I was fortunate enough to spend part of my summer in France observing 65th anniversary commemorations of the 1944 Allied liberation. Story after story of the D-Day invasion recounted the bravery, resourcefulness and leadership exhibited by Army leaders – not generals, colonels or majors, but corporals and sergeants.

They performed well in part because they adhered to Army values (including loyalty, honor and personal courage). But their success also came following the requirements of what the Army leadership manual calls “direct” leadership. As the manual expresses it, “Direct leaders develop their subordinates one-on-one…They are close enough to the action to determine or address problems. Examples of direct leadership tasks are monitoring and coordinating team efforts, providing clear and concise mission intent, and setting expectations for performance.”

It sounds prosaic until you remember that failure to do any of these well means battles are lost and soldiers are wounded or killed. 

Like sergeants, a company’s first-line managers are the pivot point for strategic success. They too lead one person at a time, developing each subordinate and making sure everyone is capable of executing the organization’s mission.

My nephew (who is a First Sergeant with the Army National Guard) puts it this way: “My boss is a captain. He tells me generally what he needs to get done and I get it done.” He adds, with no small amount of pride, ”Sergeants make everything happen.”

So, I would argue, do first-line managers in successful companies.

– Tom

A growing stack of studies, mainly in Europe, shows that the work environment created by first-line supervisors and managers can drive up employee blood pressure and, in turn, increase the risk of heart disease. In a British study published in 2005, for example, the researchers discovered that men who described their supervisors as fair and just had a 30 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease than those who said they were treated unfairly at work.

On the job, three factors strongly affect heart-taxing stress:

• Job demand – Long hours, frustrating tasks and unpleasant customers, for example
• Job resources – Support from teammates, problem-solving assistance from a supervisor and recognition for success, for instance
• Individual disposition – Tendency to be proactive (inclined to draw on job resources) or passive (less likely to take advantage of available support).

An observant, empathetic manager can help an individual balance job demands and resources. The payoff is worth it for both employee and organization — in reduced stress, improved cardiovascular health and lower health care costs.

-Tom

One thing he said that struck me was how much the past year has been a proving ground for incumbent senior leaders as well as emerging leaders. For example, some high-potentials that he expected to thrive amidst the crisis “wilted”, in his words; others whom he had not predicted would survive in one piece have surprised him and done a terrific job.

I was intrigued by this notion of the recession as a crucible for future leaders, and asked what distinguished the successful leaders from those who did not make the cut. His response was telling and I’ve added several attributes I’ve observed in other organizations and leaders as well:

• Managing complexity — Rapidly absorbing, interpreting and synthesizing multiple points of ever-changing data. This is partly a product of pure analytical horsepower and partly the ability to see patterns and trends where others don’t, and therefore identify what’s really important to act upon.
• Adapting quickly to changing circumstances — keeping a close ear to the marketplace, constantly soliciting and listening to the views of others and being willing to turn on a dime and change the playbook to anticipate and respond to changing customer needs, competitor behavior and financial constraints. (This is what Donald Sull from the London Business School, borrowing from Muhammad Ali, refers to as the “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” model of organizational agility.)
•  Demonstrating energy and resilience — having the sheer energy and stamina to be “on” 24/7, and demonstrating the emotional toughness to persevere and inspire others despite crushing setbacks.
• Holding onto core values when the chips are down — having the integrity and internal compass to do the right thing in the right way, without compromising the organization’s core beliefs, even if it means trading off some degree of short-term gain.
• Being highly visible and communicating frequently and candidly — using roadshows, teleconferences, webcasts, informal meetings, emails and blogs to enlighten, encourage and engage people at the very time they may be confused, discouraged and at risk of losing focus.

What are the implications for developing your talent?

