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Five Questions That Should Shape Any Change Program

2012-01-14T02:13:00.001-08:00

Five Questions That Should Shape Any Change Program

by Scott Keller and Colin Price

Most organizations will shrink or disappear in the long term: only a third of excellent companies remain excellent for decades, and when organizations try to transform themselves, even fewer succeed. But as economic, political, social, and technological change continue to accelerate, and competitive pressure grows more intense, leaders can't afford those odds. The likeliest way to overcome them, we found as we wroteBeyond Performance, is to address the underlying problem: organizations that focus too much on short-term financial performance, at the expense of organizational health, are those that most typically need transformational change; but, unfortunately, the change programs they create are similarly shortsighted.

Change programs that succeed, we've seen, put an equal emphasis on both performance and health in answering five basic questions that should shape any change program. Leaders who do this not only get near-term improvements, but also successfully build their organization's capacity to learn and keep changing over time — keeping them ahead of the pack.

1) Where do we want to go? Sounds simple, but answering this question for both performance and health means setting an aspiration at the intersection of where market opportunities exist, what capabilities your company has, and where you and your employees are passionate about making a difference. Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf knew the company needed to improve performance, which was becoming increasingly difficult in the lead-up to the financial crisis. Stumpf was also passionate, however, about positioning the company for success in the longer term, by creating a new spirit and way of thinking in the company. So he and his top team set the aspiration of "One Wells Fargo," which included equal focus on performance measures such as earnings growth and cross-sell and on creating a lasting culture of customer-centricity and collaboration.

2) How ready are we to get started? Leaders of most failed change programs we've seen moved straight from aspiration to action. But you can't know what actions to take if you don't have a clear view of the capabilities and mindsets you'll need to develop to make the change stick. When Pierre Beaudoin took over the aerospace division at Bombardier with a mandate for change, he and his team understood that boosting factory performance would require building lean capabilities, something the company sorely lacked despite its engineering experience. Crucially, they also took the time to figure out that ensuring those capabilities were put to full use would mean changing workers' mindsets, from a focus on what engineering could make possible, to valuing individuals, enhancing the role of teamwork, and understanding the needs of customers.

3. What practical steps do we need to take? We've found that leaders need to be as clear about what the company won't do anymore as about what it will do to improve both performance and health. A.G. Lafley, in his famous turnaround of Procter & Gamble, established a portfolio of performance initiatives that, for instance, gave priority to four core businesses. At the same time, he created a "not-to-do" list including projects that were driven by technology rather than customer needs. What's more, he ensured every initiative — whatever its specific focus — included building mindsets and capabilities related to focusing on customers and forging external partnerships as part of its implementation.

4. How do we manage the journey? Implementing a portfolio of performance initiatives can take different forms — everything from running pilots to 'big bang' roll outs. But too often leaders underestimate the amount of energy that is needed to roll out large scale change. To avoid losing momentum, Julio Linares, the CEO of Spain's incumbent telecom operator, Telefónica de España, used three tactics that we've seen succeed at many companies. The first was clear communication so people understood how their project contributed to that year's targets and to the overall transformation program. Second, Linares ensured that a large portion of the company's 20,000 employees felt a meaningful degree of ownership of the changes by involving people at different levels in designing and tweaking them as they went on. Finally, Linares made sure they were making real progress and that the goals were still relevant by holding regular progress evaluations, the results of which were also widely communicated.

5. How do we keep moving forward? Those few leaders who actually reach their performance goal too often see it as the end of the road, and don't plan a transition to a period of continuous improvement. This creates a risk that the company won't be able to sustain the impact it's achieved. Avoiding this trap involves re-purposing some of your transformation infrastructure to have an ongoing role in facilitating knowledge sharing and learning methods, and providing expertise to help the company continue to improve. For these to be embraced in the long term, the right leadership skills and mind-sets must also be in place. After the formal end of a transformation program at ANZ Bank, for example, the company trained more than 6,000 leaders in areas such as self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to energize oneself and others. With these leaders, ANZ has enjoyed an era of continued high performance for more than a decade.

These five questions are straightforward, but too few leaders answer them with equal emphasis on performance and health. The benefits of putting in the time to do so, however, add up to nothing less than far better odds to achieve, sustain, and improve your change aspirations over time.

About The Authors: Scott Keller and Colin Price are directors at McKinsey & Company. Their new book,Beyond Performance: How great organizations build ultimate competitive advantage, is based on more than a decade of research and practical experience with clients.

The Definition of Great Leadership

2011-11-24T09:32:00.001-08:00

The Definition of Great Leadership

by Dan Hilbert

If the definition of great leadership is record-setting industry growth, creation of wealth for employees, changing communities through unprecedented volunteerism and financial donations to the needy, Bill Greehey defines greatness.

Greehey, former CEO of Fortune 10 company Valero Energy and now chairman of fast-growing energy company NuStar, builds these successful conglomerates through a simple human capital leadership model that drives business, shareholder, community and employee value. The model is adaptable and repeatable.

1. Take care of your employees.

2. Demand that employees take care of the community.

3. The community takes care of the company.

The first time I heard Bill say these words, I responded with the obligatory executive corporate response, "Brilliant!" while my mind was saying, "Sure. That's nice. We'll see."

Three years later, Valero experienced the third-fastest growth rate in American economic history: $3 billion to $92 billion in annual revenue; 3,000 employees to 28,000; one country to 28; 100 retail stores to 5,000; a low-performing stock to the fastest-growing major energy stock from 2004 to 2006.

Greehey's business model is as follows:

1. Take care of employees like family.

a) Generous stock options for all, free health care, high bonuses, retirement and no layoffs.

b) Thank you e-mails from Greehey upon every Valero success.

2. Employees take care of the community.

a) Record-setting contributions of employee volunteerism - more than 1 million hours per year.

b) Record-setting monetary contributions to the United Way - the highest per employee in United Way history.

3. The community takes care of Valero.

a) $19 stock growing through three splits in three years and ending at $82.

b) Wealth created for thousands of employees.

c) Valero reaching Fortune 10 status.

The environment was magic. Low performers became solid contributors and top performers delivered results beyond their wildest dreams. Greehey's human capital model is a success incubator. I led all talent functions and workforce planning for Valero. The team I was honored to lead won more awards in 2006 than any entire HR department in industry history.

Each Christmas, Greehey visited every cubicle and personally looked each of us in the eye and shook our hands, thanking us for our contributions - all 3,500 of us then flew to the refineries to do the same. Suddenly 70-hour weeks didn't seem that long. The results were thrilling.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Greehey and troops literally built a city inside the flooded city for Valero's refinery and retail employees including trailers, roads, generators, doctors, food, medicine and counselors, within four days - while the flooded city was officially closed.

Valero took over the failing PGA golf event in San Antonio. In three years, the Texas Open became the highest donator of all 34 PGA events, giving more than $8 million to Children's Miracle Network.

Responsibility to shareholders and employees is brutal in tough times. The first instinct in corporate leadership today seems to be to cut employees and costs. Greehey has a no-layoff policy. When times were tough, management bonuses went first and salaries froze. Expenses were cut. But no employee was let go. This policy resulted in stunning workforce performance and loyalty: "Hey, Bill. Do you need us to give a few more hours to Valero and community? No problem!"

After retiring from Valero in 2006, Greehey bought Valero's small pipeline company. When Greehey left, Valero was worth $28 billion. His new company, NuStar, was worth less than $500 million. Three years later, through these brutal economic times, Valero is worth $9 billion, and NuStar is worth $3 billion and paying a 7 percent stock dividend. Taking care of your employees really does work - for all. In brutal economic times like these, does your leadership team want to face investors with an AIG debacle story or a NuStar success story?

[About the Author: Dan Hilbert is CEO of Orca Eyes, a software solutions provider, and former head of global talent management for Valero Energy.]

Leaders Teaching Leaders

2011-11-24T09:30:00.003-08:00

Leaders Teaching Leaders

by Steve Cohen, Kevin Wilde and Cheryl Bethune

As organizations leverage the valuable experience of their leaders as teachers, they should implement an instructionally sound framework that addresses the technical and emotional needs of all stakeholders.

You've been trying to convince your senior leaders for some time now that they have much to offer in teaching other leaders in your organization. By actively sharing their experiences and perspectives on the company's values and expectations, they send an unmistakable message of commitment to the company's success and to growing its leadership pipeline. Now you've finally gotten your chance. You are sitting across the desk from one of those executives, who has agreed to participate in your newly developed high-visibility senior leadership academy as a presenter. You're simultaneously excited and terrified: excited because you know the value that executives can bring to the program and terrified because you want to have a highly engaging learning experience, not a death-by-PowerPoint presentation or an unfocused stream-of-consciousness agenda.

Sure, many executives have risen to the top because of their ability to charismatically communicate and present to their teams, boardrooms and customers. But can they facilitate a real learning experience?

There are really only two factors that will influence the success of a leaders-teaching-leaders initiative. The first involves the creation of a simple, adaptable framework that facilitates the type of breakthrough learning experience you desire. The second factor addresses the emotional element of making executives comfortable doing something that may not come naturally: truly engaging the leaders in their audience.

Not Presentation Skills

With some direction, executives can learn the basics of creating engaging, meaningful and action-oriented learning experiences based on any content they want to present. Now, this isn't about teaching presentation skills. We assume these leaders already know how to present, as it's something they've likely been doing for years. This is about learning to facilitate a session that participants will remember and internalize.

That said, we recognize that senior executives aren't going to sit through a course in instructional design - nor should they. But they would benefit significantly from being introduced to an instructional design "lite" model that wouldn't take that much time to understand and apply, but would yield concrete results.

Such an instructional design "lite" process includes the following six phases.

Phase 1: Content Mapping

This phase involves identifying, organizing and sorting out the relevant content to be communicated in the session. Internal and external sources for the information are first determined and then accessed in order to be mapped. This mapping process classifies the content into one or more of the following three areas:

a) Knowledge, or the information one needs to know about the topic.

b) Skill, or the ability one needs to demonstrate about the topic.

c) Attitude, or those beliefs one has to embrace about the topic.

Leaders tend to know what they want to say but sometimes need an organizing framework to make the information meaningful to their audiences. This simple threefold approach allows them to create relevant and concise information. They also need to not only identify lessons learned from previous experience but create a story around their teachable point of view, which then can be mapped by the knowledge, skills and attitudes that story communicates.

Phase 2: Learning Objectives

Based on the content identified in Phase 1, specific learning objectives are created describing the intended and expected outcomes that will be addressed. These are aligned with the content classifications from Phase 1 such that the following questions can be answered as a result of participation in the session:

a) What do learners know now that they did not know prior to the session?

b) What can learners do now that they were notable to do prior to the session?

c) What do learners believe that they did not believe prior to the session?

Phase 3: Instructional Design

Based on the desired learning outcomes identified, create an initial teaching process in the form of a high-level design document. The format for this design resembles teaching notes that, when finalized, are used by the leader to instruct the session. This process takes into account the level and experience of the learners, the audience size, the specific business context involved and the desired learning objectives.

The methodology used involves three key elements: the "what," the "so what" and the "now what."

1. The "what" refers to the content that will be discussed. It revolves around the mindset required to learn the intended topic or point.

2. The "so what" provides context for learners and helps them understand how they will need to apply the content in their specific job roles. It focuses on the skill set required to apply the content.

3. The "now what" addresses the application of the content - helping direct reports, managers and others become more effective. To apply the skill sets developed, leaders now need an appropriate tool set designed specifically to address their business challenges.

Phase 4: Materials Development

Once the overall session's instructional design has been completed, learning executives can work on developing the most appropriate learning experiences to convey the necessary information. This can be facilitated by matching intended learning outcomes with appropriate learning strategies. Then, all the materials for the session - such as reading materials, tools, workbooks, PowerPoint presentations and teaching notes - can be developed.

Phase 5: Module Delivery

Prior to the actual delivery of the session, conduct a practice walk-through with a small group of colleagues who provide feedback on the teaching process and materials. All revisions should be made prior to a final printing and delivery of the session.

Optional Phase 6: Cascading Rollout

Once the initial session has been delivered, CLOs might want to implement a process to teach participants how to deliver the module to their own direct reports, thereby extending the leaders-teaching-leaders model. Given that these learners are already familiar with the content and delivery, a working session can be organized for all interested to review key elements, answer questions and practice delivery.

This six-phase approach is easy to implement and combines the science of learning with helping the executives become emotionally comfortable with developing others. Once they have applied this approach, they should be able to do it on their own the next time around. True, the learning executive may have to co-facilitate a session at first, but over time, these leaders will become more and more comfortable with the continued success they are having. Furthermore, those learners seeing this approach modeled by their senior executives can even more quickly understand its benefits and follow it when creating their own leaders-teaching-leaders sessions.

A Few Final Tips

When working with executives, CLOs would do well to keep the following in mind.

1. This has not been their job.

While they have been successful at telling and selling, facilitating a learning experience is likely to be out of their comfort zone. Therefore, provide them with a simple framework that engenders their confidence. It's your job to bring them to their conscious competence.

2. It's their style, not yours.

Encourage them to use their own words, provide their own perspective and articulate their own points of view. A "facilitator" outline can help keep them on track and even a sample script could assist, but allow them the space to work within their own structure.

3. They must "own" their content.

They need to believe in what they are teaching if they are going to effectively model and influence other leaders. In fact, minor flaws in their facilitation skills will likely be forgiven if they are passionate owners of their content.

4. You are the learning pro.

As such, you must offer a collaborative and competent approach. Leaders will look to you for help, so don't back down from a framework you know will work. Having said this, you need to demonstrate your confidence and business savvy, so avoid using learning and development jargon.

The approach described in this article provides a framework that replaces the oft-dreaded uninspiring executive presentation with an engaging, relevant and impactful learning experience.

[About the Authors: Steve Cohen is the founder and a principal of the Strategic Leadership Collaborative, a global leadership strategy and effectiveness consultancy. Kevin Wilde is the chief learning officer and vice president of organization effectiveness for General Mills Inc. Cheryl Bethune is the manager of organization effectiveness at General Mills.]

The Leadership - Profit Chain

2011-11-24T09:30:00.001-08:00

The Leadership - Profit Chain

by Drea Zigarmi and Scott Blanchard

A specific sequence of events links leadership effectiveness to employee passion, customer devotion and organizational vitality.

