Blog

"Leave Incrementalism Behind"

2012-01-17T18:17:38Z

Interesting piece over at HBR this morning: "Leading Change in the New Normal."

The whole thing's worth a read, but I love the authors' notion of "leaving incrementalism behind."

Perhaps the biggest benefit of deep and rapid change is that everything needs to be reexamined. When survival is at stake, all the "crazy" ideas that were dismissed earlier resurface for serious discussion. The idea of "go big or go home" is a requirement...

This has implications for not just how we think about change, but how we lead teams through it. Rather than the steady water drip that leaves everyone on edge waiting for the next announcement, have the courage to make (and communicate) the big shift. Your employees can handle more than you think, if you connect the change to a clear narrative and shared goals.

Forget the QB. Here’s the Real Leadership Lesson in Denver.

2012-01-16T21:02:26Z

A few thoughts on leadership and the Denver Broncos, without a single mention of You Know Who (SEO be damned).

The Broncos brass just held their year-end press conference, a couple of weeks earlier than they might have liked, but certainly later than they had any right to expect.

Seated at the table fielding questions were EVP of football operations John Elway, GM Brian Xanders, and head coach John Fox.

Sports execs and coaches are notorious egomaniacs. I can’t recall a single other instance where three of them shared the stage so easily. Can you picture Bill Parcells, Jerry Jones, Mike Holmgren or Mike Shanahan giving their subordinates (or even their bosses) this kind of equal treament?

Here in Denver, Elway, Xanders and Fox all took questions. They never interrupted or contradicted each other. They never even added to what a colleague had to say, letting each other's words stand on their own. Each repeatedly acknowledged where their own responsibilities end and someone else’s begin. They were complimentary and complementary.

It was extraordinary.

To say that organizational alignment begins at the top is almost a cliché. But this presser strikes me as a particularly helpful example of what that really means. Alignment is about something much deeper than mere agreement. It is not only about wanting the same things, but about wanting to achieve them together. Alignment begins with an admission that we cannot do it alone, that command and control gets us nowhere, that we need to be surrounded by smart, experienced people.

I spent a couple of days last week with the owners of a company that is about to shake up the beverage industry. Know why I'm confident they'll succeed? Because they are approaching their business the same way Elway, Xanders and Fox approach theirs. The lines of authority are clear, but they are not what makes the organization run. It is a business aligned around a commitment to shared goals, and to each other.

Why Internal Communication is Hard

2011-12-02T19:06:29Z

After working in just about every field of communication over my 25-year career, I’ve come to this conclusion: internal communication is pretty tough stuff.

No offense, Marketing and PR, you certainly have your share of challenges. But internal communicators grapple with some especially complex conditions within an organization that simply don’t plague external communicators in the same way or to the same degree.

Here are three reasons why internal communication can be so hard:

#1: Leadership needs to commit--really commit. I’m not talking about a leader--or even a committee of leaders--signing off on a budget, participating in an event or approving a communication campaign. I’m talking about commitment in the form of daily, aligned action. Leaders and managers--every one of ‘em--play a pivotal role in focusing and engaging employees: articulating the vision, offering clarity, creating the right environment, modeling behaviors. A single renegade leader can translate into tens, hundreds or even thousands of employees working at cross-purposes.

There’s no hope for organizational alignment without leadership alignment. Internal communication efforts fail when we ignore or attempt to bypass this truth. For internal communicators, facilitating leadership commitment to the message, and then equipping them to carry it forward, must be top of the priority list.

#2: That pesky right-hand, left-hand thing. The process of getting work done in an organization is relational: I do this, then you do that. A new strategy or change effort goes awry or comes to a grinding halt if any one player isn’t in the game.

Change is messy. It’s a dance of people and process. Helping everyone see their roles and how the pieces fit together can be hard, especially in a global, dispersed, matrixed workforce (and exponentially harder if leadership isn’t aligned and committed--see #1).

It’s not enough to communicate vision, strategy and top-down expectations. Internal communicators must also consider what they can do to free the flow of information across the organization, to facilitate collaboration and conversation among those bringing the effort to life. (AAhhh, here’s where we can point to something that’s making our lives easier: social media tools.)

#3: We make it hard. It’s rare for internal communications to command the same talent, resources or budget that businesses commit to external communications. Perhaps we’ll never see that inequity shift--and we certainly won’t if internal communicators don’t continue to grow their strategic abilities and value. While the practice of internal communication has certainly become more sophisticated over the years, internal communicators still too often find themselves viewed as the folks who maintain the intranet or write the CEO’s talking points. These are important activities, but they don’t define what should be the meaning of our work: cultivating the engagement, alignment and environment that move the organization towards its goals. Until internal communicators think, talk and act this way, we’ll just keep making it hard for ourselves--not to mention our organizations.

We Should Expect More From Our Leaders

2011-11-08T20:39:48Z

That headline is not nearly strong enough. We should expect a hell of a lot more from out leaders than committing a moral failure of epic proportions.

