The other day I was at a client’s office listening to a presentation.  The topic was how to effectively complete the company’s online timecard system. As the group was discussing the details of how to complete the online timecard, the talk turned to how to notify ones supervisor of impending PTO (Personal Time Off). One of the audience members piped up and said, “Well that’s easy— the XYZ system (not its real name) has a section in the upper right hand that says “Notifiy your supervisor via email.  All you have to do is click on the box.”  At which point someone else said, “Oh, that box?  It doesn’t do anything.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, for real. I learned the hard way.”

“Oh, man, I’ve been checking that box every time I file for PTO. You mean that my supervisor never gets an email?”

“Yep, pretty much.”

 The training participants looked to their instructor to verify that this was so.  Sheepishly, the instructor (who was a senior manager with the company) said Yes, it’s true. Actually, he did a marvelous job massaging the information so that the company didn’t look like it was hosting a total goat rodeo.

All the while, I’m quietly sitting in the back of the room thinking: Seriously?!  A section in an online employee timekeeping system that says “Check this box to notify your supervisor” and it’s not functional?  I felt like we were in a Dilbert comic strip. Back in the day, when I was in Human Resources, this kind of organizational idiocy made me crazy. (Although it is great fodder for comic strips and blog posts.)  I’m not in HR any more, but if I were counseling someone who is, this is what I’d recommend. . . 

Assess the Impact of the Situation

First of all, maybe nobody else thinks this is a big deal.  It seemed like a big deal during the training session, but it needs to be verified.  So, check in with your sources on the frontline throughout the organization (because, being the savvy HR person you are, of course you’re well networked). Send a few emails/phone calls to find out: how often does this happen? What’s the impact? Then, check in with a couple of folks in IT- what does it take to get this fixed? 

Let’s say that your frontline supervisors say, No Big Deal. Or, when you check with IT, it’s a battle that they’re not willing to help you with. It’s probably best to move on. You’ve got plenty of other fires to put out, right?

On the other hand, let’s say that your investigative work uncovers that it’s a problem and several miscommunications have occurred. Further, IT says it would not be a huge deal to fix (even if “fixing” means removing the check box altogether).

Build the Case

One of the great things about being in HR is you have great data at your fingertips.  So, you can quickly build a financial case about this issue:  estimate how many miscommunications occur as a result of employees mistakenly thinking they’ve communicated their absence to the supervisor.  Estimate the financial cost in monthly terms (hours productivity lost X average hourly wage= monthly productivity drain.) Then, contrast that with the estimated cost to fix it (average hourly IT wage X # of project hours to fix = investment). Numbers are the language of business. If the numbers are persuasive, move ahead. 

Gain Supporters

This is where it gets strategic. Think about who in the company might support this “fix it” project and (this is the important part) who also has the organizational influence to help you get it done. Pick one or two people who fit this bill. Sit down with them and explain the situation.  Show them how the company will benefit and share your financials. Enlist their support for when the project stalls.  Let them know you’ll give the periodic updates.

Execute the Plan

Once you get the go-ahead, circle back to the people you polled before. Ask: “I’ve been authorized to help get this fixed.  What else do I need to know before moving ahead?”  If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, even seemingly simple projects like removing a check box from an online form have hidden pitfalls.  Another benefit of checking in with the people you tapped: it lets them know that you actually listened to their input and are taking action

Then, go make it happen.  Let’s say it takes 2 weeks months to get it done. (It always takes longer than planned, and let’s face it, this won’t be a high-priority project.) After the project is finished, you’re still not truly finished, because there’s one more thing and that’s . . .

Talk about the Success

I would advise my HR colleague in this situation to “talk it up” a bit when mentioning this project. Yes, toot your own horn, or a least toot the success of the project.  If you are going to be seen as a player who adds value to the company, then you have to be seen. Toiling away in some hidden back room is not the way to go. So be sure that you (again) circle back to those who helped you out: your colleagues in IT, supervisors on the frontline and your supporters in upper management.  A quick email will suffice.

Now, maybe these suggestions seem like a lot of work, all for the sake of fixing a broken button. Perhaps. But I ask you this: as a professional in HR, isn’t your role to make the workplace function more effectively and with less cost?  If that’s how you view your role, then this would be an ideal project to take on.

John Spence, author of Awesomely Simple

Earlier this year, I discovered the book Awesomely Simple and wrote a book review on it for this blog. I admired the book’s down-to-earth approach and wanted to learn more, so I reached out to its author, John Spence. John agreed to sit down with me last month for an interview.