Most executives know that leadership plays a key role in the success or failure of an organization, but little research has been compiled about the long-term impact of leadership on organizational productivity and profitability. In response, The Ken Blanchard Companies embarked on a study to answer some important questions about leadership and its role in supporting the overall success of an organization.

The study found that there is a specific chain of events that begins with strong strategic and operational leadership practices that drive employee passion. This, in turn, drives customer devotion, which leads to improved organizational vitality. This model is called "the leadership-profit chain," and it provides learning executives with a way to take a closer look at these connections within their own organization.

You Can Never Break the Chain

At its heart, the leadership-profit chain is a model that describes the impact that leadership has on profits in a commercial enterprise. Looking at a wide variety of studies published between 1980 and 2005 showed that leadership can impact organizational vitality in several ways, both directly and indirectly.

The research found that when employees are happy and are clear on how the organization wants them to treat customers, they provide a better customer experience. If they are not happy or are unclear, they take poorer care of their customers. The research also indicated that there is a reciprocal relationship between customers and employees. If customers are happy with a company's product or service, they create a more favorable environment for employees to work in. Conversely, if customers are dissatisfied, they take it out on front-line employees, which starts a cycle of decline in employee passion.

If a company is not systematically geared to focus on an increase employee passion and customer devotion through its managerial practices, then it is making a costly mistake. These two populations strongly influence overall organizational vitality.

Understanding the Human Element

A prudent business leader needs to carefully understand how the organization's customers and employees are feeling, because it is these emotional evaluations that drive economic value one way or the other for the business. People - whether they are customers or employees - care about what is being done to them, and they have strong feelings about the way they are treated.

Sometimes leaders run organizations as if they have lost sight of the human element within employees and customers. Leaders need to remember to see employees and customers as more than just assets and targets to be maximized and retained. It is also important to remember that people use an appraisal process to look at their environment, and this determines both how they feel about what they are experiencing and what they intend to do about it.

If an organization treats employees badly or without much care, then employees are going to respond with lower levels of performance and satisfaction. If an organization doesn't treat customers well, then the customers are going to see the organization as just another vendor. When that happens, customers expect more from a pricing standpoint. They also tend to be harder on front-line employees when things are not exactly right.

Many organizations today are focused mainly on profit. While turning a profit certainly needs to be a part of an organization's overall goals, research shows that the pursuit of profit to the exclusion of everything else is shortsighted. Profit is best seen as a byproduct of serving the customer and providing a motivating environment for employees. Leaders should look first to create a wholehearted sense of passion in employees and devotion in customers, and the profits will follow. Organizations have to keep their eye on the ball - serving the customer - and not become fixated on the scoreboard: profit.

Understanding Customers

Customers stay with an organization for complex emotional reasons that go beyond low prices. They are constantly making appraisals about an organization's entire system, looking for a product or service provider that offers the whole package: They have a good price, are easy to do business with, are flexible enough to adapt to changing customer needs and also provide faithful service.

Customers are looking for a company that they perceive as good, faithful and fair. They stay with organizations that provide good products but also show character, leadership and a focus that may not always be perfect, but that builds faith in a customer's mind. For leaders, this means creating an emotional attachment in customers' minds that makes them think they have selected the right company - one that will rectify any mistakes that arise, whether on the part of the customer or the service provider.

Organizations don't achieve that kind of feeling with price alone. Leaders at successful companies realize that price is just one component of a customer's evaluation process and that many other things also need to be addressed as part of the total customer experience.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Customers and Employees

The research determined that leaders need to be constantly aware of their employee base, the appraisals they make about the work environment and how they feel about management. Research also shows that leaders need to take care of the people who are taking care of the customers.

An additional element of the leadership-profit chain is the factors that drive employee passion. Leaders need to understand what these factors are and to what degree employees feel that their needs are being met. The good news is that many of these needs are low cost. Some of the factors include doing meaningful work and participating in a collaborative versus a competitive environment. Other needs include a sense of growth and the feeling that that a job is not a dead end.

Organizations that are not meeting these needs or are not systematically delivering on them end up creating conditions that will limit future productivity. The research shows that organizations can't just treat people poorly, put pressure on them and expect them to perform at high levels.

Recommended Leadership Behaviors

Leadership keeps an organization working well. If leaders do not provide employees with the support they need, organizations start to see wear and tear. When that happens, the organization has to stop and repair things. Here then, in general terms, are some of the good leadership behaviors that allow things to run more smoothly and efficiently.

a) Provide strong strategic leadership that includes setting an overall vision for the organization, coordinating the efforts of employees toward that purpose and keeping them prepared to adapt to changing conditions as necessary.

b) Identify and focus the organization on key strategic imperatives that have purpose for the customer or meaning for the greater community.

c) Send consistent messages based on a clear vision and the type of culture the organization wants to create. Behaviorally define the values that guide the way employees interact with customers and each other.

d) Focus on the operational leadership behaviors that translate strategy into daily practice throughout the organization. Identify employee needs and strive to meet them. These operational leadership behaviors have a big impact on the organization because they create the environment in which employees live. These factors influence employees' passion and how excited they are to work for the organization. Operational leadership is a linchpin and it has a huge influence on the ways that employees engage with clients.

e) Keep the organizational focus on the areas where leadership has the most impact. When managers focus their attention and emphasis only on organizational indicators of vitality such as profit, they have their eye on the scoreboard and not on the ball. Profit is a byproduct of serving the customer, which can only be achieved by serving the employee.

f) Don't fall into a trap of thinking that an organization can't focus on both people and results. Organizations can focus on both at the same time and should.

Benefits of Good Leadership

If leaders create the right environment and engage in the right behaviors, employees will think well of the organization. This leads to a sense of well-being, which translates into positive intentions to contribute to the organization's overall vitality.

Meeting people's needs unleashes higher levels of productivity that occur when people feel that someone cares about them. In an organizational setting, caring means creating a collaborative environment and making sure work is tied to purposeful endeavors that benefit the customer.

Leaders who are successful in creating this feeling can look forward to lower levels of turnover, waste and shrinkage and higher levels of productivity. In addition, leaders can also expect greater amounts of collaboration, which translates into better service.

Creating an organization that is successful and effective is an inside-out proposition. The quality of the culture and management practices and the alignment of these practices to key strategic initiatives rests with leadership.

Leaders who hold people accountable and ensure effective, productive behaviors in their employees can be the most effective influencers and drivers of organizational results. Equally important is a leader's ability to affect the mood, attitude and engagement of employees and the culture of the organization overall through a specific chain of events that is implicitly linked.

The key to organizational vitality is creating an environment that allows employees to win and be passionate about what they do. By taking care of employees, leaders establish an environment in which employees take care of customers at a level that causes customers to want to return year after year. The result is a strong, vital and profitable organization.

[About the Authors: Drea Zigarmi is a founding associate and Scott Blanchard is executive vice president for The Ken Blanchard Companies, a provider of training and organizational development services.]

The Global Leadership Mindset

2011-11-24T09:28:00.001-08:00

The Global Leadership Mindset

by Eileen M. Rogers and Daren Blonski

The integration of multiple geographies, cultures, nationalities, ages and styles in enterprises around the world is having an enormous impact on business relationships. Leaders today need a new, specialized set of skills if they are to be successful.

Fueled by social networks and technology, universal collaboration is becoming a daily business reality. Global data and knowledge are now accessed on devices that people can hold in the palms of their hands. Jim Kouzes, renowned leadership expert, recently described this shift by stating that "while the content of leadership has remained the same over the past 20 years, the context has not."

Leaders striving for success today must be able to master three new levels of competence:

1. Global business acumen:

The new financial, industry, functional and technical skills needed to navigate a market characterized by rapid evolution of business models, markets, products, and mergers and acquisitions.

2. Global mindset:

The capacity to engage in a boundaryless and synthesizing cognitive process that identifies opportunity and innovation in complexity.

3. Global citizenship:

A potent combination of geographic, political, economic, governmental, legal, cultural, technological and environmental savvy that informs business strategy formulation and execution.

Global Mindset vs. Global Citizenship

A global mindset includes the ability to see beyond the boundaries of the organization, national culture, functional responsibilities and corporate gain to envision and communicate the ultimate contribution and value of the work to society and sustainability. In his book Five Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner delineates five sets of cognitive capabilities leaders must master: the disciplined mind, the synthesizing mind, the creating mind, the respectful mind and the ethical mind. The global mindset demonstrates the application of the ethical mind, which conceptualizes how work can serve purposes beyond self-interest and can contribute to the greater good.

This global mindset enables people to embrace complexity and paradox. It means they are capable of holding the tension and ambiguity of opposing points of view, perspectives, data and values in their minds and then harmonizing these differences for greater leadership effectiveness.

Global citizenship is acquired by pursuing an open-minded interest in the world, global business, cultures and people. Again drawing from Gardner's five minds model, this capability to gather, retain and master vast reservoirs of knowledge, data and information about the world reflects the respectful mind. The respectful mind recognizes and embraces differences between human individuals and groups, tries to understand them and seeks to work effectively with them. The crux of a global citizen is honoring one's origins while suspending judgment and remaining open to others. This is emotional and social intelligence applied to cultural competence. These leaders adopt a flexible, adaptable and curious way of looking at things and see difference in others not only as acceptable, but as preferable.

Every aspect of leadership today must be described and measured through the lens of the global mindset. The core of global leadership is reflected in the "being" competencies - having a compelling vision founded on clear, shared values that appeals to a diverse constituency - as well as the "doing" capabilities - demonstrated by world-class expertise, eminence and results.

Leaders in the 21st century must then assume seven critical roles:

1. Strategist

Integrating short-term and long-term interests with global and local stakeholders and establishing a clear course of action to achieve organizational success.

2. Innovator

Generating a climate of innovation and change and personally identifying and pursuing new global possibilities, products and markets.

3. Communicator

Engaging diverse stakeholder commitment and enthusiasm by sharing clear messages through multiple networks and technology.

4. Relationship builder

Creating relationships of trust by developing keen insight and respect for difference while also connecting with others globally in a meaningful way.

5. Mentor or coach

Building the next generation of leaders by supporting a strengths-based apprenticeship culture within the group or organization.

6. Decision maker

Leveraging a global view, systems thinking and broad spectrum analysis to execute strategy in the midst of ambiguity and uncertainty.

7. Global citizen

Honoring one's own unique origins while developing appreciation of and integration into a larger global citizenship.

Global Leadership at Every Level

Global companies in the 21st century may employ international processes and operations, yet they understand that the consumer is ultimately local. These companies find innovative ways to generate competitive advantage through their local enterprise presence by, for example, establishing R&D centers in the midst of their customers; hiring local talent who represent customer perspectives, values and requirements; and working within local regulatory contexts to conform to national requirements.

This extension of the enterprise into local contexts and the integration of local operations into the perspectives, strengths and results of the global operation require that all acquire the capabilities of global leadership. The global competitive context does not permit us to leave any talent underutilized. Everyone must acquire and embed global leadership competence into everyday actions and behaviors.

Developing Global Leaders

Learning professionals must equip leaders at all levels of the organization to:

a) Manage dynamic complexity.

b) Respond with agility to crisis and opportunity.

c) Embrace the democratization of knowledge.

d) Engage the wisdom of crowds and social networks to innovate and grow the business in new markets.

e) Build global cross-cultural competence as a critical business skill.

First, CLOs must craft a competency model that authentically describes these skills, behaviors and knowledge through the global mindset lens. Then, they must create a progressive curriculum that develops individuals to become global leaders.

Each employee then can enter the curriculum at the appropriate level, based on what he or she already has learned and mastered, not by level or position.

One of the best paths to build needed global skills is an immersion into the international context. As Oliver Wendell Holmes has stated: "A mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." Initiatives to develop global leadership competencies currently focus on engaging individuals and teams in global, mini-expatriate assignments in several countries, functions and roles. The next innovation would be to replicate the expat experience in a virtual world and make it available to all.

Two examples of mini-expat initiatives are:

1. VF Corp

Ron Lawrence, vice president of organization development for the global apparel company, helped launch an innovative short-term assignment program called Ex-Pat Lite. Like other large companies, VF has a growing need for global leaders but is challenged by the extremely high costs of full expat relocations as well as finding talented executives who are willing to move. The Ex-Pat Lite program allows VF to provide meaningful global learning and growth experiences to rising leaders at a fraction of the cost of a full relocation and with less disruption to the individual and his or her family. The usual duration is three to six months with a solid re-entry process back into the home country.

2. Berlitz International and the Georgetown McDonough School of Business

Language and cross-cultural training company Berlitz International joined forces with the Georgetown McDonough School of Business to launch a global leadership development program that provides a rich combination of language training, communication skills, cross-cultural competence, global strategic business acumen and global leadership development. It is delivered over six months in four one-week sessions held in four hubs. Each of these locations was chosen for the role it plays in global business: London (global finance); Shanghai (supply chain and manufacturing); Bangalore (outsourcing and IT); and Washington (global business and industry policy). Each week leverages on-the-ground experiences and the development of business networks and insights while building intercultural leadership capabilities.

There are many examples of companies that entered global markets without understanding local consumer behavior, regulatory constraints, and even the implications of brand names that have a completely different meaning in another language. Consider the revelation that resulted from introducing the Chevy Nova in Mexico, where "no va" means "no go."

Preparing leaders to acquire, master and maintain global leadership capability is key to every organization's survival.

[About the Authors: Eileen M. Rogers is vice president of global talent solutions for TMC. Daren Blonski is managing director of LeadershipSigma.]

The Changing Face of Leadership

2011-11-24T09:23:00.003-08:00

The Changing Face of Leadership

by Ken Blanchard | Diversity Executive

Globalization and the increasingly international nature of business has changed the face of leadership. More and more people from different backgrounds, age groups and cultures are stepping into management positions than ever before.

Bringing people together from a wide variety of backgrounds creates tremendous opportunities for organizations, but also some challenges. Organizations can benefit from the new perspectives and possibilities that diversity brings if they are able to unite people with a common set of values and goals. If not, the result is misalignment and disorganized inefficiencies as people go off in every direction based on their own individual backgrounds.

For leaders looking to manage successfully in this new diverse workforce, the ability to balance different cultural perspectives within the context of a clear vision and a set of operating goals and initiatives is a key skill. This allows a leader to say, "I know that we are all coming into this with different values, experiences and expectations, but in this company, this is where we are headed, and this is what we are trying to accomplish."

