Leadership: Change is Inevitable, but "different" isn't always "better"

Change is good.

Change is the only constant.

I like change... I'm a change agent.

Yeah, right. I'm calling bullshit. Enough already with this change-kumbaya stuff. Sometimes, change is essential for growth, for progress, hell even for organizational survival. Sometimes.

I get that.

But sometimes, we change for changes' sake, and that's just got to stop. Take automation, for example... At some point in our storied, sordid organizational evolution, we determined that anything we do can be made "better" if we simply automate it. Sort of like adding bacon makes all food better.

Except it's true about the bacon...

Too frequently, though, we have processes in our organizations that just don't work well. They aren't all that effective, aren't necessarily efficient, and truthfully, should be drastically modified or deep-sixed altogether.

In other words, many of our existing processes are crap. And if we take crap to begin with, then automate it, you know what we get?

Automatic crap.

And we want this? Really? Instead of using a bad manual process and taking several hours, or even days, to screw something up, we put the technology in place to now screw it up at the mere push of a couple of buttons.

Automatic crap. That's change we can do without.

But that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Leadership is About the People... Whodathunkit??

-- It's ALWAYS about the people...

A recent article in the Houston Chronicle caught my attention...

Seems there's this 73 year-old woman who runs a precision machine company (that's right, she's a machinist), having learned the trade - and running a company - from her late husband.

Anyway, she's showcased in the Chronicle because her business is growing, has been quite successful, and has managed to keep and grow her workforce in the face of various and less-than-ideal economic conditions.

We can't all make that claim...

What caught my eye, besides the general uniqueness of her success in a traditionally male-dominated field, was her comment when asked about her initial concerns some decade or so ago when she took the reins of the company. She said, "A manufacturing plant isn't about the product or machinery, it's about the people."

She went on to state further that her chief concern was that now there were people - real, living people - who were depending on her for their livelihood, and that scared her.

And well it should, Martha Pylate of USA Industries, Inc. Well it should...

It should scare us all, or at least give us enough pause to realize that our decisions - nearly all of them - may in some way affect the livelihood of others.

This caution shouldn't lead us to delay necessary decisions, or act as though we've got mafia-driven concrete shoes impeding our progress.

It should, however, lead us to make sure we give adequate consideration... take adequate input from others... consider fully the available alternatives and potential impacts... when such decision-making time is available to us.

In other words, we have a duty - a real, personal responsibility - to be good at leadership, and all that means.

My hat's off to Martha Pylate of Houston. Sometimes, we're fortunate enough to experience someone fairly new to this whole leadership thing that really gets it.

She does.

But, that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Leadership Expertise Takes Work -- PERSONAL work

At a time when we need incredibly competent, fast-adapting leadership, our resources (their time, budgets) are unseasonably strained.

Disclaimer: much of my current client efforts are in executive development, and I tend to take something of a contrarian – yet thus far, quite effective – approach to those efforts.

Some trends: Team-based learning is “in.” We’ve finally discovered that you can’t expect an executive team to act like a team if they don’t train like a team. Equally interesting, we’ve finally realized that to develop skills with people, you need people doing the development. Face-to-face facilitation, arguing concepts, testing others approaches, all occur in a personal environment (vs. online and/or self-directed).

Online and/or other self-directed methods are fine for planned reinforcement, additional examples, or further dialog, but not for initial content delivery and discussions.

(Live videoconferencing is another animal altogether, and we can discuss in another post)

Next, we need to continue to understand that what got us here can’t get us there. In other words, these executives, to become/remain successful, must – MUST – be in a mode of constant learning and professional evolution.

"Top of their game": First, let’s get ‘em there, as many more aren’t that believe they are. Rising to the top doesn’t always mean you were best qualified, even with well-designed and executed succession planning. Today’s executives are uniquely exposed to constituents; flaws nearly unnoticeable yesterday are flagrant today. Next, we keep ‘em at the top by constant coaching and development.

This sounds self-serving, I know, but whether it’s me, someone similar, or even a qualified in-house resource, developing these executives must be on top of mind for any organization.

Think about it: Top-performing athletes, musicians, military, etc. train incessantly, even if already recognized as top of the food chain. What makes us think that executives – with way more moving parts and impact – don’t need that same level of development??

Recessionary effect: Funny; I’ve seen an uptick in business here, but frequently enter into near-Twilight-Zone conversations with potential clients. Short-sided CEOs see executive development as a cost; long-haul producers – those who want to succeed now (versus hunker down/wait it out) and be prepared for better times – realize that executive education, learning, and development is the key to that success

To coin an oft-used phrase from a colleague of mine... This ain’t rocket surgery.

