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How to Lead in a Culture of ‘C’

May 21st, 2013 by Kate Venier

“Change is the only constant in life.”  – Heraclitus

My friends, we are in a time of robust change.  That horse is out of the barn.  That train has left the station.  That ship has sailed.  You can’t escape change.  What you can do is learn to embrace it and help those around you to do the same.  Most people naturally react to change first in terms of how it affects the self – how change impacts their status quo.  Some are able to step out of this self-centered focus, understand the broader impacts, and recognize opportunities to guide others in finding clarity, confidence, commitment, and calm.  Leaders need to cultivate this ability within themselves in order for their teams to survive – and thrive – in the face of turbulence.  It is hard to stay clear-headed and focused while the landscape around you bucks and recedes.  It is even harder when you are responsible not only for yourself, but for the productivity and climate of a team where that same challenge becomes multiplied.

Human nature is to resist change.  In organizations, it is readily apparent how change causes disruption, distraction and even disengagement. The net effect on business productivity and profit is real. If change is a constant, we need, as leaders, to help our people to embrace the new and unfamiliar – and even uncertain.  We need to help our teams continue to conduct and focus on normal, critical functions even if/while they are surrounded by chaos.  Here are five key things you need to focus on as a leader to shift from a culture of change resistance to a culture of calm:

1.  Communication – In the absence of information, the mind makes up whatever it needs to fill the gap – and it’s rarely good.  When people don’t know what they are a part of and how they fit in, it’s easy for them to withdraw and disconnect.  Be clear on what is certain and what still needs to be answered or decided.  Help employees understand what is happening and why, and how they figure in to the equation.

2.  Community – In chaos and uncertainty, people commonly worry about how they are affected individually; they become self-focused which creates disengagement and alienation.  Help keep connections alive by bringing people together to relate, share, have fun, and remind them that they are part of a bigger whole.

3.  Control – The hardest part of change is feeling like you don’t have control over the situation. In a September 2012 blog post on HBR, Rosabeth Moss Kanter cites this as the number one reason why people resist change.  In times of change, we feel a loss of control over our own security.  Help your people spot opportunities to maintain a sense of control – taking on a new project, learning a new skill, supporting a colleague – and you will help ease some of that tension.

4.  Climate – The one thing you can always control is yourself – your thoughts and reactions, how you show up, how you engage, and the energy you impart to others.  An organizational climate of uncertainty and anxiety creates distracting noise and is counterproductive, oftentimes when productivity is critical.  Practice self-awareness in the climate you set for yourself and your team, and others in your sphere of influence.  Make it constructive, not destructive.  Set the example and encourage others to do the same.

5.  Compassion – One thing about change is certain – it affects everyone, whether directly or indirectly.  A great tool in leading others through change is compassion.  By understanding and exercising empathy toward those around you, you show caring.  I know, this just got too fuzzy for some of you.  Stay with me, though, I won’t make this long.  I suggest that most of us are motivated to perform at our best when we are managed or led by someone who we feel cares about our future and our happiness.  This is a critical skill for leaders to embrace as our workforce continues to evolve.  Check out points 2, 3, and 4 of this March post on Forbes.com, if you think I’m crazy.  It may be considered a soft skill but mastering compassion as a business skill will pay off for years to come – in and out of change.

Change is often seen in a negative light, particularly in the current market where companies and their employees have been through a high amount of it in the past few years.  Given that change is inherent in business, those leaders who are able to turn the negative into an opportunity – to re-form camaraderie, creativity, and commitment – will find themselves before long in a culture of calm, and that will help pave the way for success through change.

Which of these factors has most benefited your team in a time of change ? Share in the comments below.

 

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Posted in climate, Corporate Culture, Growth & Leadership, strategy | No Comments »

Leadership Lessons from Downton Abbey

May 14th, 2013 by Deb Judge

I admit it; I’m a sucker for period dramas on the big or small screen. So it should be of no surprise that Iast winter, I got hooked on the PBS series Downton Abbey. For those who aren’t period drama buffs, the show chronicles the lives of the aristocratic Grantham family and their servants in the turn of 20th century England. An integral part of the smooth operations of Downton Abbey is Mr. Carson, the butler and leader of the male servants, who possesses exacting standards and unerring commitment to tradition.

Downton Abbey - Image by Evian Tsai

In season 2, while all the able bodied men are away fighting in WWI, Mr. Carson is left with a scant few male servants on staff to keep the household running. Rather than use the available female servants in the house to fill the gap, Mr. Carson instead takes on much of the duties of his absent team, leaving himself spread too thin with a lot of unfinished work. Things come to head when Mr. Carson collapses in the midst of serving at a formal dinner party and ultimately is put on bed rest in order to recuperate.

