No, I’m not word-smithing or playing head games. Let me give you some examples.
Many of the aggressive accounting practices at Enron were technically legal or “right.”
But they were wrong.
Many of the sub-prime loans that prompted much of the current mess we’re in were “right” in a technical, legal sense.
But they were wrong. (more…)
Leadership is inherently fraught with risks; we can no more avoid them than we can the decisions that cause the concerns. Wringing our hands won’t fix it, neither will running around the figurative circle waving our arms about.
Trust me, it’s been tried. And it ain’t all that pretty…
Any way you cut it, there’s risk in leadership.
(more…)
I was recently asked that question by a client. Now, in all fairness, I didn’t actually say it was a stupid question.
But it is. Of course they work.
The premise of the question is the problem. Of course Balanced Scorecards “work.” They display a particular set of organization-specific metrics to use within the context of coaching and performance management/improvement. They don’t do–nor are they supposed to do–any more than that.
Therein lies the problem, and the basis for my “stupid” comment. Too many think that scorecards, incentive plans, spiffs, et al, should actually DO something. Like somehow substitute for leadership. Like motivate so a leader doesn’t have to. Like provide the impetus for discretionary effort and productivity without any leadership heavy-lifting.
Balanced Scorecards work just fine. Incentives (if done properly) work just fine.
When you watch baseball, what do you expect the scorecard to do? Make hits? Score runs? Catch balls? It’s a scorecard–it tracks your score.
When you play golf, what do you expect the scorecard to do? Hit drives? Make putts? Whistle at the cart girl? It’s a scorecard–it tracks your score.
If related leadership would just remove their heads from their collective butts, maybe the added benefit of those scorecards could be realized. Brazen Leaders don’t have their heads up their butts. That’s practically a definition.
But then, I’m just a consultant.
In discussing leadership styles and philosophies… with clients, potential clients, friends, over-the-fence neighbors, owners and executives, one of the most frequent refrains is “Well, I try to lead by example.”
Well hoorah for you. I think that’s just great. News flash, Dick Tracy, you don’t have a choice.
That’s right, no choice whatsoever. You see, when you show up—for work, for a drink with fellow employees, at a ball-game where employees are present, or even bump into one of those employees while being photographed for “People of Wal-Mart,”—you are an example.
The very fact you show up means you’re on stage, setting an example for others to emulate.
The only choice you have in all of that, is whether to be a good example or a crappy example.
See, these things aren’t rocket surgery. This simply is not complex stuff; people glean behavior cues, way of being, how to act and what to say, from leadership examples.
I was at the Master’s golf championship in Augusta, Georgia a few years ago. Now many of you know this, but the people who run Augusta National (the Club) are fanatic about their rules. Positively loony about 100% enforcement, all the time, no matter what. So, we were in line to get in, early one morning, for a practice round. One of the rules is “no hard-seated chairs.” You can carry in a wide variety of seats, camping chairs, lawn chairs, etc., provided they have soft seats. The reason, of course, is that they don’t want you later standing on those seats, blocking the pristine Augusta views from others.
Well, you knew it would happen… just in front of us was a group of 3 guys. They saw the signs, discussed it quietly amongst themselves, then decided they’d give it a shot — that they wouldn’t get caught.
Wrong — cold-busted.
The gate marshal came up to the guy carrying the chair, and stated flatly, “that can’t come inside the grounds.” To which this 40-something adult male responded, “Well, why can HE do it, then???” …all the while pointing to another gentleman’s chair about 15 feet in front. That’s right — his complete rationale for doing what he knew to be wrong was, “someone else is doing it, and you haven’t said anything to him.”
Don’t kid yourself; this is not near as much an anomaly as we would like to believe. The behavior we allow, we promote. No different than if we were modeling the behavior ourselves. Think about that when you feel like it’s just too much trouble to correct some seemingly isolated (but negative) behavior in your staff.
Exemplify positive leadership–always. Or find a different profession. We need leaders who understand their influence on others.
Like it or not, you—and your position of executive leadership—are under a microscope 24×7.
You are always the example; those in your charge will certainly emulate your actions, behavior, maybe even your way of thinking. The question becomes, of course, are you a good example or… “not so much?”
You might be thinking, particularly if you hold a senior-most role, that the people working for you are already “set in their ways;” they don’t really change for anyone, anyway…; or even, “Hell, they’re old! They don’t need me for an example!”
Don’t believe that crap for one second. They look to you for the right–and wrong–way to do things. Be the right example. All the time. If not, get prepared — it’ll spread like wildfire, and you are personally responsible.
Change is simple; just close your eyes, hold your breath, and wait. It happens.
Effective change management, on the other hand, takes some skill. From my view of the world, 3 things are necessary for senior executives to successfully drive positive change:
Yup… a colleague of mine in corporate Human Resources told me he never, ever, goes to the EEOC’s proffered mediation sessions.
Says he has no reason to go; says he’s right, the claimant is wrong, and he can prove it. Therefore, in his mind, no reason to attend whatsoever.
What a loser…
Listen to me carefully: Go to each and every EEOC mediation offered by the EEOC, forever and ever, amen.
Look, the EEOC wants the employer there to potentially provide an economic or related reason for the plaintiff/claimant to relinquish their claim. They closely track statistics for successful mediation; though the EEOC is always (and never forget this), ALWAYS the employee’s advocate, they have vested, personal interests in resolving via mediation.
Additionally, it’s a chance to “see all the cards,” in case — just in case, mind you — there is a “smoking gun” or something similar of which you were unaware.
It happens, folks. At one time or another, we’ve all been blind-sided, BS’ed, exaggerated to, and just plain lied to. Better to find out in a non-discoverable venue like mediation, than from the EEOC when they file a “friend of the plaintiff” brief or worse, decide to support by suing in direct support.
You make better decisions with better information. Get all the information you can. You can still say “no.” You can still leave the mediation with your checkbook intact (if you want to), but go to the mediation.
While I’m at it, don’t get me started on the business case of early, inexpensive settlements. They have a viable place in the process — but that’s for a later entry.
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