Archive for August, 2009

When “The Company” I’d worked for for 25 years was acquired by a “Bigger Fish”, there were several thousand of us who feared (rightly so) that our jobs were in jeopardy.

Having survived several painful mass layoffs before this acquisition, I could see that that management often neglected human emotional needs in those situations. During tough times such as these I came to realize the importance of a leader’s ability to provide employees with perspective, grace, and dignity to help them through.

The employees of The Company were representative of a bygone era of employment -many of us had worked for The Company for many years. This company had a legacy of employing people for their entire careers – in fact, parents and grandparents had, in many cases, also worked for The Company.

The Company also took care of us by providing subsidized-cost lunches, a barber shop on site (yes, a barber shop!), and a Human Resources philosophy that treated each and every employee as an individual. Some employees even recalled a company bus that would pick them up for work and take them home at the end of the day. We had the best benefits in town and were compensated very well. You can see why most didn’t want to leave.

Once it was announced that a Bigger Fish would acquire The Company, we knew it would be a full year before all of the regulatory hurdles were completed to finalize the deal and to officially announce and begin layoffs. During that painful year, we had to hunker down and figure out what needed to be done while suspecting that many of us would be leaving. It was a year of excruciating uncertainty.

The hardest thing during that year was seeing people cling to what used to be; to jobs and a company that would no longer exist. There was so much sorrow and grieving.

During that year of uncertainty, I became curious about how a few managers seemed to lead so well, with all of the ambiguity. Although few in number, these leaders were providing perspective, leading with grace, and treating their employees with dignity, even in the uncertainty of whether they would be losing their jobs. It was obvious that these leaders were able to impart something special; their employees appeared to be the calmest of those who could be exiting the company.

My curiosity led to a discussion with one of those exceptional leaders. He seemed quite resilient to the turmoil and uncertainty (resilient doesn’t mean ignorant, by the way; he knew things weren’t rosy). That resiliency was evident in his staff as well.

When I asked him about his ability to remain steadfast and dedicated in this turmoil, he spoke of perspective. As a Viet Nam veteran, he knew that losing his job wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him. And he knew it wasn’t the worst thing that would happen to his team either. Yet he remained empathetic to them and their concerns. He was able to project confidence and pragmatism and to lead himself and his team through the rough times (and eventually out the door) with perspective, grace and dignity.

This leader gave his team a wonderful parting gift. This gift allowed these employees to leave the company and to begin new lives with perspective, grace, and dignity. Perhaps these attributes, though rare, are some of the most important ones a leader can have in tough times.

My friend David Chinsky teaches a year-long course called “The Institute for Leadership Fitness“. Be sure to check it out; it`s a very unique and important program for high-potential leaders. Because I am coaching some of the leaders in the program, I am also attending David`s classes, and though I may be battle-worn and (so I`d like to believe) relatively wise, I learn something in every class.

His recent class was no exception. There was some discussion about the importance of developing others within the leader’s organization, and some discussion about resistance to doing so because of time, cost, priorities, etc. Admittedly, I’ve heard all of the excuses before. However, David`s guidance to class participants helped me to think about the selfish reasons for a leader to encourage and support employee development.

Go ahead. Be selfish.

It is a leader`s responsibility to partner with employees in finding and supporting opportunities for their development, including appropriate training, assignments, mentoring and coaching. Rarely, however, is a leader held accountable for developing their employees, and many leaders spend minimal time or effort on it. It just isn’t a priority for them.

Perhaps it will help to consider how developing your employees will be good for you. It will help you to:

1. Delegate more of your work: you’ll be able to delegate more of your work so that you can focus on the activities that will make a greater impact. Developing your employees allows them to take on new assignments that will lighten your load.
2. Increase your talent pool: when you increase the talent within your organization, you have more people who can be your “A” players. This increases the chances of focusing on high priority initiatives and achieving organizational goals.
3. Get promoted: you need to help your people to get ready to fill your shoes when you leave for that next step up. You may not get promoted unless someone is ready to take your place.
4. Enjoy personal satisfaction: the personal satisfaction of supporting your employees to be their best shouldn’t be underestimated. Remember the leaders who helped you to develop? They’ve left their legacy with you, and you can also leave one with your employees.

Whether or not your company offers programs to develop the employees, your responsibility is to help your employees to find ways develop themselves. These can also include no-cost or low-cost options such as community volunteering, stretch and cross functional assignments, and mentoring and coaching from well respected leaders inside or outside of your organization.

A regular agenda item of your 1:1 meetings with your direct reports should be about their development. Co-create an action plan with them and work with them to find developmental opportunities. Coach them on how to use what they`ve learned in your organization.

P.S. Why not set an example for your employees by developing yourself? The best leaders do!

