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Leading Change in Challenging Conditions Part II

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Leading Change in Challenging Conditions Part II
Start Date: 30-Mar-10 8:00 AM
End Time: 30-Mar-10 5:00 PM
Location: King Chapman & Broussard, Inc., Houston, TX 77002
Speaker: Kevin Cullen

Event Details:

Gaining a competitive edge in today’s business climate won’t happen by simply continuing to produce solid results. Growth, expansion and sustaining excellent results require real leadership. This session calls on leaders to inspire and challenge employees at a whole new level. Leading Change in Challenging Conditions Part 2 is the second session of a three-part series for leading change.*

One of the myths about leadership is that it is tied to certain kinds of personalities with charisma and charm (“Leaders are born”). In this workshop we will dispel this myth and get down to the hard work of what it takes to provide leadership.

In Part I we:

− Identified what it takes to cause an organizational shift

− Distinguished leadership from management

− Explored the power of enrollment

− Gave participants the tools to assess their organization’s readiness to change

In this session we look at each of thee aspects from the perspective of what it takes to successfully translate the concepts to actions and results.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

· Mid-level managers and executives who are charged with leading and motivating others

· Managers, directors and project leaders with line accountabilities

· Employees taking on a project with aggressive outcomes

* Participation in Leading Change Part I is not a pre-requisite for this workshop

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

· You’ll identify and understand what real leadership is

· You’ll know when to manage and when to lead

· You’ll assess your leadership qualities and skills, and identify gaps

· You’ll design a structure for providing leadership in your organization

King Chapman & Broussard, Inc.

700 Louisiana Street, Suite 4550

Houston, TX USA 77002

Communication for Breakthrough Workshop

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Communication for Breakthrough Workshop
Start Date: 20-Apr-10 8:00 AM
End Time: 21-Apr-10 5:00 PM
Location: King Chapman & Broussard, Inc., Houston, TX 77002
Event Details:

INFLUENCING ACTION THROUGH COMMUNICATION

Whether dealing with associates, managers, staff members or crews, the way you speak and listen as a leader plays a critical role in your ability to get results. Often we think of communication as a one-way street – "I speak, you listen"; or worse, "You do what I want you to do." Today’s business world, however, calls for influencing action through winning the hearts and minds of other people - up, down, across and outside your organization.

NOTE: This course includes video taping and coaching.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

§ You will learn the nature and dynamics of effective communication

§ You will design and practice a leadership message that builds employee understanding and ownership of a strategic future

§ You will gain the ability to break down barriers, strengthen teamwork, and accelerate problem solving

§ Directly address tough questions or difficult issues that stand in the way of working together

§ Gain the ability to create messages that apply to different groups whether one-on-one or in large or small groups

§ Understand the different roles of leader and manager, including when each is appropriate, and how communication may change

§ Learn how to deliver a clear request for action and to elicit a committed response

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

§ Leaders who deliver important messages within their organizations

§ Informal Leaders who communicate regularly with employees

§ Managers who want to make things happen through communication

Please note: the cost for this workshop is $1,000 per person.

King Chapman & Broussard, Inc.

700 Louisiana Street

Houston, TX USA 77002

The Coaching You Have Been Waiting For

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:00:00 GMT

The Coaching You Have Been Waiting For
Start Date: 2-Jun-10 8:00 AM
End Time: 2-Jun-10 5:00 PM
Location: King Chapman & Broussard, Inc, Houston, Texas 77002
Speaker: Sarah Flatow

Event Details:

Get Ready for an amazing boost in your power as a leader!

This coaching workshop will be light on tips and strong on hands-on engagement - leaving you with real tools rather than hypothetical ideas. Now we’re talking about Leadership Transformation!

Traditionally, coaching is thought of as advising, mentoring, tweaking or teaching. Leaders need more than that.

It could be said that true leadership is the quality of being able to stand for something extraordinary in the future, and then having conversations in which others are empowered to make that future real.

This coaching workshop has to do with expanding your capacity as a leader, not merely teaching you how to do something. It leaves you leading by bringing out the best in others so they far exceed their previous level of innovation and productivity.

Topics covered

§ Eliminating what stops you from powerfully leading.

§ Developing a stand for strong leadership going forward.

§ Actions to achieve and sustain your Breakthrough outcomes.

who should ATTEND*

§ Executives who have audacious goals and want to expand their effectiveness into their organizations.

§ Managers with commitments to extraordinary results, who need to mobilize groups and teams of people to produce these results.

§ Project leaders requiring a powerful “followership”.

§ Members of teams who are stopped in their productivity and want a Breakthrough.

* You must be currently working on delivering an extraordinary commitment or goal that is outside the bounds of “business as usual”.

King Chapman & Broussard, Inc

700 Louisiana Street, Suite 4550

Houston, Texas US 77002

Strategic Execution Leadership

Bob Chapman, Ph.D. — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Strategic Execution Leadership

The secrets of success in strategic execution

BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D.

Strategic execution is an intervention into the trajectory of performance of a business. It is an interruption of the current trajectory in order to improve or upgrade the direction to create more profitability and value in the business. Interruption in the trajectory of a business’s performance is neither something easily done nor an action to be taken lightly. It requires courage, skilled leaders and a series of well planned actions. Otherwise the intervention will hit too much resistance from the organization and will be abandoned or minimized. This is a common outcome, and the reason so many attempts at strategic execution fall short or are abandoned. Leadership is THE key ingredient for success in strategic execution.

Strategic Execution is an intervention made to improve the performance of a business. It is an interruption of the current trajectory in order to improve or upgrade the direction to create more profitability and value in the business. Strategic Execution is intentional actions designed to inspire others to accomplish extraordinary results and position the business in a more attractive, competitive position.

Strategic Execution

Strategic execution is intended to create a breakthrough for the business. That is, prior to the interventions made in strategic execution neither the competitive position nor extraordinary results were possible. Strategic execution involves implementing discontinuous change and transformation, i.e., a change large enough to alter the form of the business, its performance and its position in its marketplaces. It is a substantive change that results in an appreciable difference in the competitiveness of the business. A strategic execution may or may not involve restructuring of the organization, but it should not in any way be thought of as synonymous with organizational structure change. Rather it is change in the fundamentals of the business, and will involve substantive changes in the level of ownership and responsibility by employees, engagement of people, increased velocity of actions, speed at which decisions are made, attention to the concerns of stakeholders, simplified work processes and burning passion for delivering results.

Business Case for Strategic Execution Leadership

What would you say is the primary source of undelivered shareholder value? Which of the following would you identify as a likely culprit?

• Low-quality products • Obsolete technology • Poor customer service • Trying to grow too quickly
• Taking imprudent risks • Weak sales force • Botched acquisitions • Pathetic marketing • Poor maintenance
• Poor supply chain management • Confusing advertising • Lack of viable brand • Failure to manage risks

• Loss of proper controls • Capital projects that failed • Equipment downtime • Massive operating failures

• IT systems that can’t keep up

What if I told you that all of these are the consequence of execution failures? These are all evidence that strategic execution initiatives and projects failed to deliver, yet we seldom identify our inability to execute strategy as the culprit for all the other ills of business.

Consider the following phrase: We are great at developing strategies and plans …but lousy at implementing them.

How often have you heard this lament? How often do we come up with good ideas and then see these ideas shrivel because of poor implementation? We lament this situation not only because we see the lost opportunity, but also because we feel a kind of resignation that anything can really be done to change the way things go in the business.

The inability to implement effectively is what leads to low-quality products, obsolete technology, poor customer service, weak sales, poor returns on capital projects, failure to control operating costs…all the things that are described as the cause of shareholder value destruction. A manager once gave a great description of this when he said: “In our business, we have a lot of takeoffs but very few landings.”

This is a metaphor for starting many change initiatives but seeing most of them disappear and never be completed. Imagine an actual airport where you could see takeoffs and also see the landscape littered with the wreckage of prior “project flights.” Such a scene would not encourage flights. Past failed initiatives, likewise, do not encourage people to be excited about new initiatives.

So where is the good news? The good news is that this problem can be solved. You can improve your probability of success by learning the secrets of strategic execution. It is strategic execution that makes the difference between success and failure when a new initiative is launched. I am interested in you not having an organizational landscape that is littered with the wreckage of prior projects.

Success in Strategic Execution

The organizational setting for strategic execution can include implementing a growth strategy, striving for world-class performance, changing the competitive position of a business in the marketplace, integrating an acquisition, and substantial performance improvement. In all these cases there is coordinated action to deliver success in discontinuous change and avoid the “disappearing planes” in implementation.

Countless studies have found that a majority of strategic executions fail to deliver the expected results. For example, in a 2006 McKinsey Quarterly online survey[1], only 38% of the global executives responding said that their recent transformations had been “completely” or "mostly" successful in impacting performance. About 10% rated their transformation efforts as “completely” or “mostly” unsuccessful.

In their classic book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and Ron Charan [2]assert that there are three key points to remember:

1. Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy.

2. Execution is the major role of the business leader.

3. Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture.

While I strongly agree with these points, I think it is important to add leadership. I say that these three points are a reflection of leadership being provided. Successful execution does not occur without effective leadership at all levels of the organization. Further, leadership must be provided over all of the time required for execution. A “dab of leadership” at the kickoff of the execution effort is not sufficient. Leadership must be provided over time and in the trenches, during the challenging days of implementation. Execution is more than a role of leadership. It is the essence of leadership.

My core message is that leadership is the key to success in strategic execution. I learned a wonderful expression called “full stop” from a British client. When a speaker reaches the end of a point or has spoken the essence of the communication, the speaker will say full stop. It means that what needed to be said has been said clearly and there is nothing else to say about it. There is no need to try and refine the point, as what has been said is as well said as the speaker can say it (and of course we all have had the experience of continuing to talk after the point has been made and finding that we “muddy up” clarity on the subject). Given that background explanation, please hear this statement: “The foundation for success in strategic execution is intentional, transformational leadership…full stop.”

Success Factors in Strategic Execution Leadership

Success in strategic execution comes from the deep understanding and action on these points:

1. Transformational leadership is mandatory

2. Leading the complete execution is the most important job

3. The quality of a strategy is determined by quality of leadership’s strategic thinking

4. Leadership is intentional: success is by design and not left to chance

5. Success in execution is requires planning FROM implementation

6. Continuous communication and engagement of employees

7. Never Stop: Leadership is clever adaptation and coordinated action until the results are achieved

Let’s look at each of these critical steps.

1. Transformational Leadership Is Mandatory

A transformational leader is mandatory for success in strategic execution. Absent transformational leadership, attempted intervention into the trajectory of the business will fail and the results will not be achieved.

A transformational leader is someone who is capable of and committed to producing transformation in the business. Each transformation is different, and each has unique challenges. A transformational leader must be open to learning, wiling to taste bitter failure while in the midst of winning the war, be thrilled by the success of others and willing to be bigger than the circumstances. This person is quite serious about being and doing what is required to see that the employees in the organization are successful in bringing about the transformation.

A transformational leader is highly responsible. Common descriptions of transformational leaders are determined and responsible. The leader is willing to be responsible for actions and areas that are beyond formal accountability as part of the strong commitment to seeing the business produce exceptional results and succeed.

A transformational leader begins with self, and the willingness to make personal changes as required for the success of the business. That is, the leader is aware that he/she will need to go first in making personal changes. If the leader is unwilling to change, the organization is unlikely to follow. Gandhi sums this up well with “To change, first we must change ourselves”.

A transformational leader appreciates that they are the source of action in the business. If the actions of the organization are off trajectory or missing the target, the leader does not jump to blaming employees. Rather, the leader looks to see what he/she has missed or not provided. The leader sees self as source of the actions of others. This provides the leader with much greater access to altering the behaviors of employees.

Strategic execution requires intentionality. That is, a leader being intentional about achieving the results. This brings clarity and focus on what is required for success. They are focused on accomplishing the task at hand. Many executives are unaware of the demands that strategic execution will place on them. In particular, there is a demand to be an intentional leader. This not only includes ways of being and acting on the executive’s part but also that executive’s ability to inspire employees throughout the business to also to be leaders. Discontinuous or transformational leadership actually calls for leaders to emerge at all levels of the organization.

