Vannoy & Ross

 

It’s never been this bad. According to 22 years of polling by The Conference Board, job satisfaction has declined to 45%. And those who find their job interesting are a measly 51%. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34691428/ns/business-careers/from/ET

Ironically, in an era when bosses have to do more with less, when companies are scurrying to differentiate themselves… how effective can they be when half of their employees don’t care?

This situation is akin to a parent trying to get their teenager to do their homework on a Friday night. The parent demands, threatens, incentivizes – but the child just doesn’t want to be there. They’re not interested, yet they’re forced to deliver results.

There are a lot of variables when considering the causes for the poor numbers. Unquestionably, the employee is responsible. It’s up to you and your focus to determine whether you find anything interesting.

The distressing trend also proves that a “let management do the thinking – you do the working” mentality persists. Undoubtedly, there are organizations today who are taking advantage of the unemployment rate; who is going to leave their job when their neighbors are unemployed?

But this approach defies logic. Why would any leader pay someone a wage and then lead them in a manner where they get “homework on a Friday night” sorts of results?

This week, be a trend breaker. Regardless of your position, begin to make the workplace more interesting by doubling the amount of questions you ask. The allure of joining the chorus of those who want to spout their opinions is strong. (Visualize ten people in a meeting, all taking turns sharing how bad they think things are.)

Break the status quo by asking questions such as:

• What do you think we could do differently?
• If you could paint the perfect scenario here, what would it be?
• Why is it important for us to do our best here?

The mindset one chooses is dramatically affected by the environment around them.  Make that environment more interesting today.

 

 

Create Greater Confidence, Momentum and Focus – Right Now

Vannoy and Ross

My five-year-old daughter recently announced, “I know how to spell my friend’s name. We call him RJ.”

“How do you spell that, honey?”

With a big smile she lifted her chin and said, “R – J.”

You have to admire that sort of mastery. And we did! With cheers we celebrated her achievement. And do you know what happened next? She spent the rest of the day attempting to spell nearly every word she encountered.

Which provides us with an important reminder: Somewhere along the way most people begin expecting success – and therefore, they quit celebrating the wins. Thus, quite subtly, confidence begins to wane. Momentum begins to erode. And focus shifts more consistently to what’s not working, which ultimately results in one thing: fewer wins.

What would it be worth to you if, right now – today – you could build more confidence, forward momentum and stronger focus around you?

If this appeals, we challenge you to conduct the following experiment. Today, conduct three separate celebrations:

1. Identify one area where you are excelling. What is something you’ve been doing well lately, especially under trying circumstances? Give yourself some credit – and celebrate in your own way.
2. What is something the team around you is doing well? Shock your teammates and enhance the next meeting by pointing out something about the team that amazes or excites you. And then ask others what they believe is contributing to the successes that are evident.
3. Perhaps most importantly, on your drive home, identify one important quality you’re going to highlight with your family tonight – and then enjoy the difference this focus makes.

Life will throw my daughter tougher words to spell than R-J, but her strategy for success should never change.

Halloween is Over, Right? Beware the Lingering Leadership Ghosts

In the U.S., Halloween has come and gone. The masks and witch brooms are back in storage. Fright-night is over, right?

 

Not so fast. There are ghosts still floating wild and haunting teams across the land. Does your business require a ghost buster?

Spend casual time with the average employee…and listen closely…and you may just hear ghost stories. These chilling tales take various forms:

• In some companies, make a mistake, and you’re a villain forever. Like demon spirit, your reputation floats far in front of you and lingers after you’ve left the room. You could have the potential to be the most effective leader in the land…but people will never know it. Your ghost lives on, and your company pays the price: How ironic: We want people to improve, but we tie them to the past.
• Additionally, too many teams routinely tell ghost stories about events of the past. They sound like this: “Do you remember how bad that leader was…” And “One of the worst decisions we ever made was…” And “We never seem to have the time to do things right the first time, but we always have the time to do things twice…” Unwittingly, by retelling (and retelling, and retelling) the same scary stories people ensure that past mistakes continue to cost them countless more dollars far into the future.

Understanding the horrific moments in our past is not a mistake, but allowing leadership ghosts to linger, is costly. Conduct a ghost-busting exercise today by asking these questions:

1. What are the most important lessons we can gain from this experience?
2. How can we further leverage this moment as a resource?
3. If we continue to re-tell this story, how would it hurt progress?
4. Why is it important that we put this experience behind us?

The haunted house is closed. It’s time to move forward.

Are You the Michelangelo of Leadership? Take this Quiz

It is very clear: You need “breakthrough” ideas if you’re going to succeed. Would it surprise you to know that quite possibly – in fact most likely – your organization already has the capability to generate the solutions necessary to ensure you will thrive?