From the Aspire Collaborative Services Monthly Newsletter, August 2009

A Note from Mary Jo……

I have become more active as an online “social media” participant. This was a careful decision, and not one made lightly. I resisted for a long time, but finally dove into Twitter. I take a fair amount of teasing about it but am beginning to see some possibilities for my business.

One place to start with a “real” conversation is with ourselves. I love the power of assessments to lead us into that very personal and intimate dialog.

______________________________

There are many assessment tools available for “getting to know yourself”. They may be electronic or hand-written. They can provide you with information about your behavior, your personality, your preferences, and many, many other facets of “you”.

Use Only High Quality Tools

Most of the assessments that you find for free on the internet are either “knockoffs” of the real thing or are there for fun. If you are serious about your self development using professional assessments that have had some scientific testing to back them up (always a good thing), I suggest you consult a professional.

This advice is not just self interest (since I administer several professional assessments), it is provided to you in your best interest in “you getting to know yourself” using tools that have been thoroughly tested and can be trusted to provide you with the most accurate results possible. Your human resources professional should be able to find consultants and coaches who are qualified to administer high-quality assessments.

Now What?

Once you complete the questionnaire for your assessment, you will receive a report. Ok, now what? If you are working with a conultant or coach you should expect that they will walk you through your report. If they are qualified to administer the assessment, they have received some training to help you interpret your results properly (another advantage of using a professionally- administered assessment).

Once you have received your interpretation, you will want to spend some time with the results, on your own. There may be a workbook that comes with your report – I highly recomment you set aside the time complete it. Even if there is not a workbook, this is your chance to have a great conversation with yourself and ask:

• What does this information tell me about myself
• What surprised me?
• What do I disagree with?
• What did I already know?
• What am I willing to change?
• What do I want to stay the same?

At this point, a professional coach can assist you in setting goals and creating an action plan. A coach can also help you figure out how to achieve those goals and hold you accountable for doing so.

Schedule regular time with real, “actual” friends.

Actual friends may or may not be associated with what you do for a living. You may or may not be related to them. Many of them you`ve known all your lives, others, for a short time.

These friends are there for some very good reasons, not the least of which is to remind us of who we are. Forces of nature have put them in our lives to ground us and to keep us human.

What makes actual friends important for a leader? They:

?· can be trusted to tell us what they think ?€“ and they`ll say it without filters
?· will say what needs to be said with kindness
?· will be there and will pitch in when we ask
?· have no vested interest in pleasing us
?· won`t undermine our efforts
?· don`t want our job
?· won`t talk behind our back

Schedule the time to spend with your actual friends now. Do it often. Accept them as they accept you. Enjoy your humanity.

Our guest post today is written by my esteemed friend and colleague, David Chinsky, of David Chinsky & Associates. His new blog will be one to watch, and is called The Fit Leader.

Watching my clients interact in team meetings provides me with numerous examples of how people tend to get “furious rather than curious” when they disagree with something someone else has said. Many of us jump too quickly to let a colleague “see” why they are wrong, and how their logic is faulty.

Perhaps we do this because we want to be viewed as being smart ourselves and on top of things. Perhaps we have just been waiting to catch this one person saying something that we can refute. Regardless of why we do it, whenever we choose to disagree first and ask questions later, our colleagues often feel attacked, become defensive and simply dig in their heels more deeply in support of their original position.

What is the alternative to this downward spiraling interaction?
A better way to engage with colleagues is to be curious. That’s right! If someone says something that you do not agree with, or even that you “know” is incorrect, begin with a question. And, not just any question. Ask an open-ended question, one that can’t be answered with a “Yes” or “No”. The secret is to come from a “place of not knowing”.

Most good open-ended questions begin with a “What” or “How”. For example, “What will the outcome of your suggested solution have on the underinsured population?” or “How do you see this new policy working on the weekends”?

When you look closely at these two questions, you can see that I am concerned with how the proposed solution might play out in certain circumstances. Rather than just coming out and saying why I don’t think the solution is practical, however, I come at it from a place of curiosity, where I invite my colleague to think more deeply with me about the consequences or implications of his or her thinking.

When I follow this approach, I accomplish several outcomes. First, and foremost, I don’t initiate the common defensive reaction that usually accompanies pushback. Instead, I am simply engaging in conversation that is motivated by my interest in learning more about the other person’s approach or thinking. Others are often more than willing to help educate us about their thinking.

The second outcome of this “asking questions” or “being curious” approach is that learning is advanced and encouraged. By asking clarifying questions, everyone is encouraged to take the proposed solution to a deeper level where we are able to test it and make sure it holds up under pressure. Often, the more robust ideas and most practical (read, implementable) solutions are those that include the ideas of multiple team members.