Leadership should not be taken for granted. Most executives are interested in being thought of as a leader. While many are interested in having a reputation as a leader, a much smaller number are willing to do what it takes to be a leader. Most executives lack the capability and willingness to do what is needed to inspire employees to achieve a transformation in the business. Leadership is demonstrated in strategic execution, and pretenders or pseudo-leaders are revealed.

2. Leading the Complete Execution Is the Most Important Job

I want you to consider that implementation often fails because it is treated as an afterthought rather than as a crucial element of what is being designed or developed. Here’s the startling truth: implementation is the executive and manager’s primary responsibility. Their role is to see that success is achieved in implementation, not that a wonderful strategy was designed, a wonderful strategy that then flopped in implementation.

Strategic execution is executives’ and managers’ most important accountability. While that may sound obvious and simple, it is not. Usually executives are burned-out by the time execution planning begins. It is easy to understand how one is distracted and fatigued by the process of planning and negotiating an acquisition or alliance, of developing a new strategy that meets the expectations of the board and investors, developing the concepts for being a world class operation, developing a growth strategy, restructuring a business to improve performance is completed, etc. After all that time and effort it is understandable that the gory details of execution planning may seem too much to face. While it may be understandable, it is nonetheless the job.

Imagine that you took a group to a very expensive and famous restaurant for a special dinner, and the waiter came out and explained that service would be slow tonight since the chefs were fatigued from planning the menu that they would not be cooking tonight and had delegated the final tasks to the busboys. How would you react? Yet that is precisely what happens on a frequent basis in companies. Execution is THE job.

Leadership in execution often falls short because:

It is not thought to be important – there is a common belief that the hard work is developing the strategy, and that implementing will be so easy that it is like “falling off a log”.
Execution planning is thought to be a continuation of strategy development. There is a common belief that the approach to planning the execution is simply an extension of the strategy. While this may seem logical to you, it is not what happens in reality.
Leadership in execution cannot be delegated. The number of people who are involved in providing leadership will be dramatically expanded,
Leaders lose focus or steam. The leaders’ continued focus and intensity is required for engaging others and in keeping an eye on how the implementation is progressing.

3. The Quality of a Strategy is Determined by the Quality of the Leader’s Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a precious and often missing component of developing and implementing strategy. A strategy should be created or invented based on quality thinking, i.e., inquisitive, challenging, complete, full of possibility and unbiased strategic thinking.

Just because a person has degrees from impressive universities and has had important positions in the organization, does not mean that a person can actually THINK STRATEGICALLY. I am still amazed at the number of managers who are in important positions and have a limited capacity to think strategically. They may be good at memorization, impressive in their capacity to recite numbers, recite popular management theories, be charming people, etc. However, they are weak as strategic thinkers.

Strategic thinking begins with clarity on the intended outcomes. These outcomes should be compelling and position the business in a favorable manner. The leader(s) guides the team in articulating and refining a strategy to create value for the business.

Strategy is classically defined as an implementation plan to give the business the best competitive advantage and position from which to create shareholder value. The key element here is creating value for the business. While it may seem obvious to you that the intended outcome for a business strategy is to create shareholder value, it is worth repeating this assertion. It is surprising how many strategies do not have value creation as the expected and probable outcome.

Strategic thinking is shaped by the values of those who are participating. In developing a strategy, there are numerous times when the values of the company come into question. It is often the “proving grounds” for which values are authentic for the business. In guiding a team in development of a strategy, the leader will often be required to remind the team of their purpose. Their purpose is to create value for the shareholders.

The best evidence of strategic thinking is the level of inquiry used in deliberation. The leader’s role is to model inquiry. Modeling inquiry means to continue to explore which questions will provide the best insights into the business’s situation. The role of the leader is to seek to ask the really good questions and not be caught up in trying to answer the questions. There is a natural pull to want to find the right answers. Yet, the process of strategic thinking is driven more by the quality of the questions than the rightness of the answers.

The leader must also insure that the difficult or unpopular questions are being asked. For example, difficult questions like these:

What do our customers really want and what are they willing to pay us for producing?
How do our products and services compare with those from our competitors?
What myths do we have about our products, services, and organization?
What is constraining our growth?
What capabilities will be essential for success in this business, and do we have them in our business?
Do we do anything better than our competitors? If so, is this difference something that we can be rewarded for in this market?
What is driving the demand for this product and service?
Is this business worth more to someone else?
What would happen if we combined our business with some other company?

The leader’s role is to see that others in management are asking these difficult questions, and many others. All of these questions are designed to confront the truth about our current situation.

The leader must model openness to strategic inquiry, and this includes an openness to be challenged about assumptions, beliefs, biases, and points of view. If the senior executive has strongly held assumptions about the business and is unwilling to challenge these - and have them challenged by others - it is predictable that the level of strategic inquiry will be diminished. The consequence of this diminishing is that the probability of success in strategic execution is also diminished. The question to be asked is, “What do you consider off limits or off the table for discussion?” If the range of assumptions is not open to question or is too large, the probability of success plummets. The tough question to be asked is this: “What makes you think you can be successful, given your and your team’s unwillingness to have a frank, if not stark, look at yourself?”

The subjects that are off limits often appear to be a myth about the company. It appears that the managers are unwilling to engage in an authentic inquiry about these myths because if they did, they would have to confront some very unpleasant realities. Rather than confronting the myths with a data-and-fact-based discussion, the managers fill the room with generalizations, half-truths and ideals. The sad thing about myths is that they block the team from seeing the strategic alternatives that are available to a business once it confronts its situation and commits to find a way to improve it.

A final test of the quality of strategic thinking is, “Does it lead to a context of possibility?” Do those who are discussing the strategy become excited about what it will make possible for the organization when it is implemented? Terms like “wow”, “this is incredible”, and “I can’t wait to get out there and implement” are all signs that the strategy creates possibility for those in the organization. A German philosopher once said - and I paraphrase him here - “I’d rather be a student of possibility than own all of a country.” Leaders who succeed in leading a successful strategic execution are definitely “students of possibility.” They create, both in their being and in their words, a context that says, “This thing that we have never done before but that we are now going to do is possible!

4. Leadership Is Intentional: Success Is by Design and Not Left to Chance

Perhaps the biggest mistake that is made is assuming that implementation will naturally occur. There is a myth that if we have a good initiative / strategy that everything else will just fall into place. You may be thinking, “Oh, surely that does not really happen.” Incredibly it does. What is missed so often is thinking about HOW implementation will occur. I say that the implementation must be designed with as much attention as the original strategy.

Let me give an example about the fallacy of assuming implementation will naturally occur as result of a design. Several years ago I purchased a home on a bay. It has a large yard that slopes down to the water. Virtually no landscaping had been done, and the yard was not particularly interesting. However, I saw a possibility for a great yard and begin developing a landscaping design. I worked with a very creative landscape architect, and together developed a wonderful scheme. While the scheme was interesting, it was in reality only colors and lines on paper. While I had fantasies about how the yard might work, having a plan or scheme actually did nothing to the yard. It would have been foolish for me to assume that the new design would “naturally occur”. What was going to naturally occur was already there, so if I wanted something substantially different I would need to assure that interventions occurred to interrupt what was “naturally occurring”.

Too often in business we expect that substantial changes will naturally occur simply because we have a picture in mind of what could be. We confuse our fantasies about how a strategy could work with what will be required to actually achieve the intended result.

A. Context

Designing the strategic execution begins with inventing or refining the context that will be required for the strategy to succeed. The new context is an expression of the possibility to which the leaders and the team are committed. The context gives fullness to the possibility. A test of the strength of the context is that those in the organization experience it as creating and giving possibility for them. That is, they can see how they could be more effective, engaged and expressive at work as a consequence of this context, this possibility. It is preferable that this context be identified and refined in the early stages of developing the strategy. The focus then becomes how to implement the changes in context.

B. Confronting the Level of Performance

New strategies are developed because there is a desire for significantly improved performance. Yet the need for improved performance often comes as a surprise to managers, supervisors and employees in the business. I see this all the time, even in businesses that are in deep trouble due to underperformance. Leaders find that in planning execution they need to overtly challenge managers, supervisors and employee’s perceptions about competitive position and the current levels of performance. Too often managers, supervisors and employees have become comfortable and complacent with performance that is well below what is needed or could be achieved.

Challenging this comfort zone requires that people be unwilling to accept mediocre performance. Too often managers and employees have come to accept their level of performance, even though it is based on complacency and is ho-hum, if not crummy. It’s like the old saying about a dishonest politician: “Yes, he is a crook, but he is our crook!” Complacency shows up in the business as “things could be better but….”. Complacency is the enemy of successful strategic execution.

C. Metrics

Getting the right metrics is perhaps the most crucially misunderstood aspect of designing strategic execution. A metric is a category of measurement. Measurement is essential in that employees will act on those things that are measured for which they will be rewarded. That is clear. What is not clear is that in a transformation entirely new metrics are required. Further, the best metrics for driving the desired performance likely do not exist in the business. They will need to be invented. This invention may be based on what other businesses have found useful, but as part of implementation, they must be “invented anew” in this situation. Unfortunately, too often businesses will begin a strategic execution anticipating a breakthrough in performance while using the same metrics that they have used in the past.

Using the same metrics and yet expecting a different outcome is a recipe for failure. The reason for the failure is that the managers have not thought through the consequence or impact of the metrics. The metrics that are implemented will drive action and behavior, which, in turn, should have an impact on results. The impact, however, may not be the one desired. So in successful strategic execution, any old metric will NOT do. A new, unexamined metric will also NOT do. What is required is the invention of new metrics that will pull forward the possibility of the new initiative. You want to invent new metrics that will bring forth and reward new ways of thinking and behaviors that are essential to the success of the transformative change under way.

D. Engagement of Employees

An execution plan is not complete without serious consideration of how key groups of employees will be included. Having these employees be enthusiastic about participating in implementing the plan is essential. In many instances, the engagement of front line employees is crucial. These are the employees that interact with your customers. They are the ones who are actually involved in producing the products and services of your business. They most often know where the problems actually are and how the problems can be resolved.

It could be said that your employees are either for you or against you. It is wise to assume that they are not for you until they have explicitly said so and are behaving accordingly. The impact of intensely engaged employees involved in execution is huge! Employees who are engaged are a key factor for success in implementation. In much of the management literature the implied assertion is that employees are resistant to becoming engaged, and that the manager should focus on how to get them to participate in change management activities. Ironically, I find that often the managers are the ones who are most resistant to change, and the employees are simply acting on the behaviors, communication and signals from their supervisors and managers. Getting people involved and engaged is a demonstration of leadership. If leadership is not present, it will be difficult to get employees engaged. But then, why should it be expected that employees will be engaged in implementing a strategy when they can see that those who are actually accountable for the strategy are not actually engaged in what will be required for success in execution.

5. Success in Execution Requires Planning from Implementation

Perhaps the most common mistake in implementation is the direction from which it is envisioned and planned. There are two fundamental mistakes made which make implementation incredibly more difficult. They are:

A. Proper Direction of Thinking

The view taken by those thinking about the planning is “Inside-out”. From inside our part of the organization, or “inside our set of concerns and conversations”, the thinking about how to do the implementation comes from the view that was used to design the change that is being initiated rather than the thinking coming from the perspective of those who will be affected by the change. Let’s look at some examples:

A team of IT specialists and consultants develop a new software package that will substantially impact how customer orders are placed. The team that developed the software has naturally been more concerned with technical functionality and reliability, not what it will be like for an employee trying to use this program on a crazy Friday afternoon when customers are scrambling to get orders placed and screaming at you. The IT team does not have those concerns, and yet the employees being asked to change how they do work definitely have those concerns. During the “roll out” the IT team brags about all the technical “bells and whistles” and completely misses the concerns of the customer service representatives.

