadership can be cultivated by anyone.  However, to cultivate them you must be willing to act; and to cultivate them in others you must be able to recognize leadership in action.

What other myths do you believe are thwarting leadership from flourishing where you work and live?

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Patient Centered Healthcare: Conditioning Your Culture To Go the Distance

March 9, 2013 by

Conditioning-Your-Culture-To-Go-the-Distance-leadership-Susan-ThornWe are now knee-deep and headlong into Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act. The Main Event is set, at least for now, on January 1st, 2014. This is when purportedly all Americans will have purchased their tickets to seek admission to the insured affordable healthcare match. Healthcare organizations, doctors’ offices, and community clinics will begin to see and treat a population of folks that has historically not had access to insurance, and they come sicker than we  have seen before. Our operation, fiscal, and quality outcomes resources will be challenged like never before. If your fight card does not include a pound for pound approach to strategy and culture, get ready for a TKO! In this time of focused patient centered care delivery models and innovative transformational approaches to healthcare, there is a real barn burner about to begin.

Peter Drucker said “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. If that’s the case, where then do we put our efforts? Strategy alone will not be enough. If healthcare organizations expect to come out the winner in the next decade, they will need to condition themselves to go the distance in both culture and strategy. As we begin to see a population that has not had access to routine healthcare for many years, or ever, the strength of our strategy and culture will be put to the test.

Operationally our strategies need to include a focus on culture as it relates to leadership excellence, the empowerment of our workforce, consistency in the delivery of quality service, and creative innovation. Walt Disney did a great job of this. Walt effectively demonstrated with great heart and passion that the actions of one leader, multiplied be the actions of many, can re-shape a culture and an organization. Operationally we need to invest in our leaders, empower them, and hold them accountable to creating a healthy and conditioned workforce that has been well equipped to meet the challenging needs of the populations we’re tasked to serve. Operationally we need to invite every person in our organization that has anything to do with patient care to take part in finding innovative ways to do things better and leaner.

One often missed leadership strategy in creating great operational outcomes is by inviting your customer into the ring. Who are your customers? Remember, everyone is your customer when it comes to operations. Anyone that has anything to do in your organization is a customer. This includes your management team, billers, coders, housekeepers, those that answer the phone, and the patient! Everyone is your customer. Your entire team of customers should be given the title of Personal Performance Partners. Invest in them as a strategy and the organizational  culture will win in every round.

Everyone is your customer.” – Susan Thorn Tweet this!

What about the organizational level of fiscal fitness? The promise of more in the way of budget cuts and payment denials has the fight purse getting smaller and smaller. As the purse gets smaller, our number one strategy needs to include a fully engaged culture. Organizations that look at their bottom line without understanding the impact of culture on it will suffer. Culture is like the wind, it is invisible to the eye, but felt by all. Culture is built by the values expressed through its leadership. If you want to assure that you will be at your ideal level of fiscal fitness then your battle cry needs to be “Culture is our bottom line”.

What about outcomes? We are now being held to a new level of accountability when it comes to creating favorable healthcare outcomes for the populations we serve. If we don’t do it well, we are as good as a white-collar boxer, we don’t get paid! As a healthcare leader and consumer I have seen both sides. Quality in outcomes with the resources availed to us will take new and innovative approaches if we expect to go the distance. We are already seeing hospitals partnering with community clinics to prevent hospital remissions. Healthcare organizations are beginning to move toward a case management model approach for the high-end users of our healthcare systems. Population based case management for our most vulnerable populations’ results in a unanimous decision in adding to the way we can all deliver better and leaner quality in healthcare.

So where does your organization weigh in on culture and strategy? If your strategy and culture don’t touch knuckles before the opening round, somebody is going to get sucker-punched. Make cultural competency your organizations biggest innovative strategy to win in healthcare!

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The Precipice: Influence and Manipulation – Which Way Will You Fall?