As a trained Organizational Psychologist and project leader at Forum, I couldn’t help but think about  the tried and true lessons a fictional British butler can remind 21st century first-line leaders:

Let go of perfection. Mr. Carson had exacting standards which were ultimately a part in his undoing when short staffed. His obsession with perfection slowed him down in both making decisions and getting the work done, which left him accomplishing far less than he could have.  In today’s fast paced world of change there isn’t time for perfection before acting. In fact, unless you are in the business of saving lives, I would suggest adhering to standards of perfection is not even necessary. Don’t be caught in “perfection paralysis”, make the best decision you can with the data available at the time, take action, and, of course, correct as you go.

Embrace Change. Mr. Carson refused to delegate to other members of the team because he could not embrace the changing times and allow women to fill in for the male servants during dinner service.  . Do what Mr. Carson could not, recognize that in tough times you need to discover new and innovate ways to utilize your team to get the work done.

Trust your team. Could it be that behind Mr. Carson’s disapproval of women serving dinner also lurked a lack of trust in members of the larger team? You’ve heard it before: as a first-line leader, you need delegate to the appropriate members of your team and trust that your direct reports are up to the job. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up to waste time on activities that do not advance the goals and strategies of your organization.

While the lessons from Mr. Carson may seem simple, they may not be the easiest to implement. Share your thoughts: What are some new and innovate ways you are utilizing your team in the face of today’s business climate?

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Posted in Growth & Leadership, learning, strategy, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Job & Career Development in the Driver’s Seat

April 17th, 2013 by Michelle Del Rosario

hands on wheelPerformance management’s lesser half has always been job and career development. In the past, organizations often tried to either include development in the performance management process or at the very least ensured there was a direct link from performance management to development.  However, development was still usually done separately from managing performance–It was more of an afterthought of the performance management process.

Organizations tracked the completion of performance appraisals but not any metrics associated with job and career development meetings. Companies would encourage managers to set up separate meetings to discuss career or job development. These separate meetings were to ensure that performance management was not confused with development. Employees were told to own their career development and the manager’s role was to support them. It was essentially the employees’ responsibility to drive their own development.

Recently, Bersin by Deloitte research revealed a negative correlation between employee performance and companies who leave development to the employee, and a strong positive correlation between employee performance and companies who execute three levels of ownership of employee development:

  • Owned by employee: The employee is still responsible but in an equal partnership with the manager and organization.
  • Owned by the employee’s manager: Managers need to be proactive in helping employees reach their development goals. Managers also need to be measured and rewarded on their efforts to support employee development.
  • Owned by the organization: The organization needs to set up the right infrastructure to support development and provide the tools and reinforcement necessary to make development a critical function of managing performance.

Companies are now realizing that they need to put more skin in the game when it comes to development.  Managers and organizations must get in front of development and guide employees to develop in their skills and job.  This has become critical to employee performance and the world of performance management.

Organizations are now investing in new tools, processes and programs to reposition development and ensure managers are capable of being in the driver’s seat. Maria Van Parys, vice president of talent management at Liberty Mutual said,

“Development planning is gaining recognition as a critical business process because of its role, not only in helping to improve an employee’s current performance on the job, but also to improve leadership quality and prepare current leaders for future general management roles. Manager involvement is key to help ensure individual plans are well targeted to its business purpose (performance improvement, leadership development, succession planning). Ideally, managers and employees work together to ensure the plan serves both the employee’s interests and the company’s needs.”

Managers can no longer take a back seat when it comes to development….driving development is key to driving future business success.

 

 

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Posted in climate, Corporate Culture, Growth & Leadership, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Brother, can you spare some time? [Infographic]

April 15th, 2013 by Steve Barry

If the classic song from the Great Depression, “Brother, can you spare a dime?” was updated for managers emerging from the Great Recession, it would be: “Brother, can you spare some time?”

Managers today are crazy busy, with more responsibilities and distractions than they can handle.  And to their great frustration, many are not seen as “thinking or acting strategically.”  This is because only 10% of managers focus their efforts in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner.  The most effective managers are clear on the results they want to create, and they invest their effort purposefully in effective activities.

This infographic illustrates the barriers to Purposeful Action.  Further, it shows how these barriers manifest themselves in the complex role of the first line sales manager.  For more on that topic, see ZS Associates’ HBR blog post on the topic.   For more on effective first line sales management, check out Forum’s recent webinar, The Four Keys to Effective First Line Leadership.

