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Promoting Organizational Change

It occurred to me today while talking with a colleague that one of the most difficult things we do as professionals is to promote change within our organizations. This is especially the case if we are employees who have not yet risen to a high enough stature to have the ability to affect change independently. Where this can be most frustrating for individuals is when one is able to identify ways that systems or processes can be improved or made more efficient, but does not have the power or authority to make that occur. This is where it is most crucial that a staff person has the training and knowledge to effectively communicate the what, how, and especially why of the proposed change. It is imperative as OD professionals and Training specialists that we incorporate this sort of developmental opportunity into the work that we do with our staff. We often get so caught up in the technical aspects of positions (e.g., training in desktop applications) that we neglect some of the more important interpersonal skills training. When it comes right down to it, those who typically know the most about how to best run an organization are those ‘on the ground’ who meet with customers every day or build the widgets we produce. It is important to empower them with the ability to both identify what can be changed in their work to make the organization run more smoothly and to speak effectively about these changes so that the right people in the organization will listen and can hear the recommendations.
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Growing Your Staff

I have focused quite a bit on the financial and business benefits of providing professional development opportunities to your staff. Now I’d like to change that focus a little and examine what I will call the psychic benefits. When working with staff, we often can find that person who has been with our organization for a long time, but who has not progressed very rapidly. In fact, they may still be in the same position they started in 10 or more years ago. Oftentimes though, it is clear to see that that individual has (that dreaded word) potential far beyond their current role. So how do we approach this? Let me propose the following. It has been my experience that when first presented with the concept of doing work beyond (more challenging than) their current job responsibilities, many, if not most, people will push back. You will often hear things like “I am very comfortable doing what I am doing,” or “I’m good at my job so I don’t want to try anything else.” These are very natural, normal reactions to the proposed change. Just like economic markets, people at equilibrium are heavily resistant to change. Instead of pushing back with a hard sell though, I recommend first empathizing with the individual. “You’re right Joe, you are very good at your job. If the time comes that you’d like to take on some new challenges, let me know.” This leaves the door open for the employee to bring it up with you when the comfort level has improved. In the meantime, you can carefully and gently give the person additional tasks that are slightly beyond what they have been doing. They will likely be hesitant to accept them, and may even express concern that they cannot complete the work adequately.

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What We Can Learn from Our Children

Watching a youth football game, I was struck by the similarities between the skills and knowledge my son was learning and those I try and engender in staff every day. Having originally been trained as an economist, it is always intriguing to me to see how the concepts I learned in that discipline play out in real life. For example, one basic tenet of economics is that the specialization of resources is the most efficient manner of production and conducting business. This is ever-so-clear on the football field, where we see each of the players taking up a very specific role, with defined assignments. Not much different from an effective project team. … Continue readingWhat We Can Learn from Our Children

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Organizational ‘Turbulence’

I heard a great new term from a colleague of mine today. We were talking about the inability of some managers to effectively communicate with staff and he said that to him this was the primary source of organizational ‘turbulence.’ Let me clarify a bit. The types of miscommunications we are discussing here typically refer to either a manager who does not reveal his or her organizational goals to those who are supposed to operationalize them, or more often, someone who changes direction mid-stream but does not inform others of the change. In many circumstances, this type of person is invaluable when it comes to the origination of a project or goal because he or she is able to take a very broad look at all of the possibilities and ask a wide range of key questions. Most often, these individuals are considered visionary at the start of a project because they can see all of the possibilities before settling on a single direction. However, the ‘turbulence’ factor comes into play after a plan has been developed, articulated, and put into action and staff are working toward its objectives. Then, the manager, seeing all of the options, decides that there is a better (more interesting?) way of going about things. Unfortunately, this information is not then communicated to others already well down the path toward the original goals until and unless the discord between the original direction and the ‘new’ path becomes apparent. The result of this of course is that a great deal of work is unnecessarily wasted and, if this pattern repeats itself too many times, the manager becomes untrustworthy to staff who are now hesitant to follow any directions from him/her for fear that in just a short while things will change. This ‘turbulence’ problem appears often

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A Coach is a Coach… A Team is a Team

Growing up and then into adulthood I have been heavily involved in a wide variety of sports as an athlete, official, and coach. What I have noticed as I transitioned from being part of these recreational endeavors to my career is that the same general principles apply in both worlds. In short, a coach is a coach, and a team is a team, regardless of the environment. I tend to think of leadership in terms of appropriately coaching and guiding those to whom you are accountable (and I believe leaders must recognize that they are accountable to the people who follow them!).On the football field, for example, the coach is the individual who creates the vision and the energy that is designed to encourage successful outcomes from the players. While the coach can, and does, draw up dozens of plays, and even select the one at any given point in time that he thinks is most likely to lead to a positive outcome, ultimately the best/most the coach can do is stand back and watch from the sidelines and hope that the guidance and direction he has imparted on the players was enough to ensure that they will work together effectively and be able to carry out their assignments. As I recently heard a college player say during an interview about his coach, “We have a great deal of respect for…but when it comes right down to it, he can’t make us win. We [the players] are the ones who have to make the plays on the field.” Is this in any way different from the skilled leader in an organization? As a leader, one of the most important roles that you perform is to provide a mission and an overarching strategy and then provide ample direction and appropriate

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Do it – RIGHT NOW!

