Can Leaders Change or Not? That is the Question!

Cheryl Offers: Sara and I were recently speaking to a colleague when we heard “People don’t change. All my thesis research proved it.” Now this person is someone I respect a great deal and admire for their accomplishments. I was shocked to hear this fall out of their mouth – with conviction.  I asked a question to ensure I had heard this correctly and the answer confirmed it:  people can’t and don’t change.  I must admit I don’t believe this for one nanosecond. There is a growing body of research that seems to be in direct contradiction to this idea, starting with Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.  I first fell in love with the ideas in this book when I read “Each person’s greatest room for growth is in the areas of their greatest strength.”  My philosophy has always been that it is a zero sum game. If you focus on doing more of something where you are strong, competent, and resonant as a leader, then you automatically do less of what might not be effective. And I’ve seen people change, including myself. Who wouldn’t want to invest time and energy in being better at something we already love to do? That actually sounds like fun rather than work.

 Sara Offers:   When I work with leaders I always look for the ones who are willing to change.  When those who come out with pronouncements like, “I can’t change – I’m too old” or  “I can’t change…they’ll just have to take me the way I am”,  I head the other way.  Leaders who proudly embrace their inflexibility are not bound for success!  I think an unwillingness to tackle change is taking the easy way out…wimp leadership.  Unlike our colleague’s belief, people not only CAN change, they MUST.  Just ask Marshall Goldsmith.  In his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, he maintains that the very skills that got leaders up the company ladder will sabotage them if they don’t change by developing new skills.  Think about it.  A great seller is promoted to being a sales manager.  Being a great seller will get in the way because the manager’s job is to develop and motivate others to become great…not revel in their own past greatness.   Can’t change?  Nonsense!  People can change.  They do change.  Change is growth.

Q #119: What is ”choice architecture”

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

This term probably began to buzz the loudest when Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s book, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, was published in April, 2008. A revised and updated edition was published earlier this year. As they explain, “A nudge…is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding options or significantly changing their economic incentives.” The context of a decision almost always shapes or frames the decision. The more efficient and appropriate the architecture of that context is, the more likely that a sound decision will be made. They urge supervisors to become competent “choice architects” so that they can create “user-friendly environments” for those for whom they are responsible. In other words, do everything possible to help them succeed just as the best coaches do everything they can to prepare their teams to win or at least to do make a best effort.

In my opinion, one of the most valuable suggestions in the book is to take full advantage of incentives, recognition, and rewards — rather than requirements — to nourish self-motivation and thereby to achieve voluntary commitment and engagement. First as commanding general and then as president, George Washington is a perfect example of a leader who “let others have it his way.” Thaler and Sunstein would characterize him as a “libertarian paternalist,” one of those who “care deeply about freedom” and
“are skeptical about approaches that prevent people from going their own way.” Washington was renowned for seeking and respecting the opinions of his associates, especially those with whom there had been prior disagreements. In 1783, years after hostilities had ended but before a peace treaty had been signed, Washington learned that a group of officers stationed in Newburgh, New York, were involved in a conspiracy to undertake a coup d’etat and establish a military dictatorship for the new nation. They had lost all confidence in the temporary government after their just claims (e.g. not having been paid for months and in several cases for years) had either been rejected or ignored. Washington arranged to meet with them.

Upon arrival, he said, “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.” This simple act and statement by their venerated commander, coupled with remembrances of battles and privations shared together with him, and their sense of shame at their present approach to the threshold of treason, was more effective than the most eloquent oratory. Washington was an immensely talented “choice architect.”

There are important business lessons to be learned from his example. I plan to identify and briefly discuss several of them in another Q&A.

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob

Q #118: How to sharpen communication skills?

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. His work centers on how leaders can use their authority, communications and presence to build trust and drive results. He is the author of six books on leadership, including Lead By Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results. In a recent posting at the Harvard Business Publishing blog, he suggests five ways to sharpen communication skills:

1. Know the fundamentals. Express yourself well verbally, as well as on paper or through email. Failure to communicate coherently leaves people unsure of what is expected of them.

2. Think clearly about what you will say. Many are critical of PowerPoint because bullet points without a “subject, a verb and an object” do not convey “complete thoughts.” With PowerPoint itself is not the problem; executives who use it as a short-hand for thinking are. Too many managers use it to sketch out thoughts rather than flesh them out.