Traps for First-Line Managers - The Forum Corporation

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The Challenges of Growth – Perspectives from Shanghai

April 11th, 2013 by Janine Carlson

I was fortunate enough to recently spend time in Shanghai, China meeting with clients and participating in a Learning and Development conference Forum sponsored. In speaking with senior L&D, HR and business leaders from multinational corporations across a variety of industries, I was struck by the similarities in their key challenges, concerns and areas of focus.  Here are just a few observations.

Talent Shortages are Widespread

The continued pace of growth in China leaves most organisations – from hotels to pharmaceutical companies to insurance companies – struggling to find enough external local talent to fill open positions with individuals possessing the knowledge and skills to perform immediately. This has increased the pressure on HR and L&D to build development programs to close skill gaps and create talent pipelines internally—but this takes time, the right systems and discipline to build. This issue is exacerbated in many organisations because they have only limited succession planning and many key leaders are still not from inland China.

Skill Gaps Can Feel Like Chasms

As businesses focus on growth and innovation—key business drivers among many with whom we spoke—skills gaps become more pronounced. These gaps were fairly common across all industries and included strategic thinking, innovation, leadership/people management skills, coaching, change management and problem solving. There is recognition that beyond a focus on imparting specific knowledge and skills, closing the gaps will require creating climates that hold people accountable and are more creative, strategic and innovative.

The Pitfalls of the Fast Track

Because of the talent shortages, employees in China expect fast career growth and a highly accelerated career advancement curve is often necessary to retain talent. Career path systems must have different requirements to align with the local talent expectations of advancing in 15 months to a new role with a new title and more income. Additionally, individuals in leadership roles often are very young in comparison to the developed markets, often accelerating so quickly into their roles they can lack significant market experience, training and the strong management practices needed to retain employees, develop their own talent from “within,” and drive productivity, growth and innovation.

What can organisations do to start addressing these challenges?

  • Ask yourself if your talent management and L&D strategies are linked to the broader business objectives? If not, working toward this alignment will ensure efforts are placed where they can address the most urgent issues.
  • Map career paths and competencies – it will help you attract, retain and grow talent.
  • Evaluate your leadership bench strength and align it to your business objectives. This Point of View article or our quick Leadership Assessment might help with that process.
  • Remember that training is only one piece of closing knowledge and skill gaps. Focus on sustaining behaviour change for true impact.  You may want to check out our Behaviour Change Handbook for ideas and resources in this area.

How do these issues align with what your organisation is facing in China or the rest of the world? What are you doing to overcome them?

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Posted in Accelerating Execution, Growth & Leadership, strategy, Sustainment | No Comments »

How Can Singapore Maintain Its Financial Clout?

April 2nd, 2013 by Janine Carlson

Singapore is currently home to 123 commercial banks, 42 merchant banks, and five major finance corporations. It is the fourth largest foreign exchange market in the world; the second largest over-the-counter derivatives centre in Asia; and one of the leading asset management sites in the region. There is little debate about Singapore’s current status as one of the top financial centres in the world. But what will it take to maintain and enhance this position moving forward? A focus on human capital development.

Cindy StuckeyThe Business Times asked Cynthia Stuckey, managing director, Asia Pacific, The Forum Corporation, and other top business leaders to share their perspectives on how Singapore can maintain its position as a premier financial hub. Cynthia puts human capital development at the forefront of the discussion …and I agree wholeheartedly.

Here is what Cynthia had to say on the topic, as published in The Business Times…

The Business Times: How would you rate Singapore as a financial centre, and in particular the ability of financial institutions here to service the fast-changing needs of businesses? Going forward, how can Singapore maintain its position as a premier financial hub?

Cynthia Stuckey: SINGAPORE has already established itself as one of the most powerful financial centres in the world, and is clearly a front runner in Asia thanks to a transparent regulatory environment, excellent connectivity, incentives for businesses, and the supply of high-quality finance professionals.

Going forward, while continued investments in areas like infrastructure are essential, what needs to receive more attention is human capital development.

For Singapore to maintain and reinforce its position as a premier financial hub, prioritisation should be in attracting, retaining, and advancing the value of its current and future crop of financial industry professionals. From c-suites to consultants, from local human resources to global recruits, there has to be a laser sharp focus on nurturing the right talent with the right skills.

In today’s highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous financial world, financial institutions need high-performing teams led by leaders who are especially trained to steer the company through change and challenges.

Training and development programmes are proven to increase productivity across industries, including banking and finance, and in securing long-term competitiveness. The Singapore government has long been cognisant of this and initiatives to advance competencies are sure to take precedence, moving forward.