March 9, 2013 by

Influence-Manipulation-Leadership-Ali-PaskunIn some ways, to influence and to manipulate can seem to be the same thing. After all, the intent of both influence and manipulation is to get other people to behave, think, or make the decision you want them to. But is that really the case as demonstrated by these definitions from thefreedictionary.com?

Influence:  (n) 1. A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort. 2. Power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position.  (v) 1. To produce an effect on by imperceptible or intangible means; sway. 2) To affect the nature, development, or condition of; modify.

Manipulate: (v) 1. To move, arrange, operate, or control by the hands or by mechanical means, especially in a skillful manner. 2. To influence or manage shrewdly or deviously. 3. To tamper with or falsify for personal gain.

As indicated in the definitions, the main purpose of both influence and manipulation is  to sway; however, there is a definite difference between the two. Influence is an ethical behavior; manipulation is unethical. We admire leaders who have mastered the power of influence; equally, we mistrust leaders we believe to be manipulative. They are both getting us to see things their way. Taken too far, influence can move to the other end of the spectrum and become manipulation.

The differences between influence and manipulation include the:

  • reason behind the intention to persuade another person
  • truthfulness and accuracy of provided information
  • transparency of the process
  • benefit, affect, or impact on the person.

Manipulation implies an intent to fool or trick someone into doing, believing, or buying something that leaves them harmed in some way. We view manipulators as schemers. Out to get what they want using whatever means possible, manipulators selfishly pursue their own agenda, trying to control instead of wanting to influence another person. For example:

Influence:  Someone offers a proposition that is beneficial to both parties.

Manipulation: Someone offers a proposition that serves their own purposes and is against the other person’s interest. They conceal a desire to move the person to their point of view in a way that will only benefit themselves. In addition, if their intention were uncovered, the discovery would cause the other person to be less receptive to their idea.

Influence: All information provided is accurate and shared openly.

Manipulation:  Information is withheld or distorted to trick or deceive.

Influence:  Someone is willingly led to something they want or that will benefit them.

Manipulation: Someone is led to something that will harm them or lead them to eventual regret.

Influence:  Requesting someone to do you a favor you believe they won’t want to do using sincere appreciation.

Manipulation: Getting someone to do you a favor you believe they won’t want to do using guilt or emotional blackmail.

Many years ago I worked with a manager who often ended his directives with, “And if I find out you didn’t follow what I said, you’re fired,” Looking back now, I assume that he was not confident in his role, his ability to do the job, and/or his effectiveness as a manager and leader. We have all known people who, like my former colleague, get others to do what they want through fear and intimidation. Using these tactics may accomplish what they want, but it does not make them leaders. Like love and hate, there is a fine line between influence and manipulation.

Like love and hate, there is a fine line between influence and manipulation.”  ~Ali Paskun Tweet this!

Which side are you on? Please share your insight and experience below.

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Risky Business – Making Phenomenal Decisions (While Not Forgetting the Risk)

March 8, 2013 by

Risky-Business-Leadership-Kai-RoerAs a leader, I am expected to make decisions all day – every day. Some decisions are huge, possibly critical to my business or people, while others are minor. Making sure that these decisions are as good as they can be at the time of decision is vital.

There is risk in every decision. Risk of failure, and risk of success. I try to reduce the risk of failure, and increase the risk of success in all the decisions I make. How do I do that, you may ask, allow me share my secret…

The Risk Process

Managing risk is not exactly a new science. Humans have managed risk since the dawn of time, trying to survive in a harsh environment. There should be no surprise then that risk management process’ exist. Depending on your sector, terminology may differ, but the steps of the risk process remain the same.

Good news:  you don’t need to be an expert in risk to successfully manage risk.

The risk process can be summarized in these steps:

1. Risk Assessment

  • You identify the risks involved.

2. Risk Evaluation

  • Evaluate each risk and it’s severity,
  • Classify them by severity and likelihood,
  • Analyze the possible outcome(s) of the risk.

3. Risk Management

  • Decide how to handle each risk. There are two main things you can do:
    • Accept the risk: You accept that this risk may happen, and choose not to do anything about it
    • Mitigate the risk: You decide that the risk is not acceptable, and choose to change its impact.