3. Prepare for meetings. Documents for meetings should be distributed in advance and made clear and concise. All meetings should start on time. That’s all part of the preparation process. So often meetings go off track before they begin because managers and employees do not take the time to think about what they will say before they say it.

4. Engage in discussion. Encourage debate. You need to hear everybody’s perspective, so you must ask more questions than make statements. All too often, either due to the press of time or perhaps a feeling of over-importance, executives do not make it clear that they want to hear alternate points of view. Such an approach leads to “groupthink” because no one speaks up.

5. Listen to others. Discussions are meaningless if no one is listening. Anderson does not like to see his managers checking their BlackBerrys in meetings. Doing so shows lack of focus and is akin to reading a newspaper during the meeting. As little as we may tend to concentrate on improving oral and written skills, we spend even less time (if any) on improving listening skills. For that reason, too many managers end up ill-informed and, in turn, ill-prepared to deal with issues that subsequently morph into problems. Time spent listening might have headed off such disasters

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Here is a link to the Harvard Business Publishing blog:

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob

Q #117: How to lead better brainstorming sessions?

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

There is no shortage of advice and I have already shared some of the best in previous Q&As, #53 and #54. Here is a portion of what Julie Gilbert recently contributed to the Harvard Business Publishing blog. She suggests “three quick process checks that can help”:

Who is in the room?

• What is the gender diversity in the room? It should be 50/50 male/female if you want to represent your consumer base in any industry

• What are the experiential levels in the room? You should include individuals just entering the workforce as well as those that have been in their career for some time

• What is the ethnic diversity in the room? It should represent your global consumer base.

• Do you have consumers in the room with you? Invite your customers to the table of business invention, at least for portions of the discussion that focus on their interests and, especially, on their unmet needs.

During the brainstorming process, who gets to speak?

• Do you call more on those people you know best? Spread your attention around.

• Does each person get a chance to speak, or do you just automatically open up the room to whomever wants to talk? Make sure that you give each person a chance to write down their ideas — then go around the room to hear from each person.

• If you don’t understand a person’s response, don’t just move on to the next person. Stop and ask them to clarify their thinking for you.

What is your leadership body language? Ask yourself

• Do you look each and every person in the eye?

• Do you unconsciously ratify — say, by nodding at them — only the ideas that are most in line with yours?

• Where do you stand? Who are you facing?

Without diversity, without great leadership, and without a safe culture of innovation, you will either fall behind or continue to make ‘one-step ahead’ moves that will limit your growth.”

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Here is a link to the Harvard Business Publishing blog:

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob

Q #116: Is there a right way to manage surprises?

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

Experts’ opinions differ but all agree that the “right way” is the one that achieves desired results, whatever they may be. In a recent contribution to the Harvard Business Publishing blog, Ed Gilligan shares his thoughts, based on four experiences of his career as a corporate executive. He is vice chairman of the American Express Company and oversees the company’s global business-to-business group which includes merchant services, network services, commercial cards, and business travel.

“As I reflect on those experiences, I thought of four things you might NOT want to do when (notice I didn’t say “if’”) you come face to face with a surprise.

1. Don’t wait so long to tell (or to ask.) It was 1998. I had only reported to Ken Chenault, our CEO and Chairman, for about three or four months at that point. I was managing our US corporate travel and commercial card businesses. And I had a little problem. It was called the Asian Financial Crisis. Remember that? I can still feel the puddle of sweat on the middle of my back as I told Ken in September I was going to miss my numbers for the year. But I’ll also never forget his response. He said, “Ed, you’ve done all the right things to deal with the issue but next time, don’t wait so long to tell me. We have more options if you tell me earlier.” He handled the situation with grace and I learned a lot about leadership. Tell early. Ask often. Get surprises out in the open as soon as you can. That way you move beyond shock, can focus on action, and work to get closure.

2. Don’t forget your playbook from the past. You can and should have a playbook for surprises, but humility needs to be a key chapter in it. When we started to see the impact of the current crisis in Q4 2008, I wasn’t that surprised. I had mentally prepared myself for a downturn. The surprise came when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the credit markets froze up. In my mind, I went back to the playbook of 2001. I remembered how we had to go after new market segments, expand our sales force, and cut our expense base. I shared these experiences with my direct reports and reminded my boss of them. I thought — that’s what we’re going to rely on. We’re not going to just focus on the gloom and doom. The lesson here is that you can mentally prepare yourself for a surprise, but never kid yourself that you’re truly ready.

