ELEPHANT ALERT!

Grab some antacids.

According to USA Today, Harvard recently released its National Leadership Index. It should have come with the label: “Warning: contents likely to cause heartburn.”

In the U.S., 80% of the public sees the country in a leadership crisis. That’s an increase of 3% over last year, and a whopping 15% from 2005. And worldwide it’s not much better. Globally, confidence in business leaders is the lowest in a decade (Development Dimensions International).

Who’s at fault? Fingers are often pointed at those in leadership positions. After all, they’re getting the bad grades, right?

Many people miss the accomplice.

Here’s the elephant in the office: Most organizations perpetuate a culture where everyone stands around waiting for those in leadership to lead, to make decisions, to motivate, to hold people accountable…to get things done. And when things don’t get done, these same people become “victims.”

Results never lie. One of the primary reasons there is a leadership crisis is because of the approach that so many bring to leadership. Instead of empowering the many, the majority acquiesce to the few. Not much work gets done this way.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

The strongest performing organizations have cultures that separate themselves from their competitors. They perpetuate the understanding that everyone is a leader – and therefore, everyone is response-able. A lot more gets done in these organizations.

You can take a greater leadership role today just through your actions, by making the shift from:

• Demanding others are held accountable…to developing an accountability mindset around you.
• Blaming others for errors…to modeling what you want to see.
• Telling others what to do…to asking questions that create thinkers around you.

We are not helpless. The choice to lead is ours.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Who wrecked the economy? There’s a lot of finger pointing: lending practices, consumer debt, executive greed…the list goes on. In the end, the crisis can be traced to poor judgment and ill-advised human behaviors. 

Aliens didn’t descend from outer space and plant this problem. We created this mess. 

Here’s the elephant in the office: “You can’t blame me. I’m only a small piece of the system,” some might say. And they’d be right on two counts: This isn’t about blame, and they are a part of a system – the system of “us.” We – you and me – are responsible for the culture in which we operate. How we function – our culture – determines our results.

It is shocking how few people own this responsibility. Those who do take responsibility choose not to be victims – and become tomorrow’s leaders. 

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

We’re talking about accountability. And there’s good news: Businesses are the perfect and primary vehicle to create greater responsibility and a culture of accountability, for business is the grandest forum with which our society interacts. 

Countless people will spend time on blame and focusing on what went wrong; and while the causes for this malaise must be understood and consequences delivered, the only way we can move forward is if we lead ourselves forward.

Today, discuss these questions with your team:

1. In our environment, what’s the difference between “holding someone accountable” and “ensuring accountability”?
2. To what extent does our team reinforce and reward accountability?
3. What are the actions that build accountability in others?

The future belongs to those who choose to stand up again. Ensure your organization leads the way and makes a culture of accountability a greater reality today.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Ages ago they didn’t believe the human body had “cells.” They didn’t even know cells existed. Then the microscope was invented – and suddenly cells existed. The microscope didn’t invent cells, it revealed them.

What solutions do you need that don’t exist right now? And what will you do to facilitate the necessary “equipment” to discover the solution?

Here’s the elephant in the office: Some take the approach that if they can’t “see” the solution, then it’s not there. When new ideas are offered these people shoot them down, discredit them, or dismiss them. “It’s not possible!” they claim. This means their organization is doomed, because it is now limited only to “what is possible,” or more accurately, “what’s been done before.”

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

We just left Quebec City, Canada, after addressing the Packaging Association of Canada. They’re in a tight spot: Everything they do to provide you packaging requires energy – and fuel costs have skyrocketed. Plus, they must respond to the growing consumer demand for green products.

No easy solutions are in sight. But the industry isn’t in peril. After meeting these leaders, I’m convinced they’ll pass onto future generations a legacy of quality and innovation, because they have a key understanding.

The microscope was needed to prove cells existed. Discovering business solutions requires creating a mechanism where solutions reveal themselves. That mechanism is your culture. Here are three actions to better do this:

1. Establish a focus on what’s already working;
2. Ensure people feel good (read: creativity);
3. And develop a “let’s-determine-how-that-idea-will-work” mentality vs. a “here’s- why-it-won’t-work” approach.

Do you believe your solutions are out there?

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

What evidence do you have that you’re taking the right action?

Everyone has good intentions. Most organizations claim, “Our people are our greatest asset.” Yet, what investments do they make to leverage their competitive strategic advantage?

Here’s the elephant in the office: No one gets married and then says, “I’m going to let this marriage fall apart.” Still, few couples use effective tools and build into their weekly routine actions that ensure their marriage thrives. The same thing happens in the workplace: Everyone has the intentions of “building trust,” but few take deliberate, weekly actions to ensure they’re getting stronger.