The Power of Conversations

One of the best ways to get everyone on the same page is to increase the quality and quantity of conversations occurring between managers and their direct reports. The greater the amount of diversity there is in the workforce, the more managers have to communicate to make sure that each party's issues and concerns are on the table.

For example, a couple of years ago I wrote a book with Mark Muchnick titled "The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today." The book was based on research Muchnick conducted with workers in the "Y" or Millennial generation - people born in the 1980s and 1990s. This generational group is the largest to enter the workforce since the baby boomer generation, and they will play a key role in the changing nature of workplace dynamics. This generation identified three things that they want from a leader.

First, they want a higher level of integrity. While we have talked about the importance of integrity in organizations for many years, what's different is how this generation will respond to inconsistencies in the workforce. In the past, if leaders were inconsistent, employees would talk about it in the bathrooms and in the hallways, but that was usually as far as it went. The younger generation in the workforce today will confront leaders. For example, in our own company, we've had some new people actually go to the president of the company and essentially say, "Listen, I don't know what you think you are running here, but let me tell you what is going on in terms of what you say you stand for and what you are actually doing." People are much more direct, so integrity is important.

Second, the newer generation wants a partnership relationship. That doesn't mean they necessarily want to be in charge, or expect to be equal on the organizational chart, but they do want to be considered a partner. One of the things younger workers hate are words like "superior and subordinate" or "head of the department versus hired hands," language that used to be commonplace in organizations. Next-generation workers want to be considered a partner and appreciated for what they bring to the party.

The last thing the newer generation of workers wants is recognition. And what separated this generation from those previously is they place a special emphasis on being recognized as a total human being. In other words, they don't want to "leave their nerve endings at the door." They want their managers to know them as people and the issues they might be dealing with in and out of work. They do not want to be compartmentalized. This leads back to the importance of increasing communication. Leaders need to continuously communicate so that all employees feel cared for, understood and supported in their efforts to make a difference at work.

Bringing Out the Best in Everyone

One of my favorite sayings is, "No one of us is as smart as all of us." When you apply that thinking to the more diverse work environment of the future, you have a roadmap for success going forward. In the past, leaders often gathered people around them who thought the same way they did. I've always believed that if you have someone on your team who always agrees with you, one of you is redundant.

One of the great advantages in having a diverse population is that you can tackle a problem from a rich variety of viewpoints. But you have to encourage participation and really listen to what people have to say to make the most of that opportunity.

Today, we need more involvement instead of less involvement, but this doesn't mean leaders need to immobilize themselves by making sure everyone agrees. It's much more important that everyone be heard. The face of leadership is changing. The old ways of doing things are not necessarily the ways of leading in the future. By using the excitement, willingness and the capability of people from diverse backgrounds, leaders will find they are able to make a significant impact in their organizations, their communities and in all walks of life.

[About the Author: Ken Blanchard is the co-founder of The Ken Blanchard Companies and coauthor of The One Minute Manager.]

Leadership Development Goes Organic

2011-11-24T09:23:00.001-08:00

Leadership Development Goes Organic

by Stephen Parker and Mark Smith | Chief Learning Officer

There is a new breed of leaders who can help their organizations achieve sustained, companywide growth. They're "growth leaders," and CLOs can lead the charge in identifying and developing them.

The business landscape has changed in ways no one fully understands. Credit remains tight. Confidence is fragile. The vitality of the recovery itself is uncertain. Growth in this new economic reality won't be about risky marketing plays or highly leveraged megadeals. What companies need now are solid organic growth strategies - ones that make the most of the resources already at their disposal. As chief learning officer, you can help shape such a strategy. You can lead the charge to accelerate organic growth.

Growing a business from within - rather than through mergers, acquisitions or takeovers - is a hallmark of a flourishing enterprise. Of course, even companies that grow through acquisition must consolidate and organically grow their acquired businesses. All companies want strong organic growth, yet as they get bigger, most struggle to sustain it. Why?

Part of the answer is simple mathematics. The larger a company's existing base of business, the more challenging it becomes to achieve double-digit organic growth. But there is also a significant cultural dimension. Big companies often work in ways that dampen big thinking. Forecasts. Quotas. Budgets. Policies. Procedures. Directives. Standards. The mechanisms that help corporate executives manage large spans of control can unintentionally suppress their company's innovation and growth initiative.

Impediments to Growth

Two decades of research by Healthy Companies International, a global management consulting firm, has found that within larger companies common impediments to organic growth include:

1. Placing too much faith in the power of data.

A slavish reliance on data can be self-defeating. Data from the past may be irrelevant for assessing new opportunities.

2. Allowing bureaucracy to smother entrepreneurship.

In big companies some bureaucracy is necessary, but when it stymies innovation, it kills growth.

3. Believing that only big is beautiful.

Big companies often put most of their resources behind a few big ideas, while neglecting the cumulative value of many smaller ideas.

4. Insisting that all projects be treated equally.

Putting every initiative through the same rigorous set of checks and balances kills out-of-the-box thinking.

Savvy Intrapreneurs

Intriguingly, some leaders manage to overcome such obstacles, consistently creating rapid organic growth inside large companies. An extensive study conducted by Healthy Companies International in partnership with the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business profiled a rare breed of leader working inside large organizations - most often as midlevel executives. These "growth leaders" operate much like entrepreneurs, leveraging the company's existing resources to drive double-digit organic growth. According to researchers Jeanne Liedtka, Robert Rosen and Robert Wiltbank in their book The Catalyst: How You Can Become an Extraordinary Growth Leader, this often entails working around the company's entrenched bureaucracy, control systems and inflexible work processes.

Where are these growth leaders in your organization? Most likely, they are working their magic far away from the limelight. This group of leaders rarely clamors for attention. In fact, many growth leaders will tell you: "The best thing the company can do for me is to stay out of my way." While this may sound like old-fashioned rugged individualism, it actually reflects growth leaders' frustration with systems built on assumptions they don't share.

Big companies tend to make big bets. And since big bets mean big risks, these organizations understandably want lots of assurance that their bets will pay off. Most, therefore, invest heavily in predictability and control mechanisms such as market research, sophisticated analyses, forecasts, project plans, standard operating procedures and approval systems.

In contrast, the growth leaders we found thriving inside big companies make small bets - lots of small bets. And while they cannot be certain their bets will pay off, it doesn't worry them. The potential losses are affordable. Growth leaders say: "Let's try this and see what happens." They test their ideas on a small scale to start, which makes it easy to pull the plug if an idea doesn't work. They learn from each experience, modify their ideas accordingly, or move on to experiment with the next innovation. In this way, growth leaders continually innovate in pursuit of organic growth at a low cost, while keeping risks under control.

Just as important, growth leaders are all about what their customers value. By viewing their own operations through the eyes of their customers, growth leaders spy opportunities traditional managers may miss. Many even enroll customers in shaping and carrying out their experiments. When the customer reports that an innovation does in fact add value, the growth leader scales it up. That is their formula for accelerating organic growth.

How Growth Leaders Are Different

The Healthy Companies study revealed that effective growth leaders are different from traditional managers in three fundamental ways:

1. They know differently.

They have an innate appetite for experimentation and so command fuller and more diverse bases of knowledge, skills and experience.

2. They see differently.

Growth leaders focus intently on customers and so see growth opportunities that internally focused, control-oriented managers miss.

3. They act differently.

Growth leaders continually tinker with the value proposition to the customer's benefit and build high-performing teams that share their own growth mindset.

Build Your Own Growth Leader Factory

What does all this mean for the CLO? In a word: opportunity. In an age when companies compulsively define their key processes, it is ironic that few have an explicit process for driving organic growth. You can apply what research tells us to identify high-potential growth leaders in your company, systematically develop the competencies that research shows ignite organic growth, and then unleash these growth catalysts across your company to build high-performing growth teams and growth organizations.

A case in point is DynCorp International (DI), a government services contractor based in Falls Church, Va. With 30,000 employees, DI has annual revenues in excess of $3 billion. DI teams work in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives around the globe, often in hostile environments. The company erects and maintains military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, provides security to U.S. diplomats, maintains U.S. military aircraft, trains civilian police forces, supports economic development initiatives, and takes on a wide range of law enforcement and peacekeeping missions worldwide.

When CEO Bill Ballhaus took the helm in 2008, DynCorp International was at a turning point. Revenues were flat, and attempts to reorganize the company hadn't yielded significant organic growth. Ballhaus recognized the need to inspire innovation and instill an organic growth mindset. With his senior team, he developed a shared vision of how the company would accelerate growth and then customized criteria to nominate candidates from within DI to take part in a program specifically designed to develop high-potential growth leaders. Dianne Walker, DI's senior vice president of human resources, led the team that shaped the solution.

"Our Growth Catalyst Leadership Development Program is an immersion and mentoring process that identifies and develops entrepreneurial leaders from across the company," Walker said.

Significantly, the leaders selected to participate in the program were viewed as likely successors to top posts. "Our program is instilling a growth mindset that will endure beyond our current group of top leaders," Walker said. "This program also gives managers who currently run diverse parts of the company a chance to experience interacting directly together, as a team."

In weeklong modules conducted quarterly over the course of a year, participants in the program receive classroom instruction specifically designed to develop the growth leadership competencies identified in Healthy Companies' research and engage in collaborative work sessions with their peers. Early in the program, participants select projects critical to fulfilling the company's growth vision, with input from the DI senior team. Continued mentoring, coaching and webinars between modules help these growth leaders stay connected with the program objectives while feeling supported in taking appropriate risks. Participants also have online access to a customized tool kit with hundreds of support tools and assessments.

"The venue for each module of the Growth Catalyst Leadership Development Program was chosen to emphasize important characteristics of growth," Walker said. "Our first session was held close to the company's headquarters, where the senior team could interact with participants and share their growth vision. The second module took place further off-site to help the growth leaders gel as a team. A later session was held in New York to emphasize the financial implications of growth. A visit to a major customer site helped emphasize that sustained organic growth is driven by what customers want and value."

DynCorp International's Growth Catalyst Leadership Development Program is still unfolding, but the impact is already apparent.

"We have definitely seen a shift in mindset," Walker said. "Sustaining strong organic growth is more of a clear priority across our enterprise, and we see a stronger bias for both innovation and action, which make growth possible."

Last year, DynCorp International grew at a pace well into the double digits - faster than any of its industry peers. That growth was nearly all organic. The company recently made its first two strategic acquisitions, which are expected to open new channels for organic growth. Looking ahead, DI's top leaders say that both organic growth and acquisitions will be keys to sustained growth.

A Differentiated Development Investment

Just one-third of the executives responding to a McKinsey study conducted in March believe that their companies' training programs build capabilities vital to improving business performance. We imagine senior executives often struggle to discern a clear link between customary, generic high-potential leadership development and the company's measured business success. In contrast, developing your high-potential growth leaders aims to build your company's capacity to drive top-line growth. That makes the business value unmistakable.

Additionally, tangible growth returns are realized quickly because participants execute growth projects while they are learning growth leadership skills and receiving coaching and mentoring. At the end of one year, high-potential growth leaders can look back not only on a period of tremendous personal development, but also on measured contributions to the organic growth of the business. Along the way, growth leaders become a more cohesive team, ready to work together at the next level and better prepared to mentor and encourage other growth leaders across the company.

In sum, your growth leadership development program can be the catalyst for a sustained, companywide organic growth success story.

[About the Authors: Stephen Parker and Mark Smith are principals in Healthy Companies International, a global management consulting and research firm.]

Leadership Development for SMBs

2011-11-24T09:20:00.001-08:00

Leadership Development for SMBs

by Daniel R. Tobin | Chief Learning Officer

Most of the literature and examples of best practices for developing a company's next generation of leaders cite the efforts of large companies as examples. These large companies have large leadership development staffs, impressive budgets and often a dedicated facility for leadership development activities.

Few small to midsized companies - defined here as having fewer than 5,000 employees - have the resources, both financial and personnel, to even think about replicating the approaches to leadership development used in larger companies. In smaller companies, leadership development is at best the responsibility of the HR group, which always has many other responsibilities. At worst, nobody in these companies is thinking about leadership development except for an occasional discussion in the succession planning process.

For these smaller companies, the development of the next generation of leaders cannot be focused on a single leadership development program or experience. Leadership skills are necessary, but they are not sufficient to create a new generation of leaders. Along with leadership skills, this next generation must develop its business acumen, learn and practice execution, and broaden its knowledge and skills from functional specialties to a broader range of strategic thinking and planning.

A comprehensive approach to leadership development that can work for many small and midsized companies runs over a period of two years and has four basic components:

1. Quarterly education sessions:

These are focused on a wide variety of topics, ranging from business and financial acumen to strategic thinking.

2. Action learning projects:

These are each directly tied to the topic of an education session. Some projects are assigned to teams, others to individual participants in the program. The results of the projects are then presented to a panel of company executives at the start of the next quarterly education session.

3. 360 assessments and individual development plans:

These are produced for each program participant.

4. Mentoring and coaching:

Each participant is assigned a mentor from the company's executive team and, as needed, coaches are assigned to individual participants to help them develop knowledge and skills not included in the overall program, but which are identified as a personal need.

By involving company executives in the program, in a variety of roles, they will get to see their high-potential employees in action and, more important, will be able to test their leadership skills through action learning projects before promoting them. Executives who participate in the program feel that they get a much better line of sight into the company's talent than they otherwise would have had, and they end up feeling more connected to the front lines of the business.

A common question is: How much is this going to cost the company? The answer is that no matter how much it costs, the entire program will cost much less than making poor promotional decisions without it.

Here are some reasonable expectations for results from using this leadership model:

a) Expanding a company's pool of talent for use in succession planning.

b) Increasing retention of top talent.

c) Addressing long-standing company challenges.

d) Making top talent more visible to company executives.

e) Increasing the performance potential of participants in their current jobs.

f) Weeding out supposed high-potentials who fail to perform in the program.

[About the Author: Daniel Tobin is a consultant on leadership development programs and corporate learning strategies, as well as the author of "Feeding Your Leadership Pipeline: How to Develop the Next Generation of Leaders in Small to Mid-Sized Companies."]

Leaders Need Power

2011-11-24T09:19:00.001-08:00

Leaders Need Power

by Jeffrey Pfeffer | Talent Management

A recent conversation with an executive coach who works with up-and-coming executives in Silicon Valley companies reminded me of one major challenge talent leaders face: helping people develop their power skills. These include promoting themselves and their agendas, displaying confidence and being able to understand others' points of view.