A program to implement “World Class Manufacturing Metrics” is launched with great fanfare, and yet little thought as to how to actually implement the changes what would achieve the metrics. The corporate staff group which purchased the program from an outside vendor seems to think that all the people in the facilities need to do is “simply follow the directions”. There is no apparent thought given to unintended consequences that could occur while “just following the directions”, no thinking of what impact the changes in flow or process could have on the people or the facility.

Inside out thinking is natural and predictable, and yet it makes implementation more difficult than it needs to be. What happens is that it unintentionally “postures” the intervention for those who will be affected and involved. They make it look very good, yet leave the details for implementation to those who are to be affected, without giving them assistance, credit, or resources. While it is likely unintentional, those who developed the design leave those who will be affected in a “lose-lose” situation. If those on the ground fail to implement the changes effectively they will be blamed. If they act heroically and pull out a miracle, those who developed the design will get the credit and those who implemented it will be blamed for not thinking of this sooner.

Inside out thinking leaves those who matter in the predicament of having to figure out how to actually get something implemented. As a metaphor, there is a river separating those who developed the initiative from those who will be affected and involved. On one side of the river are the “developers”, similar to a band of salesmen who are shouting out all the benefits, as well as making veiled threats of what will happen if you do not adopt this new action, program or etc. While the “sales people” strut up and down the bank of the river calling out to the employees and customers on the other side of the river, they do nothing to assist them in getting across the river. Effective execution planning looks like contractors who are busy building the bridge across the river so that the employees can readily cross over and partake in the new “goodies”.

B. “Pushing Rather than Creating a Pull”

Strategic execution wants to be “pulled” into the organization, rather than pushed. Creating the pull is a key element of planning the implementation. Pull is created by factors that make having the new processes or tools occur as a “gift” to the employees rather than as a threat. I find that having employees committed to producing a result that they currently do not know how to achieve is the best way to create a pull. In this case the employees have already seen the importance of the improved performance (altered performance trajectory) and are busily looking for how to accomplish the change.

Implementing transformation requires clarity in accountability and responsibility. Further it requires many stepping up to be responsible and to take ownership for the transformation.

As we discussed earlier, it is common that executives view their role as finished when the strategy (or acquisition, alliance, restructuring, etc) are approved. Nothing could be further from the case. The job of executives as leaders has just begun. The easy part is over, now it is time to move on to the hard work of implementation. Let’s look at specific areas that need leadership.

C. Clarify Accountability, Responsibility and Ownership of the Plan

The leaders have accountability for success in all stages of execution. The execution plan should be worked on or polished till all involved have a strong sense of clarity and ownership of the plan. The essence of developing a plan is thinking through the known factors that will need to be addressed and included, as well as anticipating what may come up that will need to be dealt with. In developing a plan I think that it is essential to begin with the outcomes. That is, clear articulation of the outcomes that are to be achieved in the future. I like to use a visioning exercise to have those developing the plan be able to stand in a future in which the results are achieved, and not be affected by the current context. That is essential is because otherwise they will think from the present set of problems and circumstances, and unwittingly evoke the current context on the entire planning process. If the plan is developed as a solution for the problem created by the current context, it can be predicted that the plan will actually deliver a reinforcement of the current context in the future. This is the best way I know to assure that no meaningful or lasting changes occur. It is the antithesis of sustainability.

D. Identify the Magnitude of Change

It is essential that leaders appreciate the differences between the types of change: continuous and discontinuous change. The two types of change require quite different approaches to implementation. In incremental change, the executive’s role is to be an encourager and supporter. Said in the language of sports, the executive’s role is to be a fan sitting in the stands supporting the team. In transformational change, the executive is a player/coach. There are times when the executive is on the field actively engaged in the game at other times, the executive is on the sidelines being a coach but still actively involved in what the players are doing in the game on the field. I point this out because too often I have seen executives involved in transformational change who seem to think that their role is to sit in the luxury boxes high up in the stadium rather than being engaged with what is going on down on the field.

What amazes me about this phenomenon is that on a number of occasions I have had conversations with executives about the nature of the challenge their business was facing and they would tell me that this is a bigger or different challenge than their organization had ever faced. These executives would tell the people involved that this was a very different situation that would require creativity and innovation. However, when the executives were presented with implementation plans that seemed out of the ordinary or unusual, the executive would balk. What was happening was that the executive was saying, “Bring me solutions to this different problem,” all the while expecting the solutions to look like those used in the past. In essence, these executives are expecting techniques that worked on continuous levels of change to be effective also with discontinuous or transformational levels of change.

E. Planning for Breakthroughs and Breakdowns

The demonstration of a brilliant strategic execution in laying out a plan for achieving advantages in the eyes of customers, and then implementing in such a way as to realize that advantage for the customers. Rather than going for competitive advantage in the eyes of the customer, too often businesses settle for strategies that are inadvertently designed to deliver a “me too” position with customers. While it is seldom said this bluntly, that is what actually gets designed as a consequence of the manager not insisting on strategic inquiry and a plan to achieve competitive advantage. Without some unique positioning that gives the business a perceived advantage with its customers, it is difficult for the business to achieve or create value. Value creation comes as a result of being rewarded by customers for the unique attribute of the product or service. In commodities this attribute is price, and even then the company with the best positioning has the lowest price from the customer’s perspective. In thinking about low cost competition, it is essential to remember that it is the lowest cost to the customers and that is not always the lowest price at the point of sale by the company. Positioning will lead people in the business to think from the perspective of their customer, or the outside in view, which is essential to success. The notion of competitive position has been around for years, and yet is still ignored.

It is desirable that the implementation plan also spells out the major improvements or breakthroughs that are to occur. This gives the plan the sense of credibility that is essential. The plan also needs to include short-term actions that will drive meaningful and measurable improvements. If a plan begins implementation and there are not signs of improvement and progress, the team and those around will begin to question the wisdom of the design. While a strategic execution plan is designed to give the business a unique position with its customers, it must also contain tangible improvements in the short term. Often these are improvements that can be made with little disruption and expense. Often they are actions that should have already been taken but for some reason have not. The best source of identifying these short term actions is to ask the front line employees what actions they can see that would most demonstrate the commitment to success of implementation. Often there are tangible actions that will demonstrate the commitment to action and that in fact something is different or has changed. A couple of examples, moving obsolete equipment out of the production area, dealing with a shipping department that has been troubled for years and yet no one would address, or painting the employees lunch room.

The expectation that breakdowns are desirable, predictable and will occur is essential for planning strategic execution. It should be anticipated that there will be breakdowns. Any team should count on having breakdowns and should look at these as the opportunity to drive for discontinuous changes. The incremental improvements may be enhanced by breakdowns, while discontinuous changes must have the breakdowns.

F. Planning from Results to Action

The execution plan should describe specific actions and do so in a manner that is explicit. Effective planning begins with results that are to be achieved and then identifies the specific actions that will make implementing the changes both exciting and safe. Safe may seem like a strange word to use with exciting, but that is what is required if employees are to be fully involved. They need to know that their physical, emotional and career safety is being treated as utmost in importance as part of executing the strategy. If employees see that their well-being is not treated as important, they can be expected to do only what is required and little else. When employees see that there is a strong interest in their well-being, they are much more likely to become passionately involved in helping improve the well-being of the businesses. Actions speak louder than words. It the execution plan has an explicit statement of actions, and who will be accountable for seeing that specific results are accomplished, there is much greater likelihood of success in delivering the expected business result. It is also important that as a part of developing and communicating the plan that attention is paid to making explicit the reasons why the actions are needed, and how this will benefit the business, the employees, the customers, and the community.

It is critical that the implementation plan be detailed enough so that the employees can see that the plan assumes success in execution. It needs to be the essence of success that is waiting to unfold as a consequence of their involvement and participation. In thinking about how employees see the implementation plan, it is as though they are being asked to consider a challenging if not dangerous mission. As they think about their questions and areas of concern, paramount on their mind are questions like: “Does this seem like it will work? Will I be safe and successful if I sign on for this mission?” Too often managers approach strategic execution as if they are officers in the military and can give commands that will be carried out without question. Employees have no such forced commitments or loyalties, even though managers may pretend that is the case. Employees may feel trapped in a job because of their financial obligations and life circumstances, but they often are not trapped. I have seen many situations where the implementation plans were not well thought-through and employees found other places of employment. Of course, when a couple of employees leave for “better jobs,” the myth that “we are stuck here” evaporates.

Execution plans should be designed to lay out pathways from the present situation to the future; that is their purpose. However, often that is not the case. Too often they are explicit about what will happen in the near term and then become very vague about how the back half of the implementation will actually go. Needless to say, these types of plans are not very engaging. Consider what you would think if you were boarding a plan in Los Angeles to fly to New York. The pilot comes on and gives the current weather in New York, describes any anticipated challenges that may be encountered along the way and an estimate of the time of flight down to the minute. That communication gives the impression that the pilot is capable and has designed a plan for getting the plane to New York safely, that is, the plan is designed to achieve success. Contrast that with a situation in which you board a plane in LA and the pilot says, “Welcome aboard; we should have a groovy time today” and although he has never flown east of Colorado, he thinks that he will have no problem finding New York since he has seen photos of it and there are many tall buildings.

G. Breakdowns Are Desirable and Should Be Predicted

Breakdowns are the door to or access point to what needs to be addressed if the business is to execute its strategy. Strategy could be thought of a like a golf game. All of the players have clubs. Some have clubs that are better suited to them, and at the end of the day what matters is what the player does with the clubs. Improving what a player does with the clubs comes from much practice and coaching. Addressing what does not work on the practice range is essential for improvement as a golfer. The same principle applies to business teams that are implementing a strategy. It is working on those areas of surprise that provide the opportunity. Being open and candid about how it is working is also essential.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in planning execution is to keep a fresh eye on what has been planned. It is essential that those doing the planning are an “opening” to discover the faulty assumptions, calculations, and unlikely-to-happen aspects of the planning. The most vexing element in planning is anticipating the breakdowns that should and/or will occur. I find it useful for those planning to identify the breakdown that should occur, to estimate when they should/will occur, as well as what resolution will be needed, should be devised, or invented. It is ironic that when I ask teams to do this, they can actually see which breakdowns should occur if the implementation is to be successful. Too often management’s thinking about a plan is that it should go as planned. Yet wisdom is that we should be smart enough to have a good plan and be smart enough to change our plan once we get in the midst of implementation. What makes even smarter teams is to ask them to explore continually what has been missed. The asking of what is missing will provide access to the breakdowns that are occurring or will occur, which, in turn, gives access to the actions that will make implementation successful.

6. Continuous Communication and Engagement of Employees

Executions succeed or fail based in large part of the actions and commitment of employees. When employees are passionately committed to successful implementation, they can produce extraordinary results. Conversely if the employees do not believe in the message or messenger they are less likely to become involved and the execution is less likely to be successful.

A. Avoid Perception of Execution as Exclusive and Secret

Often strategies are developed in private. Executives, managers and consultants work intensely together to develop concepts that, if applied, would result in a significant gain for the business. Usually these deliberations are conducted behind closed doors and often in remote locations. The logic for the secrecy is that we do not want to upset the organization nor tip off our competitors as to what we are contemplating. While this may be a noble purpose, it seldom works. First, it does not work with employees because they soon hear via the rumor mill that something is afoot. It does not work with competitors since often they are having similar deliberations and are asking many of the same questions. A well-executed average strategy is better than a brilliant strategy that is poorly executed. Another way of looking at this is that your competitors cannot respond to your strategic moves unless they have figured out your implementation plan. The crucial questions are: “Can we implement this strategy, and what will a well-executed strategy make possible for us?”

B. Communications

Communication is to implementation what oxygen is to breathing. Most people do not think about oxygen until they do not have enough. The same goes for communication. Mistakes made in strategic execution usually come from wanting to avoid difficult conversations and misunderstanding the need of employees for more information on what is being done and what the consequences of the strategic execution will be on their job and their work.