4. Evaluate and Review

You monitor your process, and make changes as you progress. You may receive new information later that changes the way you perceive some risks. The more you know, the more accurate your map.

There is risk in every decision. Risk of failure, and risk of success.” ~Kai Roer Tweet this!

How Much Risk Analysis Do I need To Do? 

The answer is entirely up to you, your organization and the situation. Sometimes your decision require a rigid process where you must document and analyze many different aspects. Other decisions can be made without writing anything. The secret lies in a list of questions.

The questions follow the process outlined above, and are designed to help you make better decisions.

Questions 

  1. Identifying risk:
    What can go wrong?
    What is the desired outcome?
  2. Evaluating risk:
    What can happen if things go wrong?
    What happens if we do not get the desired outcome?
  3. Mitigating risk:
    What can I do to change the outcome?
    Do I want to change it?
  4. Evaluation:
    What did I just learn?
    How can I reapply that in this decision?
  5. Do I make this decision, yes or no.

The last question is critical. The whole reason behind using a risk process is to help you make better decisions so you can run your company better.

Choosing Right

As you have observed by now, each of these questions can be expanded as needed. This means that if there is an easy decision to be made, you can just run through the questions in your head. If there is a tough decision to be made you can use the exact same process and questions to document the risks involved.

One last note – there are always risks involved which we are not able to identify. I call these Blind Spots. Watch for them!

How do you manage risk in your decision making? Are you concerned with the unwanted outcomes your decisions may create?

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Culture Inhales Strategy for Breakfast… Then Spits it Out!

March 7, 2013 by

Culture-Strategy-leadership-breakfast-Joan-de-winnePeter Drucker, often considered the inventor and  father of modern management stated, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This saying explains why many people in a formal leadership position are struggling to obtain the results they are looking for. It also explains why so many change programs fail, even when they are supported by a clear and compelling vision.

To realize a vision and obtain desired results, we need to develop certain strategies, objectives, and processes. This is the part most managers are very good at. What is often forgotten, however, is that other road to be followed. Indeed, there’s also the culture of the company, the organization, the division or the team to take into account. Culture is defined by the common values, the individual behavior, and the attitude of the people working in the organization. This is where managers often fail – perhaps because they’re simply unaware of the cultural aspect’s importance, perhaps because they don’t feel comfortable with it or because they don’t have a proper road-map at their disposal.

I’d like to suggest to you a clear road-map, based on 3 simple principles: come out of your office, tell stories and focus on behavior.

First Principle: Management by Wandering Around

‘My door is always open. Whenever you feel the need to address any issue, feel free to come talk to me.’  This is what managers very often enjoin on their employees. Just as often, though, they find themselves surprised that when problems do arise, causing friction on the work-floor or even financial loss, no-one came to them beforehand. Many managers advocate the ‘open door policy’ but they too often see it as a one-way communication. They forget what it’s all about: when the door is always open, people can come in and talk to you, indeed, but you can go out and talk to your employees and team members yourself just as well! Don’t be an “undercover boss”.

Douglas R. Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company and author of the book ‘TouchPoints’, talks about how he implemented this very principle in his own company in an interview with Jon Katzenbach, leadership expert and Senior Partner at Booz & Company.

Second Principle: Corporate Storytelling

Storytelling is a very powerful tool to influence an organization’s culture and its employees’ behavior.

Eric Van Zele, CEO of Barco and elected ‘Manager of the Year 2012’ in Belgium, swears by the storytelling principle. “I am a conceptual  with a synthetic mind. Talking to everyone around me, provides me with the answers our organization needs. It’s not that difficult, really – you just need to listen. Focusing on the essentials, I then build up a good story and communicate it. The key to  a good story is understandability – everyone should understand your story, be it a Chinese worker, an American engineer or a Belgian HR person “.