Jennifer: Thank you so much for your time, John.  Let’s start from the broad perspective. What’s has the reaction Awesomely Simple been?

John:

As I talk with people about the book, here’s what I’m finding: business owners are hungry for any idea that will help them improve their business. They are running so fast and lean that they don’t have a lot of time to work ON their business. They are able to get solid ideas [from the book] that they can implement immediately. I tried to write the book in as simple a manner as possible to help them out.

Jennifer: That leads to my next question. You say that the premise of your book is complexity versus simplicity and running an effective business is simple, but not easy. Why do you think sometimes the business books make it so complex?

John: Many business books today are written by academicians or people who are big serious thinkers and are seriously into research. These people get paid for being brilliant and making things complex so you have to hire them to explain it.  That is part of their job. I just wanted my book to be simple and clear to understand. Here is the important part:  if it is easy to understand, then it is easier to apply.  

During my presentations to leaders, I often ask: “How many have read “Good to Great?” Just recently, during a lecture I gave at Wharton, many raised hands. Then I asked, “How many used it?” Not so many hands raised.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Jim Collins.  I always think this is an interesting dichotomy; there is a big difference between reading a book, understanding a book and then applying the ideas in the book. To me a book is useless if you can’t get to the third stage of applying the ideas. I wanted [people to take] ideas to action in my book.

Jennifer: Is it that the ideas in some books are too esoteric?

John: It might be that they are a little too challenging to grasp. Too esoteric.  It’s that old “Knowing/Doing Gap;” a lot of people know what they have to do but making that gap as narrow as possible is extremely difficult to do.

Jennifer: So we are talking about how your book is different. It swings the pendulum in a completely different direction—back to simplicity. The book outlines six principles of business success. Have any of the six been resonating more strongly than others when you talk with folks?

John: “Best People” has definitely resonated. I am starting to hear something that businesses are concerned that when the economy turns around their employees will bail as they have been worked so hard, maybe with less pay.  This is a bad thing to hear a business owner say especially if they know they have some great quality personnel.

Another one that has resonated with many people is “Disciplined Execution”. Leaders are saying “I know these things, but I’m not doing them consistently. It’s isn’t about learning a whole new model, it’s being more consistent about doing the basics. I can’t believe we don’t nail the fundamentals.”

Here is a classic example. Everyone knows how difficult it is to lose weight and what has to be done: reduce your calories and increase your exercise. So simple, yet not many of us do it really well. You need courage, discipline and determination to do these things really well. In my book there are just six thing to focus on. Just do the fundamentals really really well and you’ll devastate the marketplace.

Jennifer: So what is getting in the way?

John: Tolerating mediocrity, being so busy trying to put out fires that they don’t take time to build a fire station, getting caught in the daily busy-ness.  People are so busy working in their business that they don’t have time to work on their business. They are always hoping for a magic bullet. The six [principles] I have listed are the most critical.

Jennifer: You mentioned tolerating mediocrity. I noticed this is a strong theme throughout your book. In your experience of working with a broad section of leadership, why is this going on?

John: There are a several sides to this issue. First of all it is impossible to create a culture of excellence unless there are clear standards of excellence. I think companies may tolerate mediocrity because they have not defined what superior performance looks like clearly enough.  You can’t hold someone accountable to a standard that is ambiguous. No one ever told them [employees] what good performance is and how it will be measured. You have to clearly outline the standard.

In my book I discuss:  Train/Transfer/Terminate.  I love the Jack Welsh quote: “I never fired anybody that was surprised.”  You need to tell the employee you have set clear standards. Leaders need to say “we know you are not meeting them, what can I do to help you?”

Tolerating mediocrity falls back on the leader to set standards, discussing those standards, holding people accountable for those standards, being honest, and having courageous communication around those standards and letting people know when their performance is subpar. 

Here’s another factor: consider the middle or senior manager who may not be performing that well either. They don’t want to shine a light of accountability on someone else because they know that light will be reflected back on them.

In “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni talks about this really well when he talks about vulnerability.  It is about people thinking: I am afraid to say “I don’t know” or to say “I made a mistake”. Then the thinking evolves to “I don’t want to hold anyone else accountable because I don’t want anyone to hold me accountable”. I think a lot of times a mediocre leader lets mediocrity go because they don’t want to be held to a higher standard either.

