I was reminded today about how easily and pervasively people pass the buck for actions that are quite within their control. 'Accountability' was the number one chapter in my leadership book "L is for Leader' (ISBN 141209075-X) and worth repeating here.
I opened that chapter by saying... Accountability is a powerful quality. In the course of working with leaders in large, small, private, public and not-for-profit organizations one thing has stood out, time after time. Namely, the respect gained by leaders who admit their mistakes and accept responsibility for the outcomes. I went on to say... The leader who is truly accountable will own their part in the situation, will accept the limits or lack of flexibility within their organization and still step forward with some accountable dialogue. I continued a bit later by saying... This type of accountability has a huge spin-off throughout the rest of the organization. As other people see this example of leadership, it almost entirely removes fear - the fear of being penalized, ridiculed and held up for example. And as we all know, fear stifles creativity and growth and eliminates the courage to act. If fear of failure is removed, if punishment is eliminated, if ridicule is stamped out, then people will go out on a limb to try to improve the way in which they do business. By showing it's okay to make errors - by accepting the part you, as leader, have played - it goes a long way to creating strong, highly regarded leaders.
So let me take you to the story that promped me to write this blog.
Near where I live on Vancouver Island is the scenic Malahat highway that is frequently subjected to traffic accidents and closures; yesterday a serious tanker accident caused a 22 hour shut down as it lay on it's side spewing it's load of fuel into the adjacent salmon spawning river. Thankfully no-one was killed. But the same can not be said for the salmon. The entire river, from the point of impact through to the estuary, has been contaminated. It will take years for it to be restored.
Quickly the public outcry was heard with demands for an improvement to this winding road which snakes through a beautiful park.
Widen it, they cry.
Straighten it, they plea.
Install barriers, they insist.
Build another route, they demand.
Yet upon reflection, it is obvious the 'fault' lies not with the road, which is after all an inactive participant. The responsibility rests with the drivers, the active participants who choose not to follow or abide by the posted signs. I have driven this road on hundreds of occasions and have lost count of the number of people who swing out to pass at the first opportunity, regardless of the road conditions or visibility; rushing to get to their destination five minutes earlier!
So here we are with yet another accident on this beautiful scenic highway; hundreds of commuters inconvenienced for hours and still people are clamouring for a solution that will cost thousands of dollars. No doubt the driver will have independent representation, seeking for find a scapegoat so the driver can avoid accountability; a pattern we have all seen played out before.
I am hoping that once, just once, a driver who causes one of these un-necessary accidents will say, "I screwed up, I am to blame, I made a bad decision". But I'm not holding my breath!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
You Can Transform Your Organization
I was talking with a business leader yesterday and he was lamenting about the lack of passion and energy at this organization. He said he wanted to create an engaged and dynamic workplace and had brought his managers together to talk about it, but all to no avail. He told me it was essential to his organization’s success to retain great talent and improve his employee relations but he feared some of his people were so disengaged they were looking for others positions outside his operation. He continued by saying he wanted to improve his bottom line and create a passion for success throughout his organization but he had no idea where to go next.
I told him he could do all of those things with a few careful actions but it would require getting all of his managers on board.
This is summary of what we discussed, based on my experience with transforming an organization from despondent and glum to passionate and engaged.
I told him, “It starts by making sure everyone in the organization knows, understands and realizes they really can bring about positive and lasting change, in fact, that leaders are counting on them to do so. In order to do that they have to see how their job IS connected to the vision, mission and values, and that showing up and making their best contribution makes a difference to the results."
It’s been shown time and again that when senior people closet themselves away developing their organization’s mission, vision and values the people back at the office are raising their eyebrows and muttering.
"What are they up to now?""What a waste of time.""What difference will that make around here?"
The disconnect between the well-intentioned senior leaders who are charting the course for the organization; finding the right words to express their mission, vision and values, and the employees who fill their corporate offices or shop floors, is not a gap - it’s a chasm.
• Yes, your clients will be able to understand your corporate direction, as the information will appear on your web site and show up on corporate materials
• Certainly, if they’ve done their homework, sales people pitching to your company will know what to focus on to reach your ears
But the employees?
True, they will see the signs and read the words; after all they are in the reception area, the boardrooms and meeting rooms.
But is that all that's wanted? Don’t leader's want it to resonate with everyone so that the workplace takes on a new life and energy?
What do those words mean to them? In most cases it means their leaders were off in fantasy land with no connection to the reality of their jobs. It’s the leader's job to change that viewpoint - to bring the words to life – to them – to their jobs.
Most employees will never make the connection between those lofty words - even if they are expressed clearly, using simple straightforward language - to their own jobs. In our experience employees will continue on in their tried and true pattern as if the executive retreat and the work of their leaders, was of little consequence; as if none of it has any relevance to them.
The well-facilitated discussions and final decisions that led to beautifully prepared corporate signs that declare the Mission, Vision and Values will never propel the organization forward as intended, without another crucial step, because it falls far short of what it could accomplish.
The CEO or president could gather employees together to talk about what those words mean for the company and their department - that would be a good start. Drilling down, taking time and opening up the communication lines to help employees understand how their job IS connected to the vision and mission must follow. Finally it’s essential to imbed the actions you expect from each individual into their personal annual performance plans, as this will result in behaviours that support the higher purpose of the organization.
The best results are achieved with a dedicated, strategic, constant ripple-down process.