I just walked in the door from listening to a couple of absolute morons on sports radio actually debating whether Joe Paterno has done anything worth losing his job in the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

"He did everything he was legally supposed to do," argued one of the hosts. "He followed all the proper procedures."

Really? He learned that a long-time friend and assistant coach had been caught in the act of raping a 10-year-old boy and we should be content that he followed proper procedure? That his response was legally correct?

I could care less what Joe Paterno has accomplished as coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, or how much he's done for the community. I don't care if serves as the usher at church every Sunday and brings the local widow baked bread on Wednesdays.

Joe Paterno knew about the rape of a child nine years ago. His obligation as a leader--as a human being--was not to follow proper legal procedure... not to protect his friend or the institution... his obligation was to do everything in his considerable power to make sure the man could never harm another child. Consequences and personal cost be damned.

Too often, I fear we are measuring the wrong things in our leaders. Wins and profitability are important in their place. But not at the cost of basic common sense and human decency. That anyone is making excuses for Joe Paterno right now is absolutely beyond me.

Paterno's failure is not as a coach, a fundraiser, or a leader of men. He failed at being human. And that on an epic scale.

Through Fresh Eyes

2011-10-25T16:59:34Z

I get to New York maybe two or three times a year on business.

It used to be something I looked forward to, but now I tend to think more about the expense, the noise, and the sore feet than the wonders of the world's greatest city.

And then last week I took my daughter Holly to New York as a gift for her 13th birthday. And I saw the city again for the very first time.

For Holly, everything was an adventure and a wonder and a marvel. The crowds, the cabs, the smells of the subway at rush hour.

We walked for hours and for miles. We ate stinky street food and shi-shi sushi. Had lunch in Chinatown and canolis in Little Italy. Bought gifts in SoHo and trinkets in Times Square. Admired Van Gogh at the MOMA, and graffiti in Korea Town.

And it was All. Freaking. Awesome.

I really didn't think I ever needed to see another Broadway musical, or stand in line for two hours to get to look at Central Park from the top of Rockefeller Center, or walk through Times Square at 10 o'clock on a Friday night.

But I did. I'd never actually seen those things at all.

*****

I share all of this because I hope it will remind you, like it did me, just how easy it is to become cynical. To lose our sense of wonder. To forget that the things we see and do every day are actually pretty cool.

As leaders, we have to align our employees around shared goals, meaningful work, and imagined futures. We have to paint pictures, create wonders, draw connections.

It's hard to do that when you no longer see it yourself. When you've become cynical, jaded, or maybe just tired.

Find a way to do the equivalent of taking a 13-year-old girl to New York. Find a way to see your work and the world through fresh eyes.

10 Ideas from 2011 World Business Forum

2011-10-17T19:54:00Z

It’s been more than a week since the 2011 World Business Forum in New York. I’m still struggling to capture the event in words. Learning from giants like Bill Clinton, Bill George, Jack Welch, Howard Schultz, Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin… it’s a lot to chew on. Aftershocks of aha moments hit me daily.

Ten days after the event, here are 10 ideas that stand out:

Bill GeorgeYou can’t lead without vision and purpose. All great leaders have a clear vision of the future, which informs, directs and inspires the present. Former Medtronic CEO and Authentic Leadership author Bill George identified vision as a key differentiator between transformational leaders (long-term commitment and focus) and transactional leaders (short-sided focus on short-term value).

Vision can’t be something that exists only in your head. Leadership requires followers. And to follow, people need direction. That direction needs to be clearly articulated in a way that resonates with employees. Cirque du Soleil President and CEO Daniel Lamarre gets it. He said of Cirque du Soleil founder and his boss, Guy Laliberté, “He is a visionary. His mandate is clear. My job is to make his dream happen.”

It’s more about EQ than IQ. According to George, after a baseline IQ of 120, emotional intelligence is the defining factor of leadership. He defines emotional intelligence as, “A willingness to be vulnerable. Be open to one’s blindspots. And be one’s authentic self.” The importance of EQ was underscored by global search consultant Claudio Fenández-Aráoz who says it is among the top leadership qualities to look for in a candidate.

Howard SchultzFocus on employees. That line about employees as a company’s greatest asset? It’s true. They are the lifeblood of an organization and gateway to every customer experience. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz believes, “The only way you can exceed expectations of customers is to exceed the expectations of your people first.” Amen.

To differentiate, be real. There’s great parity in the marketplace. According to Schultz, to differentiate competitors, consumers will look to a company’s values. People want to buy from and work for companies with a shared set of ideals, a company who authentically practices and lives them. Of course I love how Jack Welch put it: “If you’re some pompous ass, you don’t stand a chance.”