Lastly, I think it is very challenging for people to have the conversation around “your performance is not to standard.” Many leaders are reluctant to have this conversation because they are just afraid to confront it. They just hope the situation fixes itself. One of my favorite phrases is: hope is not a strategy.  Leaders need to get better at those courageous conversations. Allowing someone to perform poorly when it eventually puts their job in jeopardy without talking to them is really mean. It’s not fair to the person, or the company. So, the earlier you have those conversations, the better because there’s still a chance you as a leader can fix it. But leaders need to have those courageous communications so that they aren’t tolerating mediocrity.

Jennifer: Speaking of conversations, I think your book really outlined some helpful specific dialog and practical tools to use.

John: Yes, there are several tools I have put in the book to help leaders. They’re sort of common sense and yet have been huge hits. For example, there is the “four pieces of paper” to help with managerial the four levels of decision-making.  I just met with a board of director and taught him the four level decision-making process. He thought it was so fantastic and would be able to apply it immediately.

Jennifer: In the chapter outlining the “Best People” principle, you tell a story from your personal consulting experience in which you stood in front of a client’s entire workforce and told the truth, which in turn got you fired from the project by the company’s leadership. It was a great example of “telling the truth to power”.  Readers from my blog are external leadership consultants and internal leaders.  Please give them some advice on how to speak “truth to power.”

John:  First of all, if you are a consultant: As a trusted advisor, you have an absolute responsibility to tell the truth all of the time— as you see it. Even if that costs you your job.  [As a consultant] I have been terminated for saying things that were uncomfortable or saying things that no one else would say.

The things I share [with clients] are not based upon my opinion or my thoughts and feelings. I collect information from hundreds or thousands of employees. I deliver the message from the employees. Most of my stuff is based on interviews, confidential surveys, and gathering data, with just a little bit of my opinion added in.

Now, if you’re a leader receiving unflattering information: I believe that when someone delivers that kind of information to you [as the leader] that the good lead r (metaphorically speaking) hugs that messenger. The leader’s message should be, “I hate to hear that, I love that you told me.” It may be painful to hear but it is important to listen and be thankful.

Jennifer: John, this has been an extremely interesting conversation. Readers of The People Equation will benefit tremendously. Thank you so much for your time.

John: My pleasure.

NOTE FROM JENNIFER:

John has generously offered to give me three signed copies of his book Awesomely Simple to share with my readers.  Want a copy?  Write a comment here or at the SkillSource Facebook fan page to the following question:

“What’s the most simple, yet awesome advice you ever received from a leader?” 

I will take all comments, put them in a hat and draw out three winners.  Enter your comment by 5:00 PM (EDT) Friday April 23, 2010. I’ll contact you via email if your name is drawn.

The “are leaders born or made?” debate. Said I wasn’t going to go there, but it’s just too irresistible.  A couple of weeks ago on the HR Happy Hour, we had a discussion on this very issue. The Twitter backchannel was ablaze with people debating the topic. Personally, I grow weary of the debate because it sets up an either/or position that isn’t very productive. More on that in a moment. 

What’s compelling me to get sucked back into the discussion? When a leading authority in HR weighs in on “leaders— born or made?” I take note.  That’s what happened this morning when I saw a retweet by Phil McCreight featuring the First Friday Book Synopsis blog interview with Dave Ulrich. A Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ulrich is the author of over 20 books on HR, talent management, competency development and learning. I’ve followed his work for years and admire how he blends his research with actual practice.

Referencing Ulrich’s book The Leadership Code,  interviewer Bob Morris asks Ulrich about whether there’s a “DNA code” for leadership, thus setting up the “are leaders born or made?” question.

Ulrich’s response:

The research on this issue is fairly conclusive: 50/50. We have innate predispositions that affect who we are and what we do (nature) but we can learn and develop and grow (nurture). I am predisposed to being an introvert, but have learned that in teaching I need to become an extrovert to be effective.

So if people’s leadership potential is evenly split between what they’re born with and what they choose to develop, how come we’re still having this debate?  As with many debates, I believe it comes down to words and the meaning we ascribe to them.  In this case, I think the conflicting opinions stems in large part from how people are defining leadership. To some people, leadership is that “something” that a lucky few just simply have.  It’s hardwired and definitely not something you can learn in a training session. Others view leadership in a more comprehensive way—it’s a both/and type thing, consisting of innate traits and teachable techniques. 

Personally, I’m one of the “comprehensive” folks— when I say “leadership”, I’m referring to both the innate and the learnable.  And of course, when there are varying definitions rolling around, we have room for disagreement.

For the sake of clarity, I offer two sides of the “comprehensive” leadership coin:

Side one: Leadership.  At its core, leadership is the ability to attract followers.  It’s that simple.  One can attract followers to further a noble cause, or to create an army to destroy an entire civilization.  In the everyday workplace context, leaders are often seen as people who are driven, charismatic, and persuasive. Yes, these are traits that a person was born with to varying degrees of intensity.

