Here’s my issue — attitude, morale, thoughts… none really matter in our workplaces.
Sure, we’d love for everyone to have our version of a good attitude. Yes, I can certainly support “good” morale (whatever the heck that is), and of course, I’d prefer everyone thought like me.
None of these, however, really matter. What matters, of course, is observable behavior. It’s the only thing we can really see, act on, and manage to.
Tell someone they have a “bad attitude.” What happens? They close up and get defensive. “No, I don’t,” is the typical reply. Now where are we? No closer to where we want to be, only now the employee is defensive.
Focus on observable behavior.
“John, every time I say ‘Good Morning’ to you, you tell me to go to hell.” Now THAT’S observable.
“Pat, I’ve noticed you never delegate work to Jamar over there. Why?” Observable also.
Get to the substance — to the part where we can take action to manage, correct, and/or modify.
Stay focused on things we can see, touch and feel… otherwise, your attitude may be showing.
So, I’m watching an old movie this weekend, “In Harm’s Way.” It’s about a U.S. naval Captain (John Wayne) who has his career derailed after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After an interminable time as a desk-jockey doing little important, the Navy realizes they need this guy to go out and win battles.
Enter Admiral Nimitz, played by Henry Fonda. He invites all the muckety-mucks to a men’s-only dinner and cigar party (my kind of place), where he gives Wayne his official promotion to Rear Admiral, effectively acknowledging the Navy’s error.
Nimitz says, “The Navy, we all know, is never wrong, though sometimes it’s a little weak on being right.”
Feel free to substitute your, my, or any of a number of other names for “The Navy” above. Sometimes we forget that doing the short-term “right” is not always the same thing as doing the right thing. In other words, sometimes we’re a little weak on being right.
Now, typically when people — ok, ok, “consultants” — use an example like this, the conversation goes in an expected, typical direction. I’d like to use a different example.
For instance, a top sales guy is unable to complete various required reports in a timely manner. Someone (usually HR) convinces us that we need to “be consistent;” if we discipline others for this egregious — nearly heinous — act, we are summarily forced to do the same thing with this top sales performer.
I say that’s a load of bunk. Absolute, positive, cowardly crap.
And it is cowardly.
Take the courage… use it, find it, or make it, to NOT fall victim to being a little weak on being right. Do the right thing, even if (maybe even particularly if) it seems unfair to average or mediocre performers. Worry about the high-performing sales guy in question; spend zero time being concerned about all those others who only wish you would treat so deferentially.
After all, who can argue with Admiral Nimitz?? Or Henry Fonda?? Certainly not The Duke…??
You read know-it-all in the subtitle like it’s a bad thing. That’s not how I meant it at all.
No, I’m not referring to the seventh-grade insult where we looked at the smartest kid in the room and said, “Well, Mr. Smarty-pants, you think you’re just a know-it-all.” No, that’s not what I’m talking about at all.
I’m referring to those people who hold positions that — quite literally — require that they know it all. And yes, there are several of those floating around in various organizations today. For example, you certainly wouldn’t trust a surgeon who frequently said, “You know, I’m not quite sure about this, but let’s just give it a try anyway.” Nor would you be thrilled if you discovered that a PhD physicist working in some hush-hush, ultra secret laboratory somewhere, said, “Man, I don’t know if this hydrogen bomb will be safe to transport, but hey, I’m giving it my best guess.” (more…)
Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results. Organizational Transformation breaks through that insanity. It’s not about working harder—I remember working with several clients during the economic challenges of recent years, and helping them realize that working harder can only “fix” problems when not working hard caused the problems in the first place.
And who was going to admit they weren’t already working hard?
Transforming an organization is not simply improving results, no matter how significant. Organizational Transformation is about being a different organization, not just a better one. It’s change on steroids… that “step-change” that leapfrogs an organization into an entirely different—and better—place.
Organizations wanting to adapt, change, or transform cannot force such change through simple technical modifications like reorganization, reengineering, or the like. You certainly cannot “save” your way there, nor create a budget or forecasting model that will do it. No, you can’t “spreadsheet” into transforming an organization.
This isn’t a quantitative exercise. If it were, I’d develop a do-all Excel spreadsheet for “Transforming Your Organization.” You would simply plug in your numbers, hit “calculate,” and out would come your winning formula for successfully transforming your organization. I would charge a bazillion dollars, have a private island in Tahiti, and wouldn’t invite any of you to come visit.
Don’t we wish…
To fundamentally transform an organization, you must first embrace a new way of leadership performance to better understand and address challenges and interpret business movements.
How does that happen? In my view, Organizational Transformation needs three elements to succeed:
A clear direction, with equally clear expectations and specific goals. If you don’t know—or can’t clearly articulate—where you’re going, don’t expect to see a throng behind you;
An engaged workforce; we’ll need massive quantities of discretionary effort, and the ability to discern positive directions without incessant oversight. That only comes from a workforce willing to do the right thing for the organization, with or without your immediate presence;
Changed leadership. To change a culture—we must start with leaders. That’s just the reality. Leaders capable of moving the proverbial needle closer to transformation must first transform themselves, focusing less on operational leadership and more on focusing on flexibility, collaboration, and “collective” leadership.
There’s nothing inherently simple about Organizational Transformation, but neither is it beyond the reach of any organization. It takes vision, fortitude, and resolve. In other words, you’ve got to want it—really want it—to get it. Start there, move forward.
Analog… “Analog…” Analog… it sounds so, well, old.
Leadership, in its most successful, meaningful form, is not about size, scope, or reach. It’s about relationships. Trusting relationships. Our followers trust those they hold out as leaders when:
That leader demonstrates appropriate competency for their position,
The leader demonstrates integrity (does what she says she’ll do), and
The leader convinces them they have some level of empathy; that they care as much about the subordinate as they do themselves.
Leadership is entirely personal. It’s about people. It’s all about trust! (more…)