Have you ever been scared…really scared? I don’t mean the ‘butterflies in my stomach’ type of nerves we all feel when we have to make a big presentation. I am talking about the sort of paralyzing fear that renders you unable to make changes when you know they must be made. How many of us currently work where we work or do what we do as a result of this kind of fear? If you are honest with yourself, are you doing what you most want to do? We all have our own personal passions. Taking the sometimes large and scary steps to follow those passions though can seem virtually impossible. But what if… … Continue readingDo it – RIGHT NOW!

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What Have You Done Today?

I recently heard this song by Heather Small, and I must say it is one of the most inspirational pieces of music I have ever heard. It makes me want to fly… Proud by Heather Small I look into the window of my mind Reflections of the fears I know I’ve left behind I step out of the ordinary I can feel my soul ascending I am on my way Can’t stop me now And you can do the same What have you done today to make you feel proud? It’s never too late to try What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people If you make that break for freedom What have you done today to make you feel proud? Still so many answers I don’t know Realize that to question is how we grow So, I step out of the ordinary I can feel my soul ascending I am on my way Can’t stop me now And you can do the same What have you done today to make you feel proud? It’s never too late to try What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people If you make that break for freedom What have you done today to make you feel proud? We need a change Do it today I can feel my spirit rising We need a change So do it today ‘Cause I can see a clear horizon What have you done today to make you feel proud? So, what have you done today to make you feel proud? ‘Cause you could be so many people If you make that break for freedom So, what have you done today to make you feel proud? What have you done today

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Baby Steps

To get to any destination, you must first start making progress toward that goal. Sounds simple enough. However, too many of us don’t head in the direction we want to go because we see the chasm that lies between here and there and think that we somehow must get there in a single giant leap. Instead, we should be considering ways that we can get where we want to be by making a series of baby steps in the right direction. Taking small, well-planned, and thought-out steps to achieve our end goals allows us a great deal of flexibility. With baby steps: … Continue readingBaby Steps

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How Will You Lead?

Management literature is filled with all sorts of definitions and descriptions of leadership styles and behaviors. Whether you read The One Minute Manager, The Leadership Imperative, or The Consultative Approach, the same basic tenets apply. Those who are visionary, flexible to changing environments, and who provide their teams with the flexibility to excel in their particular strength areas will invariably find success. Those who provide unclear directions, change directions frequently, communicate poorly, and either berate or ignore their staff will almost certainly be miserable failures. Given that, and the fact that literally thousands of books on (presumably good methods of) leadership exist, how will you choose to lead? I want to first emphasize that leadership behavior, like all other human behavior, is a choice that we make. Though born or raised with certain innate characteristics, we each have the ability to decide how we are going to interact with others. Every day you are given the gift to wake up and decide on your mood, your outlook on life, and how you will treat those around you. The first step in becoming a good leader, or more specifically, a leader who encourages the best in her employees, is to decide to bring a positive, supportive attitude to work. The rest tends to flow from there. People who are generally positive and upbeat, even when facing obstacles and challenges, typically find that they can accomplish more, more efficiently, and more creatively than leaders who rule with an iron fist or who are overtly negative. Like so many other parts of our lives, leadership starts with attitude. And only one person can create and foster your attitude…YOU! Start down the path to making yourself an exceptional leader. Decide to bring the best of you to the game, and you will surprise yourself

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What Does it Take to Lead?

I know I keep coming back to this theme, but everywhere I turn I am struck with the same thought. The reason that so many of our organizations, even our society in general, are lacking true leadership is because to really be a leader, it takes 1 thing…courage. It can be incredibly challenging to put yourself out there, share your ideas, and hope that others will follow. Let’s face it, that is always a risk. Just because you want to lead, does not imply that you will have followers. The video below perfectly exemplifies true leadership and the process by which a leader is created. One of the key points I found here is that one of the most important roles that an individual can take in a leadership situation is that of the “first follower.” In some ways, this person is even more critical to the success of the leader than the leader herself. Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy
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Step up to the Plate!

Have you ever noticed how interlaced our language is with sports-related metaphors? It seems all around us we are bombarded with someone claiming they “hit one out of the park” or they did so well that they “lapped the field.” With that in mind, I wanted to offer my contribution to sports metaphors in the job search environment… Many of us are currently struggling to find the career and life that activates our passion. But how do we do that? It’s important to remember that searching for that elusive dream job is a marathon, not a sprint. Along the way, you are going to run up against all sorts of hurdles. Undoubtedly there will be times when you feel like you were hit from the blindside. Looking for a satisfying and fulfilling career is a lot like baseball. To be successful you have to get into the game, step up to the plate, and take your swings. From time to time, you may strike out, but unless you go to bat for what you want, you will never reach your goals. If you are really lucky and the odds are in your favor, you will eventually find yourself as the front runner in the race for the position of your dreams. Then, from out in left field you may take another shot. This is when it is most important to get up off the canvas, dust yourself off, and win one for the Gipper. Remember, the game of life is not a level playing field. When you are feeling like all is lost and the only way to keep going is to drop back 10 yards and punt, crank up your energy one more notch, and go for the win. With some good coaching and a bit of luck, you

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How Do You Know Real Leadership?

