Leadership Catalyst Blog
A few weeks ago I was asked to speak to a group of executives in career transition about how to keep themselves engaged and on top of their game throughout their job searches. While transition is described by many as a “real growth experience” once they have landed, during the search the majority say that “looking for a job is the most miserable job they have ever had”. At some point, almost everyone finds themselves “miserable” and feeling stuck or unmotivated.
One of my favorite leadership books is by Patrick Lencioni and is entitled “Three Signs of a Miserable Job”. It is a parable about a CEO who retires earlier than expected after abruptly selling his company. Retirement is not an easy transition for him, and after moving to the mountains to pursue his passion for skiing, he goes back to work managing a local, rundown pizza parlor. Along the way, he learns a number of lessons about how to engage and motivate people to dramatically improve business results.
In his book, Lencioni summarizes the three signs of a miserable job on pages 221-222 as follows:
“Anonymity: People who see themselves as invisible, generic, or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing.”
“Irrelevance: Everyone needs to know that their work matters to someone. Anyone. “
“Immeasurement: Without a tangible means of assessing success or failure, motivation eventually deteriorates as people see themselves unable to control their own fate.”
Lencioni’s lessons are equally valuable in preventing you from becoming miserable and disengaged during your career transition. This is the first of a three part series with tips on what to do when you see each of these signs during your job search, and how to avoid becoming the people in the above picture.
Avoiding Anonymity: There is an old saying that “If you are what you do, who are you when you don’t?” 
Most executives have put a disproportionate share of their eggs in the career basket, and it is easy to feel invisible when they no longer have a job. Networking and social situations in general can be uncomfortable for people feeling embarrassed about being unemployed. Also, executives are not used to people not immediately returning their calls or emails. Finally, many of their friends were work-related, and they have lost a primary source of community. A natural reaction is to focus on home improvement projects or individual hobbies, and further inadvertently make themselves more invisible, and ultimately more miserable.
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To avoid anonymity as a source of misery during your career transition, do the following:
- Develop a concise career brand or identity statement. When people ask you what you do, don’t lead with ”I am unemployed” or “I am in transition” or “I used to work for…”. Lead with your identity statement and then mention you are in transition and the specific type of opportunity you are seeking. For practical help on this, go to http://www.careerdistinction.com/
- Get involved in groups that will provide a sense of community (e.g. church groups, exercise classes, clubs, volunteer organizations, non-profit boards, transition support groups, your kids activities). The key is to find a group of people who value you for who you are (not for what you do) and miss you when you are not there.
- In social gatherings with friends, give a quick update of your status and move on. People want to know but are uncomfortable asking. On the other hand, they don’t want to feel that your primary purpose for coming is to “network”.
- Maintain a healthy balance between social and job search activities. Career transitions currently are averaging 13 months–They are a marathon and not a sprint. If you focus all of your energy on your job search, you may burn out. If you don’t spend enough time on it, you won’t make any progress.
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Read More >>Driving Business Results through Employee Engagement
All Blog Posts, Business, Coaching, Motivation, Strategy, Team Building / 08.05.2010
A couple of months ago, I highlighted Daniel Pink’s work on intrinsic motivation in my February 24th blog post entitled “When Traditional Motivation Doesn’t Work”. I concluded that post with the following tips.
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In several turnaround situations, I have found the key to motivating and engaging employees is to:
- Make them feel valued as people and that they belong
- Help them see how what they do makes a difference, and
- Find a way for them to monitor their own contributions on an ongoing basis.
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- Employee Engagement
I recently stumbled upon a research study which validates these principles, shows how employee engagement and customer loyalty drive financial results, and illustrates how to execute these principles in a grocery store environment. The study was sponsored by the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council and is entitled “Getting to Great: Mapping Management Practices that Drive Great Store Performance”.
The article is about 30 pages long, but well worth the time, even if you aren’t in the grocery business. Historically, the key to success in store operations has been seen as execution, and “command and control” has been a dominant leadership approach. Seeing how the above principles of employee engagement work in this situation should increase our confidence that they will work in situations involving more ambiguous and complex challenges. Below is a quick recap of their findings.
First, how do we know a great performer when we see one?