The basics of storytelling are summarized very nicely by Sigrid Van Iersel, a Dutch expert in this field:

  1. The wish: Almost all stories begin with a dream, an ambition or a deep desire to put the story in motion.
  2. The obstacle: The main character takes action but is confronted with a barrier, an obstacle.
  3. The solution: In the end, a solution is found  and the obstacle is overcome.
  4. The result: And so ….  (Fill in what the result of this solution means for the organization, the team or the employees.)

Not all stories have a permanent solution or a crystal clear happy ending. The ‘result’ may also be  an  insight gained.

Third Principle: Focus on behavior and attitude

Douglas R. Conant  also asserts that “Behavior matters”.  Dick Brown, former CEO of Electronic Data Systems Corporation once said: “A company’s culture is really the behavior of its people… leaders get the behavior they tolerate.”

You may find changing someone’s behavior a harsh job – just think of all the times you already tried it with your children, partner, employees, or colleagues. Perhaps, though, you were unsuccessful only because your approach was rather clumsy.

The simple four-step method  outlined below will help you putting this third principle into practice.

Step 1: determine very precisely which kinds of behavior contribute to the realization of your
company’s vision. Do so by translating your company’s values ​into clearly defined behaviors.

Step 2: define which kinds of behavior are counterproductive and unacceptable.

Step 3: set a good example by complying with the defined rules of conduct yourself.

Step 4: consistently reward positive behavior and immediately address unacceptable behavior.

 A company’s culture is really the behavior of its people… leaders get the behavior they tolerate.” ~Dick Brown Tweet this

Try it out these three basic principles. You’ll be amazed at how they will contribute to developing the desired organizational culture your reaching for.

What other methods do you use to build a better culture in your organization? Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts and experience.

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Effective Communication – Leadership’s Linchpin

March 6, 2013 by

Effective-Communication-Leadership's-Linchpin-Martina-McGowanThe ability to find success in our own personal lives, or in our businesses is rarely dependent on our own skill alone. Maintaining the proper attitude and effective communication are also important contributing aspects of our roles as leaders. Contrary to the current popular belief, effective communication is not merely a matter of how well we can speak in front of an audience, or how well we can write documents, articles or blog posts. Effective and superior communication can only be adequately determined in how well people have understood us and what we are attempting to express.

Communication is an important foundational element of your authority and influence as a leader.  Many businesses and organizations fail to survive because of poor or substandard communication between business decision-makers and the people who have to implement the tasks. Poor or ineffective communication can be a major contributor to employee burn-out, unnecessary and unwarranted elevated stress levels, dissatisfaction and disengagement.

To achieve effective communication, it is important to focus on this essential aspect of how we decide to lead. For many leaders this will entail a change in both attitude and perspective.  It is important that, as leaders of other people and of organizations, that we work to maintain openness to actively engaging  colleagues, employees and yes, customers.

Businesses are built on trust. And, trust is built on relationships. Communication is an important linchpin of relationship building.  The most important relationship in your life is your relationship with our inner self. Consequently, communication with you inner self should be a high priority. I know, it sounds hokey and touchy-feely; but the way in which you communicate with your inner self is very much a determinant of how you communicate with others.

If you spend most of your time doubting your own capabilities, and putting yourself down, it is all but inconceivable that you will be able to mount a positive or even celebratory response to the activities of the people around you. Positive thinking, positive affirmations and positive reinforcement would help you deal with life’s difficulties better. Henry Ford was right when he said,

” If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” ~ Henry Ford Tweet this!

If you believe something, then those beliefs can either become limiting or expansive in terms of what you decide to pursue, and how you elect to do it. Having a positive inner dialogue will launch you into a more positive and supportive communication style with others.

One example of maintaining effective communication is giving appropriate, useful and practical feedback or constructive criticisms to your teammates.  You must first develop an internal successful feedback pattern for yourself.  This will help you give and receive criticisms more openly.

Effective communication is important to us and to the people we serve.