There are lots of books and discussions about the meaning of leadership. You could spend literally thousands of dollars on texts that suggest they know the real definition of leadership. While many of these probably can give you a good theoretical view, and some may even come close to giving you a picture of what leadership looks like, I don’t think you really understand it until you see it in action. In a very bad situation this week I got an opportunity to see an extraordinarily good example of leadership take place. Our agency recently announced some of the most severe layoffs in its history. As you can imagine, this has caused an enormous amount of unrest and pain throughout the organization. Some of the folks losing their jobs have been with the agency for 20 years or more. It is a painful and heartbreaking time, but unfortunately, one that could not be avoided. It would have been easy for our executive leaders to hide behind the veil of budget cuts and simply hand down the mandate of these layoffs. One person in particular though demonstrated exactly what it means to be a true leader. Our Deputy Director came around to speak personally with each of the individuals directly affected by the layoffs. He had no personal agenda other than to touch base with them, see how they were faring, and to find out how he could be supportive. This process has been exceptionally difficult for him, watching people he has worked with for years struggling and having to go through such a difficult time. His professionalism, patience, and willingness to really listen and be compassionate as they shared their fears and frustration were invaluable. Throughout, he maintained his composure and let people vent, express their feelings, and share with

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Do What You Can…

I have been reminded of that conversation frequently lately as I have watched people around me go through some amazingly difficult times at work. A major layoff hit their organization, and them personally. Watching them, I was struck by how some of them were able to roll with the punches, while others, seemingly, were decimated by the events. Finally, one day, while working with one of my clients, it hit me. While I certainly agree with Curly’s assessment that we each have to find that one thing inside of us that ignites our passion, there is yet one other characteristic that is necessary for anyone to be successful; the one factor that, if absent, will complete eliminate the possibility of growth, change, and success. HOPE! “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope” Take away hope and you completely take away a person’s motivation and strength. A person who feels their situation is hopeless and who sees no possibility that things can change and improve will simply give up. Human beings thrive on hope. We continually hope and dream of better circumstances. It is what drives us to take on new challenges, learn new skills, and attempt things that may seem impossible. The simple hope that we can accomplish these things keeps us striving for more. I am convinced that the greatest thing we can do for those around us is to cultivate hope. Focus your energies on what is possible, rather than what is not, and you will find a world of opportunity opening up. A good friend of mine likes to say “Do what you can, not what you can’t.” When the walls are crashing in around you and you

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Dare to Choose

Several years ago, I worked with a large organization in the midst of some substantial structural changes. Over the course of several months, as we re-created their entire foundation and processes, we came together to develop agreements about what we believed was necessary for each individual, and by extension the organization, to be successful. I have held on to this and shared it many times since. Dare to Choose … Continue readingDare to Choose

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Hey Buddy, Can You Spare Some Change?

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of change that seems to be constantly going on around us. If you ever doubt that, live in a house with 4 adolescent boys, as I do, and try and follow what is going on in their lives from day to day. I promise you, that the speed and magnitude with which things change will boggle your mind. On the same track though, we are presented with virtually endless amounts of change in our professional lives. Many of us have had several jobs in our careers, even if they are all within the same organization. Or we may have experienced a fundamental change in the organizational structure where we work so that we report to someone new and now have to adjust to the way this person manages. Regardless of the types of change we are talking about though, the important thing to bear in mind is not so much the change itself, but how we react to that change. As you find yourself in situations of upheaval or change, whether good or bad, you will often find yourself becoming exceptionally stressed, tired, and unable to focus. The key is to find ways to mitigate the impact of the change on the other aspects of your life. Find things you enjoy doing, get away from the situation for a while, or work to discover the opportunities in the new environment. Whatever the case, for your own well-being (and as my wife will attest, for the betterment of those around you), focus on getting the lessons you can out of the change, and you are likely to be more successful in managing the stress and emotion that accompanies it. … Continue readingHey Buddy, Can You Spare Some

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How Would You Answer?

We spend a lot of effort and energy attempting to define leadership and the characteristics of a good leader. I have always felt that history is one of the best teachers. More than 40 years ago, President Kennedy spoke about his vision of what makes a true leader by asking 4 basic questions. I have had this quote posted or around my desk for the better part of my career and have always done my best to live up to the ideals so clearly identified in his vision. It is plainly evident to me that when we see leaders who are not successful or who are facing difficulty in creating the environments they want, whether at work or elsewhere, we can look to these questions and almost invariably find the flaws in their behavior. “When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us, recording whether in our brief span of service, we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure in whatever office we may hold will be measured by the answers to four questions: … Continue readingHow Would You Answer?

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