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Leadership, Decisions & Surveys... Can We Talk?

December At C-Level

It ain't over 'til the fat man says, "Ho ho ho!"

Well, depending on your view of life, it's either the end of 2016, or an early beginning to 2017. Either way, we're only a couple of weeks away from closing the chapter on this year, and the new excitement - and anxieties - that a new year always brings.

Frankly, I can't say I'm sorry to see 2016 pass into the history books, but that's just me.

Sorta depends on your perspective, doesn't it? May also depend somewhat on how things are shaping up for you right now, and that's a logical variable for the mix.

What isn't always logical is keeping underperforming plans, processes, and people; if something - or someone - didn't cut it in 2016, that performance (or lack thereof) is mostly on their shoulders. If that same thing or person again underperforms in 2017 (pay attention, this part's important), that responsibility falls squarely on leadership's shoulders.

Kinda stings, doesn't it? But let's face it, when we continue down the path with a failing plan, or with an inadequate process, or with an underperforming employee, we can't blame it on others. We may manage performance on a regular basis, involving others for much of the execution, but we in senior leadership own longer term results.

As we've mentioned before, to do nothing is simply the absence of leadership.

Failure to review your plan heading into 2017, both for organizational strategies, goals, and directions, and for people - making sure we have the right ones, in the right places, with the right skills, means you're planning to fail.

So, how'd you do in 2016? Did you get the things accomplished that you set out to do? Most of them? Some of them? Any of them?? If so, great. If not, why not?

Regarding those things successful in 2016, what made them so? Was it because of you and your leadership, or in spite of? Is it repeatable, and if so, do you know exactly how you did it in the first place? For those you lead, have you appropriately recognized their successes?
If we failed to accomplish some of our plans, goals, or objectives... why? Was it because we failed to do something we could have done, or were there really - really - circumstances beyond our control (honesty is important on this one)? For those we lead who performed less than satisfactorily, are we addressing that performance appropriately?

Be honest with yourself, and use the answers to ensure your plan is ready for 2017. To give you some perspective on challenges faced by your peers, the summary results from our 2016 Survey of Senior Leaders is below.

We're excited about 2017 and hope you are, too, both personally and professionally. With our warmest regards, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Survey of Senior Leadership

Finally! The results are in; our 2016 Survey of Senior Leadership is complete and tallied, and a summary of those results is available for download at the link below.

Here's your Cliff Notes to the summary (for those with varsity-level ADD): You and your organization are challenged with both revenue/earnings and profitability. That's #1 with a bullet. After that, it gets pretty people centric real quick, with emphasis on effective communications, manager performance and employee engagement/productivity. Nearly half of you will be increasing overall headcount in 2017. If you have questions, comments or inputs, reach out to us and let's discuss. We'll provide more detail throughout 2017. Interesting reading, and you can download it here.

Featured Articles

Decision-Making, Mistakes and Leadership

- If you ain't failin', you ain't tryin'

by D. Kevin Berchelmann

"Crap! Now what...?"

First, a newsflash: you will make mistakes. Get over it. Mistakes are not inherently bad; our reactions to mistakes are much more telling than the mistake itself.

So, here we go - The 3 Principles for Avoiding Death through Mistakes...

Let's Talk

-aka: Communication for Dummies

by Kevin Ross

Sometimes, I just plain suck at communicating effectively. If you doubt me, ask my wife, my girls, my best friend Kevin, or any of the bosses I've worked for in the last 40 years.

If you take a quick minute to reflect, you probably suck sometimes, too.

This has been on my heart lately because I've run into a rash of people who believe their team is singing off the same page when they're not even in the same hymnal. Or maybe it's the Christmas Crazies, I don't know, but I keep encountering messages sent that are definitely not the messages received.

So, you ask, if I help clients communicate more effectively for a living, why do I suck at it so often?

Same reason you do.

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In this section, we take a look at recent news and events, and make a gut-reaction determination for three categories:

Leadership
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Demonstrating Clear, Personal Leadership

Leadership Milquetoast

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Usually an Opportunity Not Taken, or Similar

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Leadership Has Its Idiots, We Show You Who They Are

Katia Beauchamp is a rock star without the glitter and lights. The Birchbox CEO disrupted the beauty products industry by creating a viable online market, and turned a frustration into a $485M company in just six years. Without fanfare, she learned to do the right things because they're the right things to do.