Consider the great Italian Renaissance artist, Michelangelo. His work remains unparalleled. He said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

1. are empowered to regularly ask questions of leadership?
2. currently bring an “ownership, all-in” mentality to work?
3. are routinely solicited for their ideas on how to improve processes, etc.?
4. are consistently aware of why what they are doing on a daily basis is important?

If you answered 90% or above to these questions, you’re presently creating a masterpiece – and your organization is probably already healthy. If you fell below 90%, the good news is: Starting today, your job – and results – can get easier.

Three Actions to Guarantee Immunity from the Flu

Vannoy and Ross

Are you looking forward to getting the flu this season – or not? There are measures to significantly decreasing your chances of getting the “swine” flu. But what about the other flu that’s spreading through the work place?

Team’s everywhere are suffering high temperatures, congestion, lethargy, and loss of strength due to an illness few people are diagnosing: The Elephant Flu.

Symptoms of the Elephant Flu:

This flu is not unlike its brethren, the swine flu, in that it is infectious; the poor focus, attitudes and behaviors characterized by ‘the elephant in the office’ travel quickly and result in the poor health of an entire organization.

Washing your hands, sneezing into your elbow, taking your vitamins – all of these measures decrease the chances you’ll fall victim to the nasty swine flu. Consider that similar hygienic actions can ensure your team remains immune to the destructive forces of the elephant flu:

1. Wash your hands…ensure your team is focused on what they do want vs. what they don’t want. Nasty germs and viruses thrive in a backward focused culture.
2. Sneeze into your elbow…it’s impossible not to sneeze, so the key is containing the sneeze. Instead of avoiding “tough” issues go after them. AND address those issues in ways that make the people around you, relationships and results stronger.
3. Take your vitamins…focus on what is working, acknowledge those who are leading with the strength and character you admire, and celebrate the successes in the steps you’re making. This sort of consistent, healthy focus builds your team’s immunity, ensuring that the elephant flu won’t find a suitable host where it can begin its destructive ways.

Preventative medicine is the key. Today, host a “cultural health” conversation with your team, and ask, “What focus, attitudes and behaviors can we demonstrate more to further enhance our immunity from the elephant flu?”

End the Fireworks: Tell the Truth – And Live to Tell About It (Part 3)

Vannoy and Ross

The cost of this “elephant in the office,” along with how to make sure people are telling the truth around you, has been addressed in our last two blogs. But what happens if you want to step forward and tell the truth to others who you are afraid will explode? How do you tell the truth and live to tell about it?

First, understand that most people don’t tell the truth because they failed a logic lesson: Somewhere in the past they told the truth and barely survived the experience, so they deduced: “Telling the truth is a life-threatening exercise.”

What these people failed to consider is that telling the truth isn’t what put them into danger; what put them in grave peril is HOW they told the truth.

Most people tell the truth in ways that 

• Make other people wrong,
• Infuse dread and gloom into the conversation,
• Ignite controversy and unhealthy debate,
• Generate a new round of the blame game, and
• Leave people thinking about problems rather than solutions.

The most effective way to tell the truth is to simply offer it as information. It is, after all, only data. It’s not good or bad. (People’s focus and attitudes are what make things such.)

What would happen if, starting today, the people on your team told the truth in an authentic way…that inspired imaginations? Creativity? Opportunity? And a greater focus on solutions? For instance: “Here is my perspective regarding this situation… What can we do to ensure this moves forward?”

Such an approach, as the one above, is happening in offices all around the world – and these are the organizations that are moving forward the fastest.

 

 

 

End the Fireworks: How to Develop Truth-Tellers Around You (Part 2)

 

Would you like a bullet-proof, sure-fire, guaranteed way to ensure people lie to you? Do this:

• Whenever someone tells you something, judge the information as good or bad;
• Or shake your head and tell them they’re wrong;
• Or laugh at them and let them know how stupid they are.

And if you want to ensure your children lie to you, after they tell you something, ask interrogation questions, such as “Why did you do that?” and “What were you thinking?”

Those leaders who develop truth tellers around them welcome all information. And they know that how they respond to the information determines what type of information they’ll receive in the future. Treating the information as neutral (it is only information, and your judgment is the only thing that makes it good or bad) allows people and teams to move an issue forward faster…because no one has to navigate your issues.

Try this experiment: Withhold value judgments on the information you receive. In response to what you are told, simply acknowledge you heard it – “thank you” – and then ask a question that launches the process of moving the situation forward. As you do this, observe what happens to the depth and detail of conversations as people realize that they’re not playing with fire when they approach you.

Be prepared: If you attempt this experiment be prepared for this: higher quality decision making is on the horizon as full information will increase.

In our next blog we’ll cover strategies to assist those who want to tell the truth to others – and live to tell about it!

 

Tell the Truth: Are You Bringing the Fireworks Show into the Office?

 Want to see some excitement in the office this week?