Ironically, communication is one area in which the being of the executive, managers and team heads is most critical. If others experience the executive as being a transformational leader, the actions that follow will be intense and swift. If others perceive the executive to be arrogant, disinterested or non-trustworthy, implementation actions will be slow and painful. There is a classic phrase:

“I cannot hear what you are saying because who you are being speaks so loud”

The leaders must assure that the conversations regarding planning the execution are authentic, clear, inclusive and public. If large scale changes are required, it is essential that the employees be in communication with their supervisors, team leaders, informal leaders, and when applicable, union leaders about the rationale for the changes and what these changes will mean to the employees. Each employee will start listening from, "What does this mean to me?" Only when that question has been sorted through with whatever information is available can the employees begin to think of ways to be involved and support the change effort. There must be an open invitation for the employees to learn and participate if there is any hope of getting the desired level of involvement.

C. Example Set by Managers and Supervisors

One hazard that the leader must watch for are inauthentic managers who will say, “Yes, we can do that,” and yet behave as though they have not actually thought of how they will go about meaningful implementation. They were being agreeable in a meeting. There are a number of colorful expressions to describe this behavior, most of which are so colorful that I cannot put in print. For this discussion, I will use the term “Eddie Haskell” to describe this behavior. You may remember the character on the TV sitcom “Leave It to Beaver”. Eddie Haskell was notable for his overwhelming lack of authenticity, disgustingly ingratiating behavior to authority figures and despicable behavior to little people when the authority figures were not around. In corporations there are many Eddies who will say, “Yes, we can do that" in a meeting and then walk out of the meeting and behave in an entirely different manner. I suspect you may be thinking of several Eddie Haskell’s in your organization. While the Eddie character is a fictional character in the Beaver show, there are a stunning number of Eddies in the business world.

Once the purpose and values of the managers are sufficiently in line to explore the appropriateness of the strategy and what will be required to execute, the next step is to examine the strategic context that is in existence and will need to be created for successes in execution.

D. Clarity of Pathways of Implementation

Employees are critical stakeholders as they will be intimately involved in strategic execution. Employees will want to see a clear description of the direction the business is taking and how this strategic execution will be managed. Employees must see that the pathways of implementation are well thought through. Of course, they must also see that the dots will connect, i.e., this will work. The direction to be provided should be detailed enough that the implementation makes sense and will build confidence. Employees will also be concerned that the capabilities required for execution are either in place or will be provided well in advance of when they will be needed. Employees will undoubtedly have heard about prior attempts at implementation when the capabilities and resources were not made available, and created a huge burden on them.

Once employees appreciate the thinking behind the strategy and understand what it will mean to them, they will be strong advocates for success in execution of the strategy. Prior to receiving this direction, employees probably are mild to moderately resistant to becoming involved in strategic execution. This is in part due to their having watched previous attempts at implementation be poorly executed. They are not thrilled at seeing yet another train wreck heading their way, unless they can see for themselves where the strategy is headed and that it can be implemented. Once they are confident that it can be executed then the question shifts to the willingness of management to act in such a way as to assure that it will be successful. Managers who begin the talk on execution by covertly blaming employees for prior failures in implementation will not get their support. Also, beginning the communication by describing how different this time is from the previous times is also not a good sign, as most of the prior attempts at strategic execution opened with similar assertions. The statement that “this is different” is actually the same of “here comes more of the same”.

7. Never Stop: Clever Adaptation and Coordinated Action until the Results Are Achieved

There is an old military quote that is applicable to strategic execution. “Only a fool goes into execution of a strategy without a plan, and only a fool refuses to modify and upgrade the plan once execution begins.” It could be said that strategic execution is acting to implement a thorough and thoughtful plan.

To use a military concept, strategic execution is the arena in which officers and soldiers in the field implement the strategy that was created by the generals. Even with the best design and planning from the very beginning, unforeseen problems arise in implementation that have to be solved “in the field or on the ground.” This means that there must be leadership at the top, and there must be leadership among all employees in order to invent solutions to new and unprecedented problems. No general today plans a campaign and then goes on to other tasks. The general stays engaged in leading the campaign and inspires the women and men carrying out the general’s plan to be leaders in the day-to-day implementing of the general’s campaign plan.

This same kind of leadership is what is required of those who plan the strategy for a discontinuous change if victory is to be achieved. Just as “no battle plan ever won a battle,” so is “no strategy is valid until it is executed”. The skills that are required to implement a strategy are what make business exciting and rewarding. The heroism of employees in finding ways to make things happen is what carries the day. All of this occurs because of the intentional type of leadership that is provided by executives that makes it safe for employees to step up and contribute, i.e., to be leaders themselves.

Conclusion

Success in strategic execution occurs as a consequence of good strategic thinking, designing of a do-able plan, engaging employees at all levels of organization, and tenaciously sorting through the breakdowns and surprises until the results are achieved. It begins and ends with leadership. No leader, no success in strategic execution.

[1] Organizing for Successful Change Management: A McKinsey Global Survey. The McKinsey Quarterly. July 2006

[2] Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Crown Business. New York, New York, 2002

12-Feb-10 10:00 AM

What Leaders Do to Inspire Others to Act

Bob Chapman, Ph.D. — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

    BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D.

Strategic execution begins with leadership. Plain and simple. No leaders no success in execution. Leaders inspire others to act in order to achieve extraordinary performance. This process begins by generating authentic leadership, even when others around do not and may even be critical of the leader. Leaders then challenge the status quo and look for ways to dislodge the status quo. Leaders also instill confidence in others so they will begin to act. Further, leaders “turn up the juice” to increase the intensity and velocity of the actions. Leaders are often teachers, who are continually helping those around them to learn and gain from experiences.

If success in execution is dependent on leadership, why is it is so frequently missed and not provided? What do successful leaders do that is missed by others? This is a great question and one that I will attempt to answer from several different directions. Let’s begin with inspiration. Too often, inspiring others is not seen as important. Not only is it important, it is the essence of how leaders achieve results through others. Let’s look at what leaders do to inspire others to act.

Leaders inspire others to take action. They inspire others to reach for goals and achieve results that would otherwise not have occurred. In looking at how leaders make this impact, it is useful to look at their actions, behaviors and communications, said simply, to look at what leaders do. We will start at the beginning of leadership, which I call generating.

Generating Leadership

Electricity is a good analogy for leadership. While electricity happens in nature through lightening, that is of little value. To be effectively used, electricity must be manufactured, or generated, and it is distributed through transmission lines. Fuel is used to run the generators that produce the electricity. Electricity cannot be saved up or stored, so it must be continually generated. When electricity is focused and used properly, it makes things come “alive” and be very productive.

Imagine with me for a minute Las Vegas without electricity. A desert? A waste land? Yet with creativity, a dynamic city has been built thanks in large to electricity. Let’s follow this analogy as we think about leadership being the electricity that fuels an organization.

Like electricity, useful leadership is designed and intentional. To be useful in producing business results, leadership must be focused and “generated”. The “generation” station is the leader. The fuel used by the leader for generation begins with Foundational Commitments along with values, courage, and intense desire to see others produce results. This mixture of fuel is incredibly potent when blended properly. The “transmission lines” for a leader is communication with the people in the organization. Communication is how “leadership electricity” reaches the intended destinations where it can make an impact. Like electricity, when leadership is focused and used properly it makes organizations and teams come alive, and in turn businesses come alive. Once alive, teams can achieve results that were previously thought impossible. Like Las Vegas, organizations can come alive and be remarkable when fueled by leadership.

The behavior of leaders begins with being generative. This means that the leader creates whatever is needed as a result of what colleagues are dealing with. Generation means that the person creates energy and intensity for him- or herself, and eventually for others. A generative leader is not dependent on others. A generative leader creates for others rather than being a drain on others. There is a pioneer quality about these leaders. They have the spirit that conquered untamed lands and caused people to follow them even in uncertainty.

This raises an important question: What does it take to be generative? Invention and creativity are two hallmarks of an effective leader. The origin of this comes from a strong commitment to the business and to the people working in the business. One of the secrets of leadership is being able and willing to create or generate the opening or space for others in the organization. This is identifying the gap between the current way of being and what will be needed for success. At first, people in the organization cannot see nor have access to what is needed. The leader fills in the creativity, energy and intensity to demonstrate what is possible and needed for others. The leader literally creates the intellect, intensity, courage and momentum to get the team/organization moving. It is like priming a pump to get it flowing. Of course, this requires significant energy and drive. Often leaders report that they feel quite fatigued as a result of doing so much of the generation for the group. At times it seems like a mother cat that is feeding a bunch of new kittens, where there is a constant demand for more. The difference is that this is with adults, and many of whom are highly educated and highly compensated. Unfortunately, they like many, do not have what it takes or know what to do to generate an opening for action in order for a group to be outrageous and highly successful.

Demonstrating the Values

Leaders generate from their values. The values of leaders are reflected in the values of their organizations. Leaders speak from their values, and they respond from their values. Their emotions are shaped by the joy of seeing their values acted out in the organization, as well as the sadness when they discover their values are missing.

Perhaps the most crucial value for leaders in execution is integrity. For many, "honesty" is the first word that comes to mind in talking about integrity. However, it is more than that. It is being true to your word. There is absolute validity in what the leader says and does. By valid I mean reliable in that it happens as promised or predicted, and the action is highly consistent with the speaking.

Integrity is a characteristic of a leader, and integrity is one of the best gifts that a leader can give the organization. It creates confidence, comfort, and a desire for belonging by employees.

Integrity is one of the key levers used in strategic execution. Early in implementation, the leader will want to watch very closely for the slightest evidence of gaps or lapses in integrity. Often it is little things, and those involved will assert that the leader is being picky. However, the key to successful implementation is catching these little gaps and lapses early and putting a correction in place. When the team or organization comes to a point that it can self-correct gaps or breaches in integrity, the leader can be pleased as the change effort is heading in the right direction.

Lack of integrity will ultimately doom a leader’s effectiveness in strategic execution. We frequently see the negative impact that high profile executives with a lack of integrity have on companies and their employees. Too often these executives who got the business in trouble get a nice package when departing, and yet leave customers, employees and shareholders stranded. While there are numerous high profile examples of the absence of integrity in business, I assert the problems caused by lack of integrity of managers and employees is much bigger and the value destruction much larger than first meets the eye. I assert that lack of integrity always has unintended and undesirable consequences.

Thinking Critically

Asking questions and criticality thinking is a key dynamic in leadership. It pushes one’s own thinking as well as the thinking of those around them.

Often there is not much of an opening for innovation or improvement because there is little opening in thinking. That is, that which is taken for granted is blocking the ability to think creatively. Thinking creatively occurs by challenging the assumption on which the current thinking is based. That is, challenging oneself and others to explore what is fact vs. opinion, looking at assumptions based on opinion and interpretations that could actually be inaccurate or irrelevant.

Raising the level of thinking is one of the most important contributions that leaders can make to an organization. This includes asking others to look at what they have accomplished or is possible and then challenging all of the assumptions that are in place. These assumptions serve as reasons for why the organization could not accomplish a similar result, even if competitors are already demonstrating that it can be done.

Critical thinking by a team leader on a project also has a profound impact. As the leader continues to ask the team to identify assumptions that are masquerading as facts, it will become apparent that the team’s view of the challenge is shaped by assumptions based on the past. Critical thinking of how to accomplish results in the future will open up the team’s thinking. What begins to occur is that the team notices that it has reasons why it cannot even think of accomplishing these results. As a team notices this, they can start to challenge themselves and all of their excuses. Once a team can see how they stop themselves from thinking creatively, they can then start to work in a very different way. That is, they can challenge all of the reasons for why performance cannot be improved or change instituted. Usually the toughest challenge a team faces is their own thinking in the matter. Once this obstacle is overcome the group becomes quite resourceful in finding new ways to think about their part of the business. The task is to keep the challenging in thinking open and vibrant for the team.