She said few of the smart, technically savvy people she worked with understand organizational dynamics or are comfortable building and using power. And they often can't get things done. For instance, a business development leader found he was more successful in getting his team's ideas implemented when he flattered his boss and led her to think the business development initiatives were actually her idea.

Hierarchy is ubiquitous, but people often have trouble with these kinds of relationships. Employees may exhibit counter dependence as they resist cozying up to superiors. People don't recognize the conflicting dimensions of collaboration and competition in peer relationships and can seem reluctant to exercise authority over subordinates.

Many young leaders grew up in a world where if there were seven people in a swim meet, seven people got ribbons. This tendency to view everyone as a winner and competitive differentiation as too harsh has produced high school graduations with multiple valedictorians. Meanwhile, inside companies, power remains, to use Rosabeth Kanter's apt phrase from more than 30 years ago, "the organization's last dirty secret."

Literature doesn't help much to clarify the issue, wavering between autobiographies from successful leaders that gloss over what they actually did to get to the top and Scout-like lists of recommended virtues and behaviors. Recommendations such as telling the truth, being modest and self-effacing, and coaching and developing others would clearly improve organizational performance and produce more humane workplaces. But such lists ignore two facts. First, few mortals are perfect, so the question becomes what trade-offs between strengths and weaknesses should companies make.

Second, the qualities that make someone a good leader are not necessarily the qualities that would get a person into a leadership role in the first place. There are often negative correlations between perceptions of competence and niceness, so, as one study showed, people who wrote more negative book reviews were seen as smarter albeit less likeable than those who were more positive in their evaluations.

Some companies, such as the Gap a few years ago and Hewlett-Packard today, have programs that train influence skills, and more companies should follow their lead. Programs ought to include some focus on qualities that promote influence - energy, focus, persistence, the ability to see the world from others' perspectives - and include a self-assessment and personal development plan to increase these attributes.

Skills to build effective social networks as well as networking skills can be taught, and this training can help people win promotions, compared to similarly talented and qualified peers who haven't had it. The ability to act and speak with power is a crucial skill that can be developed, as actors well know. Further, people need to understand the sources of power, the social psychology of influence and how to cope with the inevitable opposition and setbacks that even the most successful individual confronts.

Most leadership books present a world that is different in one important respect from the world that talented individuals inhabit; a few trade-offs must be made. In the world they portray, what's good for the company is good for the individual, so when individuals succeed, their companies are better off. Ideally, people succeed based on performance. The traits that make people likeable are, for the most part, the same ones that make them successful leaders, and so it goes.

Talented people clearly see when they look at the world around them that this isn't completely true. People receive promotions based on credentials, experience and their relationships with their bosses, not just their job performance. Sometimes not-so-nice people win the race to the top, and individual and organizational interests can and do diverge.

[About the Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II professor of organizational behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, and the author of Power: Why Some People Have It - and Others Don't.]

Are Your Leaders Environmentally Friendly?

2011-11-24T09:17:00.001-08:00

Are Your Leaders Environmentally Friendly?

by Arthur F. Carmazzi | Talent Management

In a world where information travels faster than ever, the expectations of work and leaders have changed significantly in just a few years, and, with those expectations, the emotions and motivations that affect our jobs and our lives also have changed. The goal? To develop leaders rather than followers.

With so many distractions, not to mention the lure of instant emotional gratification, average employees wait to be told what to do. Worse, they often do not see, feel or understand the bigger picture of their roles in an organization. Some leaders chalk it up to poor attitude or mentally challenged employees. The reality may relate more to a poor environment created by leaders who are unaware of the psychology of modern society. To cultivate leaders in an organization and lead them to greater achievement, consider applying a psychological form of leadership called environmental leadership.

The Psychology of Environment

Individuals have various environments that bring out different facets of their identities, and each is successful in one area or another. The key differentiators are the emotionally charged perceptions within each environment. The environmental leader creates a platform through education and awareness where employees fulfill each other's emotional gratifications and become more conscious of when and how they affect the group dynamics in positive or negative ways. This sets the foundation for the talent leader to cultivate a unified culture where employees feel they are important parts of achieving a greater goal and their roles in attaining that goal also serve them on a personal level.

Essentially, an environmental leader is the sculptor or an organization that promotes confidence and responsibility to act on what needs to be done to achieve business objectives in ways dictated by the culture.

Environmental leadership is not about changing the mindset of the group or individual; it's about cultivating an environment that brings out the best and inspires the employees in that group. It is not the ability to influence others to do something they are not committed to. Instead, environmental leadership nurtures a culture that motivates and even excites individuals to do what is required for the benefit of all. It is not carrying others to the end result; it's establishing the surroundings to develop qualities in employees so that they can lead each other. In other words, an environmental leader implements a psychological support system that fulfills the emotional and developmental needs of the group while simultaneously nurturing self-leadership.

The path to becoming an environmental leader is founded on a bed of self-discovery and laid with the tiles of group psychology. Only when we have an understanding of how leaders affect the system of a group, and how that system affects us, can we evolve to environmental leadership.

At first glance, it may seem like a daunting journey, but this path has an applicable structure that can be followed to create specific results. The first step is to realize that every action a leader takes, every decision made, no matter how small, will affect the group and will impact the organizational culture. Whether it is positive or negative, there will be an effect. Second, when any individual in a group reacts, it will affect the leader and each of the other members of that group, and this how a corporate culture is created.

Again, a leader's actions and reactions not only affect the psychology of individuals, but the entire culture of the organization or group. An environmental leader manages seven key psychological influences - two keys of personal awareness and five pillars of transformation - to cultivate a group and a culture that effectively supports the greater abilities, fulfillment and passion of the members of that group and nurtures leadership within.

Trust is a common fundamental for leadership, and while there are many facets of trust and many different ways to build it, one crucial way to do so is in simply sharing information. Group dynamics are best established by getting the group involved. The environmental leader does not develop followers; he or she nurtures leaders and leadership in their group or organization. To facilitate this, exactly how to be an environmental leader must be common knowledge disseminated throughout the organization. The more people there are who understand the essence of how they can become environmental leaders, the easier it becomes to cultivate a leadership-enriched environment and the better results everyone will attain.

The Two Keys

Cultivating a corporate culture where leaders develop leaders and decisions are competently made to achieve organizational objectives is an achievable outcome. It starts with understanding the seven key psychological influences an environmentally savvy leader manages in order to cultivate a group and a culture that effectively support the greater abilities, fulfillment and passion of the members of that group, while nurturing internal employees who have strong leadership potential.

Self-awareness leads to the recognition of two keys of personal awareness that must be accepted before the environmentally savvy leader can build the final five pillars of a transformational environment. The first step is the ability to realize that we will consciously or subconsciously make others wrong to support our ego, which leads to blame and discourages growth. Learning about our encoded assumptions, our rules of engagement and our circle of tolerance can help us recognize the reactions that may be preventing speedier growth for ourselves and those around us.

Thus, the first key is: Concentrate on growth and results; do not blame or make others wrong.

The next step is making others right, making leadership decisions and taking actions that help others to succeed and develop their abilities. And when they do succeed, specifically acknowledging their success and why they were successful. Learning how our genetic processing affects the way we perceive the world and approach tasks and decisions and what that means in manifesting our natural talents not only makes this easier, but also gives us a better platform to understand, cooperate and communicate with others.

Thus, the second key is: Create opportunities to make others successful, and positively acknowledge their specific actions that lead to that success.

The Five Pillars of Transformation

The following five pillars are the cornerstone of a leader's ability to modify group dynamics and to nurture an environment that inspires and brings out the best in others. Further, it is the process of constructing the five pillars itself that enables the leader and his or her team to embrace the two keys of personal awareness. This course of creation acts as a leadership catalyst to the keys' implementation, and modification of the leader's own behavior advances that individual's development into a more powerful, environmental leader.

1. Have a greater purpose.

The team must have a purpose that is greater or nobler than the personal goals of each individual. Yet realization of this greater purpose should be equally fulfilling to each individual.

The role of an environmental leader is to inspire this noble idea. The leader should make the group or team want it and be willing to take action to achieve it for the cause, for the promise of a greater working environment and to create a greater self.

2. Have a methodology that can make change.

The team must believe that change can happen and that they as a group can make it happen. They must believe that their own behavior can be improved and that they, as human beings, can be better people. They must believe that there is a way, through a common wisdom in the group, in which they can become powerful enough to change the organizational culture into a more fulfilling environment for all and, equally important, for the betterment of their own lives.

But to believe any of this, employees must have, and must recognize, a psychological methodology that can effectively make change happen.

3. Speak a common language.

The methodology carries with it a specific language. The language reinforces the learning and the higher purpose. It sets a foundation to understand and explain awareness, change and a higher level of living and working in a concise and effective way.

The role of the environmental leader is to use and reinforce the use of language in the group. Essentially, this individual should set the example by applying or using communication that supports the greater cause.

4. Have a unified identity.

The label or name given to a cause provides a psychological reference to a common goal and a common identity. The role of the environmental leader is to solidify that identity, to facilitate the team's efforts to associate or align itself with that identity and everything it represents. The environmental leader should be able to distinguish those who are a part of the greater purpose and simultaneously give them a group vision.

5. Maintain a supportive, internal environment.

The role of the environmental leader becomes to nurture and develop other environmental leaders within the team and the organization.

At this stage, the environment created will fulfill many of the constantly expanding emotional gratifications. This environment provides greater substance and meets the greater expectations of the modern world. Yet it cannot be developed without the right leadership. Environmental leaders must go into this knowing that as the process matures, they will no longer be as essential as when they started.

[About the Author: Arthur F. Carmazzi is the principal founder of the Directive Communication Methodology.]

Leadership Beyond Boundaries

2011-11-24T09:15:00.001-08:00

Leadership Beyond Boundaries

by Mike Prokopeak | Chief Learning Officer

The world may be flat, but human relationships are bounded by limits. Action learning and experiential leadership development can help overcome those personal and organizational boundaries.

There's an interesting paradox at the heart of today's connected world. Technology and communications have created more and more social connections between widely dispersed groups of people. But those same tools strengthen divisions, breaking down visible and physical boundaries while bolstering invisible and mental disconnections.

"The boundaries that matter most to us today - and why this is so challenging from a leadership perspective - is that the boundaries are now found more in human relationships - in us and in them, across layers of management, across silos, across different organizational cultures," said Chris Ernst, senior researcher for the Center for Creative Leadership and co-author of Boundary Spanning Leadership.

These boundaries are especially tricky because they are often tied up in a deeper level of identity. But to solve the complex problems facing today's organizations and create new opportunities for growth, leaders must learn to think and act beyond those boundaries and identities. Meaningful leadership development experiences, not training, can be an answer.

Ernst said there are five common boundaries found in business today:

a) Vertical boundaries across organizational levels and authority structures.

b) Horizontal boundaries across wide ranging functions and expertise.

c) External stakeholder boundaries with partners, suppliers, customers, communities and governments.

d) Demographic boundaries.

e) Geographic boundaries across locations.

"They're most recognized by the everyday business vernacular we hear: silos, stovepipes, culture clashes, diversity divides, turf battles," Ernst said.

Ernst and his co-author identified six practices for helping leaders adapt, alter and modify the shape of boundaries in organizations:

1. Buffering to define boundaries and create safety.

2. Reflecting to foster understanding and respect.

3. Connecting to build trust.

4. Mobilizing to develop community.

5. Weaving to create interdependence.

6. Transforming to cut across boundaries.

To help leaders develop skills in these areas, CLOs need to create work environments and experiences that challenge leaders to get out of their silos.

"The key for CLOs to think about how they can identify strategic change challenges in the organization, how they can create these cross-boundary teams that get people outside of their normal, everyday working environment and working in new ways," Ernst said. "You give them the ability to advance strategic organizational issues and simultaneously they're building collaborative networks, they're building new skills, they're building new mindsets and perspectives as they work across boundaries in service of implementing organizational change."

These sorts of skills can be learned in a classroom. They can be done with simulations. But learning by doing is one of the most powerful ways, Ernst said. "There's nothing like the power of real work, especially real work that matters where there is real skin in the game," he said.

But CLOs can't just provide the challenge; they need to structure the experience and provide coaches, facilitators, feedback and just-in-time tools. The individual and the organization benefit as a result.

"By having them work on real strategic change initiatives of the organization, they are simultaneously helping to advance the business strategy of the organization while developing individual leadership capabilities," he said.

Boundaries often convey constraints or limits, and there is certainly no shortage of those in today's business environment. But there is different way to think about them.

"They're the locations where the newest, most advanced, most innovative activity is happening in any given area," Ernst said. "We talk about boundary-spanning leadership as this ability to create direction, alignment and commitment across these boundaries in order to turn borders and constraints into new and innovative frontiers for organizations today."

[About the Author: Mike Prokopeak is editorial director for Chief Learning Officer magazine.]

Global Leadership Development: Why It's Important to Your Business

2011-11-24T09:14:00.001-08:00

Global Leadership Development: Why It's Important to Your Business

by Bettina Chang | Talent Management

A recent study by the American Management Association (AMA) showed that global leadership development programs are correlated with success at companies around the world. Competition was the main driver behind these programs, and almost half of the companies surveyed said that they had already implemented such programs or were currently developing them.

The survey included more than 900 organizations, 40 percent of which are headquartered outside the U.S.

"Whether or not you are only located in one country, you're competing all over the world with your products and services," said Sandi Edwards, senior vice president of AMA Corporate Learning Solutions. "[It's important] to have people all over the globe who understand what the [business] is about and how to compete successfully."

These leadership competencies, though not completely different from typical domestic leadership programs, emphasize certain global nuances. Important aspects include branding in other parts of the world, being agile and understanding cultures, and effectively working across cultures and remotely.

To implement an effective global leadership development program, an organization must first set business goals and determine the metrics through which they will be measured. "The most effective global leadership initiatives are tightly linked to the achievement of critical business goals," Edwards said.

Once the business goals are developed, it's imperative for senior-level executives to communicate why being a strong global leader has important business impact on the organization. "That can be stressed most effectively by senior leaders," Edwards said. "[The initiatives] are not successful if there isn't some component of executive sponsorship and senior leadership involvement."

Other ways for senior leaders to be involved are to be a part of the program and to contribute by co-teaching. They must also monitor the metrics to determine the return on investment of the program.

The study showed that organizations with successful programs can expect to see increased revenue, shareholder value and customer satisfaction. These programs also improve the bench strength of an organization. Of the targeted employees who participate in these programs, about 20 to 25 percent are upwardly mobile and able to take on higher positions. After the training, up to 40 percent will have the capability to take on higher positions and more responsibility.

"That's vital to the strength of the organization, to have a healthy leadership pipeline," Edwards said.

As with most leadership programs, global leadership development can increase engagement and retention, especially among high performers at a company.

"Top talent are high-value assets in every organization, there's no doubt about that - and the best performers always have options," Edwards said. "In the companies we studied, correlation was high between those organizations that were high performers and those that had developed and implemented global leadership curriculums."

Another finding was that almost 10 percent of companies said that they open their global leadership programs to everyone in their organization. Edwards said that this was unexpected, since scarce budgets for development programs typically limit the number of employees who are able to participate in them.

For the companies that do limit the employees who enter these programs, they often offer other development opportunities for all employees. Coaching programs, on-the-job learning, job shadowing and rotations can give an individual more exposure to the different parts and people in an organization. An employee's performance during these opportunities may qualify him or her for further development training.

Edwards stressed that while companies can do many things to ensure employees are engaged, there must be a consistent thread of logic that links every development program to competency expectations within the organization.

[About the Author: Bettina Chang is an editorial intern at Talent Management magazine.]

Three Tips to Help Leaders Eliminate Workplace Drama

2011-11-24T09:12:00.003-08:00

Three Tips to Help Leaders Eliminate Workplace Drama

by Marlene Chism | Talent Management

Whether it's complaining, negative attitudes or stress-related illnesses, workplace drama hampers productivity and personal effectiveness.

According to research firm Gallup, negativity costs the U.S. economy more than $3 billion a year in lost productivity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 90 percent of doctors' visits are stress-related and a top stressor is employee complaints.

To facilitate positive change, leaders must recognize the power of choosing consciously instead of reacting to circumstances. Here are three conscious changes a leader can make to get back in control and eliminate drama in the workplace:

1. Master Your Emotions.

It's important that managers and leaders set the example through their own self-management of their emotions. "Studies show that the strongest emotion in a team can ripple out and drive everyone to resonate with the same emotion without anyone consciously knowing why it is happening," author David Rock writes in his book The Brain at Work. Leaders can't be irresponsible with their emotional energy and expect to garner responsible behavior from their workers.

How to apply this principle:

Leaders must become more aware of their emotional state and mental dialogue. Keeping a simple journal for a month could prove useful in determining one's emotional responses to drama. For example, when a leader is irritated, frustrated or angry, does he immediately blow up, get sarcastic or avoid the other person? Learning to become calm and centered before addressing hot issues is helpful.

2. Set Realistic Expectations.

Companies frequently downsize and double the workload, yet expect the same amount of productivity. To add to the problem, employees are afraid to tell their bosses that meeting these requirements is impossible out of fear their jobs might be next to go. The elephant in the room goes unaddressed, communication is at a standstill and everyone is frustrated. Managers shouldn't give employees any more than 10 percent more workload without increasing resources. Too often, they keep piling on additional work with new deadlines, making it nearly impossible for the employee to complete projects successfully. A leader's responsibility is to set employees up for success by engaging them in the process.

How to apply this principle:

Leaders can set up scheduled communications with an agenda, during which they can get feedback from employees about their progress, where they're having problems and what resources are needed to help them complete their projects. Creating small benchmarks to celebrate small successes and, if possible, letting employees who have completed projects deliver a short overview of their successes can enable them to feel motivated instead of overwhelmed.

3. Promote Personal Responsibility.

It's often challenging for managers to promote personal responsibility. An indicator of irresponsible thinking is drama that manifests itself as complaining and excuse making; for example, employees running to the boss to solve a problem or tattle on another co-worker. Many managers are proud of their open-door policy, but this policy can make the situation worse. Employees may drop in at the most inconvenient time, and, as a result, the boss may multitask and merely act like he or she is listening - or worse, promise to get back to the employee but forget about the promise. This creates a lack of trust and contributes to workplace relationship problems between bosses and employees.

The reason employees participate in blaming, complaining, backstabbing and excuse making is because it lessens the pain and discomfort that taking responsibility requires. When a manager fixes the problem, the employee continues to respond from a victim mentality instead of an empowered and responsible mindset. Managers that spend excess time putting out fires instead of developing responsible employees end up wasting time and energy.

How to apply this principle:

Putting boundaries and systems in place for dealing with complaints can be helpful. Instead of an open door at any time, managers can set office hours for registering complaints. In addition, they can train employees to come with specific criteria when registering a complaint:

1. What is the situation?

2. How does this situation impact productivity, customer service, teamwork or the bottom line?

3. What are some possible solutions or ideas?

This simple solution can show workers that managers are serious about hearing their complaints, but that they are also expected to help solve the problem.

[About the Author: Marlene Chism is a professional speaker and author of Stop Workplace Drama.]

Talent Acquisition: The Challenge Ahead

2011-11-24T09:12:00.001-08:00

Talent Acquisition: The Challenge Ahead

by Mike Prokopeak | Talent Management

In a time of high labor supply, with U.S. unemployment hovering at more than 9 percent, it stands to reason that it would be relatively easy and cheap for organizations to find needed labor. As many hiring managers will tell you, that's not the case.

Supply is plentiful, but organizations still struggle to find skilled workers. According to senior talent executives surveyed by Talent Management magazine and HCM Advisory Group, a majority (79 percent) report difficulty finding qualified employees for high-skill and technical positions.

It's not just recruiters and talent managers who have noticed the problem. Only 17 percent of COOs at high-tech companies said they were well-positioned to attract and retain talent, according to a December 2010 study conducted by Accenture. Despite the flood of supply in mature markers such as the United States and in emerging ones like China, critical talent remains a valuable commodity. In fact, the high number of candidates makes talent acquisition more difficult as recruitment departments sift through mountains of resumes and data to find the right candidates for job openings.

"Having the right talent is going to be pivotal and fundamental to design and develop customer solutions [and] to have distinctive offerings that will set them apart competitively in the markets," said Hans Von Lewinski, managing director with Accenture's Asia Pacific electronics and high-tech industry group and leader of the study.

The problem is particularly acute in China, where labor is plentiful but experienced workers with English language skills remain in short supply. "As soon as you start getting into slightly more experienced managerial ranks - by that I mean five years plus - you suddenly run into a real crunch because everybody is after the same people," Von Lewinski said.

This apparent conundrum - high supply paired with high demand - lies at the heart of the challenge facing recruiters this year. It's only the first of them. With hiring widely expected to pick up in 2011, recruiters will face heightened demand for their services. At the same time, skittish bosses remain hesitant to turn on the tap and give talent managers the go-ahead to find those workers.

On top of that, talent acquisition itself has become a more complex process. Social networking technology has changed the landscape for sourcing talent, opening up new avenues but also creating new challenges. Given continued business volatility and uncertainty, bosses are also asking for more sophisticated measurement and meaningful analytics, challenging many recruiters to rethink their approaches.

The only real certainty: Recruiters, be prepared. It's going to be an interesting year.

Job Market: Growth and Churn

With workforce productivity peaking, many organizations will be forced to hire to sustain growth in the coming quarters. The good news is that stock markets are broadly up, corporate profits are surging and many organizations have built a substantial war chest to fund that growth.

According to a December 2010 survey of 848 finance executives by Duke University and CFO magazine, nonfinancial firms are currently holding $1.9 trillion on their balance sheets, with plans to start spending in 2011. That same survey showed that CFOs plan to expand their U.S. workforce by 2 percent in the next year, a tally that could add 3 million jobs to the U.S. economy.

The turnaround may not be as quick as many job seekers would like, but it's a positive sign of growth, said Bob Kelleher, former chief human resources officer at AECOM and author of Louder Than Words: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results.

"The first wave of gains was really based on cost cutting," he said. "Companies were having layoffs, they were focusing in many cases on survival." Subsequent gains over the past six months have been based on growth, with corporate profits up and temporary staffing, a traditional early indicator of labor demand, steadily moving upward.

In addition to growth-driven hiring, job activity will be amplified by job changers. Many workers who sat on the sidelines as hiring demand remained low throughout 2009 and 2010 are poised to enter the game, triggering a spike in replacement hiring and releasing two years of pent-up demand from disengaged employees.

"Even though the companies may be reluctant to hire right now, they're going to see a significant [growth] in people leaving because the individuals now have more confidence in the job market," he said.

The rising disengagement of workers from their jobs provides agile organizations, and their recruiters, with significant opportunities this year, provided they have the tools and processes to capitalize on it.

"Those that are fleet of foot over the next 24 months are going to be in a wonderful position to realize some great talent gains," Kelleher said.

Sourcing Goes Social

The recession gave many organizations the opportunity to step back from hiring to focus on technology and strategy. For example, organizations such as Qualcomm went from filling several thousand positions a year to about 700, said Madeline Laurano, principal analyst for talent acquisition with research firm Bersin & Associates.

As hiring picks up, more and more organizations are turning to social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to reach new audiences and source qualified candidates. Traditional sourcing tools like job boards are losing their luster, forcing recruitment departments to rethink time-tested tools and strategies.

"Organizations are thinking about more innovative technology options [and] also relying on sourcers and some different outsourcing firms to fill those critical positions rather than internally," Laurano said.

But social media isn't a panacea for all that ails the recruitment department. Recruiting departments need to develop a comprehensive sourcing strategy and build competency with a variety of sourcing tools in order to be truly effective, Laurano said.

"Signing up for an account on these sites is not having a social media strategy for your talent acquisition," she said. "You have to define your social media strategy for your talent acquisition function and then take the time to learn how to use these sites."

Social media sites are rich sources of data on potential job candidates and offer a way for recruiters to brand and build a talent community that brings together internal and external candidates, full-time and past-time job seekers, new hires and corporate alumni. But they don't offer the same broad reach as a job board for active job seekers. In many cases, social networking sites are most effective for identifying passive candidates for high-skill positions. That's a limitation, but also an opportunity.

Sites such as LinkedIn, which has more than 80 million members who voluntarily provide career information and identify their professional connections, allow recruiters to capture the personal nature of a referral and manage it in a way that a job board or a traditional talent acquisition system can't, Laurano said.

The excess supply of labor in the market has changed the way recruiters do their jobs, said Kevin Martin, vice president and group director of human capital management at research firm Aberdeen Group. They have to build their competency with social networking technology but also specialize in candidate relationship management and develop the ability to find hidden talent, whether it's through sites like LinkedIn or by cultivating relationships with a range of stakeholders in the hiring process.

"Many recruiters are really good at working with hiring managers to understand the competencies that the hiring managers really need and then they go out and find that talent," he said."But they've got to be able to build marketing communication skills. They've got to be able to manage a candidate pipeline much like a salesperson manages a sales pipeline."

Measurement: The Crux of the Problem

Over the years, recruiting departments have become quite adept at collecting data on a variety of measures. Fundamental metrics include time to fill open positions and cost per hire. But the old mainstays are being overshadowed by an increasingly critical and complicated metric: quality of hire.

"The challenge there is that organizations don't know how to measure quality of hire," said Laurano. "There's a lot of different moving parts that go into finding out what quality of hire is, and there's not a lot of standardization out there or a lot of examples to pull from."

Efficiency measures such as time to fill and cost per hire are relatively easy to track. Effectiveness measures, such as quality of hire, are tougher to crack. Ongoing assessments can help, but the way many organizations use them is limiting.

"Top-performing organizations tend to utilize assessments as much for behavioral, aptitude and even cognitive purposes as they do skills and competencies," said Martin.

Performance management tools such as 360-degree reviews, for example, can provide a wealth of valuable information to recruiters looking to develop measures of quality and organizational fit. That level of integration with other talent management functions remains a continuing weak spot for many organizations, however.

In Aberdeen's studies of talent acquisition success, executives ranked quality of hire No. 1 four years in a row. Yet only 17 percent of surveyed executives said their company has the data necessary to validate quality of hire, Martin said.

"These companies are hamstrung to be able to utilize the data once they collect it from an applicant perspective, transition that into someone who is an employee, and then be able to track that person against performance milestones and other initiatives as they move on in their career with the company," he said.

Laurano said many companies use employee retention figures to determine quality of hire, although that measurement lacks accuracy. To improve reliability, companies such as appliance manufacturer Whirlpool incorporate other metrics, including employee "promotability" or "referability."

However it is done, gauging quality of hire should be a calibrated series of measurements including pre-hire screening, skill and competency assessments during the hiring process, and post-hire performance feedback.

"Once talent acquisition is really able to understand quality of hire, measure it and then report that back to the business, they're going to see a lot of value there," Laurano said.

From Recruiter to Business Adviser

Recruiters in 2011 will grapple with complexity in their talent pools as well as continually evolving tools and techniques. They'll also need to be in tune with the needs of hiring managers, the organization at large, and increasingly, external stakeholders.

"What we find is most HR executives do not get out into the field and talk to their customers or prospective buyers," Martin said. "They're relegated to listening to what the hiring managers have to say, if they're even doing that."

Wouldn't it be powerful if a recruiter were able to go to a hiring manager after talking with customers and share insights into how to source and hire talent to tackle market challenges and exploit business opportunity? Martin asked. That's where challenge and opportunity come together, showing a way forward through recruitment complexity.

"All of the sudden that recruiter goes from being someone who is just really fulfilling a need of a hiring manager to someone who is actually driving the business," he said.

[About the Author: Mike Prokopeak is editorial director for Talent Management magazine.]

What Leadership Style Works Best for Your Organization?

2011-11-24T09:11:00.001-08:00

What Leadership Style Works Best for Your Organization?

by Sharon Birkman Fink | Talent Management

There is constant change and turnover of jobs to find the right "leader," but the heightened demands of stakeholders and investors alike make those jobs harder than ever to fill. Leaders often find themselves in the line of fire for company performance that is shaped by economic and global competitive forces that the executives themselves have little direct control over.

The pressures are immense, and the resulting stresses can create friction within even the most committed and focused of executive teams.

Even though executive team members understand their company's business and culture, they may not have a conceptual understanding of the fundamental leadership skills required to meet both internal and external demands. To help them do that requires understanding - in a defined, academic sense - what leadership really is.

Understanding Leadership

Researchers define four leadership styles embodied in most leadership teams: inspirational, intellectual, individual and charismatic.

1. Leaders focused on inspirational motivation are high-energy people who are able to link meaning to action and communicate the benefits in an understandable way. They get people to respond with higher levels of attentiveness and dedication to reaching the goal.

2. Leaders who emphasize intellectual stimulation promote intelligent and thoughtful problem-solving processes and use creativity and innovation to benefit the organization. They encourage others to imagine, accept, support and implement ideas.

3. Leaders with the ability to demonstrate an individual approach define the needs of the group or team as a whole at the macro level, then tailor their actions and communication styles to resonate with each individual at the micro level.

4. Charismatic leaders define issues with a sense of emotional purpose. They are often less conventional and less accepting of traditional authority, but they are able to see and articulate what truly matters. Expressive, emotional and highly articulate, charismatic leaders are willing to take personal risks for what they see as the greater good.

Different functions and responsibilities within the same organization require different types of leaders. The charismatic leadership that motivates a sales team is very different from the intellectual leadership that more appropriately motivates a team of product researchers or technology professionals. There is no one standard leadership style, and no one standard communication approach.

Understanding Self

For executive leaders to work collegially with one another, and to effectively motivate a broad array of personality types, accurate and objective self awareness is crucial. Leaders can only understand and engage in dialogue with others if they understand their own motivational drivers and how they may be different from those of other individuals. Unfortunately, the everyday pressure of business responsibilities leaves little time for reflection and self-examination.

One route companies might consider is using leadership personality assessment in the context of a structured management development program. The best ones pinpoint the strengths and motivations of individual leaders and help them use these strengths to address their possible blind spots and identify what they will need to energize and recharge their personal leadership styles.

There is no one "best leadership style" and there is no scientific formula for building an effective executive team. The task requires a predictive understanding of how all the elements of human factors interact. Assessment tools can provide a way of measuring and understanding the interaction between personality traits and job responsibilities, including the ability to productively work with peers by accepting feedback, advancing teamwork efforts and communicating in ways that are meaningful to others.

[About the Author: Sharon Birkman Fink is president and CEO of Birkman International Inc., which provides an assessment tool used for 60 years by nearly 3 million people and 5,000 organizations worldwide to guide their hiring, retention, motivational and organizational development activities.]

Scrap Learning and Manager Engagement

2011-11-24T09:10:00.001-08:00

Scrap Learning and Manager Engagement

by John R. Mattox II | Chief Learning Officer

In an ever-changing business world, where sustainable competitive advantage is key to success or failure, training is the lever many organizations turn to when searching for performance improvement. However, most organizations overlook an important aspect of development that often makes it many times more effective - manager engagement.

KnowledgeAdvisors conducted a survey from December 2009 to March 2010 to investigate the current state of training application and manager engagement. The majority of nearly 160 respondents were from companies with 5,000 or more people, and their roles within the organization were most often in learning and development (56 percent) or human resources (25 percent). More than three-quarters (76 percent) of all survey respondents indicated that training is a key organizational tool to optimize employee performance.

Unfortunately, using training as a performance lever tends to lose its power with time as employees forget what they've learned or let their newly acquired skills go unused. Robert O. Brinkerhoff, Ed.D., professor emeritus at Western Michigan University, said that after training, learners typically fall into one of three categories:

1. They do not try to apply training.

2. They attempt to apply it but realize no worthwhile results.

3. They apply training and get some positive results.

Positive results tend to be reinforcing and prompt the learners to apply their skills again. Yet Brinkerhoff estimates that successful application, group three, is as low as 20 percent. The remaining 80 percent is known as scrap learning - learning that was delivered but unsuccessfully applied, as in groups one and two, and is therefore wasted. Scrap learning is pervasive. By survey respondents' best estimates, only 9 percent of learners actually apply what they learn with positive results. Seventy-six percent indicate that learners apply 50 percent or less of what they learn, which means the scarp learning rate is 50 percent or higher among more than three-quarters of all companies.

There are elements of training that clearly impact the quality and effectiveness of learning; great instructors, relevant materials and the right delivery method are essential. However, factors external to training are also influential. In Brinkerhoff's book Telling Training's Story, he describes the influence managers can have on learner behavior before and after training. He found that managers can lengthen the training lever, or at least prevent it from shortening, by actively engaging their direct reports.

Before training, it is helpful for the manager to assess the business case. Is the employee the right person to attend training? Is it the right time? Are the costs appropriate? Additionally, the manager should meet with the learner pre-event to set learning and performance expectations, and they should create an action plan together. These managerial actions help to ensure that training is valuable to the learner and is fully aligned with business goals. Further, the conversation and expectation setting prepares the learner for the actual training event.

After training, the manager should review the action plan with the learner to determine if it still aligns with what was taught. As the learner applies training on the job, the manager must supervise and provide meaningful praise and feedback to reinforce success and correct mistakes. It is also the manager's responsibility to seek projects, events or situations where the learner can hone new skills.

KnowledgeAdvisors asked survey respondents to consider how well managers were engaged in these types of efforts throughout their organizations. When asked how often managers pre-assess learners before sending them to training, only 21 percent indicated their organizations assess learners "some of the time" or "most of the time." This means that for more than three-quarters of the organizations, learners might be attending training they do not need or they may be attending training that is too advanced.

Further, only 25 percent of managers have a dialogue with learners before 50 percent of training to set learning and performance expectations with direct reports. Granted, not every course deserves a check-in or a dialogue. Yet, when training is directly related to job performance, critical to the employee's future success or costly and aligned with business goals, it is reasonable to expect some level of manager engagement. Thus, these figures seem low knowing that manager involvement upfront can increase training effectiveness. The level of manager engagement is only slightly better after learners attend training. With regard to generalized involvement, 42 percent of managers "encourage learners to use training" and another 11 percent "hold employees accountable" for applying training. However, for 44 percent of respondents, managers "have little involvement in how my employees use what they learned back on the job." In other words, almost half of the managers do not support learners after training; thus they shorten the performance lever the organization has invested in.

Following up to ensure learner expectations have been met is a powerful way for managers to check in with their direct reports. Together the manager and learner can compare expected versus actual actions and diagnosis what led to successful application of training or prevented it. When asked about expectations, survey respondents indicated that only 35 percent of managers follow up on expectations by requiring a summary debrief of what was learned. Some 32 percent require a demonstration of the learning within a reasonable time frame. Among other required actions the percentages get smaller and smaller: 19 percent provide a specific program or project within which to use the training; 16 percent require an action plan that describes how training will be used on the job, and 13 percent require measurement of a business result within a reasonable time frame. The decline in percentages for the aforementioned actions seems to be linked to the amount of effort required from the learner and manager. As effort increases, the percentage decreases.

In the same way a parent might help a child grow through praise and correction, managers have many of the same behavior-shaping tools at their disposal to support and reinforce learning. Survey respondents were able to select any or all of the following five support options. Some 25 percent of managers supported learners by publically recognizing and celebrating successful application of training on the job. At a slightly lower rate, 22 percent of managers formally observed and provided feedback to learners within 90 days of training. While these two actions are critical to develop an application-feedback learning loop, at best only a quarter of managers perform these tasks. Other support tasks included: reprioritizing a learner's daily tasks to emphasize training use (21 percent), setting aside time to allow learners to try new concepts (16 percent) and allocating money to learners to fund new ideas that can be implemented on the job (9 percent).

Several measurement tools can facilitate manager engagement. Prior to training, managers can be surveyed to determine how much support they provide to learners pre-event, such as expectation setting. Using specialized evaluation systems, the post-course learner feedback can be routed automatically to the manager, who can gain insight about challenges the learner might have faced during training as well as barriers that might prevent on-the-job application. A performance management tool also can be used to document goals and provide automated check-ins between the manager and learner at regular intervals. Automated check-ins are important for providing information because they facilitate an even more important process - ongoing dialogue.

To quote behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner, "Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." This quote is undoubtedly a variation of similar quotes by George Saville and Albert Einstein, but it carries substantial weight coming from Skinner, who spent his career shaping others' behavior. He clearly implies that learning degrades over time due to recipients forgetting, whether they are in a generalized educational setting in a liberal arts school or participating in specific employee training aligned with a job task. Despite some degree of learning degradation, education can be prolonged and increased, and skill can be acquired and improved by using behavioral shaping techniques.

How is this relevant to manager engagement? Managers have the ability to prepare employees for learning prior to training. And after training, they have some ability to control the work environment to allow learners new opportunities to apply, practice and perfect what was learned. Lastly, managers have the ability to praise and reinforce successes as well as correct and coach mistakes.

The results of this study indicate that in most organizations today, manager engagement, both before and after training, is relatively low. If organizations are searching for ways to improve job performance through training, they should first look at performance improvement through manager engagement. How effective can managers be? Consider another one of Skinner's quotes: "Give me a child and I'll shape him into anything."

[About the Author: John R. Mattox II is director of research at KnowledgeAdvisors.]

Talent That Fuels Growth

2011-11-24T09:09:00.003-08:00

Talent That Fuels Growth

by Catherine Farley and David Gartside | Talent Management

For most of the world's companies, growth appears to have regained its place at the top of strategic agenda, displacing the cost-control mentality that has dominated boardrooms and executive suites for the past three years. That's good news, but are companies prepared for the economic recovery? Do they have the talent they need to grow?

According to the most recent Accenture High Performance Workforce Study, which is based on a survey of 674 C-level executives around the world, the answer for many companies is not hopeful.

The study, conducted between January and May 2010, found that president challenges in improving enterprise skill levels, workforce performance, HR organization productivity and effectiveness can substantially impede a company's ability to capitalize on emerging growth opportunities as economic prospects brighten in most parts of the world.

Workforce Actions During the Downturn

There's no doubt the recession had an impact on workforces around the globe, and that impact has been most visible in job eliminations: 62 percent of executives in the survey reported their organization had reduced the number of full-time employees during the downturn. Layoffs were much more prevalent in developed markets than in emerging economies.

When determining which employees to let go, 52 percent of companies claimed to eliminate employees in the lowest tier of performance. Future competitiveness also played a role in the decisions of many companies, with approximately four in 10 executives saying eliminated employees either had skills that were not critical to the organization's future business or were in workforces that were not deemed important to the organization's focus areas going forward.

But at the same time companies were laying off employees, about eight in 10 also were adding staff, mostly for strategic reasons such as strengthening workforces critical to the success of the business or addressing specific people needs related to a launch of a new product or business.

The study also revealed that the use of analytics is not pervasive. Only about one in 10 respondents strongly agreed they have a formal analytics capability that can help them make fact-based decisions about the skills needed to drive growth and the changes necessary to improve HR and training performance and effectiveness.

The net result of companies' workforce actions during the downturn was a smaller workforce for 47 percent of organizations, a larger workforce for 34 percent and workforce of about the same size for 19 percent.

Workforce Skills and Performance

Such workforce actions notwithstanding, Accenture's research revealed many companies will likely encounter major skills challenges that could make it difficult for them to achieve their growth objectives.

For instance, although sales and customer support and service were cited as the two most important functions by survey participants in the previous three editions of the study, many executives expressed concern about the performance of these workforces.

Just 21 percent of executives who named sales as a top-three workforce described that workforce as high performing, down from 25 percent in the previous edition of this study. Only 30 percent of respondents said the same about the customer service and support organization, an increase of 5 percent from the previous edition. There's a similar pattern across all other functions.

A major reason for this lack of high performance is that most organizations don't have the skills necessary for these functions to excel. A majority of executives who cited sales as their company's most important function said they either lack the needed skills in the sales function (29 percent) or significant proportions of the skills they do have in sales are out of date (24 percent).

The study found the same situation regarding customer service and support, although in this function, executives mentioned the additional challenge of having a difficult time attracting skills because their companies cannot afford to pay what the market demands. Overall, only 16 percent of respondents considered the current skill level of their entire workforce as industry leading. Worse, 30 percent said it would take a year or longer for their organization's workforce skills to return to the appropriate level.

Workforce Ability to Handle Change

In addition to facing skills challenges, executives said their workforces lack the ability to deal with change, a critical trait in today's business climate. In other words, many companies lack organizational agility, the adaptability and speed that enable them to execute innovations faster and move their organizations forward more nimbly.

For example, 8 percent of participating executives said their workforce is extremely well prepared to adapt to and manage change through periods of economic uncertainty. Only 23 percent strongly agreed they have the leadership necessary to help the enterprise navigate periods of economic uncertainty and the leadership development programs to prepare the organization's future leaders.

Given the preceding, it's not surprising that only 33 percent of survey participants strongly agreed they can quickly mobilize their enterprise to execute new strategies, serve new markets and new customers, and deliver new products and services, or that just 17 percent strongly agreed their organization's culture is highly adaptive and responds quickly and positively to change.

This puts many companies in a precarious competitive position as capturing growth opportunities requires quick, decisive action in a recovering economy.

Human Resource Function Capabilities

Critical to supporting the increased focus on growth reported by companies is a strong talent management function that can help build and sustain the workforce necessary to achieve performance objectives. But most companies said their HR functions are not fully prepared to answer this challenge. Indeed, the Accenture study found serious shortcomings continue to impede the ability of the HR and training functions to drive continuous improvement in the overall enterprise's operations and performance.

Perception of the HR function is not favorable. As reported in previous editions of this study, satisfaction with the HR function remains low. Only 8 percent of respondents said the performance of their human resource function in supporting the larger enterprise's pursuit of its business goals was industry leading.

Furthermore, just 13 percent of respondents rating HR as a top-three workforce described the function as high performing; and only 10 percent said their HR and training organizations are extremely well prepared to adapt to and manage change through periods of economic uncertainty. Perhaps most troubling of all, just 19 percent strongly agreed that HR and training are seen by their company as critical functions and act as true strategic partners in the enterprise's C-suite.

With a growing focus on talent and human capital as a key component of companies' growth strategies, HR needs to earn its place at the table. One tool that could help HR executives in that quest is analytics that enable HR and talent leaders to gauge how well their function performs. Such analytics can help identify areas where improvements can be made in cost and performance, to increase the business value the HR function generates for the larger enterprise and ultimately build greater credibility for the function and its leader.

The HR function is in need of a skills upgrade. More than half of respondents who cited HR as their company's most important function said they either lack the needed skills in the HR function (29 percent) or significant proportions of the skills they do have in HR are out of date (28 percent).

Some of the skills that should be more prevalent in today's HR function are financial acumen, including developing strong business cases for HR initiatives; stakeholder management; program management, ensuring the effective execution of initiatives; and communications, interacting with and inspiring stakeholders involved in change efforts.

Key HR and training capabilities in a large majority of companies are lacking in maturity. Only a small percentage of companies strongly agreed with statements that would indicate the presence of mature or robust HR and talent management practices. For example, only 10 percent of companies indicated that they have formal processes and tools that enable effective learning and knowledge sharing across the workforce, and only 13 percent claim to have a formal talent sourcing strategy that includes making use of alternative sources of talent.

Moving Forward

In the wake of the most severe economic downturn in decades, companies face myriad challenges, but none more important - or difficult - than creating a workforce that can implement an enterprise's strategies and respond to new competitive challenges.

The road back to recovery and growth begins with companies aligning their business strategy with a human capital strategy that puts in place the right talent in the right roles performing in the right ways to bring the business strategy to life and execute it optimally. It also includes a more flexible business design that can help increase the pace and certainty of successful organizational change and accommodate the ready use of other sources of talent, including outsourced talent and contingent labor, as needs dictate.

Most companies experienced some disruption to their workforces because of the recession, and many face a long road ahead. To spur growth, companies should leverage new techniques and tools to rapidly re-skill existing employees to perform new jobs and roles, and take on new hires in a way that gets them to competent performance levels faster.

What appears to be a monumental challenge also provides rare opportunities for companies to revisit their human capital strategies and capabilities and ensure the actions they take now and in the foreseeable future result in a new workforce that embodies the skills and capabilities needed for the organization to excel in the post-recession world.

[About the Authors: Catherine Farley and David Gartside are managing directors in Accenture's talent and organization performance practice.]

Values-Driven Leadership

2011-11-24T09:09:00.001-08:00

Values-Driven Leadership

by Thomas J. Griffin | Chief Learning Officer

The business challenge for organizations today is unmistakable: Build profitable companies that benefit people and society. This contradiction represents the classic paradox that many leaders face - the dilemma of the "what" versus the "how." The best-run organizations today focus on achieving two sets of results: business and people. They understand that merely getting one or the other is not enough for long-term growth and sustainability.

The values-driven leadership approach readily embraces this dilemma and recognizes that business and leadership are full of contradictions. This approach requires a high degree of stewardship and accountability from leaders at every level of the organization. It is a form of leadership that is based on service to others - individual - and to a greater purpose - organizational and societal - and is both ethical and practical.

The starting point of a values-driven organization is the individual leader. A leader cannot connect to a set of organizational values without first having gone through the exercise of identifying core individual values and then determining alignment between the two. Values clarification work requires that we ask ourselves the tough questions such as: Who am I? What do I stand for and why? Where am I going? Why would others want to follow me? What will people say about me after I'm gone?

These questions help leaders tap into their personal experiences and identify their truth-to-self moments - times in their past where they have either stood for something meaningful and lived their values - promoted integrity - or compromised and sold out on their values - promoted duplicity. It is probably best summed up by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge: "Clearly articulating, and more importantly, demonstrating ones' values, forms the basis of a leader's credibility - and credibility in leadership is character-based."

Values-driven leadership must be lived out in the everyday behaviors of leaders at all levels to be considered real. Leaders must be authentic and active or their hypocrisy will be easily exposed. Values-driven leadership, when successfully integrated into an organization's culture, produces noteworthy benefits, such as higher employee retention, fulfillment and satisfaction; improved customer satisfaction and client relations; and increased shareholder value.

Values-driven leadership at the organizational level is more important today than ever before. Values-driven companies succeed in the marketplace by focusing on the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. They deliver exceptional business results by providing leadership in ethical practice, social contribution and environmental impact.

Values-driven leadership implies a conscious commitment by leaders at all levels to lead with their values, connect them to organizational practices, and create an organizational culture that optimizes performance, accountability and contribution. In today's world, the product or service you provide is important, but who you are as a company and how you deliver on your brand promise is even more important to long-term success.

Values-driven leadership is guided by a compelling and inspiring future-focused vision that organization members can connect with rationally and emotionally. This vision, underpinned by a core set of values, forms the basis of credibility with organizational stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, shareholders, communities and employees - present and future.

The extent to which organization members can rationally and emotionally connect with the organization's vision drives higher levels of engagement, fulfillment and performance as measured by an organization's scorecard. In his article "Building a Vision-Guided, Values-Driven Organization," Richard Barrett cited research indicating that as much as 39 percent of the variability in corporate performance is driven by the level of employee fulfillment.

The effectiveness of the leader is the single most important factor in attracting and retaining key talent. In that same article, Barrett also notes that 69 percent of variability in employee fulfillment is attributable to the capability of the immediate leader.

Ultimately, values-driven leadership is about understanding the extraordinary privilege and responsibility that leadership carries and living it out on a daily basis. As Bill Pollard, former CEO of ServiceMaster Co., said: "Know who you are, know what you believe, know why you believe it, know where you're going and know why it's important for people to follow - that's your responsibility."

[About the Author: Thomas J.Griffin is a strategic partner for the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and the Center for Values-Driven Leadership at Benedictine University.]

Focusing on Individual Leadership Development for Organizational Growth

2011-11-24T09:07:00.003-08:00

Focusing on Individual Leadership Development for Organizational Growth

by Ladan Nikravan | Chief Learning Officer

Leadership has traditionally been seen as a skill of individuals. Yet much of the focus in leadership development remains on the needs of the organization, even though professional growth requires catering to individual employees. Executives and their subordinates at all levels need to be constantly growing in order to meet the ever-changing needs of their environments. Learning leaders should therefore continually develop new programs and activities that will attract new members and retain existing ones. This requires learning leaders to think creatively and develop new and innovative ideas that will enhance the performance of individuals and encourage growth.

"Organizations love to talk about organizational development, and they love to talk about strategy, but the missing link is often the individual," said Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day. "The notion of the learning organization has become very popular over the past 20 years. It's an idea that an organization can be flexible, agile, adapt and change to anticipating the needs of its customers and clients. However, the missing link of the learning organization is the learning individual. Unless every individual in an organization has an understanding of the nature of the learning process and how to accelerate their own learning, the learning organization remains a theoretical construct instead of a practical reality."

In his book, On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis states that leaders too often think of growth in quantitative terms. They think that when employees' bodies stop growing, their minds stop growing. They don't feel that focusing on individual development will provide results, so they focus on group and organizational development instead. But, as Bennis asserts in his book, intellectual and emotional growth don't have to stall - nor should they. Employees that are prospective leaders differ from others in their appetite for knowledge and experience. As their responsibilities widen and become more complex, so too do their means of understanding. Learning leaders who establish programs catering to these individuals are enhancing and protecting their human capital.

"A good learning leader draws out an employee's individualism," said Michael Stewart, president of management consulting firm Work Effects. "To do that you need to capitalize on core virtues - beneficial partnerships, aligned motions, sustained determination, intellectual flexibility and character. If a manager just uses a linear problem-solving skill set, they're less likely to be able to draw in the insight, passion, skills and opportunity drivers of an employee, as well as gain any substantial commitment to execute whatever mutual approaches to projects they've agreed upon."

Professors Shung Jae Shin at Washington State University and Jing Zhou at Rice University sampled 290 employees and their supervisors for their 2003 study, "Transformational Leadership, Conservation, and Creativity." They concluded that transformational leadership was positively correlated to follower creativity, and argued that situational and personal factors jointly contribute to employees' creativity.

Through creative facilitation and development, leaders can help employees develop new leadership habits and skills that are better suited to an adaptive and innovative organization.

"Too often, the transactional thinking or linear thinking that can be associated with various training programs or the way we're taught to solve problems really gets in the way," Stewart said. "It only uses A + B = C kind of thinking, as if there's only one right answer. When a person uses their own color commentary and is allowed to develop based on their individuality, their virtues start to become revealed. By being aware of those basic virtues, a person can make small tweaks or adjustments so that they can enhance their ability to build those relationships and create better outcomes."

According to Gelb, it's not just a theoretical notion that employees should learn. Leadership development is about actually teaching people how to learn and how to accelerate the process of learning.

"Leaders need to have curiosity about how to best continually develop new programs and activities that will attract new hires and retain existing ones," he said. "Frequently what they do is just think what the competencies are to make more widgets more effectively. It can't simply be about competencies. It has to be about creating an environment that will inspire people to go beyond what we've already thought of in order to delight customers and yet remain a proper learning organization."

[About the Author: Ladan Nikravan is an associate editor of Chief Learning Officer magazine.]

Building Leadership Value

2011-11-24T09:07:00.001-08:00

Building Leadership Value

by Kellye Whitney | Talent Management

Leadership is as important to a talent management discussion as employees and performance management. It may actually be more important than those common talent topics since it - and many others - require effective leadership to be effective.

The idea of values-based leadership has emerged, likely in response to the extreme changes that have occurred in the world - and in business - in the past few years. In his book From Values to Action: The Founder Principles of Values-Based Leadership, Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., former chairman and CEO of global health care company Baxter International Inc., discusses four principles that encapsulate values-based leadership.

The book begins with a discussion of self-reflection. Without the ability to step back amid the hustle and bustle, change and drama that crop up in the average workplace, leaders cannot effectively assess how best to correct or offer guidance when employees make mistakes. Kraemer said self-reflection is central to leadership. It requires a leader to be self-aware and continually assess abilities, determining where development may be required to promote strengths and shore up or eliminate weaknesses.

It also requires a leader to be aware of the ramifications that surround decision making, and make what Kraemer calls explicit decisions. This means considering all available sources of information that pertain to a course of action, and understanding that there are contributing factors, causes, and direct and indirect outcomes that impact a decision. For instance, there may be a perfectly good reason why an employee continually makes the same mistake. A values-based leader will work to uncover that reason before attempting corrective action.

The second values-based leadership quality is balance - the ability and desire to see a situation from multiple perspectives and gain a holistic understanding. This holistic viewpoint is in direct contrast to a narrower, perhaps knee-jerk reaction to a problem. A manager in pursuit of balance will seek the input and opinions of all team members, soliciting feedback regularly in order to be well informed. "Whether you are a manager with two or three direct reports, or the CEO of a large publicly traded company, balance will help you become a well-rounded, global-thinking person with more meaningful and satisfying interactions with others," Kraemer wrote.

Third is self-confidence. Kraemer said someone is truly self-confident he or she knows they cannot be good at everything. "You know that there will always be people who are smarter, more talented, more articulate and more successful than you are ... you recognize your shortcomings, weaknesses and past failures without the need to hide, overcompensate, or beat yourself up." That kind of self-awareness can increase empathy, which can be handy when a manager must correct a direct report or even call out a peer who is making a potentially troublesome mistake. Further, true self-confidence can be contagious and can help to elevate team and even organizational performance.

Fourth, values-based leadership requires genuine humility. Like many leaders, Kraemer began his career in a small cubicle. "Not more than six feet by six feet - if I moved my chair back too quickly, I hit my head on the metal filing cabinet directly behind me," he wrote. He says he never forgot those humble, ordinary beginnings, and that they helped him to gain valuable perspective. To this day, he retains an appreciation for the people in those positions.

Humility can make a manager more approachable, more authentic and more open to others. The ability to appreciate the value of each individual on a team or in a department - to make others aware and consistently show that they are valued - can make those difficult conversations around performance improvements or necessary behavioral corrections easier to handle.

[About the Author: Kellye Whitney is managing editor for Talent Management magazine.]

Companies Want More From Talent Acquisition

2011-11-24T09:05:00.001-08:00

Companies Want More From Talent Acquisition

by Natalie Morera | Talent Management

Nearly half of companies are considering switching talent acquisition providers, according to a recent study, but some providers are maintaining their optimism.

The Bersin & Associates study, titled "Talent Acquisition Systems 2011: Market Realities, Implementation Examples and Solution Provider Profiles," included responses from HR practitioners and recruiters from organizations across multiple industries. It found that organizations are considering switching as a result of enhanced capabilities their current provider may lack.

Most contracts with acquisition providers last three to five years, a point that will be reached within the next year or two, explained Sarah White, principal analyst of talent acquisition at Bersin & Associates, a research and consulting firm. Over that time, organizations will have had the opportunity to understand and restructure their recruiting process.

It's not that companies are falling behind on what is needed in terms of talent acquisition - they just may not be utilizing the right systems. "The same provider can be very good for one organization and not the right fit for another organization," White said.

"The process and the technology [companies] use are also going to need to evolve," she said. "They're no longer just buying a talent acquisition [system]. They're really buying and having that solution as the center hub and buying all of the different spokes around to make the process work most effectively."

In addition to talent acquisition systems or applicant tracking systems, some companies are bringing on supplemental solution providers, such as sourcing products, video interviewing products and onboarding technologies. Some of these services are being provided by nontraditional vendors or companies that were smaller players in the market two or three years ago, White said.

These technologies, along with mobile capabilities, social media and sourcing analytics, are being sought after by companies, and talent acquisition providers may have to jump onboard if they haven't already.

At a time when customer satisfaction is statistically low, talent acquisition vendors need to do more.

"Overall, the corporate clients are very unhappy with their solutions," White said. "They're not getting the support they need. They're not getting the advancements they need. [The solutions are] just not working quite as well as they used to for [clients] and for their needs."

Charles Jones, chairman and CEO of talent management company Peopleclick Authoria, notes that integrating new technologies has benefitted his company.

"For us, this is really an opportunity - we have the largest segment of our total businesses in recruiting," Jones said, adding that this is an opportunity for the company to offer other functions to its clients. "We see it [as] much less of a threat given our suite capability and much more of an opportunity."

Currently, Peopleclick Authoria scored its highest retention rate for clients and it has also experienced the highest renewal rate with clients in the first quarter. Clients have renewed their contracts from anywhere between two and three years, Jones explained.

Similarly, Kenexa is focusing on having a total talent acquisition and talent management suite.

Keeping up with the latest technology, such as mobile technology, is advantageous for the company, explained Dyke Debrie, director of implementation services at Kenexa, a provider of business solutions for human resources.

"Organizations are now looking for partners that can help them with business growth - understanding their talent, understanding their data - and have a full suite to carry them through that," Debrie said.

[About the Author: Natalie Morera is an associate editor for Talent Management magazine.]