The results don’t lie: The “best of intentions” approach doesn’t work.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Most subscribers to this blog are using a systemic, tool-based approach that consistently builds individuals, teams and results. The culture of engagement created by this approach pays dividends.

When you say “Quality is a priority” you’re not just talking about what is delivered to your customers. You take it a step further than your competitors and make the quality of your leadership and culture a CONSISTENT priority as well.

Because you experience it every day, you probably don’t need more proof that you’re doing the right thing. So here’s more evidence you can share with the nay-sayers who claim the “soft stuff” doesn’t matter: A recent Towers-Perrin global survey (page 4), with over 40 companies participating, revealed those organizations with the highest percentage of engaged employees increased their operating income by 19% and their profit per share by 28% year to year. Those companies with a disengaged workforce? They saw a 33% decline in operating income and a drop of 11% in earnings per share.

You’re rare: You have good intentions AND you lead with an action plan to deliver on those intentions. You’re taking the right action.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Imagine you are the coach for the defending Super Bowl champions, New York Giants. Because you won last year, you tell the team, “It’s obvious we have the best talent, so we’re not going to practice together. Just show up on game day ready to play.”

This insane approach would result in a 0-16 record and the end of your career. Shockingly, guess what the predominant approach is in business?

Here’s the elephant in the office: Despite the best of intentions, the traditional “training mentality” is costing companies billions of dollars. Giving people a “once-in-a-while” chance to improve how well they work together backfires; people become cynical and skeptical and an attitude of “the company values rhetoric” emerges as employees are exposed to a daily dose of dysfunctional teamwork.

“Once in a while” must be replaced with “all the time.”

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

An event-based, build-the-team-once-in-a-while mentality is the predominant approach in business. Most of the people reading this blog are a part of a company that has achieved a paradigm shift: It is in EVERY interaction you have with others that defines and determines your effectiveness as a team. This is the essence of culture.

Therefore, successful organizations equip team members with leadership tools they can apply in daily interactions. These companies understand that it is in every conversation you have with a colleague that you are either destroying your culture – or making it stronger.

Professionals understand that “game day” only reflects the efforts and effectiveness delivered in the previous six days. Instead of building a team “once in a while,” they know that the only way to win is via a systemic, moment-by-moment approach.

Results never lie: this is the only way to win. What will you do in your interactions today to bring your team one step closer to victory?

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

How much do you budget to maintain your company’s copying machines? Those machines are expensive buggers! Yet of course, without them it would be tough to do business, wouldn’t it?

How expensive is it to do business with a team that is not aligned and communicating well?

As you consider your budget for 2009, where and how you decide to spend your money will say a lot. And what some companies tell the world is shocking.

Here’s the elephant in the office: “More and more I realize how insane the old approach is,” shared an executive. “Some companies have training budgets smaller than the budgets for maintaining their copiers!”

What does it say about a company that spends their money on the equipment people use, but not the people who use the equipment? Imagine a new semi-truck barreling down the highway at 70 mph…with a bunch of five-years-olds fighting over the wheel.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Focusing on how effectively people work together is the mother of all strategies.

A growing company in Colorado has a leadership team that tells the organization: “Watch where the money goes.” Do you suppose there’s a connection between the fact that this company has invested in the tools people can use to communicate and work together (culture) and that they are no longer in the red, but now on healthy financial ground?

“It is our people which separate us from our competition. It’d be crazy not to invest in our strategic competitive advantage.”

Any organization that rises to the upper tier has its moment in history when it realizes the statement “it’s not in our budget” really means “it’s not our priority.” So they set new priorities – and live their values even more.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

It seems every company puts up posters that say “our people make the difference.” But what sort of difference are they making?

Intelligent, highly-skilled, and experienced people who are not aligned, can’t communicate with one another, and don’t have a common language might just as well not be intelligent, skilled or experienced. Operating alone, people make as much difference as a water removal specialist approaching the Pacific.

Here’s the elephant in the office: Many companies trademark their products so no one else can steal and sell them. Yet, the teams that make and deliver those products flounder in toxicity are often unaligned and can’t communicate effectively. These companies should post signs that read, “Our people make a difference – occasionally, usually around the holidays or when we give bonuses.”

The most important edge you can have over your competition – and the one thing your competition can’t steal – is HOW the people in the organization work together.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Jose is the president for the Latin American region within a Fortune 500 company. His team delivers greater profits to their global organization than any other region. And Jose knows why: “How we work together is what makes the difference. It’s our trademark. It’s what separates us from everyone else. We must protect this.”