The shortage of leadership in many companies begins with a shortage of critical thinking. That is, the inability or unwillingness to challenge assumptions imbedded in the thinking about one’s own circumstances. The ability to think critically about a situation is what leads to complacency, limited creativity, repeated mistakes, and resignation.

Challenging the Status Quo

Leaders are often asking, “What have we not considered before? If we achieved that, what would then be available to us?” Challenging the status quo is among the greatest contributions that a leader can make to an organization. Often, people in the organization have lived inside of the circumstance and conditions for so long that they have limited openings or perspectives for radically different ways of doing things. A leader helps them bring increased creativity to their thinking about the circumstances as well as new opportunities for action.

When a leader challenges the status quo, it is at first quite startling, if not frightening, to many in the organization. It is thinking the unthinkable and talking about ideas and options that would have previously been thought impossible, if not crazy, and yet, it is the key to unlocking a new future for the business. There are few who have trained themselves to be able and willing to allow the challenge of status quo to exist in thinking for more than a fleeting moment. Yet it is the executive who encourages conversations about the future to flourish that is truly special for employees in the organization.

Instilling Confidence in Others

Leaders learn to trust their instincts. This includes trust of others as well as of oneself. Trust of oneself is crucial to being an effective leader. That includes readiness to trust one’s instincts about a person or situation. I have observed that as leaders become more capable, they are more prone to act on an instinct rather than waiting to get “all the facts”. In talking with very successful leaders about their own development, I often hear this comment about coming to trust one’s gut or instinct. Further, these leaders comment that some of their most painful experiences have come from not taking action based on trusting their instinct, and waiting for more data. The time spent waiting was often crucial in a lost opportunity or postponed action.

While having confidence in one’s instinct could at first seem contradictory to good leadership, it is not. Note that having confidence in one’s intuitions does not imply being impetuous or impulsive. Rather it is being aware of an impression or observation that is forming about an individual, group of individuals, or a situation facing the business.

In the case of assessing key people in the organization, leaders come to have confidence in their assessments of others’ capability, energy, intensity and drive to do what is needed. Ironically, the most important assessments about people involve values. That is, wondering if the person(s) share a similar set of values. This is important because a leader needs to identify and act on persons in key positions whose values are inconsistent or in conflict with those of the leader. A person with different values will send very confusing communications to the employees, and will in effect undermine the intent of the leader.

Trusting one’s instincts about business situations is crucial. The opportunity for action will continue to diminish over time.

Building on Experiences

Seasoned leaders find that their experience equips them to be more confident and effective. This experience equips them to be able to get a quicker read on what is going on in the business and the areas of opportunity and threats that should be addressed. It is said that better judgment comes from experience. I suppose that is a reflection of how the person uses the experience. It is like the old saying that there is a big difference in having five years experience and one year of experience fives times. The challenge is what is learned or acquired from experience.

I think the key to building experience is the insights that the person gains. That allows for crisp thinking as well as identification of the dynamics that are present in the business and organization. The insights are often gained by the leader prior to the leader being able to articulately describe the phenomenon. That is, the leader can see or experience something before they can describe it to others. Often I hear good leaders struggling to label or identify the insight or distinction that they have. They find this frustrating as they wanting to be able to pass the insight or distinction along to others. The frustration builds if the person to whom they are attempting to pass the learning is not patient with the lack of clarity and crispness in the speaking.

Focusing on the Right Things

Direction or providing focus is another key element of leadership. The role of the leader is to provide the energy to maintain the focus. At times this is very intense, as the leader must put significant amounts of energy and intellect to keep the team focused and moving, until the team reaches the point that it can do this for itself. In the earliest stages of the team and/or organizational development, the work is to get the team formed and working consistent with the expected outcomes.

The challenge of direction and focus is ongoing. That is, individuals and groups seem to go off course in implementing large-scale change. They “lose the plot”. When the magnitude of results and level of change is high, it is common that the team will lose its focus.

I strongly recommend the development of a clear charter for each team as a tool of maintaining focus. The role of the leader is to see that the charter is developed, and that it is clear and concise. Among the points of focus is the metrics to be used to assure that the appropriate outcomes are achieved. Beyond developing charters, the challenge is what the leader can do to increase the level of focus on those things that matter most. One step is to stay close enough to the work of the team that the leader can spot when the team is losing focus. This involves more than listening to what the team is saying, or waiting for the team to say that they have lost focus. Often you will find that the team loses focus and is quite unaware. The team may be very active and hard at work, only not on those things that matter most. The role of the charter is to provide clear guidance and expectations to the team. However, the role of the leader is to spot when the team is off-course and refer them back to their charter. It is amazing how often teams will forget their charter and/or become confused. The confusion is usually reflected in the team changing the deliverables or the expected outcomes. Beyond that focus is actually a reflection of a state of being alert and shaped by ones commitments. When an individual or team loses focus, they usually also lose sight of that to which they said they were focused.

Leaders are seldom “born”. Rather they develop their skill through a lifetime of learning.

Inspiring Learning

Learning and leadership go together. Fresh ideas and experiences are the fuel for developing and sustaining leaders. Leaders are continually looking for new approaches and improved interventions to drive success in their organizations.

One of the great things about leadership is that it is a skill that one can never perfect. There is always a new challenge and learning opportunity. It could be said that leadership is like golf. There is always room for improvement. No matter how good you think you have become, or how long you have been in development as a leader, there is so much more to accomplish.

It is also interesting to note that most of the effective leaders I have met are very committed to quality education, and in fact are very concerned about the limitations or low quality of the US public school system. In fact, several have taken on trying to make improvements in the public school system as a challenge. At the same time when I talk with individuals who are passionate about improvements in education they often talk at length about the need to improve leadership in public schools. That is, the great educators are a blend of teacher/coach/leader. The interesting challenges facing education is a systemic problem that will likely be solved only through courageous leadership in the face of very strong opposition.

Communicating

Communication is the tool of leadership. Leadership cannot occur absent communication. It is essential for leadership.

Effective communication directly addresses the questions and concerns of the listener. Too often management communication is viewed as irrelevant by most employees in the organization. The irrelevancy comes from the perspective that “none of my questions were answered”. Leaders, on the other hand, talk directly to the concerns and questions of the employees. In fact, leaders seem to have a “sixth sense” for understanding what matters most to employees. My observation is that this talent for understanding what matters to employees comes from a deep appreciation for the impact that employees can and do have on the performance of the business. Many managers give lip service to the importance of employees and then do not act/communicate consistent with their stated belief.

Effective communication is open, honest and complete. Everything that needs to be communicated is in fact communicated. Effective communication is both whole and complete. Topics that are “off limits” are stated as such. That is, “I know you are interested in talking about X, but because of Y I cannot talk with you about that today. I can commit that when Z happens and/or on Z date I will be back to talk with you about that specific subject."

If the “off limits” topics are cleanly identified and communicated, these topics will not be a distraction. If the off limits topics are not dealt with directly and cleanly, they will become a distraction to the listeners and fester with others. This may be used as an example of the lack of authenticity of the managers.

Effective leaders are continually looking to upgrade their communication skills. Most are skilled in using the formal communication channels. In addition they build informal communication networks to get their messages out to the people as well as receive feedback on what is going on in the company. I will discuss this in more detail in the following chapter.

Increasing Intensity

Another indication that leadership is present is the high level of intensity. There is energy and “heat” as employees work toward achieving their goal.

Leaders who are working on strategic execution teams create opportunities for people to contribute as well as put pressure on each member of the team to contribute her/his best to the work of the team. There is also a sense of healthy friction, as the team continues to challenge the approach to assure the best result is achieved.

An experienced leader can spot a team and/or organization where effective leadership is present. There is high energy, passion and spirit that are clearly observable. It is also quite contagious, as there is a desire to join in and be part of something that is happening. By contrast, a team that seems confused, lethargic or slow is usually reflective of the absence of leadership. The intensity that is missing is reflective of the direction, engagement and empowerment of others that is so essential to success.

Acting to Increase Velocity

Velocity in action is a hallmark of effective leaders. The leader’s passions are manifested in the action of others and oneself. Often leaders use the effectiveness and velocity of others’ actions as a prime indicator of their own effectiveness as a leader. Leaders control their tendency to blame others and make excuses for non-action in others, and see the inaction as evidence of something that is missing in their own actions as a leader. This insight is the hallmark of truly effective leaders.

Leaders are impatient with delays and excuses. Often there is a complaint that the leader is being intolerant or unreasonable. To many that complaint would be heard as a criticism, but to effective leaders it is a compliment. Not buying into excuses and good reasons is a key to effective leadership in execution, as it avoids being stopped by excuses. That is not to say that a leader is a tyrant. What it is saying is that a leader is resourceful in inspiring others to work with the inevitable problems and surprises that occur in execution to find an even better solution, rather than stopping.

John Kotter has written an excellent book on this subject called A Sense of Urgency[1]. Kotter is perhaps the leading academic in the area of corporate transformation. His assertion is that too many transformation initiatives fail due to a lack of urgency on the part of business units and site leaders. This excellent book is well worth the read.

The action orientation of a leader is also seen in the mood of the organization they are working with. This can be a team, a project or an organization. When a leader becomes involved the mood and intensity changes. There is anticipation that something special is going to happen. There is a sense of confidence and a spirit in the team meetings and informal gatherings, There is movement by people on issues that have previously persisted or been allowed to linger. When watched from afar, or with a different perspective, it is possible to watch the action unfolding and heading directly toward a result. It is this movement and velocity that points to the presence of leadership.

Lee Iacocca is a well known business executive and writer. Iacocca initially gained fame because of the results achieved as CEO of Chrysler Corporation. He then gained additional fame with his book Iacocca: An Autobiography, which was his account of what happened at Chrysler during its remarkable turnaround during US automotive collapse of the 1980s. He has recently written a book entitled Where Have All the Leaders Gone?[2]

Lee Iacocca is considered one of the iconoclastic business leaders of that period. What many of you may not know was that prior to going to Chrysler, Iacocca was an executive at Ford Motor Company. One of his accomplishments there was the Mustang. The Mustang was among the most successful new car launches in US automotive history. While working at Ford, I had the opportunity to talk with a number of people who had been part of the team that designed and launched the original Mustang. For many it was the highlight of their career. I often had the experience in listening to them that I was listening to a person reliving their experience of being an athlete that was on a championship athletic team. It reminded me of the play “Championship Season”, in which the coach and players relived the remarkable accomplishments of their final season of basketball in which they had won the state championship. In the play, the actors recreated their experience and in the telling of the story, the audience could hear that they used that championship season as the experience against which many of their other experiences were measured. The guys who had worked on the Mustang project with Iacocca were very similar. They described how different that experience was from many others that they had at work and in their personal lives. As I listened to them it became apparent to me that Lee Iacocca had built a leadership team on that project that permeated leadership throughout the project. For the participants there was a unique experience of participating on a team with powerful leadership being provided. That is what leadership in execution looks like. It looks like a remarkable accomplishment being achieved by a team of people who are inspired by their leaders.

Conclusion

Strategic execution begins with leadership. It is that plain and simple. Leaders inspire others to act in a way that produces extraordinary results. Extraordinary business results are what strategic execution is intended to achieve. However, the best laid execution plans will fail without leadership. No leaders, no success in execution.

[1] John Kotter. A Sense of Urgency. Boston. Harvard Business School Press. 2008

[2] Lee Iacocca. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? New York. Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster. 2007

12-Feb-10 10:00 AM

Engaging the Workforce with Business Acumen

Camille Ford — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:00:00 GMT

At a 100-year-old paper mill in the Pacific Northwest a group of employees formed a team to reduce energy costs. They called themselves the “Kill-a-Watt” team and were made up of both hourly and salary employees. Through energy awareness and education, they helped their mill save over $1 million in just one year. Across the country in Virginia, a team of beer plant employees converted the plant’s sanitization process, saving over $300,000. Another team made up of hourly and salary employees at a Canadian lumber mill created a new way to process logs that resulted in improved quality, increased productivity and a 40% waste reduction.