• Effective problem solving.  When you are able to communicate to your employees and co-workers clearly and successfully about real issues and problems, this can lead to a deeper understanding of problems. A deeper understanding will lead everyone to a quicker and more effective problem solution.

• Effective leadership.  For you, as a leader to be able to set the appropriate tone, get people to progress in a suitable and desired direction, and to influence the team or the organization, you must be able to develop a healthy style of communication with them.  As we have already discussed, positive feedback is important. But, so is criticism. Criticisms should be given as a form of positive, helpful useable suggestion and should serve primarily as support rather than chastisement.

• Effective planning.  Planning involves completely understanding the mission, the vision, and the goal of the individual, the department or the organization.  Planning should must directed by the guiding principles of the group. However, we all know that everyone approaches things differently. So it becomes important to properly communicate with each team member so that all of the energy and ideas can be channeled to create and pull together an effective and executable plan.

• Effective organizational improvement.  Communicating well as a leader is not only about your own personal and professional development and growth.  There should also be some noticeable improvement in the personal and professional paths of the people you lead. And, this can have significant effects on the improvement of your whole organization.

As you work to lead and develop yourselves and your colleagues, you will learn sooner or later that your success often depends on being able to interact effectively with other people. Learning good communication skills, and applying them to your inner dialog can only enhance your external dialog and interaction. Effective, on-point, erudite communication can make or break your leadership, your leadership style and your business.

What other ways can effective communication help an organization? Please share your thoughts and ideas below.

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The Greatest Potential for Organizational Improvement

March 5, 2013 by

organizational-improvement-Dave-Bradley‘Engage Engines Scotty’.  As Captain James T. Kirk utters this directive to his crew, the Starship ‘Enterprise’ launches towards its destination with the greatest of ease. 

How we might wish our organization could change position so quickly… maybe you can.

[Read more…]

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Don’t Tell Me You Don’t Have Time

March 4, 2013 by

Time-Management-effective-leadership-Brendan-HoweI am declaring war on the phrase “I don’t have time”. It’s a very common sentence I hear way too often from leaders, managers and employees.

If you EVER use this phrase or a variation of it, I will suggest two things about you:

  1. You are not as accountable as you should be; and,
  2. You are bad at time management.

Tough medicine? Well, let me explain why I think this way and why it is so important that leaders never to use this phrase.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, whether you’re Bill Gates or the garbage man. It comes down to how you use that time and being accountable for that.

Effective time management is constantly making effective decisions to direct your time toward the activities that are most important in hitting your goals.

If you say “I didn’t have time to do that,” you are essentially blaming something else – some other force of time – for not being able to do something. In reality, you chose to do something else instead and you need to be aware of that and accountable for that decision.

If that decision was spending more time with your family or watching the football game, there’s nothing wrong with that, just be aware and accountable for the decision you made.

I’ve gotten frustrated with staff before and told them if you don’t hit your goals for the week I’d like you to say the following to me:

“I decided that everything else I spent working 40 hours on last week was more important than what you asked me to do.”

Harsh? Well, it’s to make a point. I’m sick and tired of people pretending they don’t have control of their day or week. We all have tons of interruptions and distractions. You need to understand that if you don’t get something done, you’ve assigned a higher priority to whatever else you did.

One of the most important things any successful person can master is time management but you will never do it unless you accept that you are the one ultimately responsible for how you spend your time.

The other part of this is making sure you have clear goals and a purpose. You need to know what your goals are for the quarter, month, week and day in order to make those effective decisions about how to spend your time.

If you have clear goals, then when someone comes to your office door and asks you to do something, you will measure doing that task against what you need to get done for your goals that day, plus the list of other things you need to do.

If you don’t have clear goals, you might just go off and do whatever someone asks you to do that’s urgent to them. Or you might spend your day responding to emails and putting out fires.  Then you get to the end of your day and realize you haven’t gotten anything done.

I’ve found the more I focus on managing my time to hit my goals, the more it forces me to figure out how to do more in the limited amount of time I have every day.