Side two: Management. This is another aspect to leadership that sometimes gets partitioned off into a different category, somehow separate from ”leadership”.  This is the more operational side of workplace leadership: planning, organizing, delegating, coaching.  These functions are important as well, and shouldn’t be discounted. Too often, during discussions on leadership, I see scoffing at the “management” side of things.  In my opinion, that’s a mistake.  True, at the very top of an organization, it’s critical to have a passionate, focused, inspirational leader who can rally the masses towards an outcome that produces value for a constituency. And maybe there are just a select few who are wired for that role.

However, the reality is, there are a whole lot more leader/managers out there who need to do both functions.  They need to lead and they need to manage. They don’t have the luxury of delegating the “administrivia” to someone else to handle.  In these days of flat organizational hierarchies, they are the administrators as well as the motivational speakers.

Which brings me back to the “either/or” format of questions. 

• Leaders: born or made?
• What’s more important: leadership or management? 

When it comes to meaningful discussion, let’s do away with this polarizing structure.  Leave the opposing positions to the debate team.  For those of us interested in developing leaders, we need all the viewpoints we can get. If in fact, leadership is a two-sided coin, we need both sides to achieve the full value of the currency.  Otherwise, it’s just a shiny piece of metal.

With a clumsy nod to the Rolling Stones’ classic tune, it appears to be true: since 1987, workers have become steadily less satisfied with their work.  This is according to research results released last week by The Conference Board.  What’s more, it’s not a generational thing: satisfaction is decreasing amongst all ages groups.  While the research summary doesn’t spell out specific reasons for the decline, The Conference Board does say that the current dissatisfaction isn’t solely due to poor economic conditions.

In fact, their research digs into four factors that they call the “drivers of employee engagement”:

A. Job Design

B. Organizational Health

C. Managerial Quality

E. Extrinsic Rewards

OK, guess which one I’m honing in on?  Ding, ding, ding! You got it, “C”, Managerial Quality.  That topic interests me a lot.  Seems that it interests my readers too because the post No-Cost Ideas for Energizing Your Team is one of the most viewed posts on my blog.

In the fall of 2009 there was lot of buzz about “Is HR Dead?”.  Those of us in the HR sub-niche of helping leaders develop could ask a similar question:  “Is Leadership Development Necessary?”  The answer seems to be right in front of us, if The Conference Board numbers are any indication.  It’s not time to throw in the towel yet. 

If you are a leader. . .

If you know someone who is a leader. . .

If you’re an HR practitioner with the power to influence leadership development in your organization . . .

Please, let’s work together to find practical, low-cost ways to improve “managerial quality”. The quality of our workforce and therefore our nation’s productivity, depends on it.

Thanks to a Twitter post by Mike Myatt, look at the fantastic treasure I just unearthed from Seth Godin: his “What Matters Now” e-book featuring a diverse group of  seventy “thinkers” sharing one simple thought per page of the book.  The e-book is a free download.  Click here to go to the link. It has all sorts of great thought-starters to get us going for 2010.

Thanks, Seth for pulling this compilation together!

I just returned from the grocery store, one that I frequent nearly every week.  This is what I overhead as my groceries were being rung up and bagged today:

Supervisor (to cashier): “When you’re done ringing her up, meet me upstairs for your evaluation.”

Cashier: “OK.” Supervisor walks away.

Cashier (to bagger): “Oh, man. . . I HATE evaluation time.  What if she was like, “You’re fired.  Can you IMAGINE?”

Bagger: “Yeah, I had my eval yesterday.  I’m here 20 minutes early every day and still, all I get is a ‘4’. I said, you should give me a ‘5’ on that one and she goes, ‘nobody gets a 5’. . .”

On and on it went, throughout the entire check out process.  The cashier was very efficient and courteous. So was the bagger, who recognizes and greets me every time she sees me. But all I could think was, “Wow, are they really discussing their performance reviews right here on the floor while they interact with a customer?”

Now, maybe I’m overly interested in that particular topic, given that I’ve been on all sides of the performance review equation: HR Generalist, Supervisor and Employee. Maybe, say, an engineer, would have given no thought whatsoever to the conversation unfolding in front of her.  But maybe not.

For those of you involved in HR administration or in any part of ensuring your company’s customer experience, take heed.  Your employees are bringing your performance review process right onto the dance floor. Talk about transparency.