Tamara EricksonWe each bring our own context. Expert on managing across generations, Tamara Erickson shared that each generation is shaped by the events that happened when they were younger. (For example, the Boomer explosion created scarce resources, which explains their competitive nature. Gen Y is the first generation of unconscious users of technology, which points to their expectation of instant gratification.) These events and our personal experiences shape us and create our personal context, which we bring to work and our relationships.

There is possibility within each of us. According to Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and inspirational speaker, “A leader is someone who awakens possibility in others.” In fact, the best leaders tap into that possibility, inspire action and get out of the way. Management consultant Gary Hamel warns, “When you limit autonomy and authority, you also limit a person’s passion.”

Benjamin ZanderWords have power. We know this, but we forget it. Zander warns, “The downward spiral lives in our speaking.” Seemingly benign words can limit our thinking – “must” and “need” versus “what if” and “how about.” So choose words carefully.

Like it or not, we need each other. As the world shrinks, our interdependence on one another is growing. Whether its global technologies or local economies, former president Bill Clinton said increasing interdependence is a truth of the modern world. It will be those who can partner and collaborate effectively that will come out ahead.

Change is unchanging. Strong leaders recognize the value of change. They put it in context of the business, embrace it and help their teams get on board with it. As he tells it, when Welch first learned about the internet, he didn’t resist it. He quickly found an experienced intern to teach it to him and instructed his executives to do the same. Marketing guru Seth Godin makes change compelling: “Every revolution destroys the perfect before it enables the impossible.

Why Not Go Beyond Engagement...

2011-10-05T20:26:03Z

and aspire to create nerds for your company?

(Thanks to Kinetic Typography for creating this gem.)

A(nother) Reason to Like Justin Bieber

2011-09-30T20:18:25Z

It's okay, you can admit that you watched Justin Bieber's biopic "Never Say Never."

Believe me, I was hesitant to admit it and I even had my kids in tow to justify shelling out $20 to see it in the theater. I was even more hestitant to admit that a couple of the scenes made me cry...I mean, that's like saying bubblegum makes you cry, right? Or so I thought.

But after reading this insightful post by TwistImage, I realize that my fascination with the biebs is really just proof of the power that social media has to create real connection. (Plus, it makes it sort of work-related.)

Were it not for YouTube (and the unmatched enthusiasm of teenage girls) the world might never have experienced Bieber Fever.

And without Justin Bieber, Twitter might never have reconfigured its algorithms.

But social media didn't make Justin Bieber a better musician, it just gave him a platform on which to share his music.

As Mitch Joel quotes the TwistImage blog: "It's not marketing. It's real."

Social media doesn't replace the need for clear and meaningful messages, it simply allows us to use those messages as a starting point for a deeper connection with fans, customers, and employees. Bet you didn't expect Justin Bieber to teach you so much.

Why You Shouldn't Agree to Internal Social Media

2011-09-28T19:46:18Z

If you aren’t already, you need to start some serious thinking about what internal social media can do for your business. Your employees are hungry for it, solutions are becoming increasingly mainstream, and the day is coming when an organization not using employee-focused social media will have trouble attracting talent.

Yes, there are some very good reasons for a leader to embrace internal social media. There are also some really crappy ones. Here are three:

#1: To get the communication folks off your back. Now that social media is widely used in marketing and external communication efforts, corporate communicators are turning their attention inside. Rightly so--social media may promise even greater benefits within a business, in the form of collaboration, engagement and productivity. Before you give the thumbs-up, though, ask for clarity on the aims of the social media effort, how it aligns with strategy, and what your role as leader looks like. Ask how it will empower employees to drive the success of the organization. Ask how it will help you, as a leader, do your job better.

#2: To reduce the effort you put into communication. Not so fast--you are still the leader after all. Your responsibility to align your management team and employees around the company vision, priorities and ways of working doesn’t go away. Social media can be another valuable tool in generating conversation around your organizational journey, but it doesn’t diminish the need for you to set the tone, articulate a compelling story, create focus and clarify expectations.

#3: To declare your company a “social organization.” Uh yeah…Remember the whole George W. Bush “Mission Accomplished” fiasco? A single assault doesn’t win the war. Being a social organization is about a mindset, a philosophy, an approach. Every leadership word and action--every employee experience--must demonstrate a commitment to the belief that everyone has something to contribute and that there’s power and velocity in connecting people, their insights, ideas and knowledge. Having an internal Facebook page does not mean you’re a social organization.

Social media is a tool, a means to an end. It can be powerful if it's a purposeful part of a broader strategy for employee alignment and engagement. Make sure you’re using it for the right reasons.

The Muppets as Corporate Communicators

2011-09-22T20:03:19Z

Our leadership team met in Philadelphia earlier this week. Following the meeting, I hopped a train to NYC to catch the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image. It was there I learned that back in the 60s, before they got their own show, the Muppets starred in films made for sales meetings at IBM.

A tech company using frogs and monsters to inspire its salesforce...now there's an internal communication tactic that I wish had caught on.