Each vice-president or senior manager must talk about what the words mean with their managers; they have to ensure those managers know what’s expected of them and that they will be supported as they adjust and change past practices to align more closely with the vision. The managers have to know their performance will be measured against that goal; that actions must follow and that they will be held accountable to make changes.
This strong message will help those same managers encourage others to focus and realign their work to meet the mission and vision. Typically this leads to staff meetings, animated discussions and stronger action plans. It frequently leads to some confusion, perhaps a few disgruntled people, but there will certainly be passionate engagement. When you get employees talking about how they make a difference to the results in their organization they will find creative ways to improve. There’s no doubt that when employees see the link from their job to the corporate mission and vision there is a heightened awareness of the impact of their actions. This in turn drives more effective and meaningful performance reviews, less absenteeism, higher retention, more engagement and a stronger bottom line. So the missing pieces in many organizations are the links that make up the chain from top to bottom.
Words agonized over at retreats and finally placed on plaques must mean something to the employees. Naturally those words resonate with the people who created them, so taking the next steps to make them resonate with the rest of the employees must follow, if they are to have the high-impact they were intended to create.
So, next time you glance at those carefully crafted words, pause to ask yourself did we take the steps to help our employees see those words really do mean something for them?
If not, consider the actions outlined here; they could make a huge difference to your company on many fronts.
I was talking with a business leader yesterday and he was lamenting about the lack of passion and energy at this organization. He said he wanted to create an engaged and dynamic workplace and had brought his managers together to talk about it, but all to no avail. He told me it was essential to his organization’s success to retain great talent and improve his employee relations but he feared some of his people were so disengaged they were looking for others positions outside his operation. He continued by saying he wanted to improve his bottom line and create a passion for success throughout his organization but he had no idea where to go next.
I told him he could do all of those things with a few careful actions but it would require getting all of his managers on board.
This is summary of what we discussed, based on my experience with transforming an organization from despondent and glum to passionate and engaged.
I told him, “It starts by making sure everyone in the organization knows, understands and realizes they really can bring about positive and lasting change, in fact, that leaders are counting on them to do so. In order to do that they have to see how their job IS connected to the vision, mission and values, and that showing up and making their best contribution makes a difference to the results."
It’s been shown time and again that when senior people closet themselves away developing their organization’s mission, vision and values the people back at the office are raising their eyebrows and muttering.
"What are they up to now?""What a waste of time.""What difference will that make around here?"
The disconnect between the well-intentioned senior leaders who are charting the course for the organization; finding the right words to express their mission, vision and values, and the employees who fill their corporate offices or shop floors, is not a gap - it’s a chasm.
• Yes, your clients will be able to understand your corporate direction, as the information will appear on your web site and show up on corporate materials
• Certainly, if they’ve done their homework, sales people pitching to your company will know what to focus on to reach your ears
But the employees?
True, they will see the signs and read the words; after all they are in the reception area, the boardrooms and meeting rooms.
But is that all that's wanted? Don’t leader's want it to resonate with everyone so that the workplace takes on a new life and energy?
What do those words mean to them? In most cases it means their leaders were off in fantasy land with no connection to the reality of their jobs. It’s the leader's job to change that viewpoint - to bring the words to life – to them – to their jobs.
Most employees will never make the connection between those lofty words - even if they are expressed clearly, using simple straightforward language - to their own jobs. In our experience employees will continue on in their tried and true pattern as if the executive retreat and the work of their leaders, was of little consequence; as if none of it has any relevance to them.
The well-facilitated discussions and final decisions that led to beautifully prepared corporate signs that declare the Mission, Vision and Values will never propel the organization forward as intended, without another crucial step, because it falls far short of what it could accomplish.
The CEO or president could gather employees together to talk about what those words mean for the company and their department - that would be a good start. Drilling down, taking time and opening up the communication lines to help employees understand how their job IS connected to the vision and mission must follow. Finally it’s essential to imbed the actions you expect from each individual into their personal annual performance plans, as this will result in behaviours that support the higher purpose of the organization.
The best results are achieved with a dedicated, strategic, constant ripple-down process.
Each vice-president or senior manager must talk about what the words mean with their managers; they have to ensure those managers know what’s expected of them and that they will be supported as they adjust and change past practices to align more closely with the vision. The managers have to know their performance will be measured against that goal; that actions must follow and that they will be held accountable to make changes.
This strong message will help those same managers encourage others to focus and realign their work to meet the mission and vision. Typically this leads to staff meetings, animated discussions and stronger action plans. It frequently leads to some confusion, perhaps a few disgruntled people, but there will certainly be passionate engagement. When you get employees talking about how they make a difference to the results in their organization they will find creative ways to improve. There’s no doubt that when employees see the link from their job to the corporate mission and vision there is a heightened awareness of the impact of their actions. This in turn drives more effective and meaningful performance reviews, less absenteeism, higher retention, more engagement and a stronger bottom line. So the missing pieces in many organizations are the links that make up the chain from top to bottom.
Words agonized over at retreats and finally placed on plaques must mean something to the employees. Naturally those words resonate with the people who created them, so taking the next steps to make them resonate with the rest of the employees must follow, if they are to have the high-impact they were intended to create.
So, next time you glance at those carefully crafted words, pause to ask yourself did we take the steps to help our employees see those words really do mean something for them?
If not, consider the actions outlined here; they could make a huge difference to your company on many fronts.
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