3. Don’t define your people by their surprises. People will always line up to tell you the good news. But you want people who are willing to step out of line – in that they tell you the bad news too. How do I encourage this? I realize that the invitation starts with me. That’s what I can control. I can be a role model for open dialogue. I can talk about stress and how I’m dealing with it. I can tell people how important it is to have confidants, colleagues, mentors – people with whom I can feel safe having a conversation. I give them permission to do the same. And above all, I try to never shoot the messenger. I never let a single surprise define a person’s career. Multiple surprises, well, that’s another story. And I’ve come to realize that story’s plot has as much to do with me as the leader as it does with the person who works for me.

4. Don’t base your forecasts on hope — get that from relationships. You have to give hope to your organization while you lead with reality. And when I say hope, I don’t mean that you should assume or hope things will get better when projecting your numbers. Don’t make hope your strategy. Base forecasts in reality as much as you can. Get your hope from the people that you work with and the clients you serve. They are the ones who can help you turn your forecasts into results. Being externally focused, confronting the economic reality, and building a stronger future state for your business will give hope to your organization – and to you.

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Here is a link to the Harvard Business Publishing blog:

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob

Is there any recent research about employee loyalty?

Chuck Martin

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

The most recent research of which I am aware has just been released by NFI Research, Chuck Martin’s firm. Here is an extended excerpt:

When it comes to staying with an organization, business leaders rank compensation (75%), confidence in leadership (73%) and autonomy/challenge (70%) as the top three factors keeping them where they are. At the bottom of the list were lack of other opportunities (6%), education (13%), and vacation time (17%).

Given everything that is happening in today’s economy, a majority (71%) of senior executives and managers would rather work for a small to medium sized organization. Forty percent say they would rather work for a medium sized organization while 31 percent say they would rather work for a small sized organization. Only 14 percent say they would rather work for a large organization.

A higher percentage of senior executives say autonomy/challenge is the thing that means the most to them when it comes to staying with an organization compared to managers, who say confidence in leadership is the thing that means the most.

Almost half of managers say they would rather work in a medium sized organization, while slightly fewer than half of senior executives would rather work in a small organization. Only 8 percent of senior executives say they would rather work in a large organization compared to 20 percent for managers.

Those in large organizations say that compensation is more meaningful compared to those in small and medium organizations, while a larger percentage of those in small companies say that their organizational culture is meaningful compared to those in large organizations.

No one in large organizations says lack of other opportunities is a meaningful reason to stay with an organization.

The majority of business leaders in large organizations say they would rather work for a medium sized organization given everything that is happening in today’s economy. Only 2 percent of those in small organizations say they would rather work for a large organization, and only 9 percent in large organizations say they would rather work for a small organization.

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Chuck Martin is the author or co-author of two immensely important books, Tough Management: The 7 Winning Ways to Make Tough Decisions, Deliver the Numbers, and Grow Business in Good Times and Bad (2005) and Smarts: Are We Hardwired for Success? with Peg Dawson and Richard Guare (2007).

To obtain more details about this research study, participate in future NFI surveys, and to subscribe to NFI Research, please use this link:

chuck@nfiresearch.com.

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob

Q # 114: Is marketing an art or a science?

In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.

Seth Godin responds to that question with some excellent insights in this material from his blog:

It’s both, and that’s the problem.

Some marketers are scientists. They test and measure. They do the math. They understand the impact of that spend in that market at that time with that message. They can understand the analytics and find the truth.

This sort of marketing works when it works, but it usually doesn’t. That’s because we’re dealing with humans, the wild card in the system.

The other marketers are artists. They inspire and challenge and connect. These marketers are starting from scratch, creating movements, telling jokes and surprising people. Scientists aren’t good at that.

The problem is caused by two things:

1. Outsiders are confused. Which are we? When we’re artists sometimes and scientists other times, we often seem like charlatans, because we’re associating scientific results with artistic endeavors.

2. We’re confused. If you don’t know if you’re doing a science project or an art project, you’ll probably emphasize the wrong elements. If you go to school to study marketing and the blowhard professor acts like she’s teaching you science, you’ll waste a lot of time trying to apply taxonomy and hypotheses to something that is essentially a gut decision. And vice versa.

We need hats. The hat of the scientist and the hat of the artist. You can only wear one hat at a time, which is why I didn’t suggest that we need gloves.

Figure out what sort of marketing you’re going to do today and go do that.

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Here’s a link to Godin’s blog to which it costs nothing to subscribe:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob