Grown-Up Leadership blog

As I write this, it is 9:00 on a Sunday night. I have spent approximately 5 hours today working on various work projects and I spent 5 hours yesterday at the office.

This is not my normal routine. But as a business owner in today’s  economy,  acting quickly to take advantage of an unexpected business opportunity is necessary even if it impacts my week-end’s schedule.

Sometimes, I ask myself why I do it. The answer I always come back to is that I am willing to put in the extra effort not just because my personal financial life and business financial life overlap, but also because I love what I do.

But I also realize that my hard work alone is not enough. If my employees are not motivated and inspired to put in their maximum effort I am not succeeding as a leader and a manager. And The Bailey Group will suffer as a result.

The popular phrase now being used to describe inspiring employees to provide maximum commitment and effort is Employee Engagement. To a CEO or business leader, Employee Engagement is nothing more than another way to ask: “How do I inspire and motivate employees in my organization so they see their personal success as being directly tied to the success of the organization and are willing to put forth extra effort to achieve results?”

This is no minor matter. Research has shown that leaders that dedicate time and resources to develop a highly motivated workforce have achieved:

27% higher profits
22% higher productivity
38% higher customer satisfaction
Employees who regularly perform at 120% of expectations

This is like increasing your workforce by 20% without adding to your salary expense!

In the next few weeks, I and my colleagues will be blogging about specific strategies for inspiring and motivating your workforce. There is no magic bullet, but there are proven strategies including:

Measuring current engagement levels using a reliable and valid survey tool
Providing coaching and training for your managers in identifying and maximizing the talents of their team members
Training employees in how to maximize their ability to use their talents to excel in their roles
Making employee engagement a critical component of your strategic plan for enhancing the results of your organization

We are hoping you will join us in the conversation. In particular, we would like to know:
How engaged are you in your work? If you are, how come? If not, why not?
What, if anything, is your manager doing to create an environment that is inspiring and motivating?
How much encouragement do you receive to use your talents at work?
What are your feelings about your firm’s senior leadership?

I look forward to the conversation!

“Planning is not deciding what to do in the future.  It is deciding what to do now in order to have a future.” - Author Unknown

Leaders today are being faced with some of the most difficult decisions they have ever had to make.  The future of their organization depends on making the right decision in the here and now.

When leaders are faced with making quick decisions in times of crisis, some leaders move quickly, make the tough calls and drive forward by setting high standards and expectations for everyone around them.  Other leaders solicit feedback, work as a team to solve problems and motivate others through encouragement.  While neither style is good or bad, overuse of a particular style can set you back or even derail you from your goal.

A directive style can be used to pull through an urgent crisis that requires immediate and decisive action to ensure stability.  This style can be used to clarify performance expectations and provide concrete action steps when your team feels unsure about what action they should take.

A collaborative style can be used to tap into the creative energies of team members and increase motivation and commitment to the outcome.  This style can be used to boost morale and calm the environment during times when fears are heightened.

Knowing when to engage a complementary style may be the key to both your leadership and the organization’s success.

Do you need a more directive and forceful style?

Take on challenging tasks

Trust your own ideas and share them with conviction

Be willing to take a risk even if others don’t agree

Confront employees who aren’t performing well

Do you need a more empowering and collaborative style?

Involve others in making decisions and share responsibility

Take 10 - 15 minutes a day to check in with your team

In conflict, focus on your own behavior and modify your approach as needed

What steps will you take to complement your style to ensure your organization has a future? 

It is hard to find anything positive to talk about these days. It seems everywhere we turn there is more bad news and the negativity is contagious. I know that finding good news is tough. My daughter was given a homework assignment to find a positive article in the newspaper. I am sure it doesn’t surprise you that this was a difficult task.

Although we are all acutely aware of the depressing things occurring around us, I know there are also good things happening. I have recently heard the following comments from clients and friends:

- “We are having the best year in our company history.”
- “We have the best team I have ever worked with.”
- “I far exceeded my sales expectations.”
- “We are in a much better place than we were a year ago.”
- “We are well-positioned for growth.”
- “I love the work I do.”

I would think that these would be things everyone would want to hear but the sad part is these comments are usually made in a whispered tone. There is fear that they may jinx their good fortune, guilt that others are not having as much success and worry that it won’t last.
My advice to leaders is to not rob yourself or your teams of the opportunity to highlight the positives.

Now more than ever is a time to seek out what is going well. I believe the most effective leaders during these trying times are those who create a positive environment. These workplaces are positively contagious. They foster creativity, encourage productivity and most importantly, have fun!

My goal is to be more positively contagious. Here are a few other things that I am attempting to do more of in my life:

- Smile often
- Laugh a lot
- Acknowledge successes - big and small
- Share how much I appreciate others
- Tell twice as many positive stories as negative ones
- Be someone others would want to be around

What are you doing to be positively contagious?

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but I want to share a goal I have for the New Year.  As a coach, I ask my clients to share their goals with others in order to be accountable. So as they say in the medical field…Physician, heal thyself!