A third positive outcome of this approach is that team members begin to see and appreciate the value and importance placed on their individual ideas. When individuals repeatedly are beaten down when they offer up their ideas, they quickly learn to keep their ideas to themselves.

In an environment where others are quick to disagree and shoot down perspectives of others, the flow of ideas quickly comes to an end. This unfortunately prevents the best ideas and solutions from being developed as everyone advocates for their own point of view by trying to weaken the strength of others’ contributions.

When team members instead choose to be curious, they invite others to continue sharing their ideas willingly and to keep their contributions at a high level. As a result, the conversations around the table change dramatically for the better, and the number of good workable solutions begins to increase. Everyone wins when we choose to be curious, not furious.

People who are interested in becoming a coach (either managers who want to adopt a more coach-like or individuals who want to become an external or internal coach) often ask me “what are your favorite books about coaching”?

I`m an avid reader, often reading five or more books at a time (my Kindle seems to lend itself well to reading several books at a time. Means I don`t have to lug them all around when I`m on the road). Almost every book I read has something to do with executive coaching, even if only remotely. So some of these might seem remotely related, but trust me, they provide a lot of thought for the person who wants to become a better coach.

They are in no particular order:

Co-Active Coaching by Laura Whitworth, Henry Kimsey-House, Phil Sandahl. Great all around text for getting started in coaching.

Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others by James Flaherty. Also basic and classic.

Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart by Mary Beth O`Neill. More specific to executive coaching with a systems and organizational approach. Most likely, not a first book for most coaches.

The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. In his edgy and compelling style, Block makes the case for substituting “What” questions for “How” and “Why” questions.

How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. Provides great fodder for resistance to change from a deep behavioral standpoint. Provides a way of dealing with this.

The Highest Goal by Michael Ray. Provides a powerful step by step methodology for finding what drives you. This book was personally and professionally transformational for me, too.

Leading with Questions by Michael Marquardt. Provides the “case” for adopting inquiry as a leadership tool, and goes on to provide techniques for crafting questions.

Leading Through Conflict by Mark Gerzon. Great, simple tools for leaders to use when dealing with conflict. I find the skills outlined useful in non-conflict situations as well.

Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Goes the next step beyond “Emotional Intelligence” to frame and describe the importance of relationships. Has some scientific background, but in Goleman`s style, easy to understand.

Resonant Leadership. By Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. A case for the importance of maintaining mindfulness, hope, and compassion in connection with others.

As I look over this list, I am surprised at how I`ve embraced pieces of each book into my own process, style and writing over the years.

I`m ready for some new reading. What are your favorite coaching books?

We live in a world where we get to choose – everyday, and in almost everything we do. Yet we often believe we don’t have a choice.

If developing relationships is a priority, then what will you give up? How will you give it up?

Poof. Time is now available. Spend it creating, developing and sustaining the relationships that will help you to be the best leader you can.

(This is a follow up to a recent post, Beginner`s Mind: Seeing the Trees for the Forest which received a lot of interest and some great comments. Thanks to Monica Diaz`s (@monedays) Twitter campaign #OtherEsteem about valuing others, I began to consider how “being a beginner” might apply to people we`ve judged negatively – maybe even harshly.)

• Consider those around you. Ask: Whom have I judged negatively? How might my judgment be impacting my leadership?
• Truly open yourself to observing those you`ve judged. Ask: What have I not seen that is good? How might I focus on that individual`s positive traits?
• Listen and ask: What intrigues me about this person? What surprises do they hold
• Stay calm when your triggers are pulled by those you`ve judged negatively. Ask: What is the message that this person is trying to convey? Might it just be a different way of expressing it than I`m used to? How can I help to uncover and learn more about the message?
• Keep working at all of the above: If the relationship with this person has been significantly damaged, it may take time to repair. Have patience, and continue to work at the above.

Most people we have judged are simply seeing the world through their own lens of history, beliefs and knowledge. If we take the time to listen and ask some questions about their view, we may learn from them. This learning may be the beginning of helping them to bring their unique gifts to our organization, community and world. Isn`t that a big part of what leadership is about?

Our ancestors, in the spirit of community, regularly sat around a fire to have conversations that deepened their own communal connections. This dialog assisted in increasing the quality of life in the places where they lived. In our modern-day communities, there is a longing for shared meaning, connections, and the deep conversation that coaching can bring to our world of electronic social media and speed-of-lightening pace.

Can coaching build and support community?

How can coaching support the individuals and organizations that sometimes struggle to define their roles and find their place in the modern community? What are the ways that these organizations can work synergistically to optimize the spirit of community? What does coaching have to learn from a community? What can a community learn from coaching?

Join us!

Senior coaches and community leaders will explore these topics through “Synergy in Community”, the first International Consortium of Coaching in Organizations’ (ICCO) Community Symposium on August 27-29 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The word “synergy” invokes the combined sum of individuals doing greater good than a single person can alone. In this ICCO community symposium, we will be exploring how the combined sum of individuals and organizations can work together to create and sustain greatness within our communities.

We’re all the “somebodies” responsible for our communities

In the places where we reside, people often pass by their next door neighbors without knowing them; they expect their governments or “somebody” to take care of the problems of crime, poverty, empty buildings, unemployment, litter and whatever else plagues the places they live and work in. These problems must be dealt with in order for us to enjoy the successes of synergy in our communities. They can be only be addressed by the “somebodies”(individuals and organizations) who are willing to roll up their shirtsleeves and work together for the common good of the places they live and work in. Does coaching have a role in supporting the somebodies who are responsible for enhancing the quality of life in our communities? Many believe it does.

Kalamazoo, Michigan is a mid-sized city with a cultural history of somebodies who have taken responsibility to assure that life in their community is the best that it can be. It is a city of business innovation, beginning with W.E. Upjohn and his “friable pill” that fueled The Upjohn Company growth, as well as a myriad of companies throughout its history, embraced the innovation that fueled prosperity and the growth of the community: Checker Motors, Gibson Guitars, Stryker and many others. More recently, it is the home of the ground-breaking “Kalamazoo Promise”, where an anonymous group of donors has funded the college education for every graduating high school senior. In refusing to accept the economic recession as reality, Kalamazoo has recently supported new and existing companies in moving here or expanding, resulting in several thousand new jobs in the region.

However, Kalamazoo, like any city, cannot simply sit back and revel in its success. The quality of life in any community requires an ongoing collaborative spirit of dedicated individuals and organizations willing to “grab the rope” and work together, as in this excerpt from the book, Community Capitalism: Lessons from Kalamazoo and Beyond, by Ron Kitchens:

“”Grab the rope!”

That is what you are likely to hear if you find yourself on a ship, becalmed and threatened. That is what you will hear when you have no wind to sail by or engines to propel. You must resort to kedging to get out of trouble.

?€¦..Kedging is the act of having a light anchor (a kedge) loaded into a rowboat and taken out as far as the lines tied to it will allow. After dropping the anchor, every man, woman, and child on the main boat grab the rope and pull the line as if his or her life depended on it, literally hauling the ship to the anchor. This is repeated again and again until the ship arrives at its destination or the fair winds once again blow.”

We hope that those of you who work, live, volunteer and have your heart in your community will consider joining us and grabbing the rope at the ICCO Symposium in Kalamazoo, Michigan on August 27-29, to explore and learn together how coaching can support the synergy in our communities.

There is a way to cultivate creativity by adopting a “beginner`s mind”.

Knowledge Can Keep Us from Learning

The term “beginners mind” conjures up someone who is open to learning the new, the novel, the interesting, or the unique. The reality is that we are all beginners, every day, within our own area of expertise as well as in all other arenas. The challenge is to remain deliberate about continual learning as if we are beginners.

Most of us have something that we know a lot about. When we know a lot about a topic, we see things about that topic in a way that others don`t. Nuances, details ?€“ we pick up on those, where others may not. Over time, we can acquire the sense of knowing everything. Our depth of knowledge sometimes makes it harder to stay open and learn new things.

Seeing the Trees (Literally)

My husband Ken has lived in the world of trees his entire life. His father had a Christmas tree farm that Ken worked on as he grew up. When I first met him, he worked in a local nursery and started his own landscaping business. For the last 30 years, he`s owned and operated a nursery, supplying the world with trees.

Ken literally sees the trees for the forest. We can be driving along, and he can spot a pear tree at a distance, amongst a stand of other varieties in the winter! If we pull over, he can often teach me a thing or two about trees that will make it easier for me to see a wild pear next time (if I am willing to have a “beginner`s mind”). I admire his continual curiosity about trees ?€“ he is able to maintain a beginner`s mind even after acquiring so much knowledge over the years.

Cultivating a “Beginner`s Mind”

The best leaders may have deep expertise, yet they are able to learn every day. Some suggestions for practicing beginner`s mind:

• Nurture a beginner`s mind with observation and reflection. Ask: What new things can I learn from others today? What did I learn today that surprised me?
• Maintain a healthy sense of curiosity. Ask: What details might I be missing? How do the parts relate to the whole?
• Develop the ability to ask the right questions. Ask: What question, if asked, would shed light on the subject at hand?
• Remember that there are always new things to learn. Ask: What areas do I need to learn more about? What am I missing?
• Understand that there is always someone out there who knows more. Ask: Who can I learn from? What do I need to ask them?

It takes some conscious work to keep a learning mindset. Being a beginner is a two-way street. We learn from those around us; they learn from us. When you assume the role of beginner, your followers do too, and that`s the start of an organization that has the potential to be inspired and creative.