— Put ‘em in a box and learn to say ‘yes’
I used to believe that empowerment and delegation were the same thing… that we just invented the term “empowerment” because so many managers sucked at delegating.
I was wrong. I try not to say that too often (just ask my family), but it’s a certainty here. I was wrong. (more…)
Training is essential for success—always has been, always will be. But like everything else, not all training is created equally. Nor is there a one-size fits all when it comes to teaching employees. And that’s true for leadership – technical, interpersonal or whatever it may be. But there are tried and true strategies for success that can lead to more effective employees, a happier workforce and a better organization. Here are 3 key strategies for training employees that can make the process more endearing for all those involved. (more…)
“Teamwork” has forever been a buzzword in our business world. It seems that the importance of having employees work as a team has been promoted in every available piece of management literature. Nevertheless, we at the top have routinely had a hard time “playing well together,” despite the fact that the need is more pronounced now more than ever.
I used to work for a CEO who believed that the definition of a “team” was a group of people doing things his way. It’d be funnier if it didn’t apply so well to so many…
Who cares?? Why does it matter, as long as I do my job and am good at it?? Some arguments for executive teamwork:
So why, then, if we understand the need, do top executives often fail to form a team?
Consider the source: Managers who have climbed the ladder’s upper rungs are typically strong-willed, ambitious and are experts in their own right. These characteristics, though obviously allowing them to successfully rise in within an organization, may also pave the way for an unwillingness to show weakness, overprotective behavior for their functions, and viewing other executives as “competition” in their quest for the Holy Grail: The CEO’s chair.
Personality and behaviors can be difficult to change once they are really entrenched, so forming a true executive team becomes a difficult undertaking.
Ultimately, the CEO must establish a climate that is favorable to developing an executive team. S/He can do this by:
By the way, I was interviewed by the Houston Business Journal on this exact topic…
I worked with the CEO of a large services company. A VP member of his senior staff was a brilliant P&L manager — but entirely destructive to the team. We coached, cajoled, taught, pleaded and begged. This senior manager would not be swayed — he was clearly “on the dark side,” and wanted to stay. He wielded his P&L performance as a Kevlar vest.
The CEO fired him, and you could hear the air being sucked out of all the collective guts of the senior team. The boss was serious, and now the team was, too.
Creating a synergestic team of top leaders in an organization is tough work. Selecting, managing personalities and relationships, establishing and enforcing norms, and developing executive team members is a complex process – but it can be done.
The payback is huge. You know that, of course, if you took the time to read this whole posting. Stop looking for a magic bullet — it takes effort and commitment, and in all likelihood, some tough decisions.
Let me know if I can help.
Be Brazen.
–The war for talent rages on…
Don’t get caught with your pants down.
That idiom has its origins in the Roman Emperor Caracalla, later known as Marcus Aurelius. 
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Many people — mostly consultants, I know — make incentive-based compensation planning complex and overly difficult to create, implement, and manage. It simply does not need to be that way…
Understanding incentive compensation is simple, and is largely human nature. Just realize the following:
1. That which is rewarded is repeated,
2. You don’t get what you want, hope for, manage to, or request — you get what you pay for (as a tenet of compensation, not necessarily a life philosophy), and
3. Simplicity wins.
There are certainly exceptions to this, but they are just that… exceptions. Don’t be misled by one or two instances of simplicity, for example, not working. In the long run, across the board, these tenets hold true.
Well crafted incentive schemes will generally work best when — viewing from the employee’s angle — we can show that:
1. Working harder (bigger, better, stronger, faster) will improve my job performance,
2. My improved performance will create rewards, perhaps an increase in salary or valued benefits, and
3. I value these rewards.
(oft-paraphrased from Victor Vroom, though not sure his was original)
Keep it simple, keep the end in mind, and stay focused on what you are really trying to accomplish.
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