Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever Part VI
Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever Part VI
employees
Markets are volatile. Profit zones shift. Priorities change. In our work with executives,
we are amazed at the depth of their knowledge and apparent inability to turn strategies into promised business outcomes. More than 65% of strategic initiatives fail to materialize as planned. Creating a clear vision begins the process, but clearly connecting to current reality is a critical next step.
Imagine taking a journey and guessing where you are in relation to your destination. Reality is an acquired taste, and, in many organizations, the discipline to scrutinize current reality is clearly a weakness. Business people are not alone; often the press reports sports results far more accurately than events of the day. "News" stories often are a mixture of factual reporting and
editorials. Place several daily newspapers side-by-side or read various on-line reports of the same event and you'll clearly see this phenomenon in action.
Translating factual data into strategic plans is a tricky business. No one can accurately forecast the future, but ineffective strategic plans are built on a shaky foundation of reality mixed with speculation, hypothesis, and theoretical mindsets. If they can handle the truth, owners, CEO's, CFO's and COO's often shift their focus when they clearly see the reality they face.
Management Mistake #4: Failing to recognize small wins in pursuit of big goals When we ask others to makes changes on behalf of a bigger possibility, it is important to follow one of Dale Carnegie's key principles: Praise every improvement, even small, seemingly insignificant adjustments. In a conversation with a manager about an employee he labeled as "arrogant" and not a "team player", I asked him how the employee was doing after six weeks of training. "I don't see any change," he said. That surprised me, so I inquired into the details. It turned out that he meant, "I haven't seen him turn into the person I want him to become." It was delicate, but I
asked, "If he behaved exactly how you wanted him to be and did not improve his performance, is that okay?" He thought for a while and replied, "No." We agreed that the target was performance improvement, not a change in "personality." In fact, the employee was trying very hard to connect with others at a different level; he was listening more and reacting less. He became genuinely interested in others and tried to see things from their point of view before giving his opinion. His manager missed the subtle beginnings of what became a dramatic shift in mindset, approach to
others, and performance. This employee could have benefitted from a little praise in the early stages as he sincerely stretched himself into what was clearly, for him, uncomfortable territory. Fortunately, the employee persevered and made a spectacular transformation, but his manager could have been much more supportive and influential in the early stages of the process. People need less of an "appraiser" or "critic." Instead, they need performance coaching from their managers,
including specific suggestions and coaching to make desired adjustments to their
behaviour.
Even though we've focused on critical mistakes, it's important to note that weak leaders often burn an inordinate amount of time and resources simply trying to avoid mistakes. In contrast, great leaders make bold, informed choices, quickly admit mistakes, learn from them, and move on. They create a dynamic environment where the only unacceptable mistakes are repeated errors. Here's Bill Gates on executive decisiveness, "You have to make big, do-or-die bets on the future, committing to technologies and strategies that may not pay off for years. It's easy to spend so much time thinking about today's markets and competitors that you're not ready for those you'll encounter tomorrow."
This Year's Focus
Begin 2009 by scrutinizing your organization, and yourself, with fresh eyes. Brutally challenge your strategic plans. Clarify the mission of the organization, its vision, and actions on behalf of creating the organization of your dreams.
Focus on key people. Don't question their commitment to 2009's vision. Instead, take responsibility for connecting them to where you are going. Create in your organization a climate of "truth-telling." This is not as common or as easy as it sounds, but it's worth the effort. Nothing turns off high performers more than a climate where the truth is hidden, avoided, or masked. Purging excessive speculation, hypotheses, editorials, innuendo, finger-pointing vague platitudes, veiled threats, and indirect conversations is one of the most challenging commitments an executive can make.
Facing reality together in a clear, nonjudgmental way creates a climate where even average performers can excel. Refuse to "spin" reality to look either better or worse that it is. People can handle the truth, but they find excessive positive or negative "spins" highly distasteful and extremely offensive.
Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever Part VI - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Mather's Website.