Here’s my goal: I want to be a more positive force in the lives of my clients, my friends, co-workers and family. I want to remind myself of what I DO have instead of becoming frightened about what I might lose. I want to increase the times I focus on what is good right now and notice the positive things others do.

I’m going to be realistic and say right now that I will fail at this…repeatedly. I will not always be optimistic or take the “abundance” view and I don’t expect others to. I’m fully aware times are tough. However, I’m gonna try. This isn’t my original idea. I have a small group of friends in my dog agility world who do a “weekend update”. After each trial, we share the good things that happened…we brag a little or share what we learned. And, if we were at the same trial, we point out the good things we saw in each other that past weekend.

I’ve started to really love this. I’ve found I am looking for and noticing the little things my friends do—the moments in their competition where they were “a team” with their dog, or where they handled a part of a tough course with great timing. Then, I remember it and write it in “the weekend update”. I share what I saw in my friends and the good things that happened for me. They do the same for me, too and it feels great.  So, I’m going to start doing this in other parts of my life. And, as I tell my clients, I’ll ask others how I’m doing with this. I’ll let you know how it goes.

- Barb

A few nights ago my husband mentioned that I was bringing up the topic of changing economic conditions more frequently.  I guess it’s on my mind more than I realized!  What will the impact of all these changes be?  How will lives be changed?  How will business be affected?  What will we need to do to “beat it” instead of letting it beat us? 

Today, an article in the Wall Street Journal discussed the impact of the thrifty spending patterns of consumers.  Wal-mart and McDonald’s report increases, while higher-end retailers and restaurants experience a slow-down.  I was at the salon last week and my stylist commented on how their business seems to be slowing down, while the low-cost, walk-in salons are busier.  It is not with a sense of worry that I write these things, but a sense of interest.   When I face a complex problem, I like to go deeper and explore what opportunities lie beneath.

 
Morale can decline during times of financial instability and this can affect productivity, retention and team effectiveness.  The assumption that retention is a given during this economy could prove disastrous for an organization.  As financial incentive plans decline, some organizations are focusing on improving work environments to retain employees and keep morale up.  Now more than ever we need talented workforces that are willing to engage their creative problem-solving skills on behalf of our organizations so we can achieve success even during times of economic change.

Investment in building a productive work environment will pay dividends for many years to come.  The most effective leaders take advantage of the opportunities to excel during times of instability.  As a leader what can you do to create the environment that will leverage the talent of your employees to achieve success during this time of change?

Managing fear. Our own and others. This is a topic that is showing up a lot in my coaching these days.

Leaders are taught that they are supposed to be strong, confident and resilient. An article in the November 30, 2008 New York Times about Barack Obama highlighted this expectation with its title: “Don’t Let Them See You Sweat”.

But fear is a natural reaction to perceived threat. And if your business is forecasting a double digit revenue decline in 2009 and your expenses are growing by 5% a year and your banker is hesitant to lend you money, you would have to be superhuman (or completely cut off from your feelings) not to feel at least a little uncomfortable.

One of my favorite authors and teachers taught me that “true fearlessness is not the reduction of fear, but going beyond fear”. In other words, being courageous is not the same as denying that we feel fear. Instead, we need to acknowledge our fear, reconcile ourselves with it, and then act along side it.

So how does a leader go beyond fear? At The Bailey Group, we  have found that maturity and versatility are two key competencies that effective leaders cultivate. And the skills embedded in these two competencies are the ones that help leaders manage their fear and to lead others during difficult times.

At its core, maturity is about knowing and managing yourself. A key aspect of maturity is awareness of what you are feeling at any given moment and the ability to choose your response to your feelings. Because fear is uncomfortable, leaders learn ways to hide their fears from others (and themselves), often without knowing that their behavior is driven by fear. Some get angry and start yelling. Others withdraw and become paralyzed with self doubt.

Maturity requires courage. In particular, the courage to feel your fear and to be “present” with it. “Being present” is not a mystical concept. It simply means not denying the fear or reacting to it out of habit, but instead choosing how you want to respond to get the results you want.

This is where versatility becomes important. Sometimes, what is needed from a leader is forcefulness and urgency. Other times what is required is calm and the ability to listen, support, and encourage others. Mature leaders take the time to diagnose what is needed in a given situation. Versatile leaders have the skills to be either forceful or encouraging, depending upon what is required. Less versatile leaders act the same way in all situations, because it feels comfortable and familiar.

Franklin Roosevelt, in his first Inaugural, said…”all we have to fear is fear itself”. Perhaps part of what he meant is that fear, without maturity and versatility, can cause us to act in ways that make situations worse, not better. So, when you feel fear, practice acknowledging and not running from it (without judging yourself for feeling it).  Then decide how you want to respond. And then act, on purpose.

So how are you managing your fears about the future and the economy these days? What works for you?

I’ve all but quit looking at the financial news these days, finding it just as frightening when the market has a 500+ point up-swing as it is when stocks take a dive.  There are no answers right now nor is there any certainty, other than the fact that a multitude of people much brainier than I are trying to sort through the financial crisis and bring things back to some sort of equilibrium.   So, what to do in the meantime?