What is it that engaged and inspired these employees to make these dramatic improvements even though they were in different industries and geographical locations? In all cases it began with leadership commitment and a direct request to employees to learn about the business and make business improvements. The business case for change creates a platform for one of the most effective tools for bottom line improvements: Business Acumen for the work force.

What is Business Acumen?

Surveys of over 1000 employees from all levels and from multiple industries reveal a gap in understanding the basics of the business, operating goals, and competitive comparisons (see Table 1). Business Acumen is an intentional intervention to engage and empower employees to improve financial performance. This happens as employees gain a better understanding of the key drivers of business success and how their roles impact financial performance. Through Business Acumen, employees learn about costs, the consequences of poor quality and how money is made in their business. They learn how competitors make money and how their business compares to the competition. Most importantly, employees learn how to apply Business Acumen to their areas and departments so they can improve the way they do business. Business Acumen interventions are developed internally, and nearly 90% of all employees participate.

King Chapman & Broussard (KCB) has over two decades of experience working in major change projects with clients in many industries. KCB assists organizations with focusing on the external view: how their business is perceived by other departments, stockholders and customers.

KCB has developed ten critical success factors to provide a framework for designing and managing successful, collaborative change efforts. One of the critical success factors is employee designed and delivered Business Acumen, which allows organizations to elevate employee business knowledge, increase employee engagement, and improve financial performance. Front-line employees develop the training in partnership with accounting personnel to include financial, functional, and business performance metrics. The training is presented throughout the organization.

What Business Acumen is Not

When the conversation of Business Acumen is first introduced to managers in a company, we often hear, “We did that once”. When asked for more information, managers usually perceive Business Acumen training as:

· Hiring a local business college to come deliver finance or accounting 101.

· Corporate training course on accounting.

· Quarterly or yearly town hall meetings in which the financial performance is reviewed. We hear employees describe these meetings as “managers talking to other managers”.

· An accountant using PowerPoint slides to show the financials of the company.

We have found that Business Acumen is effective when the content is tailored directly for those receiving the training and when the trainer is a “peer”. For example, the information is being presented to hourly employees by trainers who are hourly employees. If the audience is comprised of geologists and geophysicists, those teaching the course are geologists and geophysicists. This assures that the conversations are relevant to the audience, and those delivering the information are credible since they “are one of us”.

What Makes Business Acumen important in Organizational Transformation?

Employee engagement and involvement is a key component to the success of any major change effort. When leaders ask employees to cut costs, Business Acumen puts the leadership message and call to action into proper context. Revealing the numbers and opening the books is a sign of good faith by management that they trust employees with the tools to make business improvements. It is also evidence of management’s commitment to collaborate, giving employees the broadest and deepest exposure to major changes of the business. Front-line employees know where the treasure is hidden. When given a context for change and a description of the type of cost reductions or improvements that can be made, cost reduction ideas (treasures) small and large are revealed and acted upon. The intent of Business Acumen is to encourage employee participation and collaboration in making business improvements.

The content of Business Acumen is designed to tie directly to the business. This includes the case for being educated about the business, the way the business works financially and what can be done to impact it. Participants learn first-hand what the challenges are and what can be done, whether they are on a project team or not.

What Are the Risks for Not Having Business Acumen?

Without Business Acumen, major change efforts struggle to engage and empower people to make a meaningful impact as they are not provided with the understanding and tools to make a difference. Second, there is no sense of urgency. Tackling business problems is conceptual; the answer to “why this?” and “why now?” is far removed from the day-to-day actions taking place on the front-line. This was not the case at an envelope plant in Texas. An hourly worker had a conversation with her co-workers about the impact of quality and how many more envelopes, cost and labor it took to make up for one run of poor quality or defective envelopes. That knowledge instilled a sense of purpose and urgency to take action and improve quality on the front-line.

Business Acumen participants who are working on project teams have the ability to contribute thoughtfully to solutions that make a difference to the outcomes of the project. Employees gain a very different view of their work and projects when they understand how what they do rolls up into a financial statement or impacts their customers. When employees have not had Business Acumen training, the solutions that they propose for business problems often involve spending capital on the problem versus operating differently or exploring other non-capital avenues.

Employee leadership emerges when more people are exposed to how the company makes money. When employees understand how what they do affects the financials of the business, they gain the ability to make educated decisions in their areas. They also gain the confidence to take action. The investment, time, and resources put into a Business Acumen program as part of a major change effort generate a big payoff. It will result in the development of leaders, and an increase the business knowledge of the workforce, engaged employees and a positive financial impact on the organization.

What Is Found In A Successful Business Acumen Intervention?

Building Business Acumen into the organization starts with a leader’s commitment to allowing employees to make business decisions in their area and in their span of control. Unless leaders of the organization give employees the ability to follow through and take action on what they have learned, employees will find themselves feeling powerless and unable to move forward. The leaders who stepped forward and committed themselves to a new future in each one of the preceding examples could not have predicted the kind of results, innovation, and involvement the employees demonstrated from a 100-year old paper mill, a 700-employee brewery, a unionized lumber mill and an envelope plant.

Once you have leadership support and a context created for change, Business Acumen focuses on the basics of how the business operates and how it connects at a macro-industry level, the corporate or company level, and down through the divisions and operations. Business Acumen ensures that relevant information is distilled from the business, the industry, and customers. This information is translated to all levels of employees in all departments through conversations and tools to inspire action that makes a positive impact on the business. When assessments are conducted to determine the readiness of the workforce for strategic change efforts, the findings from these assessments often indicate that employees do not understand the basics of the business financials, nor do the employees get the connection from the overall operation of the business to specific departments, areas, machines, etc.

At the individual and department level, it is important to ensure that the Business Acumen training lets employees know where they fit into the business and how their actions impact customers, other departments and the overall business. If given the information and tools, employees are more likely to take action on financial improvements in their area, such as cutting costs or increasing productivity.

Successful Business Acumen programs include the following:

Preparation of managers, supervisors, and employees who want to make changes. Giving employees the okay to make changes can be quite unsettling for some levels of management if they are not confident in their employees’ decision-making abilities.
A program developed and delivered by a team of front-line employees. KCB has found that employee-led programs build credibility among peers and provide a method for communicating financial information that is both informative and understandable.
An assessment of employees’ understanding of the business. KCB assists in designing questionnaires, interviewing, data gathering and analysis. Some representative questions that have been useful for Business Acumen team interviews include the following:

− What financial areas of this business are a mystery to you?

− How does the business operate from end to end?

− Where do we get the money that we invest in the business?

− Where do we make money; where do we lose money?

− What does EBITDA mean, and why is it important to us?

− How do we sell our end products?

Outcome-based projects targeting Breakthrough results. That is, projects that go beyond business-as-usual in approach, solution and result. This gives employees a living laboratory to take risks and try out their ideas inside of a project and team environment.
The financial books are open, and employees have access to all financial information while designing the Business Acumen program.

There were intangible and ancillary benefits for the companies who conducted Business Acumen programs. Employees at the paper mill took interest in cutting costs in many areas resulting in reducing steam leaks, generating alternative paper making solutions, and trimming chemical costs. In the beer company, relationships improved between departments on the production line when employees gained an appreciation and understanding of the impact each had on the process. The genesis for collaborating at the lumber mill on improved cost and productivity started with a conversation between an hourly employee and a log buyer during employee interviews on improving the business.

Calling for major change and significant business improvements starts with a commitment from leadership to employees to participate in the change. With the context set and a case for change clear from the top, Business Acumen can be one of your most powerful tools to engage and empower employees to be your partner in improving the business.

Conclusion

KCB has been advising business leaders in implementing organizational transformation since 1983. We have found Business Acumen to be a key lever for interrupting myths and stories about the business, and for engaging employees to become actively involved in implementing transformation. Business Acumen is an intentional intervention to engage and empower employees to improve financial performance. This happens as employees gain a better understanding of drivers of business success and how their roles impact financial performance. Through Business Acumen, employees learn about costs, the consequences of poor quality and how money is made in their business. They learn how competitors make money and how their business compares to the competition. Most importantly, employees learn how to apply Business Acumen to their areas and departments so they can improve the way they do business.

This Technical Note was written by Camille Ford, Partner, King Chapman & Broussard

10-Feb-10 12:00 PM

Authenticity (excerpt from Foundational Leaders, a book by Bob Chapman, Ph.D.)

Cindy Trahan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Authenticity

Leaders Are Only as Effective as They Are Authentic

BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D.

Authenticity is “habitual truthfulness” that shines through the leaders actions. Leaders must be perceived as being “the real deal”, or authentic, if they are to be effective in strategic execution. Personal authenticity is highly correlated with effectiveness as a leader of transformation. The converse of this is also valid as those who are not authentic are less successful as leaders of transformation.

Distinguishing Authenticity

Authenticity is best distinguished as “habitual truthfulness”. To reach that conclusion let’s look at the definition of the word “authentic”. The Oxford Dictionary defines authentic as “of undisputed origin or veracity, genuine”. “Undisputed origin” is such a rich description of the authentic leader. People around the leader will say:

- This person is the “real deal.

- This person is “one of us”. This is said even when that is not actually the case. Yet because of their authenticity the person is “adopted” as one of us.

- Clarify and consistency of values.

- We know what he/she stands for.

- We know exactly where he/she is coming from. (Ironically the knowledge of what the person stands for or where they are coming from does not mean that those around the leader agrees with the leader, or “while we do not always like where they are coming from, we never doubt it”.)

Each of these descriptions of knowing the leader’s origins is a high compliment from employees. It indicates clarity of purpose, honesty and realness. All of these are essential attributes if employees are to be inspired by leaders.

Another part of the definition is veracity. Veracity in turn is defined as “conformity to facts, accuracy…” Conformity to the facts and accuracy are great descriptors of authenticity as demonstrated by a leader. It highlights the rigor with which the leader goes about gathering data as well as the quality of decisions that are likely to be made. The last half of the definition of veracity is “habitual truthfulness”. This definition gets to the heart of what I have observed about successful leaders – habitual truthfulness.

An authentic leader places enormous value on the truth, both in hearing the truth and telling it to others. This person seeks out “the unvarnished truth”. There is a strong desire to have the whole truth told. In the phrase used for swearing in witnesses in a court of law there is that classic phrase: “Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…” This is the level of truthfulness that the authentic leader desires and practices. One executive has a colorful expression from bird hunting that is used to ask for the whole truth, “Let’s get the whole story on the table… We want blood, guts and feathers”. This same executive is a strong proponent of “habitual truthfulness” as a core value of his leadership and of the values he wants for his company.

A naïve question would be, “But doesn’t everybody believe in conformity to facts, accuracy and habitual truthfulness?” Of course the answer is no, but a more piercing question is “how come?” Why do people who want to be successful as managers adopt practices that have them be perceived as inauthentic? Do they do that intentionally? My observation is that again the answer is no, they do not do it with “malice of forethought”. Rather it happens slowly over time and in most cases managers are unaware of their own lack of authenticity, and are quite offended when it is pointed out.

Origins of Authenticity

Authenticity begins with, or is sourced by, “habitual truthfulness to self”. Being true to one’s self. It is said that the worst lie is self deception. Authentic leaders are rigorous in confronting the awful truth about situations in the business, the consequences of their behavior, and unintended consequences of their prior actions. Leaders are in continual development of their own authenticity.

Authenticity with Self

Authenticity is sourced by a person’s “habitual truthfulness” to self. That is, authentic leaders practice habitual truthfulness to themselves! Authenticity “begins at home” with oneself. Habitual truthfulness or honesty with oneself is the starting place for developing leadership skills. Another way of saying this is knowing oneself is the door to understanding others. The classic expression of “To thy self be true” is at the heart of developing as a leader.

Another classic expression that demonstrates the importance of knowing oneself as the foundation for leading others is:

The air to a bird,

Water to a fish,

Man to himself….

A person must come to authentically know herself/himself if they are to lead others. This is particularly important when the leadership will involve a business making a transformation.