- “Great performers are those that overachieve relative to their market potential, not just those with the highest financial results.” Store results are a function not only of the leader’s performance, they are tremendously impacted by the store’s location, customer potential, competitive intensity, and store specific factors. The researchers devised a clever way of controlling for these external factors to show which store managers are executing most effectively against the strategic hand they have been dealt. (pp. 4-6)
- “Great Performers generate intense customer loyalty”.
- “Great performers produce strong employee loyalty and commitment.”
Second, what are the key management practices that great performers use to get these results?
- “Get clarity and commitment to goals. The great performers focused on the one or two most vital goals for improving their store’s performance and put their full focus behind them. By contrast, the more goals there were, the fewer were achieved with excellence.
- Get everyone to focus on the key drivers. Enlist each team member daily to take actions that have the greatest impact on achieving the main goals.
- Implement simple mechanisms to propel goal achievement. Post visible, compelling scorecards in accessible workplace locations.
- Establish a constant cadence of engagement and accountability around the key measures and goals.”
While this is a good recap, go to the report for the specifics of how to measure great performance results and the specific leadership behaviors that lead to it. It is sure to be a catalyst for ideas on how to do the same in your business!
Read More >>Algebraic Proof that Tubby Smith’s Gophers became the Best Team in the Country after working with a Leadership Catalyst!
All Blog Posts, Change, Coaching, Motivation, Team Building / 02.04.2010
Tubby Smith
On March 1st, I posted a blog about Tubby Smith bringing in a Leadership Catalyst (sports psychologist) after winning only 3 of 10 Big Ten games. On the eve of the final four, it’s time to assess whether the team really improved after that.
The gophers showed dramatic improvement, winning 7 of their last 10 conference games. They ended up beating every Big Ten team making the NCAA tournament, including impressive wins in the Big Ten Tournament against #11 MSU and #6 Purdue, which won the gophers their own invitation to the “Big Dance”. They were the only team in the nation to beat two of the Final Four teams (Butler and MSU) and beat teams that beat Duke (Wisconsin) and beat West Virginia (Purdue). According to the Algebraic Transitive Property of Inequalities (see proof below), that makes the Gophers the best team in the nation.
There you have it – mathematical (and tongue in cheek) proof that the Gophers are #1.
Congratulations Tubby, on your 17th consecutive 20 win season (21W – 14L)!
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According to the Transitive Property of Inequalities,
If a < b and b < c, then a < c
Likewise:
If a > b and b > c, then a > c
If Minnesota > Wisconsin and Wisconsin > Duke, then Minnesota > Duke
If Minnesota > Purdue, and Purdue > West Virginia, then Minnesota > West Virginia
Minnesota > Butler
Minnesota > Michigan State
Therefore,
Minnesota > All Final Four Teams
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How to talk to people about their potential for advancement.
All Blog Posts, Assessment, Coaching, High Potential Programs, Leadership Development, Motivation, Performance Management, Succession Planning, Talent Management / 31.03.2010
- Discussing Leadership Potential
Several organizations go through great lengths to identify their high potential leaders (HIPOs), and then seem to operate on a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy. They fear that informing the HIPOs will cause them to coast or develop a sense of entitlement. Furthermore, they worry that those that are not deemed as HIPOs may feel they have no future and decide to leave or slack off. On the other hand, if you don’t inform the HIPOs, your brightest stars may assume their advancement opportunities with you are limited, and take that next headhunter call. Other organizations wanting to upgrade their talent are more than willing to tell them how bright their future will be with them, even if you are not.
One of the things that gets in the way of these discussions are the assumptions some organizations are making as they communicate potential including:
- Potential is a single trait—it’s not. It varies by management level and is multi-dimensional.
- You have it or you don’t. Not true, it is a continuum.
- It doesn’t change. Again, not true. A key component of potential is the person’s aspirations and interests, which can change with life circumstances and experience.
- Performance and potential are treated as independent measures (e.g.” 9 box grids”). From a motivational and retention perspective, there is tremendous power in letting performance “trump” potential, especially at lower management levels.