Learning From Leadership Mistakes

2011-11-24T09:04:00.003-08:00

Learning From Leadership Mistakes

by Ladan Nikravan | Chief Learning Officer

Many leaders are afraid to fail. They worry constantly about not meeting expectations and making a mistake. But fear of failure is a deterrent to growth. Leaders should support their cohorts and avoid being overly critical of procedures. However, the trick of leadership is to also maintain accountability and monitor mistakes.

Any time leaders break new ground or implement innovative technologies, they open up new avenues for mistakes that are inevitable with change. But sticking to a routine doesn't necessarily decrease the likelihood of errors being made. Oftentimes, bad business habits - the mistakes made when leaders aren't paying attention - come naturally.

If leaders want business success, they have to look clearly at their mistakes and stop repeating them. They need to work with their employees, not against them, to accomplish this. Even a small mistake can have big consequences, and repeating it can cost an employee his or her job, lose customers and kill the company brand.

"Managers should develop a culture of seeking to prevent mistakes before they happen or before they accumulate to a big one," said Randall W. Hatcher, president of recruiting, staffing and outsourcing services firm MAU Workforce Solutions and author of The Birth of a New Workforce. "They can do this with good reporting and feedback with their individual reports. They should report key performance indicators to the whole company - business-critical things necessary to be successful that have consequences for everybody in the organization. In terms of feedback, companies make mistakes when they have minimal performance development systems or performance appraisals dedicated toward helping employees develop their skills."

Sometimes, though, a mistake is not the employee's fault, and if a leader truly believes he or she shares some of the blame, then the leader should act to change procedures going forward. Without accountability, leaders run into a mental cul-de-sac where possible actions to remediate the situation raise difficult, uncomfortable scenarios because remedies would have made a difference much earlier.

"Anything that isn't how we expected to be [or] that feels like it will take value from us is viewed as a threat, and the brain reacts defensively to warning signs of danger," said Peter Demarest, author of Answering the Central Question, adding that most people mistakenly view these situations as time to address weaknesses. "When people try to fix their weaknesses, they inadvertently end up using one weakness to fix another weakness, and they're not using their strengths. Strengths are what allow leaders to perform their best. Focusing on strengths gives an immediate benefit of better performance."

According to Demarest, a mistake is a choice or action that didn't create the value a leader wanted it to create or took value away. To learn from such a mistake, engage better thinking and make better choices, leaders should ask themselves what decisions create the greatest value.

"When we see things as opportunities, we have more reasoning ability," Demarest said. "Otherwise, we make decisions about the mistake made that might not be as accurate as they could have been had we used our strengths to decipher how to learn from it."

In order to prevent mistakes, leaders should have a mistake-proofing mindset. "Poka-yoke," a Japanese term, is any mechanism in a procedure that helps a leader avoid mistakes and prevent defects from occurring in business processes. Constantly looking for creative ways to minimize mistakes pushes employees to rethink the process. It sparks innovation. It's not about fundamentally changing mindsets and behaviors; it's about mistake-proofing the personal and interpersonal business processes that matter.

"If you fall into a habit, you're building mistrust in your organization," Hatcher said. "Employees see you as inflexible - you respond the same way every time. Hatcher recommends leaders address mistakes as follows: "Alright, we made a mistake, what is the poka-yoke we can put in place to keep this mistake from happening in the future."

[About the Author: Ladan Nikravan is an associate editor of Chief Learning Officer magazine.]

Why Communication From Leadership is Essential For Success

2011-11-24T09:04:00.001-08:00

Why Communication From Leadership is Essential For Success

by Ladan Nikravan | Chief Learning Officer

As workforces age and skills gaps widen, it's imperative for leaders to bring together strategy deliberation and execution. According to research commissioned by consultancies SuccessFactors and Accenture in April, 80 percent of leaders recognize they are not doing their best to communicate strategy through the organization. Further, according to findings from a survey of 1,400 corporate executives and employees announced in May by leadership development and training firm Fierce Inc., more than 70 percent of respondents either agree or strongly agree that a lack of candor impacts the company's ability to perform optimally. As economic recovery continues and developing and executing the organization's strategy becomes a priority, leaders should reverse traditional information flow and facilitate a bottom-up flood of opinions and ideas rather than one-way delegation from management.

"Conversations are the building blocks of relationships, and those relationships either create [an] engaged or unengaged workforce - a positive or toxic culture," said Halley Bock, CEO and president at Fierce Inc. "To nurture cross-boundary collaboration, leaders should invite employees to be part of executing the organization's mission and strategy. Too often, companies rely on recognition or engagement programs to reward employees they want recognized. The problem with that is that people don't engage with programs, they engage with other people. The gift of your time, involving them and being specific on how they contributed goes a lot further than leaders seem to understand."

While more than 90 percent of respondents to the Fierce survey reported believing decision makers should seek out other opinions before making a final decision, approximately 40 percent think leaders and decision makers consistently fail to do so. Employers who fail to communicate their business plans properly to their staff and dismiss their points of view are missing out on engagement.

"Ninety-five percent of what leaders need is right there in front of their noses," said Vivian James Rigney, president of Inside Us LLC, an executive coaching organization. "They just need to slow down, listen and engage with people. You get more valuable information, build bridges of trust and share accountability much more effectively when you begin to communicate. Organizations thrive best when there's a culture of calibrating lofty goals and strategies with people resources and maximizing that. It's listening, acknowledging and understanding that there's more to decision making than listening to those at the top."

Workplace communication problems are not unique to any industry sector or rung on the corporate ladder. Nearly 100 percent of respondents to the Fierce survey prefer workplaces in which people identify and discuss issues truthfully and effectively, yet less than half said their organization's tendency is to do so. These issues are slowing down projects, productivity, employee retention and the bottom line.

Workplaces lacking in collaboration and communication may arrive at undesirable operational business results. According to Chieh-Wen Sheng, Yi-Fang Tian and Ming-Chia Chen, authors of the article "Relationship among teamwork behavior, trust, perceived team support, and team commitment" published last year in Social Behavior & Personality, in order to cure maladies of ineffective, closed-contact workplaces, leaders must communicate what the goals and objectives of the organization are because employees are more apt to produce when they are aware of what is expected. Leaders should empower employees and involve them in the decision-making process to boost employee morale, confidence and trust, and they should recognize, acknowledge and reward employees who consistently demonstrate expected behaviors.

"Employees get enormous amounts of motivation from being involved," Rigney said. "When they're part of the process, they believe they're listened to, respected and part of something. This allows a dominant leader, an alpha leader, to continue being the strong decision maker, but it also allows their team to be with them and an integral part of the development of the business."

[About the Author: Ladan Nikravan is an associate editor of Chief Learning Officer magazine.]

The Human Energy Crisis

2011-11-24T09:03:00.003-08:00

The Human Energy Crisis

by Mike Prokopeak | Chief Learning Officer

There's an energy crisis facing our organizations. But this crisis can't be solved by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs or simply turning up the air conditioning a degree or two. This crisis goes deep into the core of our personal and professional habits, and the resulting fatigue is putting all of us at risk.

"When [individuals and organizations] struggle for energy, they struggle to have life, and if you're unable to generate the energy that is necessary to meet those demands, some ball is going to drop," said Jim Loehr, chairman and co-founder of the Human Performance Institute and author of 15 books, including The Power of Full Engagement.

Think of the nurse at the end of a 12-hour shift who faces an emergency situation that requires rapid diagnosis and makes a careless mistake, or the air-traffic controller who nods off while monitoring incoming flights. Physical fatigue creates a risk that directly affects our safety and well-being.

Fatigue also has implications beyond our ability to physically perform on the job. It makes it difficult to connect with and care about others and leads us to be more impatient and detached. It diminishes our ability to focus, be creative and develop innovative and original ideas. It even plays a role in ethical lapses.

"When people are tired [and] they're in an energy crisis, they don't hold the line like they should," Loehr said. "They're much more easily coerced - maybe just a little or maybe a lot - to the dark side."

Based on research with high-performing athletes, Loehr and colleagues at the Human Performance Institute have developed recommendations for delivering high performance in the business world. It starts with recognition that human energy, or the lack thereof, has far-reaching implications.

"Take energy out of the equation in business [and] nothing happens," he said. "Nothing happens until your energy causes something to move."

While organizations have a number of often expensive programs and incentives aimed at developing technical and leadership skills, they pay comparatively little attention to employees' energy and health, usually leaving it up to the individual to manage in their personal time. That approach focuses too heavily on the demands made by the organization and too little on how energy is supplied by the individual, with potentially debilitating results.

"We know what we want to spend our energy on but we don't look to how we renew energy," Loehr said. "As soon as energy is reduced in any significant way, learning comes to a complete stop, engagement begins to fall immediately. You don't have the discretionary effort to put into the job or mission or task, and it places into jeopardy all the things we want to accomplish."

Energy has never been viewed as a resource that needs to be managed in the same concentrated, coordinated way that we manage any other corporate resource, Loehr said. That lack of focus has resulted in a relatively unsophisticated approach that often confuses effort with energy.

"Effort simply refers to the volume of energy, the quantity that you have to spend," Loehr said. "But you can spend large quantities of energy that's very scattered, unfocused [and] has very poor quality in the sense that it's negative and sarcastic."

To tackle the energy crisis, organizations need to begin with the fundamental understanding that energy operates in an oscillatory fashion, meaning people continually expend and recover energy. Without some infusion of energy and time to recover, it quickly becomes unsustainable.

CLOs can play a role by including personal and organizational energy management in leadership development programs. Beyond training to develop rituals that generate energy, such as getting enough sleep and exercising regularly, CLOs can help leaders learn how to apply and focus individual and organizational energy. People can be trained to be more positive with their energy, strengthen their focus and boost engagement, Loehr said.

Some organizations, such as hospitals and the military are actively managing energy because there are direct consequences to failure to do so. The broader business world is just beginning to get it, looking up from the bottom line just in time to see the energy crisis looming.

"We have never really viewed this as being central to the bottom line and it really is," Loehr said. "The only thing that makes everything happen is your energy, and when your energy is no longer available, all that brilliance is stalled."

[About the Author: Mike Prokopeak is editorial director at Chief Learning Officer magazine.]

The Changing Face of Leadership Development

2011-11-24T09:03:00.001-08:00

The Changing Face of Leadership Development

by Frank Waltmann | Chief Learning Officer

The financial crisis of the late 2000s held up a mirror to the state of leadership development and revealed the need for a serious reassessment. The derailed financial services companies had some of the most sophisticated leadership development programs in the world. Considering how much money, time and effort was invested in leadership development, where were all the leaders?

"The financial crisis raised some tough questions for leadership development," said David Dotlich, co-author of Leading in Times of Crisis: Navigating Through Complexity, Diversity and Uncertainty to Save Your Business. "Should we teach just what the CEO wants the leaders to learn or does it need to be broader? Leadership development's aim must be to mold leaders to think and act independently as opposed to just training to a company's competency model."

Dotlich thinks traditional leadership training in a classroom using case studies and best practices isn't enough. Rather, effective program development needs to be reworked from the ground up, with the clear intention of developing strong individuals and learning programs that are in line with a company's strategy.

In order to do this, Leading in Times of Crisis co-author Stephen Rhinesmith said a company should first identify its strategic needs for a three- to five-year period, and then specifically build and relate training to that strategy. The yield will be people equipped with the required skills at various levels, making it easier for the company to attain its goals. Additionally, he said, there should be support from the HR department for all training programs. "There needs to be congruence between what people are taught and what people are rewarded for, Rhinesmith said.

Triangulated Leadership Traits

In their book Head, Heart and Guts: How the World's Best Companies Develop Complete Leaders, Dotlich and Rhinesmith contend that while analytical abilities are important for executives, successful leaders also need emotional intelligence and the ability to evaluate and take risks.

For example, the pharmaceutical industry has undergone enormous changes to its business model. Today, it takes about $1 billion to bring a drug through basic discovery to market. "Because of this change, the question for the industry is: What's going to create value in the mind of the patient, the doctor and the payer in the future?" Dotlich said. "That's not just a question for the CEO, but for all levels of the organization."

Interpersonal emotional intelligence is also a big part of working in complex interdependent systems. There's a need for empathy and understanding about how each individual impacts others, both inside and outside company walls. According to Dotlich, emotional intelligence is developed more through coaching than anything else.

Additionally, getting people to recognize how to best leverage their strengths as opposed to fixing their weaknesses is imperative in leadership training. "We all have a tendency to do dumb things that derail us, especially when under stress," Dotlich said. "These are usually our strengths carried out to excess. Part of leadership development is to understand how these derailers can get in the way of our being effective and manage them."

Leading Within a Paradox

Many leaders must deal with paradoxes, which can be both long-term and short-term - for example, global versus local decisions and work versus family considerations. Given this, the simplistic view of leadership - of being either "right" or "wrong" - is erroneous. Managing complexity today means balancing these paradoxes, not eliminating them.

Again taking the pharmaceutical industry as an example: There is an inherent tension between the commercial and research and development interests in this space. R&D proceeds along its own timeline of discovery and carefully follows the scientific method. The commercial interests, however, seek to respond to the demands of the marketplace, asking: Can a drug be developed faster and cheaper and can it get to market sooner? Both are right, and both are sometimes at odds with each other. Since both interests are important, a leader must balance and lead within that paradox.

Leadership Learning Methodology

A good leadership development program should include action-oriented modules that are tied to clear business issues and dilemmas. Students need to be allowed to bring problems to the table and talk about them, as opposed to needing to appear perfect. The environment should be one where people can take risks and talk about things they don't know or understand. The best methodology is a mixture of techniques blending experiences, mentoring, classroom teaching and e-learning.

Leadership skills are also developed when people reflect on their behavior. An action review should be included in action-oriented modules so participants can think about what they did, why they did it and what they would do differently if faced with a similar situation.

Leadership training has gone through a transformation. Learning and development professionals today need to encourage leaders to think and act independently in order to be true leaders. Financial accountability should also be factored in. Programs that are tied to company objectives, strategies and real business problems are preferred. Additionally, learning that is spread out over time proves to have stronger retention results than single sessions. Participants who are taught how to think broadly and understand themselves, the workplace and the larger global business environment are better equipped to successfully make the hard decisions in the face of intense pressure.

[About the Author: Frank Waltmann is head of corporate learning at Novartis, a Swiss-based pharmaceuticals and life sciences company.]