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Feb
13
Motivation and Opportunity
Posted in Blog, Leadership | Comments (0)
Recently found myself in an animated conversation with a number of senior banking executives and the topic of “motivation” came up. Specifically, a question was asked, “How do I motivate a member of my team when I know she has multiple priorities and multiple bosses she is trying to keep happy?”
Certainly a common dilemma for managers today, where the more common organization structure is matrixed and where most business priorities are typically in competition with each other for resources (time, people or money).
Today, engaging employees with multiple priorities is indeed difficult because it requires triggering motivation that is beyond just “reward” and certainly not accomplished through threat either. What I’ve learned, especially these past few years, is that employees are looking for opportunity in the work they do. If you are noticing that your assignments are taking a back seat to other business priorities, chances are the other priorities are laced with more opportunity than yours.
Lazy thinking managers today believe, “If I pay this guy more money, he will do more work for me; or if I articulate clearly enough my displeasure, he or she will not dare put my work on the back shelf.”
Exceptional leaders recognize motivating an employee to commit their time, energy and focus requires that leader to articulate to the employee the TOTAL opportunity of the work needing the attention. The TOTAL opportunity includes the learning and development possible, the career growth potential, the difference it will make in the customer experience, the difference it will make in the company’s performance, the direct contribution it makes to the company mission, and oh yes, the potential financial reward. WIIFM is the old acronym but this goes farther. WIIFM suggests employees are selfish. Truth is most of us want to do the right thing and we yearn to grab hold of new opportunities as they present themselves.
The reality is that employees make trade-offs every day. Smart managers recognize the trade off is about the opportunity, not who an employee’s favorite boss is. Don’t rely on organizational structure to direct your employee’s efforts. It doesn’t. Take the time to communicate the TOTAL opportunity of the work you need accomplished. If done right, your employees will direct their energy accordingly.
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Jan
31
Are You a Strategic Leader?
Posted in Blog, Leadership | Comments (0)
Strategic Leadership is becoming one of the most important capabilities managers need to navigate the ever-changing nature of business today.
Strategic leadership is defined as an ability to generate and apply business insights on a continual basis to achieve competitive advantage. Today’s environment demands employees and managers alike be more successful with fewer resources. And by resources, I mean time, talent, and capital. How you deploy resources makes you a strategic leader whether you know it or not.
Resource allocation is at the core of strategy. All discussions of strategy always boil down to HOW to allocate and deploy resources to maximize business potential. Leaders must change their resource attitude from one of limitation to one of leverage. More specifically, leaders must learn to concentrate on multiplying the value of resources that already exist; deploying resources with a clear purpose in mind. Strategic leaders recognize hot spots: low resource input making high impact, and conversely, cold spots: high resource input resulting in low impact. Once clear on the difference, leaders learn to horse trade, continuously re-deploying resources to hot spots.
Truly effective strategists think and act like an enterprise. They dedicate time “out-of-the-box.” They are naturally curious, tend to take more risks, are very disciplined in how they use their time to allow for creative thinking, and when the opportunity arises, take initiative. Are you creating space for cultural curiosity? Are you creating the condition for inquiry? Are you setting up regular meetings and interactions to engage people? Are you asking challenging questions that interrupt business as usual responses?
Finally, strategic leaders recognize organizational politics as a fact of life in business. People at all levels have vested interests. Strategic leaders know it’s their job to know them. They focus and plan through disproportionate influencers, specifically:
- Angels: Those who naturally align and/or who have the most to gain from the change you are proposing.
- Devils: Those in resistance, who have least to gain, or will lose from the change you are proposing.
- Consigliere: That one highly respected and trusted senior leader who knows the landmines and is willing to guide you to your intended outcome.
Strategic leaders invest time in building relationships with people who will get behind their ideas one way or another.
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Dec
02
A number of years ago I was invited by my daughter to come to her 2nd grade class and speak to her classmates about what I did for a living. A terrifying proposition to say the least…how do I explain to 10 year-olds what my job is? Well, one sleepless night later, I came up with what I thought was a simple and accurate way to describe my work.
I teach grown ups how to learn how to learn again!
So proud of myself until a wise guy in the front row exclaimed, “and you get paid for this???” Funny right? But the youngster was spot on because in his little worldview, everyone is always learning. Children are natural sponges, soaking up everything that life offers. But adults unfortunately do not. Over the course of our lives we are taught, “this is the right answer, that is the wrong approach.” Routines and habits become entrenched and our ability to learn something new becomes more difficult.