It all starts with never saying “I didn’t have time for that.” I’ve told members of my team to call me on it if I ever say that.

So here’s a challenge for you. The next time someone asks you if you’ve done something, keep yourself from saying “no, I didn’t have time to do that.” It may be a little difficult but I’m confident you can do it.

Instead, say something like “I haven’t done that yet” or “I wanted to finish that sales proposal yesterday first before doing that.” I can guarantee you will feel much better about yourself and more in control.

By eliminating “I don’t have time” from your vocabulary you are becoming more accountable and you’re forcing yourself to be better at time management. You’ll be much more successful as a result!

How do you feel when someone tells you “I don’t have time?” Post a reply and I will take the time to reply.

One of the most important things any successful person can master is time management. ~Brendan Howe Tweet this

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Leading Virtual Teams Effectively

March 3, 2013 by

Leading-Virtual-Teams-Effectively-Chris-LemaDo you remember playing the telephone game as a kid? You’d say one thing to the person sitting next to you, and they’d pass on your message. Then the next person would pass on what they thought they heard and so on. The real fun of the game was when you heard the last person share what they thought was the message, and the first person share the message after that.

Leading Virtual Teams is Tough

For almost two decades I’ve been managing remote staff. In some cases these were full teams located in one place far from me. In other cases it was an entire team spread across three countries, with no two people within 100 miles of each other.

Leading a virtual team – one where members are distributed all over the place – can take that telephone game to a whole new level of crazy. And if you’ve been leading in a remote context there’s a good chance you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Leading Virtual Teams is Counter Intuitive

What I know to be true is that when it comes to leading virtual teams effectively, you can’t simply add a weekly phone call or regularly emailed report to your normal leadership strategies and hope for success. Leadership in this context requires something else.

In fact, the most central thing I’ve learned is that it’s all unintuitive. By that I simply mean, leading virtual teams effectively requires you to embrace two new leadership paradigms because, like the telephone game, what you think you know may not be what you need to know.

It Means Managing Less

One of the things we all tend to do in situations we’re uncomfortable in is to limit the degrees to which things can fail. So we control more and release freedom less. This puts us, we think, in a stronger leadership position.

But that’s not always the truth. The truth is that we’ll never develop ownership by assigning tasks. And that can quickly become a vicious cycle where we create the lack of ownership by the way we’re leading our virtual teams.

Instead, assign roles and goals. Get out of the task business. It will drive greater ownership over tasks simply out of necessity’s sake. After all, if you don’t own the tasks, someone must. And why should it be anyone other than the people with the roles assigned to pursue the goals?

In this way you step out of task management, and step into the leadership work of clearing the roadblocks and providing the air cover that your virtual team needs.

It Means Embracing Peer Pressure

We’ve all learned, from early on, that peer pressure was something we were supposed to reject. But we never stopped to question if some kinds of peer pressure was good.

I run a daily “pulse” call with my different virtual teams. That call can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and it’s where I share context so that team members can make better decisions. It’s also where I hear about roadblocks that may be in the way, and anything else that someone thinks I need to know.

But the most important aspect of the call is when each team member answers the question – “What is done done?” No, that’s not a typo. It’s there twice on purpose. Because I want to know what is actually complete. Not partially or mostly done (with an attached modifier after the word “Done”). Instead, I want to know what’s so done that the only word after it is done.

As we “walk” around our virtual meeting room, each person shares what’s done done. They don’t share activity. They share accomplishment. And there’s no trouble when a person doesn’t have anything to share on any given day. But after a couple of days, there is mounting peer pressure.

The fear of peer rejection is stronger than the fear of looking weak.” ~Chris Lema (Tweet This)

No one wants to be the slacker, the slowest one on the team. And so they do what comes naturally – they ask for help. First from each other. And then from me. But they don’t hide for days. Because tomorrow’s another day where they can shine, where they can get something done, or help someone else on the team succeed.

What about Your Experience Leading Virtual Teams?

Are you leading virtual teams? What other paradigms have I missed? Share them with me in the comments.

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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