Jose’s organization is facing the same economic and market issues as their competition, yet his team is planning for growth. And the confidence to deliver on that plan is palpable.

Are you – your company’s culture – worth a trademark? What will happen to the value of your trademarked products as the people who create your culture function as one – so they really can be “the difference”?

What is your priority today?

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

With the tightening economy, organizations are forced to cut benefits provided to employees. The math is simple; things have become too expensive. Yet, most organizations are ignoring a proven formula as they do their arithmetic.

What is one of the most important benefits people seek?

Here’s the elephant in the office: The greatest predictor of job performance is how happy and engaged employees are while they’re at work. Yet, too many bosses have conditioned their employees to only be happy and engaged when they receive something. This motivate-through-rewards beast can never be fed enough, and it creates a gimmie, gimmie, gimmie crowd.

Ironically, there is a benefit that people will fight for that’s fail-proof at creating engagement – and it doesn’t cost a dime to provide.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

To be clear: Insurance and other benefits are incredibly important. They provide immeasurable peace of mind and certainly are a tool to inspire employee efforts and loyalty. Yet, what do we do when we’re forced to reduce those benefits?

The research is abundant: job satisfaction not only determines job performance, but also delivers healthier employees and work/life balance. So what drives job satisfaction? It begins with the relationships people have at work and continues with when a person feels they are valued and can deliver value.

The answer lies in your culture. “We are even more determined to build our Wellness Culture,” says a CEO on the east coast. “It’s the greatest benefit we can give our employees because it impacts all facets of their lives. When people love coming to work it also gives us a competitive edge.”

Is your culture an employee benefit? If so, what can you do today to: reinforce that? Advertise that? Leverage that?

If your culture is not an employee benefit, consider that no amount of spending will ever satisfy the “gimmie, gimmie, gimmie” crowd.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

The economy is not playing nice. Everyone is scrambling to adapt to rising costs and an increasingly skeptical customer. Which organizations will win?

Here’s the elephant in the office: You can count on this – most companies are cutting costs and their workforce, while increasing demands. For them, it’s all a numbers game. The result: fear, doubt and the politics of self-preservation spread like wildfire.

Pretty smart, wouldn’t you say? Because people are way more creative and bring their best efforts when they’re afraid and distracted, right?

Wrong. Such organizations compound their problems and accelerate their demise.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

There are some companies doing things differently. (You know who you are.) They went way out in front of these economic challenges and built healthy cultures – environments where fear and dread are replaced with confidence and courage. These organizations are ready; it’s show time, and they’re favored to win.

Is your team ready? Tap into the natural courage of others by asking questions like these:

• Where and how have we been successful in overcoming tough situations in the past?
• What strengths does our team possess that we want to focus on?
• How can we create a culture that allows us to be at our creative best even more?
• What small steps can we celebrate to generate more momentum?

It’s true: many companies have such toxic cultures that questions like these won’t help much. Which means these people have a choice: they can succumb – or they can begin to take a stand.

Accordingly, congratulations to the organizations who’ve prepared their cultures for this moment. Now it’s time to leverage that healthy culture by living your values even more.

It’s show time.

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

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Everyone knows the value of teamwork. All of us want communication enhanced. And you’ve got screws loose if you don’t think "trust" is necessary for the success of an organization.

So why do these behaviors – these needs – remain unachievable for many organizations?

Here’s the elephant in the office: Too many organizations take the "fix-it" approach. They wait until there are “behavior issues” or until teamwork doesn’t exist before they do anything to develop desired qualities.

This is like trying to get the kid in the back seat of your car to hush-up by taking him to the ice cream stand and asking, “Which flavor this time?”

How many flavors can you stand before saying, “No thanks”?

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Lynne works for a global organization that leads their industry – and she’s been doing it for 30+ years. Do you think she’s tasted a few flavors over the years? It would be easy to excuse her from any future initiatives. But that means you don’t know Lynne.

Lynne, along with so many of her colleagues, is taking a rare approach: instead of “fixing” their culture and colleagues, they’re building and developing. They’re not waiting for things to go wrong before launching this strategy – they’re doing it now. And by using tools and a common language, they’re imbedding it into everyday actions.

A focus on culture is never a flavor of the month, because culture is something each of us has to live with every day of every month of every year.

And if you’re lucky, your team has people on it like Lynne, who says “I’ve seen a lot. Things can be awfully tough. And I know it’s my responsibility to contribute, to help move us forward.”

What difference will you make today?

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