Posted by
Ron Price on Monday, June 30, 2008 at 6:53 AM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Executive Coaching,
Performance
One of my favorite weekend activities is reading. When I allow inquisitiveness to overrule my childish desire to finish one book before starting another, I like to read from several related books simultaneously. This weekend was one of those times. I moved back and forth from several different books exploring something I refer to as “quantum” leadership. It is based on synthesizing and applying much of what has been learned over the past two decades about quantum physics, quantum mechanics, and systems thinking. One of the most important aspects of quantum theory is that the relationship between the parts is more important than the parts. Here is one of the excerpts from my reading that is most stimulating to me in my own exploration of leadership:
“We tried for many years to avoid the messiness and complexity of being human, and now that denial is coming back to haunt us. We keep failing to create the outcomes and changes we need in organizations because we continue to deny that ‘the human element’ is anything but a ‘soft’ and not-to-be-taken-seriously minor distraction. We barely manage to survive the seemingly endless procession of organizational change fads and new ideas, each of which promises to make organizations more effective. CEOs acknowledge that about three-fourths of these efforts have failed. This terrible record of failure is, in my estimation, due to approaches that are predominantly technical and mechanistic. New technology is purchased; new organization charts are drawn; new training classes are offered. But most human dynamics are completely ignored: our need to trust one another, our need for meaningful work, our desire to contribute and be thanked for that contribution, our need to participate in changes that affect us.”
“Beyond the fads that have swept through large organizations, think of all the contemporary leadership problems that are variations on the theme that we don’t know how to work together. We struggle to help teams form quickly and work effectively. We struggle to learn how to work with the uniqueness that we call diversity. We are terrified of the emotions aroused by conflict, loss, love. In all of these struggles, it is being human that creates the problem. We have not yet learned how to be together. I believe we have been kept apart by three primary Western cultural beliefs: individualism, competition, and a mechanistic world view. Western culture, even as it continues to influence people everywhere, has not prepared us to work together in this new world of relationships. And we don’t even know that we lack these skills. In a simple example of the difficulties created by this ignorance, many MBA graduates who’ve been in the field a few years report that they wish they had focused more on organizational behavior and people skills while in school.”
“Leadership and the New Science – Discovering Order in a Chaotic World”, Margaret J. Wheatley
This hits close to the core of why Price Associates exists. We are explorers, along side our clients, to help discover new opportunities in a changing world.
Posted by
Ron Price on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Executive Coaching,
Performance
I met with a great company this morning that is growing by leaps and bounds (who says there is a recession going on?) This company was started close to 10 years ago and they will generate revenue in excess of $100 million this year. The key to their success is also the greatest challenge they now face.
In the beginning stages, most companies succeed or fail based on the vision, passion and will-power of an entrepreneur. If they succeed the early years and grow, this same energy that was the key to survival can easily become the greatest limitation to continued growth. The problem: dynamic entrepreneurs can only carry the company so far and eventually the weight of their success begins to wear them out, or build a prison of their own making. The business depends on their decisions, their active involvement, and their motivation to continue its success. The problem is that growth creates more work and demand for decision making, energy and discipline than one person can provide. Initially, entrepreneurs work to solve this by adding “administrative assistants,” even when they give them titles like Vice President or Operations Manager. The title might sound like a decision maker, but the reality is that important decisions are still made by a solo practitioner at the top.
Smart entrepreneurs recognize this challenge and begin re-thinking their leadership role. They nurture others to take responsibility for performance, they learn to identify and develop leadership talent and they begin shifting their focus toward creating future success through wisdom and talents of others. They empower professional managers to build infrastructure, create systems and develop plans, all while avoiding a new set of organizational dangers; complacency, entitlement and bureaucracy.
It is a challenging journey, but many have successfully navigated this transition to a more professional, stable management style while not losing the energy, passion and uniqueness that brought their early success. The company I visited today is struggling with these realities and carefully laying the foundation for the next generation of success.
Posted by
Lynn McConnell on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Categories:
Talent Management,
Training & Team Building,
Leadership Development,
Performance
Emotional Intelligence, or EI, seems to be the topic de jour for organizational development these days. Broadly defined, EI can be defined as HOW people use the smarts they have. Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, professors from Yale University and the University of New Hampshire, defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.”