It is in times like this when I remember what one of the best leaders I ever had told me - “it is a leader’s job, among other things, to have a high tolerance for ambiguity and substantial resiliency”.  Never has this statement rung more true.

High tolerance for ambiguity means not needing to have all the answers before making a decision or taking action.  It means taking measured and appropriate risks, even in the face of uncertainty.  It means taking stock of what you DO know and what you CAN control or impact and moving forward.  And, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, its about “taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase”.  As leaders, we must not only have a high tolerance for ambiguity ourselves, but we must also instill this in the people and teams we lead.  And in times of uncertainty, others will most certainly look to us for queues about how to move ahead.

Resiliency is about handling set backs, both personal and professional.  It is about getting up and getting going, time and again, even on those days when you’d just as soon lay down by the dog dish.  Its about having the perseverance to see through a challenge to its conclusion, to generate alternatives when past approaches no longer work, and to have faith that circumstances will come around.  Sometimes its a matter of asking yourself “what’s the worst thing that can happen here?” and, finding that both tolerable and unlikely, pressing on.  Resiliency is not only handling adversity, but learning and growing as a result.

These days I take some comfort in the fact that I am not retiring for another 20 (or 30?) years and will have ample opportunity to continue to develop my own tolerance for ambiguity and resiliency.  Let’s hope, however, that the economy isn’t always putting both to the test!

Monday was a difficult day. It marked the 20^th anniversary of my dad’s death and for some reason this milestone was especially tough for me. As I reflect on my dad’s life, I am reminded of the many wonderful lessons I learned from him.   

My dad owned a grocery store in a small town with a population of about 1,800 people. He was my first boss. When I was younger, others would tell me that it must be nice to be the boss’ daughter.  From my perspective that just meant that I worked more hours. When another employee called in sick, I would get the call telling me I was working that day.  Regardless of what I had planned, I was expected to be at the store in 10 minutes ready to work. No complaints!  This was my first lesson in what many call a “strong work ethic.”

My dad’s success was directly related to his investment in his employees. He focused on making a personal connection with each and every employee. They knew he would do what he could to help them be successful. He provided flexible work schedules long before it was a common practice.  He knew that if he helped his employees meet the demands of family or school, they would be more committed. Sometimes it meant that he worked extra hours but this practice kept turnover to a minimum.  As I look at it now, my dad was committed to employee engagement without knowing it. The return on this investment was he employed people who were happy, loyal and would do anything thing they could to help the store be successful.

My dad taught me that investment in people paid large dividends. The results of my dad’s leadership style led to exceptional growth for the store. But the true measure of my dad’s success was the outpouring of gratitude from the lives he touched.  During the past 20 years, we have heard hundreds of stories of the impact he had on the lives of those who were lucky to call him their boss.  My hope is that those employees are now using the employee engagement lessons they experienced so many years ago.

What leadership lessons did you learn from your first boss?

I learned a lot about fear and crisis this week.  On Monday morning, I learned my beloved dog, Canyon, was seriously ill.  For about 12 hours, a likely diagnosis was an aggressive and deadly form of cancer.  Then, I learned comparatively good news…there was a tumor on his heart.  The good news was it was operable and if all was successful, he’d be fine.  (FYI– a successful surgery was performed Friday and as I write this blog, I am awaiting word from the UM Vet clinic that he can come home.)

So, what were my lessons learned?  Several were personal but many more were also examples of leadership in crisis, something many of you can relate to in these tough economic times.

1)      The power of community.  I have rarely felt as surrounded by positive thinkers and loving support as I have this week.  Emails and phone calls came from everywhere and those positive thoughts made a huge difference.  I have to admit, I was NOT optimistic, long before I knew for sure what the diagnosis would be.   The community that surrounded me believed what I could not and acted AS IF the best was possible.  As a leader, your beliefs matter.  They set the tone for your organization but don’t believe everything you think!

2)      The necessity of asking for help, and delegating. I was out of town while the diagnosis was being finalized.  Of course, I felt it was MY responsibility to be there, yet several capable and caring individuals stepped in, keeping me informed, communicating information, and in some cases, making some decisions they knew I’d make.  As a leader, you alone can not “fix” what is wrong.  You can’t be directly involved in every meeting, no matter how critical.  You must be clear about your expectations and trust others to act on your behalf.

3)      Excellence, coupled with humanity, was what I desperately wanted from my team of vet health professionals.  They had confidence in their skills and I felt it. Then, they completed a rare and complex surgical procedure with the best possible outcome.  They communicated with me throughout the surgery and every couple hours afterward, providing me with updates and more good news.   As a leader, hiring the best talent and letting them do their jobs, with input and attention, is what you can do best.  And, wanting the best work delivered with emotional intelligence is even better!

Leadership lessons come from everywhere, personal and professional.   Like many, we wish there were other ways to learn them, but learning from them counts.

- Barb Krantz Taylor