1. Assess the performance track record and potential of your emerging leaders against the above criteria and consider: How do people stack up?
2. Test emerging leaders in a variety of contexts and business situations. Rotate an up-and-coming leader in one of your mature segments through a more dynamic segment or a turnaround unit; use business simulations to assess and develop key talent under extreme circumstances not likely to surface every day.
3. Ensure that your most successful executives are actively mentoring the next generation. Nothing beats giving a new leader the opportunity to shine under adverse conditions — except doing so with strong coaching and mentorship from seasoned executives who have been there before.

You could argue that these attributes and actions are always important, and you would be right. Yet, in a time of crisis, these areas of focus become far more important and tend to separate great leaders from good leaders — and great talent management programs from the merely good.

-Max

Senior executives’ concern for employee well-being (a sense of physical, mental and emotional health and economic stability) consistently emerges as the strongest engagement driver in our global employee surveys.

Yet employees are ambivalent about the management of their own well-being. In December of 2008, 71 percent of respondents to a Towers Perrin survey agreed that they are comfortable handling their health and health plan benefits.

In the same survey, however, less than half expressed confidence that they could manage their personal wealth and retirement plans to prepare for a secure retirement. When I look at my own 401(k) balance, I know how they feel.

To forge a positive link between well-being and engagement, organizations (and executives) must perform a balancing act: help people become self-sufficient in managing some benefits, while providing more support in higher-risk areas important to perceived well-being.

And let’s not forget first-line managers. They have a dramatic effect on employees’ health and well-being. I’ll comment on that in a later posting. But first I have to take the dog for a walk.

-Tom

But, my 17-year-old son somehow convinced me that it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.  And, in spite of the long drive from London and the downpours that dotted the day, I’m really glad we made the trip. 

Not only was Yorke’s hour on stage with his piano and guitars amazing, I got to see many aspiring and inspiring artists in their element.  The range of talent was broad – from the accomplished and gifted Yorke to local bands, comediennes and actors who were just starting out.  Together, they and the support teams and grounds crews created a very special atmosphere and a really fun experience. 

It highlighted for me that one or two highly talented individuals can make a key contribution to an enterprise, but don’t constitute the whole thing. 

The big name drew us to this event, but the other players turned us into “net promoters” – who will recommend the event to others without prompting. 

 I might not feel the same if the servers at the pizza stand hadn’t turned a line of well over 100 people into a mere 5-minute wait for me.  I might not be as big an advocate if the grounds crew hadn’t enthusiastically thanked me for depositing rubbish in the right bins and made sure I knew where I was going. 

Organizations that focus talent management only on their “star players” or senior roles could be missing something significant.  They could gain a lot by identifying all the roles that make a difference to customers and training people in those roles to do what it takes to create net promoters rather than just satisfied customers. 

– Julie

I’ve been struck by the sustained commitment in these organizations to talent and leadership development throughout the recession — encouragingly, even amidst intense cost pressures, most business leaders understand that investments in talent are by nature long term and need to be sustained to deliver a more robust pipeline of capable leaders.

I’ve also been struck by a phrase I’ve heard repeatedly from HR leaders as they seek to increase the business impact of their talent programs: Integrated talent management. This is becoming the holy grail of talent professionals, but what does it actually mean?

In reflecting on these conversations and on the work we’re doing for our clients, I think what matters most is integrating…

• …business and talent strategies. This means rationalizing key roles, competencies, talent programs, metrics and investments against what will truly drive better organizational performance in the next one to three years — at both the enterprise and business unit levels. It means posing an important question: you may have an HR strategy, but do you really have a talent strategy? And, do you have a scorecard to measure the effectiveness and impact of your talent efforts?
• …talent programs and processes. HR leaders can’t simply be satisfied that individual talent elements such as workforce planning or succession planning works well in isolation — what one SVP/HR dubbed the “paint by numbers” approach. They must also ensure that the parts combine to form a harmonious whole. For example, you may have great management development programs, but if the individual development planning process doesn’t work — if individuals aren’t having regular, meaningful discussions with their manager about how to enhance their skills and performance — those great programs won’t add much value. Many companies have the added complexity of needing to integrate these processes globally.
• …the way HR and the line work together. In best-in-class companies, I’ve observed that line leaders and managers genuinely own and drive talent management with support and enablement from HR. These organizations have left behind the old model of HR hounding their line colleagues to “comply” with the HR rulebook. Is this simply because HR is loved, cherished and obeyed in these companies? Not really! While HR may indeed have high credibility, the real reason is that business leaders view talent management as an essential ingredient in executing their plan.