The full article is available on The Business Times to subscribers.

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Posted in climate, Growth & Leadership | 1 Comment »

Is your business reliant on expert novices?

March 18th, 2013 by Holly Gage

Perhaps it was the influence of our gloomy economy or maybe it was inspired by the excitement and success of the London Olympics.  Whichever it was, the UK saw an abundance of research published in 2012 focusing on the benefits of leadership and management development.

Through all this research we discovered that:

  • Nearly three quarters of organisations in England reported a deficit of management and leadership skills in 2012 (Learning & Talent Development, CIPD, 2012)
  • Ineffective management is estimated to be costing UK businesses over £19billion ($28billion USD) per year in lost working hours (Business Benefits of Management & Leadership Development, CMI, 2012).
  • “93% of respondents expressed concern that low levels of management skills are having a direct impact on their business achieving its goals.” (The Leadership and Management Talent Pipeline, Institute of Leadership & Management, 2012).
  • 40 per cent of managers predicted that management skills shortages would have a damaging impact on their organisation in the next six months (CMI Economic Outlook survey, April 2012).

Much of this research acknowledged that first-line managers, those often in their first leadership role, are typically the most neglected group despite the fact that they have such an impact on the business.  They are expert novices left to sink or swim, caught out by a situation in which they are recruited based on their technical skills but are not provided with the necessary skills to be effective people managers in their new role.

One of the biggest concerns to emerge from this research was the findings from the CMI that first-line managers are the least engaged group of all levels of leaders.  First-line leaders are arguably the most important group precisely because they are the linchpin in directly engaging a large proportion of the workforce.  They are responsible for communicating strategy and enabling employees to succeed.  If they are not engaged how can they be engaging?

Forum’s own research has identified four specific people-leadership areas in which highly-effective first-line leaders develop mastery.  Join us on our webinar next Wednesday (27th March) at 11am GMT when we will be sharing details of the leadership practices that effective first-line leaders need to develop.

You can register here.

Do you think there is a first-line management crisis? What do you think businesses need to improve to better support these leaders?

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Marissa Mayer and the Great Telecommute Debate

February 28th, 2013 by Abby Smith

Last July, Steve Barry wrote a post called Marissa Mayer to the Rescue, about Mayer’s arrival at Yahoo. Since then, Mayer has rarely found herself outside of the headlines, which reported on various aspects of her life and work at Yahoo. She certainly had her work cut out for her, coming into Yahoo in its dire situation, and her decisions have been bold and groundbreaking—the latest one being the most dramatic. This week, Mayer made the news in a very divisive fashion after it was announced that telecommuting will no longer be allowed at Yahoo.

This announcement has made a universal splash, with many people taking offense on behalf of telecommuters everywhere. Here at Forum, where a great number of people telecommute from around the globe, employees have been weighing in with their thoughts (both around the office and on Yammer) as to why Yahoo is taking this step. I personally believe that Mayer has her reasons, and they are probably pretty good. I do not think that she is insulting the work of all telecommuters. I’m sure she has seen the data that shows that people are more productive working from home, and she has made her decision anyway.

This situation is a great reminder that what is working for one company may be failing at another and that telecommuting is different at every organization. So what can you do to make sure that your telecommuting program is not failing your company and your employees? In Forum’s point-of-view piece, Leading a Remote Team Is Virtually the Same, Maggie Walsh introduces the “REACH” model of effective remote leadership. These principles guide Forum’s telecommuting successfully:

  • Responsiveness: Telecommuters and in-office workers should be expected to have the same level of responsiveness to e-mails, telephone calls, and other forms of communication.
  • Empathy: When people are not working side by side every day, managers and workers can lose out on the validation of their work and ideas. Showing the same level of interest in and respect for the work and ideas of all employees is critical.
  • Accountability: As with responsiveness, all employees, regardless of where they physically work need to be held to the same expectations of level of work output.
  • Connection: E-mail, telephone, Lync, Yammer, Skype, AIM, the list goes on and on. Anymore, it is impossible to not be connected to your entire team around the globe. Your connection goes beyond just having these tools: they need to be used effectively to bridge the geographical distances between remote employees and the office.
  • Help: All employees deserve the same access to support and help. Organizations with telecommuting need to have processes in place to ensure that remote and onsite employees have the same resources and access to assistance.

Mayer’s decision will probably be the center of debate for some time, and it will be very interesting to see where Yahoo is one year from now. Will we be saying, “Marissa Mayer was a genius!” or “Wow, that was a misstep!”?