EI comprises four main areas:
- Self-awareness, or the ability to understand emotions and recognize how they affect oneself and other people.
- Self-management, or the ability to control one's emotions and impulses. Other attributes of self-management include trustworthiness, conscientiousness and adaptability.
- Social awareness, or the ability to be aware of others' feelings, needs and concerns. Key attributes of social awareness are empathy, service orientation and organizational awareness.
- Relationship management builds on the first three areas: communication, conflict management and the ability to influence others through inspirational leadership.
Why is this important?
Leaders set the emotional tone of an organization. Studies show that teams and individuals tend to be more creative problems solvers who adapt a win-win attitude toward conflict resolution.
We’ve all heard the phrase: “Employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers”.
In general, managers with a high emotional intelligence quotient tend to be empathetic, trustworthy, and have a knack for building relationships with others; while a manager with a low emotional intelligence quotient might be seen as critical and micro-managing.
Luckily, unlike intelligence quotients, emotional intelligence can be developed with training, feedback and coaching.
Does your organization measure and coach for emotional intelligence? If you don’t, you may be missing the boat when it comes to creating job satisfaction and developing those creative problem solvers who will become the leaders who will help your organization continue to thrive and grow!
Posted by
Lynn McConnell on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Categories:
Strategic Planning,
Leadership Development,
Miscellaneous,
Performance
I believe that corporations should take a pointer or two from the “Super Nanny”.
If you haven’t watched this show (on ABC) you should because it’s a great example of changing an organizational culture. Granted, ‘JoJo’ does it one family at a time, but she uses the same techniques that would work to change the culture in any organization.
First she comes in and talks with each parent, asking for their input into what the problems are and what outcomes they would like to achieve. She also gets their buy-in into making the changes in the household. Next, she observes behavior—how the ‘team’ interacts with each other, how they react to problems and stress, and how they go about resolving these problems.
She then gets the team leaders (parents) back together to discuss her findings and offer suggestions for changes. Together they develop an implementation strategy, for which she will hold them accountable, and again obtains their buy-in and commitment.
What happens next?
The plan is communicated to the team (the kids). Expectations are clearly outlined and process changes explained. Everyone is given tasks and roles to fulfill and there is usually a visual way of tracking successes and failures that everyone can refer back to. Then they go to work!
Do things instantly fall into place? NO! Expectations must be restated, processes re-explained and re-worked, and sometimes people end up on the “naughty chair” because they can’t seem to accept the new culture. Sometimes the leaders slip back into their old habits. But do they give up? Not usually. They realize that no matter how painful the process, falling back into old behaviors is more painful and more damaging. So, they re-group, talk about the problems they’ve experienced, redefine or rework the processes, re-commit to the process and realize that if things are going to change it is up to each of them to set the standards and commit to reaching them.
It is never an overnight process, but even when there are set backs, these eventually become less severe, and the team now has the tools in place for solving problems as they arise without placing blame and flying off the handle. These habits and processes soon become ingrained into the culture of the family (team) so that they eventually begin to go from a dysfunctional, out of control family to a high functioning, supportive team where everyone understands their roles and what is expected of them. They each begin to hold themselves and each other accountable and they understand the role that they each individually play in helping their family (organization) succeed.
Don’t you think every organization could use a Super Nanny?
Posted by
Ron Price on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Performance
Last weekend I spent two days with my “mastermind group.” This is a group of peers that meets four times a year to share our ideas, resources, and to spur one another on in growing our businesses. I left our meetings with so much appreciation for our friendships and the depth of experience that I am privileged to tap into through this group. Our combined businesses cover the U.S. and our leadership experiences exceed 150 years (that’s a lot of mistakes to learn from along the way!) Our group is made up an electrical engineer turned organizational growth specialist, a consulting psychologist, a serial entrepreneur, a brilliant theoretical strategist, and me (still trying to figure out what I am!)
In a prior time, we may have viewed each other as competitors. Instead, now we recognize that we can learn a lot from each other and that those we serve can only be benefited by our relationships. One of the most enjoyable parts of each meeting is browsing through one another’s libraries (we rotate at our various businesses across the country). I always walk away remembering afresh the quote of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones – “You are the same person today you will be five years from now except for two things—the people you meet and the books you read.”