Achieving this state of truly integrated talent management isn’t easy. It takes sustained executive commitment, strong HR capability and simple and intuitive processes and tools. But the prize is a talent management approach that is greater than the sum of its parts and delivers real, measurable business value.

-Max

It will take a number of months for the merger plan to gain the required approvals and we are just developing the integration plan.  This will be a fascinating process to work through as we apply to ourselves the experience we have gained over many years working with our clients in similar situations. 

We know from research and our own client experience that effectively addressing “people issues” plays a major role in the success of mergers of this type.  And so we will do all we can to keep employee engagement levels high and to let our employees know what to expect and when to expect it.   As you can imagine, there is lots of excitement around Towers Perrin at the moment and a lot of discussion about how it will feel to help create a new firm with a broader array of services and with thousands of new colleagues in many more locations around the world. 

Part of the merger announcement included the news that my fellow blogger and co-author on Closing the Engagement Gap, Julie Gebauer, will lead the Talent and Rewards business in the new firm.  Talent and Rewards will be one of Towers Watson’s three major business segments.  Julie’s appointment was exciting news indeed and a testament to her vision and leadership capabilities. 

Julie and I, along with our newest blog contributors, Max and Tom, look forward to continuing to correspond with you through this blog even as we evolve from Towers Perrin to Towers Watson.  Stay tuned!

– Don

As we have worked with leadership teams over the past several months — and corresponded with many of you through this blog — we have heard a number of interesting stories about engagement in action. These interactions and stories make it clear that employee engagement is increasingly viewed as the critical connective tissue between effective human capital and talent management initiatives and overall company performance. It is both a driver (of improved performance) and an outcome (of outstanding leadership and talent management practices).

So we think the time is now right to cast a wider net and include leadership and talent management issues as additional core topics for our blog. We believe these are among the most critical concerns leaders must focus on for the foreseeable future. Organizations that make a high priority of developing leaders at all levels and building critical talent will not only navigate our current economic challenges more effectively than their peers, but also prepare their enterprises to leapfrog competitors as the economy recovers and swings into high gear.

Therefore, we want to welcome you to the next generation of our blog, and also introduce two of our colleagues who will join us in posting their thoughts and responding to your comments, questions and ideas.

Max Caldwell is Managing Principal of Towers Perrin’s Workforce Effectiveness practice, where he helps organizations develop and implement talent strategies to improve leadership capability, workforce engagement and business performance.

Tom Davenport is a Principal in Towers Perrin’s Workforce Effectiveness practice focusing on workforce strategy and measurement as well as manager effectiveness.

We look forward to lively exchanges with you, and among the four of us.

Thanks,
Don and Julie

Getting top leaders on board with engagement efforts is a must-do, especially in today’s environment. We’ve found that the best tactic to bring leaders into the process is to build a compelling business case linked to your larger business strategy.

There are many studies you can use (including the one we discussed in our recent webcast) to demonstrate how significantly employee engagement levels influence business outcomes. It’s also useful to highlight performance differences across different units in your own company and illustrate the change in business outcomes if all of your units moved to higher levels of performance.

A few other tactics that are effective in gaining commitment include:

• Providing benchmarking/best practice information on top competitors in your industry and region
• Relating employee engagement and key behaviors to customer engagement and buying patterns
• Focusing on one or two top leaders who “get it” to champion the effort
• Holding an executive work-out session to identify untapped opportunities for business improvements.

If engagement is viewed as something “nice to do” that only HR is championing, leaders and managers will tend to go through the motions rather than making a genuine commitment to execute differently.