And yet, we are all working and living in an environment of unprecedented change. Change, by its very nature, demands we learn something new. And yet we resist, push back, and rationalize keeping things as they have always been. In my work these days I challenge my clients (no matter the situation, training, planning meeting, one-on-one coaching, etc.) to be open to learning something new… to have their mind changed by someone or something.
If you want to establish a routine, try committing to having your mind changed on a daily basis. You will be amazed by the amount of new insight you gain and how you become naturally open to change.
And, yes young man, I get paid for this.
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Jul
14
Deciding What’s Important
Posted in General, Leadership | Comments (0)
One of the most common challenges facing leaders today is deciding what is a priority and what is not. I recently developed a program that addresses this very issue. I call it, “Extreme Prioritization.” Why “Extreme?”
Today’s business environment (for most leaders) is incredibly complicated and volatile. The current economic downturn (and all the associated pressures that come with it) has overwhelmed the workloads of most managers. When asked why it’s so hard to prioritize all that work, I hear, “Too many bosses,” “Can’t afford to not get it all done,” “Too many changes,” “People can’t say no,” “Afraid to fail” … and the list goes on and on. So I decided to address both the skill and methodologies for prioritization, but more importantly, the psychological and attitudinal requirements to successfully make trade-offs and ultimately smart decisions.
To successfully discern critical projects, initiatives, etc., leaders must first have a crystal clear understanding of the strategic priorities and goals of the business. If not present (for whatever reason) prioritization will simply be the product of taking care of “my own agenda.” Ask yourself (and your people) how clear am I (are they) about the strategic direction and mission critical objectives of the company. Find out what you don’t know, then actively and explicitly pass it on to your employees. Make sure the language of the mission is present in as many of your business tools as possible, especially in all of your performance management documentation.
If the direction is clear, then the next issue to address is the attitudinal barriers to prioritization. In my mind there are three that most typically and predictably get in the way:
- Cognitive Bias
- Resource Limitation Beliefs
- The Myth of Multi-Tasking
Cognitive Bias is simply the mind’s way of directing what you believe to be important…for example, anchoring bias, where your mind unconsciously places disproportionate weight against initial information, like original budgets, current structure, current people, first idea impression, etc. There is also self-interest bias, where you unintentionally place more weight against those initiatives that serve only you or your function; and finally, group think, where new insights, better assumptions, etc., are overrun by the mob mentality and consensus of a group at work.
Resource Limitations Belief is THE most common bias in business today. I have not yet met a single manager who, at the beginning of the budget cycle, said that they had plenty of resources. Resource allocation is at the heart of every strategy and learning how to deploy resources against the most critical tasks IS the primary job of every manager. Managers must focus (and assess) the value of their resources and deploy thoughtfully. If you have a prevailing belief that you do not have enough, you are already setting yourself up to lose. Leaders must learn how to leverage what they have, specifically identifying where low input resource turns into a high-impact result. Leaders must learn the fine skills of horse trading, effectively deploying the right resource at the right time for the right reason.
Multi-tasking is the most unproductive and inefficient skill leaders deploy today that undermines their ability to focus and prioritize. Much has been studied about the neurological and physical consequences of multi-tasking, but simply put, it is how your brain organizes information and not how it processes information. So much is on our plates today, and for most of us, multi-tasking is the only solution to getting it all done. But I am here to tell you it’s a myth. Just ask people when, in their day, they feel most productive. Most will tell you 6:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. Why? Because that’s when they can focus, not multi-task.
Cleaning up your mind is a critical first step in learning how to prioritize. In my next blog I will introduce some specific methodologies for determining what is truly important.
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Apr
13
Decisions, Decisions
Posted in General, Leadership | Comments (0)
As Washington lawmakers continue to battle over the budget, I am reminded of fundamental guidelines that all of us should consider when make policy decisions, developing organizational “ground rules,” or when you are guiding your children through adulthood.
Consider these three questions first and you will not be disappointed with the response:
- Will your policies or rules encourage personal responsibility or will it create victims?
- Will your policies or rules enable more freedom or independence, or will it force more dependence?
- Will your policies or rules inspire investment and growth, or will it trigger fear, risk aversion, and stagnation?
The true measure of a leader is not found in their power, span of control or authority; or even in their charismatic and moving speeches. True leaders are measured by the quality, power, and effectiveness of their followers. Imagine considering these questions or “filters” before making decisions that impact those that follow you. The quality, power, and effectiveness of your people will inevitably be determined by your guidance and your decisions.
Encourage and expect personal responsibility from your people (and your children). Make decisions that create an environment that inspires individual freedom and independence, and most importantly, invest in your people’s (or nation’s) or children’s growth. Place a bet on their potential greatness and watch them take off!