by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 14, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
Real leaders “lead.” No, I’m not just stating a simpleton observation. I mean they truly “lead.” You know, from the front… not the middle or the rear.
Good employees want to be led. Great employees need to be led. Both need a leader in front for them to follow, not to be drug along as if a lead weight, nor pushed and prodded like a reluctant mule.
To lead, there’s no option – you must be out front.
I once worked with a Chairman/CEO who appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be a collaborative and participative leader with his senior staff. He would get them together frequently, solicit and facilitate their ideas, then act only on their consensus.
That’s not leading, it’s managing. Worse, it’s managing by committee, and we all know the perils there.
Let’s be clear; soliciting input, direction, and advice is critical for successful leaders to make decisions . But when all is said and done, the leader needs to make the decision, and then hold him or herself accountable for the results. Yes, we hold other managers and professionals accountable for their pieces of the decision’s outcome, but “group” accountability is tantamount to no accountability at all.
Don’t forget to really lead.
by Triangle Performance Staff | Sep 14, 2006 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
First, the fiasco in Chicago was averted — we should all stand and cheer.
For those living on Pluto (the new “non’-planet), Chicago attempted to vote in a “big box” minimum wage, a wage higher than what all other employers must pay, as a penalty for simply “being” a big box retailer.
Mayor Dailey vetoed the bill — his first such veto in his million years in office. Smart man.
Having said that, and against my personal beliefs and desires, minimum wage is going to change from its paltry $5.15 per hour. 10 states have enacted minimum wage laws in 2006 alone, making their state’s minimum wage some level above the Fed’s. That brings to 23 the total number of states with such legislation, and another 6 states have pending legislation awaiting November voting. (more…)
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 10, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
Success is usually pretty simple, really. Particularly in executive leadership. Note, I did not say success was “easy,” merely that it’s simple.
As in, “not complex.”
The secret? Make more “right” decisions than “wrong” ones. That’s it – the answer you’ve been waiting for all these years.
See, I told you it was simple.
Now, pulling this off may take some work. Work that, by the way, explains why you’re paid what you’re paid, and why your business card reads “leader,” or some variation thereof.
In my military leadership days, I worked under a Colonel, Scott Atkins, who would frequently tell me that, “If 25% of your decisions aren’t wrong, it’s just because you’re not making enough decisions.”
That same Colonel would also tell me that most decisions aren’t really “right” or “wrong,” or “good” or “bad;” they’re just decisions. Sometimes, after making a particular decision, we must immediately make another one, seemingly contrary to the first. This doesn’t necessarily imply that the first decision was incorrect; merely that, when making the second decision, we did so with new, superior knowledge.
They key, usually, is to make enough well-thought, educated decisions so that the 25% that are less than perfect go nearly unnoticed because of the 75% that are driving your success.
Make enough decisions.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 4, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
Well, not exactly. But close…
So, you feel that your organization’s culture – its core behaviors, mannerisms, decision-making processes and “way things are done” – is a bit less that desired. How do you change it?
The most effective and efficient way to change and guide desired culture and organizational behavior is through compensation. Not just “pay more, they’ll do more,” since most of us have tried that and know it’s a crock. But behavior-driven compensation does work.
So, how do we go about this? Well, it’s easier than you think, though I must warn you: be careful what you wish for, you may just get it. A basic tenet of compensation is “that which is rewarded is repeated.” I’ll say that again: That which is rewarded is repeated. In other words, you don’t get what you want, you get what you compensated for.
So, compensation is certainly the best route to culture maintenance and change, and behavior modification. But make sure what you want is what you are trying to pay for…
by Triangle Performance Staff | Sep 4, 2006 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
One corner of my Performance Triangle is Process. These are what – and how – things happen within your organization. They include things that are formal, informal, in writing, unwritten, etc. Some of the more obvious include:
• Organizational structure
• Policies and procedures
• Existing culture, and maintenance of that culture
• The decision-making process
• The process for employment decisions and performance management
What you say you’re going to do, through mission statements, vision statements, verbal or written promises, or whatever, matters little if your processes can’t support that talk.
(more…)
by Triangle Performance Staff | Jun 20, 2006 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
So, you’ve done a great job of negotiating, gnashing, arm-twisting, and crying, along with some redesign choices that made the numbers get all dizzy in your head. The results are in: you actually will not see a net increase in the cost of medical benefits for the upcoming renewal year.
Don’t laugh, it can happen.
So, do we pass along this miracle event to employees in the form of a zero-contribution increase? Wow, would that be amazing or what!?
Don’t do it. Continue the gradual increase of employee contributions every single year. The fact that this ONE year prevented the company from realizing additional expenses doesn’t negate the prior 15 years with consistent double-digit trending. In all likelihood, you haven’t passed along all the increases to employees — why, then, would you not afford yourself a modicum of recovery in your one good year?
Manage the communications; speak to your ability to maintain costs better than the public this year, resulting in a nominal increase in employee contributions. Employees expect it, and the business needs to share as many costs as possible regarding healthcare. We can’t afford NOT to.