But that’s just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Leadership Can Hurt -- Wear a helmet...

Leadership is inherently fraught with risks; we can no more avoid them than we can the decisions that cause the concerns. Wringing our hands won't fix it, neither will running around the figurative circle waving our arms about.

Trust me, it's been tried. And it ain't all that pretty...

Any way you cut it, there's risk in leadership.

We trust people because we have to... and because we should be able to. Sometimes, that trust is misplaced, and that can leave a mark. Other times, we make decisions - timely, well-thought decisions - that simply don't work out as planned. Those hurt, too.

Such is life... so, what to do?

1. Realize that there really is risk involved with this stuff. It's not just your occasional bad luck, or some ne'er-do-well intent on sabotaging your otherwise-meteoric approach to stardom; sometimes the best laid plans... just aren’t all that best laid.

Happens to the best of us. Brush yourself off, put a band-aid on the injured body part (usually located somewhere near our ego), and move to the next risk-filled challenge.

2. Surround ourselves with really good people. They make the difference, and are the ones who make us look good. We simply make decisions; for the most part, those working for us make them good or bad based on their actions, input, and level of support.

That should serve as a reminder regarding the care and feeding of those we depend on to implement our seemingly brilliant decisions. Another post, perhaps...

3. Man-up (ok, or "woman-up"). Maybe it's not a fluke, or some piece of ill-gotten destiny that caused our misstep. Maybe - just maybe - our process for problem solving, decision-making, or our understanding of which levers makes the parts move in what directions... needs work, growth, or improvement.

In other words, we may not be all that, and we need to engage in some additional development to acquire, hone, or perfect some of those skills that could minimize our risks.

Just maybe...

And realize that - as hard and "risky" as leadership is for us - most of us have a reasonable amount of judgment, experience, and skill to fall back on. In other words, many of us are pretty good at this stuff, and still fall victim to errors, mistakes, misplaced trust, and other hiccups seemingly driven by some unforeseeable force majeure.

Think of how difficult it can be for someone without all that experience... Let's spend some time and effort developing them, shall we?
Finally, remember this: Sometimes, when we make a decision, we must immediately make another. It doesn't necessarily mean our first decision was dumber than dirt, it's just that the second one was made with additional information -- one more thing we now know that "didn't" work.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

But that’s just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Leadership and Retention: Keeping top performers

It's not just the money!

We are staring down the barrel of impending poaching opportunities at a time when our most valuable employees are simply “tired.” What to do?

1. Anybody who tells you money doesn’t matter... they’ll lie about other things as well. Money isn’t a motivator for most; it’s seldom even a satisfier, but it can be a dis-satisfier. People expect to be paid what they are worth, and if another, reasonable organization offers them 25% more, your pay is the issue.

Fix it now. Get market lines on your compensation, and act proactively – it’s simply too late after they’ve received an offer.

Once and employee receives an offer, you’re on borrowed time. Even if you convince them to stay for the moment.

2. YOU know they’re good, but do THEY know that YOU know?? Top performers know they are top performers. Not necessarily egotistic, they do, however, have solid self-awareness. The question most have is, “do you recognize the value that I bring to this organization??” “Do you give me the recognition that value deserves??” And not just money; there’s personal recognition, peer recognition, intangible rewards, and professional development investments.

All of these tell top performers that you know they are top performers..

3. Ask Them! To quote Tom Peters, “This company had a unique way of communicating; they talked to each other!” Want to know what those top performers really need? Do something really whacko and ask them. That’s right, plain, simple English.

“Say, Top Performer, I’ve been wondering. You do such a good job around here (remember, s/he know this already), I wanted to make sure we were taking care of you properly. What can we do so you will continue to really, really like working here for us?” Top performers are generally reasonable; you won’t hear “double my salary,” or “give me 10 weeks of vacation.” You may hear, “Well, I’d like to spend some time working in R&D;” or “I was hoping to start my MBA, but I’m not sure if the schedule will work…”

Then, to coin a line from Picard, “Make it so.”

Keeping top performers isn’t nearly as difficult as we sometimes think it is. It’s a function of being aware of their value, and ensuring that THEY are aware of our knowledge of their value. Then, do right by them. That’s your best bet in immunizing them against the coming poaching epidemic…

But that’s just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com