Fireworks exploded all across the U.S. this past weekend as the country celebrated its birthday. But fireworks don’t have to be a “weekend” activity! In too many offices, fireworks can be a daily occurrence. And it’s done simply by telling…the truth.

It’s a huge “elephant in the office” for many organizations: The truth is unacceptable. And the reason why is because a system – a culture – has been established that when the truth is stated it means someone is wrong. And being wrong is not cool. So when the truth is told it ignites explosions and tirades that – in this case – are not at all entertaining, but are severely destructive.

Because people are trained to “not play with fire,” truth-telling is not an exercise that is often experienced by most teams. Like a stockpile of fireworks just waiting for a match, here is a list of the most common lies being told in offices today:

• “If we work harder, we’ll succeed.” (That’s a lie! It’s HOW we’re doing our work that must evolve.)
• “My leadership behavior is not what needs to change; it’s others who need to change.” (You’re kidding, right? All significant change begins by altering the approach taken by the only person you can control: you).
• “I can’t take time from my schedule to work on our culture.” (Huh? This statement reveals the missed paradigm – and why the culture is probably toxic: Your culture is always under construction; right now you are either creating or dismantling it.)
• “We don’t have an accountable workforce because we don’t have responsible employees.” (Give me a break. Accountability is not legislated. Lack of accountability in an organization is a greater testament to poor leadership and culture than it is a statement about mankind.)

The speed at which your organization moves forward is equal to your ability to tell the truth. If you’re not telling the truth, you’re conducting faux meetings and having artificial conversations. And incremental progress is all you’ll ever know.

This week ask your team, “Can we do a better job of telling the truth?” And let people tell their truth.

Telling the truth does not have to ignite fireworks. The key is HOW you tell the truth. In next week’s blog we’ll explore steps on how to do that.

 

 

June 30, 2009

Many managers are trying to determine how to develop high performing teams. They rake through the variables, attempting to find the “final solution,” only to be dismayed when employees continue to underperform.

Let’s look at the numbers: 72% of the workforce is disengaged (Gallup); 66% of corporate strategies are never executed (Ernst and Young); in one year $544 billion dollars were lost due to disengaged workforce (Inc. Magazine). As the list goes on, we can logically conclude that the employees are at fault, right? In fact, some are just out-right lazy and have no sense of what a solid work-ethic is, yes?

The fact that some people embrace the above logic is a significant “elephant in the office” for companies. And it’s costing them in mighty ways.

Consider that the primary reason for poor performing teams is the leadership being applied. Sadly, all too often, the suspect manager rarely looks at how they’re leading, but rather points the blame at the workforce.

As a friend shared, “That’s like blaming the bread for burning in the toaster.”

This blaming approach (called the B-Lame Game in our book, Stomp the Elephant in the Office) distracts teams and breaks the trust and communication necessary to move forward and achieve.

Burnt Toast: Up as well as Down

Of course, the “it’s-the-bread’s-fault-for-burning” approach works when you attempt to lead upwards as well. Think of it: “Yes! If I criticize my senior leadership enough, if I talk behind their back, if I display bad body language – if I make them feel the heat and burn – then they’ll change! Yeah, that’ll do it.” This approach is a waste as the logic is flawed.

Do you know someone who’s using the “toaster approach?” Are they burning the bread? Help them understand: The problem isn’t bad people. It’s an unproductive leadership approach…and a weak culture that tolerates such.

 

 Sometimes, we have to pass along one of the hundreds of stories we’ve received from people who are using the Pathways to Leadership tools (www.pathwaystoleadership.com) to create greater results. Here’s a powerful one from Steve S that may affect how you interact with people today:

 “A global positioning system (GPS) can tell you where you are – and can provide specific directions on how to get to your destination. The tool chooses the best and fastest route. 

 “What is interesting is how it handles my deviations from its preferred route. Once, as I got close to home I chose my own route by going straight – even though the GPS instructed me to turn.

 

“Each time I disobeyed it stated, ‘Recalculating,’ and immediately gave me a revised route to the destination, based upon where I was. Time after time, deviation after deviation, its only feedback was new directions to my original goal.

 “What struck me was that it didn’t say, ‘I told you to turn left.’  It didn’t blame me by saying, ‘Because of your deviation you just added 1.2 miles to our trip!’  It didn’t threaten by uttering, ‘Well great, now we’re lost. If you’re not going to listen then I’m done trying to help.’

 “I have reflected on this when supporting my kids and colleagues. When I’m not flexing my Awareness Muscle (from the book, Stomp the Elephant in the Office, Pg 129. www.stomptheelephant.com ), I want to say ‘I told you that would happen,’ or ‘If you had listened to me this would not be the result.’ 

 “I think the GPS’s approach is best. Forget the past – and focus on where and how you can best support. We are all on different journeys to desired destinations and with great frequency we take detours. Stay focused on what’s necessary to move forward, recalculate, and continue to move towards your goal!”

 Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?