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Productivity in Singapore: It is time to move to the fast lane

February 27th, 2013 by Janine Carlson

To say that productivity is a hot topic in Singapore is a bit of an understatement.  Productivity levers are debated every day in Singapore media, boardrooms, business associations, public forums and kopitiams (traditional coffee shops) . From addressing talent shortages to restricting foreign labour, and from the impact of government incentives to technology optimisation, no topic is left un-debated .

While productivity is certainly a key concern in the US or Europe, the underlying catalyst for the discussion in Asia is often very different given Asia’s continued growth versus the other markets’ cost cutting.

The Business Times, a leading Singapore news source, asked key leaders in Singapore to share their perspectives on how to best raise productivity in Singapore. Cynthia Stuckey, managing director, Asia Pacific, at Forum, weighed in on this topic and her published response is below:

Business Times: What key challenges and obstacles need to be overcome in Singapore’s drive to raise productivity? What other steps can the government take and what incentives can it offer to help local firms improve their productivity?

Cynthia Stuckey: THE key to raising productivity in Singapore is very simple: focus on the people. Employees drive productivity in organisations, whether they be SMEs or multinational companies. And it is leadership — from first-line managers to the C-suite — that determines if the team is in the slow or fast lane.

For the greatest, fastest boost to productivity, the government should support organisational efforts that provide focused leadership training to these first and mid-line managers. A high performing work climate is a direct link to productivity, as is managing, monitoring and coaching people — which creates employee engagement, drives increased customer satisfaction and business performance.

The full article is available on The Business Times to subscribers. What do you think enhances productivity in your company? Is it different based on geographical regions?

 

 

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Giving the best development to your high potentials? Think again.

February 12th, 2013 by Wendy Axelrod

If your management said “You are most definitely on our A team!”—how would you feel?

Now, suppose you were told that you are clearly on the B team or “the everybody-else team”—how motivated would you feel then?

Too often, management focuses on the high-potentials, providing them with targeted training and access to senior management and special career paths, while leaving everybody else to fend for themselves. If your development stops with your high-potentials; you are handicapping your potential, and your talent development efforts. This concept has been generating a lot of buzz recently: consider this piece by in Vanity Fair about Microsoft’s competitive people practices that immortalize high performers and this one in Harvard Business Review.

So, what is the solution to the problem of providing great talent development that advances the performance of all of your people? It starts with the manager. I have learned a lot by studying a group of exceptional development managers. These managers have departments that are humming all the time: their teams are constantly developing skills, feeling more engaged, and voluntarily staying extra hours to be part of the action.

Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. If you think that this is not possible in your shop or that it would take too much time, try taking these three deliberate everyday steps to drive plentiful development into the work environment.

1. Adopt an “enough for all” mentality

Exceptional development managers adopt an abundance-for-all mind-set and take actions that reinforce that mind-set. They take a democratic approach and assume everyone can grow regularly.

Then, they do what helps people develop in their roles. In my research, employees identifying their most developmental managers described very specific behaviors and interactions—not speeches or memos. The sheer density of development-focused interactions with their manager created a deeply felt growth environment. Instead of big dramatic actions, it is often small ones that make the difference. For example:

  • Ÿ  Asking thought-provoking questions at staff meetings
  • Ÿ  Insisting on learning debriefs at the end of projects
  • Ÿ  Having people transfer learning at regular meetings
  • Ÿ  Acknowledging and praising team members not just for what they did but also for what they learned

2. Shift work around to refresh development

Exceptional development managers look at the total workload and find creative ways to shift it around for optimal collective learning. People get bored and feel hemmed in if they repeat the same types of assignments over and over. By mixing it up, instead of operating from a perspective of scarcity (no new budget for training, no turnover, no new jobs), you’ll be operating from a perspective of abundance.

3. Grow an abundant supply of development challenges from outside the department

I know, it sounds like an even bigger workload, but hear me out. If you take this approach and selectively take on new challenges, handpicked to give employees new experiences, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the new energy people display. You and your team will also develop a reputation for being willing to help within your organization.

For example: Sid, a project leader in Product Development, talked with his team about taking on a particularly broken project on a tight deadline. His team agreed to tackle it because of the value in further developing resilience under pressure and increasing skill in dealing with distraught clients.

You can create an abundance of development opportunities for your entire team without spending tons of money or sending people off the job. No more “A team” and “everybody-else team”—just one strong, unified team.

Forum’s latest research shows that more organizations are investing in development of mid- and first-line leaders and not just the high potentials, is your organization? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation on social media.

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Posted in Growth & Leadership, strategy | 2 Comments »

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