Thinking about potential as a dynamic, continuous, multi dimensional construct dramatically improves the quality of these discussions, particularly when done within the context of performance discussions. If you assume that performance trumps potential, the key message to everyone is that before you can be promoted to the next level, you need to become a top performer (e.g. top 20%) in your current role. That means the discussion for 70-80% of your people is focused on the “what’ and “how” of this year’s performance, celebrating their successes and figuring out how to fill their gaps. The main message for people who are not yet top performers but are seeking advancement is that they need to master their current role before focusing on the next one. While you can discuss their aspirations, interests, and career possibilities, the focus of the discussion with this group is on helping them achieve the level of performance required to be considered a top performer in your organization.
The discussion with top performers who are also seen as having high potential is the kind most bosses love to have. In this discussion you are celebrating their strong performance and signaling to them that they are highly valued and are seen by senior management as having the potential to move up in the organization. You are also exploring their aspirations (not everybody wants to move up these days) and talking about some of the most likely next roles and what they need to do to prepare for them.
The discussion with top performers who are not seen as having the potential to move up is the one that is most dreaded. Keep in mind, a large percentage of these people love what they are doing and have no interest in moving up. For these folks, the focus of the discussion is on celebrating their contributions, letting them know how much they are valued, and communicating that they have a bright future with the organization.
For those in this group with their hearts set on advancement, however, the conversation is a bit more delicate. After hearing more about the roles to which they aspire, the discussion needs to focus on how the success factors for those roles are different, and where they are likely to have some gaps. (E.g. Just because you are a great sales person doesn’t mean you will be a great sales manager.) For openers, you can talk about aspects of potential that are important in successfully advancing to all management levels such as conceptual problem solving, self-confidence, emotional control, and willingness to accept responsibility. As you move to senior leadership roles, other facets of potential such as vision, adaptability, willingness to take risks, and stress tolerance come into play. For additional ideas, there is an excellent book by Marshall Goldsmith entitled “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” in which he lays out the 20 most frequent career derailers.
Is your high potential leadership program on the “Fast Track to Failure”?
All Blog Posts, High Potential Programs, Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Talent Management / 14.03.20102 comments
Short-track Skater Bradbury Wins as 3 ahead of him fall
Most corporations are worrying about how to accelerate the development of successors for the expected exodus of “baby boomer” executives. While the impact of the financial crisis on most 401k plans may have delayed this exodus, the demographics haven’t changed, and within 5 to 10 years, a huge number of senior leaders will need to be replaced.
In working with dozens of companies on succession management and leadership acceleration programs, I have found that most are focusing almost exclusively on the organizational side of the equation—How to identify leaders with high potential (HIPOs) and then accelerate their readiness to step into the next role. Seldom, however, is enough attention paid to the individual side of the equation. The underlying assumption is that being tapped as a high potential is a huge benefit to the individual, and the individual’s aspirations as well as the significant downsides of being labeled a “HIPO” often are ignored.
Bottger and Barsoux of INSEAD spell out some of these potential hazards to HIPOs in their brief article entitled “Fast Track to Failure” in last month’s Conference Board Review. It is an open letter to newly anointed HIPOs, warning them of 4 inherent traps that can derail the most promising of careers, and well worth a quick read.
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To make sure your high potential leadership program is on the fast track to success:
- Clearly define what is meant by “potential” vs. “performance” or “readiness”
- Accurately measure potential
- Make high performance a requisite for becoming and remaining a “HIPO”
- Avoid labeling people as “High Potential” too early
- Make sure you are having the right conversations with HIPOs so they know they are valued and to assure your expectations are in line with their aspirations.
- Accelerate their readiness through feedback, coaching, and action learning teams
I will expand on each of these in my future Monday morning blog posts.
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Read More >>Toyota and GM: Getting Bigger at the Expense of Getting Better?
All Blog Posts, Business, Strategy / 05.03.2010
The February 24th edition of Economist Magazine ran an article entitled “The Machine that ran too hot: The woes of Toyota, the world’s biggest car company, are a warning to rivals.” In the article, James Womack, one of the authors of “The Machine that Changed the World”, a book about Toyota’s innovations in manufacturing, dates the origin of its present woes to 2002, when it set itself the goal of raising its global market share from 11% to 15%. Mr. Womack says that the 15% target was “totally irrelevant to any customer” and was “just driven by ego”. In other words,, Toyota got itself in trouble when quality became subordinate to another goal: Selling more cars than GM.