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Management Mistake #3: Losing touch with reality, customers, and
employees
Markets are volatile. Profit zones shift. Priorities change. In our work with executives,
we are amazed at the depth of their knowledge and apparent inability to turn strategies into promised business outcomes. More than 65% of strategic initiatives fail to materialize as planned. Creating a clear vision begins the process, but clearly connecting to current reality is a critical next step.
Imagine taking a journey and guessing where you are in relation to your destination. Reality is an acquired taste, and, in many organizations, the discipline to scrutinize current reality is clearly a weakness. Business people are not alone; often the press reports sports results far more accurately than events of the day. "News" stories often are a mixture of factual reporting and
editorials. Place several daily newspapers side-by-side or read various on-line reports of the same event and you'll clearly see this phenomenon in action.
Translating factual data into strategic plans is a tricky business. No one can accurately forecast the future, but ineffective strategic plans are built on a shaky foundation of reality mixed with speculation, hypothesis, and theoretical mindsets. If they can handle the truth, owners, CEO's, CFO's and COO's often shift their focus when they clearly see the reality they face.
Management Mistake #4: Failing to recognize small wins in pursuit of big goals When we ask others to makes changes on behalf of a bigger possibility, it is important to follow one of Dale Carnegie's key principles: Praise every improvement, even small, seemingly insignificant adjustments. In a conversation with a manager about an employee he labeled as "arrogant" and not a "team player", I asked him how the employee was doing after six weeks of training. "I don't see any change," he said. That surprised me, so I inquired into the details. It turned out that he meant, "I haven't seen him turn into the person I want him to become." It was delicate, but I
asked, "If he behaved exactly how you wanted him to be and did not improve his performance, is that okay?" He thought for a while and replied, "No." We agreed that the target was performance improvement, not a change in "personality." In fact, the employee was trying very hard to connect with others at a different level; he was listening more and reacting less. He became genuinely interested in others and tried to see things from their point of view before giving his opinion. His manager missed the subtle beginnings of what became a dramatic shift in mindset, approach to
others, and performance. This employee could have benefitted from a little praise in the early stages as he sincerely stretched himself into what was clearly, for him, uncomfortable territory. Fortunately, the employee persevered and made a spectacular transformation, but his manager could have been much more supportive and influential in the early stages of the process. People need less of an "appraiser" or "critic." Instead, they need performance coaching from their managers,
including specific suggestions and coaching to make desired adjustments to their
behaviour.
Even though we've focused on critical mistakes, it's important to note that weak leaders often burn an inordinate amount of time and resources simply trying to avoid mistakes. In contrast, great leaders make bold, informed choices, quickly admit mistakes, learn from them, and move on. They create a dynamic environment where the only unacceptable mistakes are repeated errors. Here's Bill Gates on executive decisiveness, "You have to make big, do-or-die bets on the future, committing to technologies and strategies that may not pay off for years. It's easy to spend so much time thinking about today's markets and competitors that you're not ready for those you'll encounter tomorrow."
This Year's Focus
Begin 2009 by scrutinizing your organization, and yourself, with fresh eyes. Brutally challenge your strategic plans. Clarify the mission of the organization, its vision, and actions on behalf of creating the organization of your dreams.
Focus on key people. Don't question their commitment to 2009's vision. Instead, take responsibility for connecting them to where you are going. Create in your organization a climate of "truth-telling." This is not as common or as easy as it sounds, but it's worth the effort. Nothing turns off high performers more than a climate where the truth is hidden, avoided, or masked. Purging excessive speculation, hypotheses, editorials, innuendo, finger-pointing vague platitudes, veiled threats, and indirect conversations is one of the most challenging commitments an executive can make.
Facing reality together in a clear, nonjudgmental way creates a climate where even average performers can excel. Refuse to "spin" reality to look either better or worse that it is. People can handle the truth, but they find excessive positive or negative "spins" highly distasteful and extremely offensive.
Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever Part VI - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Mather's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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