Authenticity is demonstrated by the persons being intensely honest with themselves about the condition of the business, the challenges facing the business, the competitive forces at play, the strengths of the management, capabilities of the organization, etc. The persons are equally as candid with themselves about themselves. There is no hiding from biases, blind spots, character flaws, strengths, temperament, tendencies, and weaknesses. Authenticity comes from habitual truthfulness to self about self and one’s situation.

Continued Development of One’s Authenticity

Effective leaders continue to develop and expand their level of authenticity. While authenticity is ingrained during childhood it must also be nurtured and developed as an adult. The motivation to develop effectiveness as a leader calls for a person to continue to develop their own authenticity. As a value, being authentic with self begins early in life. Successful leaders come with a value for authenticity that is started in their upbringing. In addition, successful leaders actively develop and mature their authenticity. The motivation for this development comes from their commitment to be effective as a leader. Said in other ways, at least some elements of authenticity are intentionally developed. The leader is intentional in developing and expanding their leadership effectiveness. Working to be as authentic as possible is a key element of this development.

In talking with effective leaders, I notice that they have been good students of their mentors. They have either patterned themselves after their mentor’s strengths, or in some cased developed themselves in areas that they perceived to be a weakness of their mentors. One attribute that I have heard described about the mentors is that they were “present”. “Present” is both a state of being as well as physical presence. As a state of being, the mentors were “here with me”. In conversations, the mentors listened intently and then asked good questions. Another great gift a mentor gave to the leaders was demonstrating their commitment through paying close attention to the ones being mentored. Being present is then developed by authentic leaders. When employees are around them, the employees report that they had the experience of being present with a real leader. The authenticity of the leader’s commitments supersedes whatever is said and is clearly communicated to the employees. Employees experience the genuineness of their leader. This is often described as this person is “the real deal”. What can be more important that having employees think that their leader is genuine and real?

As leaders mature they come to appreciate the special power of being authentic. It is seen with great clarity, as is the lack of authenticity in others. I was working with a CEO who was an authentic leader. His direct report, who was a de facto COO, was an incredibly bright and talented person. He had impeccable credentials and was most adept in dealing with the Board. The problem was that when he was in groups of employees he came across as hollow and plastic. The CEO was most concerned about this, as he knew that it would eventually lead to significant operational problems. The CEO tried to counsel the direct report on how to interact differently with employee groups. In retrospect, I can now see that the problem was that the COO was not authentic, and the employees knew it. The employees figured it much sooner than the CEO or I.

Importance of Authenticity

Strategic Execution depends on excellent leaders. In turn, this calls for authenticity in leaders at all levels of the business. Leaders must be perceived as being authentic if they are to be effective in strategic execution. Personal authenticity is highly correlated with effectiveness as leaders of transformation. Let’s look at Chart One which illustrates the relationship of authenticity and results:

Chart 1 illustrates the relationship between authenticity and results

Authenticity in Action

Authenticity in action can be described with many adjectives like:

- Acts responsibly

- Veracity

- Constancy in being authentic

- Authenticity in communications

- Makes personal changes as needed to improve as a leader

- Authentic desire for a better future

- Honor boundaries that matter to others

- Tolerance of mistakes

- Chaotic nature of transformation

- What to say and what not to say

- Expands learning for all

- Avoids relying on excuses

- Accepts responsibility rather than blaming others

- Acknowledges facts and avoids using denial

- Avoids relying on excuses

Each of these will be discussed in some detail. However, please remember that it is the whole picture of authenticity created by these that is more important than any individual attribute.

Acts Responsibly

Leadership is demonstrated by initiating action. The actions that are consistent with the prior statements of intent by the leader are important to having the employees see that the leader is authentic, and that there is a path in which they can participate. The authenticity of leaders and employees pays off when there are actions that improve the relations and delivery to customers.

Acts responsible is a hallmark of a successful leader. When I am with great leaders I am always struck with how responsible they are for themselves and others. Not only do they act responsibly, they are preoccupied with being responsible. That is, having their commitment to responsibility be clear and evident. This responsibility goes beyond the obvious being responsible for the business and the consequences of the actions taken. It applies to deep concern for families of employees, employees’ health and well being, the impact the business is having on the community, etc.

Being responsible often occurs as being of service to others in the organization; for example, any number of times I have been flying with leaders on corporate aircraft and observed that the leader was the one who was getting up to get food and drinks and making sure that everyone on board was comfortable. The same leaders are also quite concerned with making sure that the flight plan would assure safety over everything else, e.g., avoiding of storm cells. These leaders literally are “being responsible” for those around them.

Being responsible includes “owning” one’s own authenticity, and on occasion, lack thereof. “Ownership” is of the personal characteristics, temperament and traits. A leader “owns” these aspects of self and “manages self”. In contrast, managers who do not “own their characteristics” are often at the effect of them. When a manager is at the effect of personal characteristics they are not going to be successful in leading change.

One of my favorite examples is an executive who was responsible for his own misbehavior:

My partner and I were working with the president of the U.S. subsidiary of a European company. We were working on some particularly “knotty issues” at the request of the president. In our work we discovered that the president was actually the culprit, or the cause of much of the “knottiness”. With appropriate deference we confronted the president about his behavior, and wondered what would be his response. The president listened intently, and then leaned back in his chair and said, “Well that is just one small smudge on a very dirty window”. With that, it was clear to me that the President was aware of what he had done, and how the consequences had turned out to be different than he expected. Rather than blaming others or making the consultants wrong, he “owned” what he had done and the consequences.

Veracity

The one attribute that cannot be in question for employees with their leaders is honesty. Authentic leaders can be counted on to tell the truth. They will tell the truth to the best of their abilities. They will avoid lying and misleading their people at all costs. They know that their integrity is key to their credibility and in turn to their effectiveness as leaders.

In contrast, managers whom have struggled with honesty are ultimately not effective as leaders. They may get away with it for a while, but employees eventually catch on and the person loses credibility. A loss of credibility with employees and managers becomes an irreconcilable problem at some point, at least in good companies. Frankly, in lousy or weak companies lying seems to thrive as long as the company survives.

The classic example of lack of veracity is a manager who makes a practice of saying what they think others want to hear. This usually begins as a technique for “managing up”. Telling the boss what he wants to hear is an effective technique for getting along in many corporations. The drawback is that the manager soon develops a reputation for telling the boss and others what they want to hear and loses the respect of peers, direct reports and others in the business. These managers often become so skilled at saying what others want to hear, that they come to believe their “tales” as though there were the truth. In fact, these managers will often chastise direct reports for providing data and information that contradicts the “tale”. The “tales” that were made up to satisfy a boss often turn into myths that are promoted throughout the business. Some classic examples are “Our customers prefer to do business with us rather than our competition, our products and services are better than our competitors; our costs are lower than our competitors, and etc.” These myths persist even when there is hard data to the contrary. There is always another explanation or story that supports the myth and invalidates the data.

Consistently Authentic

Consistency is a characteristic of authentic leaders. These leaders have consistently been authentic in each of their positions. When employees check out the manager’s reputation with employees who worked with this person in the past, they hear very consistent reports of a manager who is authentic and effective as a leader.

It is a significant challenge when a manager who has a reputation for not being authentic attempts to guide a transformation. This person’s past behavior is often described as inconsistent and at time suppressive. The person is also associated or linked with difficult times in the organization, and this person is “blamed” for negative events that occurred in the past. There is a reservation of employees to believe this person or to trust them to lead. Any sign of defensiveness on the part of the manager is viewed as more evidence that the person should not be trusted. In some ways, this manager is considered guilty until proven innocent.

Authenticity in Communications

Effective leaders are skilled at communication, and authenticity is a cornerstone of those communications. This is not to say that they are charismatic and gifted orators. No, many are not. However their authenticity shines through so brightly that any limitations with language are ignored.

A leader will say what needs to be heard, whether it is popular or not. Their communications are focused, direct and as “plain as possible”. The desire is to speak to the heart of the matter so that genuine communications may occur. Even in challenging situations, an authentic leader is consistent and factual in describing the situation, the intent and the request for changes.

The authentic leader is highly consistent when meeting or talking with employees. The employees appreciate and are assured by the leader’s consistency. Consistency should not be confused with condescending or telling employees what they want to hear. Often it is just the opposite, where the leader has a strong message that needs to be heard.

The authentic leader does not duck hard questions, but rather speaks directly to the hard questions and asks to get all of the hard questions out on the table. What is more elegant than someone who is plain spoken and talks directly to the point?

In contrast, managers who are not effective as leaders are often not authentic in their communications. Inauthenticity in communications includes misrepresenting and misleading employees. There is a long miserable past of managers communicating data and interpretations to employees with the intention of getting a compromise, change in work practices, more advantageous labor contracts, and/or wage concessions.

Other managers seem unable to be authentic in their communications. Often these managers are attempting to impress others with their education and intellect. Rather than talking directly and to the point, they go off on tangents filled with theory. They seem to practice the fine art of obfuscation, which assures that the employees do not fully appreciate or understand what is being communicated. What these managers do not appreciate is how much credibility they lose with the employees.

On occasion there is a desire to “pump up the troops”, and so the manager will say things that are not factual and, in fact, may know not to be accurate. The excuse given is that “our team needed to hear positive things”. It is like a coach of a sports team that is in the final minutes of a game and is trying to exhort the players to give the final bit of energy in hopes of winning the game. “You look great”, “You can do it”, “You’ve got them where you want them”, etc. are all typical comments from coaches. Of course, for the fatigued players, that probably is better than “You look like a dirty dish rag,” “Your incompetence is amazing,” “This game is so lost that I do not know why I stay here watching you”, etc. Yet, business teams are seldom in the final minutes of a game in which “white lies” are appropriate. Yet, there are many managers who justify saying “good things” that simply are inaccurate. The predicament is that these managers often come to believe the “white lies” they have told to the troops, i.e., the white lies become their reality.

Making Personal Changes

Authentic leaders are passionate about learning how to be more authentic and effective as a leader. They are committed to their own personal development. A leader must be willing to make personal changes as part of providing leadership for a business in midst of transformation. The leader gets to go first in personal change. The leader must be “in the game of transformation”, and “being in the game” invariably means discovering things about oneself that will need to be altered or changed as the business transforms. Authentic leaders push on through developing self and making changes as needed. Inauthentic managers do not. In fact, I would say that managers who are unwilling to deal with their own developmental issues are one of the biggest factors in failed or sub-optimized transformation efforts.

Being authentic with oneself is essential for growth and change. Being authentic or practicing “habitual truthfulness” gives the leader an accurate reading on where to start in their personal changes. That is, more awareness of what needs to be worked on and developed. Changing oneself does not always come through formal coaching or coursework, although in most cases that is helpful. Usually the authentic executive is a very good student in learning about how to be a better leader and how to engage and inspire others to be involved in changing the business.

A leader’s knowledge of self combined with continual learning also serves to guide the leader during the challenging periods of a transformation. This guiding mechanism is for the leader as a person as well as the organization. The leader is continuously looking to develop the skills that will be required for success.

Let me provide a rich example of this. My father was a reluctant soldier in World War II. He was drafted, and after completing the various training, was sent to Europe. He was a young officer who was assigned to lead platoons on the front lines in France against the German army. One skill that he realized that he needed was to know where he was located, especially on night patrols. This was long before the day of GPS, and so the key instrument was a compass. However, it was dangerous to look at a compass at night because of the light. My dad taught himself to always know which way was north, which would allow him to have a good estimate of his location. This was a leadership skill that he developed to protect his men and himself. In less dramatic ways, leaders develop skills from continuously learning to enable them to provide better leadership to their organization.

Just as a leader is always a work in progress, no two strategic executions or transformations are the same. What worked for a leader in one transformation may not work at all in the second one. It is this challenge to adapt and continuously learn that makes leading a transformation so special.