GM apparently is not heeding the warning. WSJ reported on March 3rd “Feeling Heat From Ford, GM Reshuffles Managers“. Ford’s February monthly U.S. sales surpassed GM’s for the first time in 50 years. Hours after the sales results were released, GM announced its second executive shuffle in three months. It appears as though GM is falling into the same trap as Toyota did when it shifted it’s priority from safety and customer satisfaction to surpassing its rival in sales. As Toyota and others (Merck, Motorola, HP) have shown, doing so can lead to their downfall.
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Don’t focus on getting bigger at the expense of getting better.
- Increasing scale should not be seen as the end goal, but rather as an outcome of pursuing your core purpose.
- Great leaders pursue growth in performance, distinctive difference, creativity and people, knowing sales growth will follow.
- Focusing on a noble core purpose and growth in this way will engage the hearts and minds of your people in a way that financial BHAGs never will.
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Read More >>Tubby Smith, U of MN BB Coach, Hires Catalyst
All Blog Posts, Change, Coaching, Motivation, Team Building / 01.03.2010
Tubby Smith, the University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach has 16 consecutive 20 win seasons for a reason. He is a great coach, and he recognizes when it is time to find a catalyst to help unlock the potential of his team. This year’s 17-11 team is likely not performing up to its true potential because 7 of their 11 losses were decided by less than 5 points. They have had major leads over ranked teams such as Michigan State and Purdue, only to see them erased in the final seconds. In fact, they have only won 4 of 11 close games this season.
In an effort to find a remedy to the mental breakdowns his team was having with the game on the line, coach Smith brought in a sports psychologist according to Myron Medcalf of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Players report that he taught them to use “positive affirmations” and envision good outcomes in tough stretches. They further claim that the approach helped them survive a late game surge by the fighting Illini in a 62-60 victory on Saturday.
For many, “positive affirmation” conjures up images of SNL’s Stuart Smally (aka Senator Al Franken) looking into the mirror and saying “…and darn it, people like me”. However, there is a lot more science to them than that, and no doubt you have recently observed Olympians mentally rehearsing flawless performances on the slopes and on the ice before they compete. This same technique works in coaching executives before tough board meetings or critical or contentious negotiations.
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To increase the odds of success for executives in these critical situations, help them:
- Imagine themselves in the situation
- Anticipate the tough questions and challenges they likely will encounter
- Visualize themselves calmly and effectively responding to those challenges
- Practice responding to those challenges with someone playing an adversarial role.
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The bottom line is that effective coaches and business leaders recognize when their teams are not performing up to potential, and do not hesitate to find a catalyst to help them get back on track.
Read More >>The HBR IdeaCast on “What Motivates Us” will be very relevant to people struggling with how to motivate their employees, their kids, or themselves. In this 16 minute audio session, Daniel Pink (Author of the new book Drive) explains why much of what we know about motivation doesn’t work. Some of his key points include:
1) Strong emphasis on carrot and stick motivators are good for simple tasks, but not good for complex cognitive tasks or tasks that require creativity
2) More powerful motivators for complex or creative tasks include assuring people feel that they have a sense of purpose, are making a contribution, are seeing progress, and are growing and getting better at something.
3) De-motivators include doing the same thing over and over without a sense of purpose or progress.
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In several turnaround situations, I have found the key to motivating and engaging employees is to:
- Make them feel valued as people and that they belong
- Help them see how what they do makes a difference, and
- Find a way for them to monitor their own contributions on an ongoing basis.
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This is especially true now as companies try to re-engage their people after multiple rounds of layoffs, furloughs, and salary cuts. If they don’t, they risk losing their best people when the economy and job market improve.
Read More >>Welcome To My Blog!
All Blog Posts / 24.02.2010
I am a Leadership Catalyst, and will be posting observations and tips about how to unleash the potential of leaders and organizations. More specifically, I will be focusing on how to help leaders build strong teams and engage the hearts and minds of their people. Observations will be taken from my 25+ years of consulting and leadership experience as well as from other publications and posts in the blogosphere. I welcome your comments and appreciate your stopping by!
Brian L. Davis, Ph.D.
Leadership Catalyst