As previously mentioned, managers who are unwilling to deal with their own developmental issues are one of the biggest factors in failed or sub-optimized transformation efforts. I have seen very different results from the decisions made by two managers facing similar personal challenges and provided with the same developmental opportunity. One was eagerly engaged with the opportunity. The term eager should not be interpreted as each day was a piece of cake. It was not. Personal development in the areas of one’s authenticity is uncomfortable, if not down right scary. There are many feelings that are aroused, and invariably one’s personal history gets revealed. An authentic leader views this as part of the price to be paid in developing the capacity to lead more effectively in ever increasing business environments. By the way, in case you are thinking that this person must be a soft, touchy feely type, let me assure you that you are far from the truth. This person is a strong, tough operator whose commitments are bigger than the fear.

A second manager was given the same coaching and developmental opportunities. This person voiced their strong commitment to leading transformation in the organization. This person said all the right things and appeared to be doing the right things until that fateful day when it became apparent that personal changes would be needed. At that point the manager simply stopped. The manager withdrew from active developmental coaching and began “pulling the plug” on transformation. The transformation effort was quietly shifted to an internal continuous improvement program, which assured that it would not require any personal development by the manager.

Other managers are craftier in how they avoid personal development. Some of my favorite methods for crafty avoidance are:

• “I’m all for you guys creating a transformation and increasing the value of this business, but do not expect me to be involved.”

• “I’ll stand on the sideline and watch.” (The implied message is: “If it works out, I’ll take the credit, and if it does not work out, you’ll take the blame.”)

• “I’m too busy with corporate matters, but you go ahead.”

Authentic in Desire for a Better Future

A successful leader is concerned with the future of the business, and what will be required to achieve that future. A leader creates possibility. This possibility is what allows employees to engage and ultimately commit to being involved in the transformation. The authentic desire for a future that is more fulfilling and rewarding lives in the possibilities that are created together by the leader and the employees.

Part of what is so sad about failed attempts at strategic execution and transformation is the residue that remains with the employees. Usually the managers move on to another assignment or another company, but the majority of the employees remain. When a change effort fails, among the biggest causalities is the sense of possibility for the future among the employees. Repeated failures at strategic execution can “suck the possibility” out of the employees, and make them hardened and resigned that little can be accomplished. This is a tragedy for all concerned, and is quite common.

Honoring Boundaries that Matter to Others

Authenticity and self knowledge translates into the ability to see the boundaries that are in existence. These are the boundaries that need to be honored as well as those that need to be challenged and changed. Those of you who work in global or international companies have a vivid example of how boundaries differ from country to country and culture to culture. The point is to be aware that boundaries exist for group of people that need to be honored.

There are many boundaries that need to be observed and managed. That could be an entire article in itself. However, three areas of boundary will be discussed. The first is tolerance of mistakes. The second is chaotic nature of change and the third is what to talk about, and not talk about.

Tolerance of Mistakes

The first boundary is the tolerance of mistakes and managing how mistakes are identified and addressed. Mistakes happen in the day-to-day running of a business. Mistakes really happen in transforming a business. If the mistakes are punished, transformation will simply not happen. So the leader must develop an approach that has the mistakes identified as soon as they are seen and talked about in an open manner. It is essential that those associated with the mistake not be punished, as future mistakes will be “swept under the rug” and covert operations will commence all around. To complicate matters, a transformation will not likely be successful until those involved with it come to appreciate the importance of mistakes, celebrate the discovery and mobilize people to learn from the situation.

The Chaotic Nature of Transformation

A second boundary to be managed is the chaotic nature of transformational change. Incremental change is usually linear and predictable. Transformational change is discontinuous, and by definition not linear. However, if managers are not careful they will respond by trying to control or reduce the chaotic nature of change in a transformation, which of course serves to thwart the transformation and push the business backwards. The manager who starts a transformation and then tries to control or thwart it when it gets too chaotic will be perceived by others as inauthentic, i.e., not a leader. A common description of this type of person is “he or she is not serious, and never was”. This is a strong accusation to be made about a manager, especially by key employees who work for that manager. In the end, these effort look like “more of the same”, which will make the organization even more resistant to change when the next attempt at strategic execution is made.

What to Say and What Not to Say

A third crucial boundary for the leader to observe and manage is what to say and what not to say. A leader is concerned with saying what will make a contribution or a difference for those that are working to improve the business. A leader has speaking as the primary tool, so it is essential that boundaries of what not to talk about are maintained. An example of what NOT to talk about is getting involved in organizational politics. Organizational politics will not forward the leader. Further, those who are involved in organizational politics are usually not leaders and in many cases are opposed to the leaders. That is, those who engage in organizational or “palace politics” are seldom effective leaders. The converse of that seems to be accurate. Those who are unable or unwilling to be leaders are the ones who are actively involved in “palace politics”. Palace politics are heightened during times of transformation as the dramatic changes that are being implemented are often threatening to those not in leadership positions. Palace politics are often directed at trying to stop the transformation and those associated with it.

Expands Learning for All

People learn around leaders. They are challenged by the questions and inspired by the attitudes, passion and velocity. In turn, leaders learn from supporting others to learn. One of the clear signs of an authentic leader is the thirst for learning and knowledge that is seen around them. In contrast, the evidence for lack of authenticity by false leaders is their people say, “Sure there is much that we could do better but there is no use given (the name of person) is here”. Learning comes from inspiring people to find better ways to do their jobs and improving the processes and operations in the business.

Avoids Reliance on Excuses

The greatest threat to authenticity comes from excuses, whether self generated or given by others. That is, if a person grows up with a belief or value that a good excuse justifies an action or non-action, it is hard for them to emerge as an authentic adult. This pattern continues into adulthood and the workplace. Authentic leaders do not broker excuses or live in a world of excuses. Excuses are seen as irrelevant and a threat to successful execution. In contrast, inauthentic managers are characterized by the extensive use of excuses. I have consulted in companies where the capacity to make excuses appeared to be a primary criteria for promotion.

Let me give you an example. There was a company who prided itself as performance-based and excelling in management rigor. Each month the executives from the business units had a variance meeting with the chairman. For two days in advance, the executives focused on how best to tell their story. Then there was the all-day meeting, which was typically followed by a one-day post-mortem. The executives spent about four days a month preparing for this variance meeting. What made this more stunning to me was that there were seldom consequences of not meeting performance targets as long as there was a good excuse or story. Those business units where the executives were the most skilled presenters seemed to excel and get the additional capital for expansion, regardless of the poor performance of their units.

An attribute of non-leaders is their unwillingness to face the facts and reliance on good excuses to offset actions/no actions. I have recommended to several companies that they adopt the slogan “Result ≠ No Result + Good Excuse”. This recommendation is based on a practice that developed where a good explanation for why something did not happen was a “pass”. This was most commonly applied to expected results that did not happen, e.g., we missed the plan this month because of X. What I noticed was the same business units would miss plan each month and yet there was a new and novel explanation. These business units were not skilled at producing results, but were very clever in producing excuses.

It is common to find companies where making good excuses is considered a core skill for developing as a manager. I observed a financial services company where there were monthly variance meetings with the CEO. The intention of these meetings was to discuss performance in the last planning period on key metrics. These variance meetings were well orchestrated by various corporate staff groups, and the preparation by the line organizations were also intense. In some cases, the business unit management teams would spend a couple of days in preparation for what was about a two hour meeting. What amazed me was the time and effort spent by the staff groups in preparing their strategies to “attack” the business unit management teams. Of course the management teams spent a similar amount of effort in preparing their defenses. When I asked “what happens in these meetings”, I was told that the executives who “win” are those who can tell the best stories, i.e., make the best excuses. In fact, I was told that a key factor for career progression in this company was the capacity to tell a believable story about real poor performance. Needless to say, authenticity was not a key value of executives in this company, nor was this leadership team able to achieve a transformation. It took a new CEO and “house cleaning” to accomplish that.

Accepting Responsibility Rather than Blaming Others

Authentic leaders do not play the “blame game”. Rather, they step forward and factually describe what happened. To some of you this may seem obvious as the right thing to do. While it may seem obvious, it is not the management practice in many companies.

The dynamic of looking for who to blame while avoiding being blamed is too common in business. In some organizations there is such a blame-based culture that there is a continual process of avoiding blame vs. looking for who to blame. As one employee described it to me, “We let no good deed go unpunished.” I have seen organizations where avoiding blame had been taken to the level of art form. While intriguing to watch, these behaviors in no way contribute to results being accomplished or value-added. Employees notice who “dances around to avoid blame”, rather than stepping up to deal directly with events in the business. I am often amazed at the frequency with which prospective leaders blatantly deny or ignore that important events happened. It is a sense that an event will go away “if I pretend it did not happen”. Pretending is a clear sign of lack of authenticity and leadership. There is an old pop/rock song with the lyrics, “Yes, I’m the great pretender, pretending that you’re still around …” While the song was a hit, pretenders in business are not.

I have often seen managers who spend enormous energy and time avoiding blame that it becomes a primary “organizing feature for them”. It is as though there is an active conspiracy to blame them, much like the paper donkey must have felt in the old children’s game of “pin the tail on the donkey”. So much attention is spent in avoiding blame that it is hard for employees to determine what these managers believe in or stand for. There is another song that captures this avoidance of blame. It is from the musical “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”. There is a scene in which the Governor of Texas is being confronted about the existence of a brothel in the state, which conveniently was located not too far from the state capital of Austin. When the news reporter was about to corner the Governor, he broke into a song and dance entitled “Ooh, I Love the Side-step”. Too many managers are specialists in their version of the “Side-step song and dance”.

Acknowledges Facts and Avoids Denial

Denial is a common trait of managers who are not effective as leaders. There is a common expression that has developed, which is a testimony of how frequently denial is used:

Denial is not a river in Egypt

Denial is a special problem if exhibited by prospective leaders. While denial is easy to do, the consequences on perceived authenticity are disastrous. Employees see the denial and quickly draw conclusions of “what this person is made of”. The negative impressions created by “getting caught in denial” cannot readily be explained away or forgotten.

Denial is a primitive defense mechanism, commonly used by children. We are not surprised when we see young children trying out denial. For example:

Father: Billy, have you been eating the chocolate chip cookies?

Billy: No dad.

Father: Well how did you get chocolate all over your fingers?

Billy: I do not know. I guess my sister Susie must have put it there ….

In this situation Billy’s father would have chuckled to himself and then sat his son on his lap for a father-son chat about “We tell the truth in this family; do not tell me lies”. At the end of the conversation the father would welcome this opportunity to teach his young son. It is a very different circumstance when the father is an executive who is dealing with managers who exhibit similar levels of denial, rather than being responsible for what is happening in the business.

Conclusion

Authenticity is at the heart of the inspiring actions of employees. Think about it, can there be any attribute that is more motivating to employees than working with an authentic leader? The employees can see that the leader is committed, which in turn serves to inspire the employees to action as well as becoming more committed.

Authenticity Self Study Guide

Summary

Authenticity is “habitual truthfulness” that shines through the leader’s actions. Leaders must be perceived as being “the real deal”, or authentic, if they are to be effective in strategic execution. Personal authenticity is highly correlated with effectiveness as a leader of transformation and achievement of business results.

Key Points

1. Authenticity begins with the leader being candid with self, and practicing “habitual truthfulness”.

2. Self deception is the worst lie of all.

3. Authentic leaders “know themselves” (warts and all).

4. Authenticity is not an accident. Leaders strive to develop and expand their capacity to be authentic in all their dealings.

5. Leaders act responsibly.

6. Leaders practice constancy in being authentic, and in wanting to create a better future for the organization.

7. Leader’s authenticity is demonstrated in their communications.

8. Leaders go first in making personal changes that are required for success in strategic execution. They do not ask employees to make changes that they are unwilling to make.

9. Leaders honor boundaries that matter to others. The appreciation of others boundaries is a walking demonstration of consideration and authenticity.

10. People grow and learn about leaders.

11. Authentic leaders do not:

a. Rely on excuses.

b. Blame others.

c. Live in denial.

24-Sep-09 3:00 PM