Picture an organization where everyone knows exactly where the company is heading and what his or her individual role is in helping the company get there. Creating this kind of organization is possible, but it requires good “followership” as well as good leadership. Individual employees can help their boss to manage them more effectively by taking some initiative with the management process. Here are three areas to focus on:
Working Together to Set Clear Goals—All good performance starts with clear goals. Individual employees can help the process by reaching clear agreements up front with their manager or supervisor on their goals. Remember, this is not a win-lose confrontation. Your aim is to agree on target goals that both you and your manager agree can be achieved.
Identify Your Competence Level—Once you’re clear on what’s expected, the next step is to identify your skill level and what you’ll need from your manager to accomplish the agreed-upon goals. Are you new to the task in need of a lot of direction, or are you an expert who just needs the outcomes defined and room to work? Maybe you are somewhere in between and could use both some direction and some support.
Learning How to Ask for Direction and Support—The final step is to use “I need” statements to open up conversations. For example, “I need some direction on this task. What would a good job look like? What should I accomplish first and when is it needed?” Or, “I need some direction and support on this task. Can you tell me if I am on the right track here? Would you remind me why this is important to do?”
In today’s busy work environment, managers and direct reports need to meet halfway when it comes to setting goals, identifying competencies, and having conversations about needed direction and support. By working together, both groups can accomplish more, resulting in both individual and organizational success.
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In an article for Strategy + Business entitled The Promise (and Perils) of Open Collaboration, author Andrea Gabor identifies the challenges organizations face when they choose to adopt a collaborative work environment. According to Gabor, the biggest obstacle for an organization is the deep change required in the way knowledge is controlled and shared — changes that have the potential to alter relationships both within the company and with its outside constituents. Anything short of total commitment, Gabor warns, is likely to lead to short-lived improvements and eventual failure.
For organizations considering open collaboration, Gabor recommends a clear-headed look at the challenges associated with the change and she identifies seven essential strategies to making it work including:
- Creating a clear leadership message
- Collaborating with customers
- Building a culture of trust and open communication
- Cultivating continuous improvement
- Building a flexible innovation infrastructure
- Preparing your organization for new skill sets
- Aligning evaluations and rewards
The article points out that “open collaboration is a complex, all-embracing process, requiring genuine commitment from corporate leaders, a willingness to abandon many venerable corporate customs, and an appetite for unleashing and managing disruptive change across the organization.” But Gabor also encourages organizations to move forward and continue to develop their approach to open collaboration, because for those that do there are great benefits as well.
Sometime today or tomorrow, be sure to read—or save, this article—it’s one of the best on collaboration that we’ve seen.
And if you are looking for a little additional inspiration and insight on the subject, check out the on-demand webcast of Pass the Ball: The Power of Collaboration. This is a presentation Ken Blanchard did together with Cisco WebEx in June as a part of their Pass the Ball initiative. Ken shares his thoughts on getting others involved, how a philosophy of “none of us is as smart as all of us” helps everyone accomplish more, and the difference between serving and self-serving behavior.
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A significant gap exists between the leadership skills organizations have now and the ones they will need in five years, according to new research from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).
CCL surveyed 2,200 leaders from 15 companies for its Understanding the Leadership Gap study. Researchers asked executives and managers from an array of corporations and government agencies to consider a set of 20 leadership skills.
Respondents then ranked those skills in terms of how important they will be for success five years from now and how accomplished their colleagues are at them today. The biggest gaps? Executives in the U.S., India and Singapore identified the four most important leadership skills needing work as:
- Leading People–knowing how to hire, direct and motivate talented staff
- Strategic Planning–translating vision into realistic business strategies
- Inspiring Commitment–recognizing and rewarding employee accomplishments
- Managing Change–dealing with resistance to change and involving colleagues in the design and implementation of change
As you look into the future, what do you see? Are these the biggest gaps for your organization? More importantly, do you have a plan in place for addressing them?
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Most of us have worked on teams that, for whatever reason, never really achieved the results expected. With all of the focus on the importance of teamwork, why do teams fail so often? Research by The Ken Blanchard Companies has identified the top 10 reasons for a team failing to reach its potential.
- Lack of a sufficient charter
- Unsure of what requires team effort
- Lack of mutual accountability
- Lack of resources
- Lack of effective and/or shared leadership
- Lack of planning
- Lack of management support
- Inability to deal with conflict
- Lack of focus on creativity and excellence
- Lack of training
How do you avoid these pitfalls? Here’s a checklist of seven key elements (represented by the acronym PERFORM) that can help you remember the components of a high performing team:
- Purpose and values. A high performing team needs both a clear sense of what the desired goal is, combined with a common set of values that will serve as the ground rules for how the group will work together.
- Empowerment. The team needs to have the authority to act and make decisions and choices with clear boundaries. Groups that are limited in their ability to carry out recommendations suffer.
- Relationships and communication. A high performing team is committed to open communication. People need to feel that they can take risks and share their thoughts, opinions, and feelings without fear.
- Flexibility. Successful teams prepare for shifting conditions by making sure that everyone has responsibility for team performance, development, and leadership.
- Optimal productivity. This includes a commitment to high standards and quality. Team members hold each other accountable and strive for continual improvement.
- Recognition and appreciation. High performing teams take the time to provide feedback and recognition. Recognition reinforces behavior, builds esteem, and enhances a feeling of value and accomplishment.
- Morale. Finally, high performing teams monitor morale to make sure that team members are enthusiastic about their work, proud of their results, and feel pride in belonging to the team.
How’s your team doing when it comes to these seven elements? To learn more about the ways you can improve your current—or planned team projects—be sure to check out the teams resources available in the Outcomes section of the Blanchard website.
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Join The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Kathy Cuff and David Witt for a live, online chat today at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time. Cuff and Witt will be answering questions immediately after their webinar on The High Cost of Doing Nothing: Quantifying the Impact of Leadership on the Bottom Line. Cuff and Witt will be exploring how leadership impacts employee productivity, turnover, and customer satisfaction levels. The webinar is free and is a part of The Ken Blanchard Companies monthly webinar series co-sponsored with Cisco Webex.
To participate in the online discussion, stop by www.leaderchat.org beginning at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
If you have a question that you would like to ask Kathy Cuff or David Witt, just click on the COMMENTS link above. Then post your question and push SUBMIT COMMENT. Kathy and Dave will answer as many questions as possible during the 30-minute online Q&A. (Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.)
If you can’t stay for the entire 30-minute chat, but would like to see all of the questions and responses, you can always stop by later. You can also click on the RSS FEED button in the right-hand column to receive updates automatically through email.
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One of the primary reasons why change efforts fail is because leaders do not consider change from an employee’s perspective. If you’re considering a change initiative in your organization, make sure that you take into account the six predictable concerns that people have when they are asked to change. By addressing these concerns early, you can reduce resistance and build momentum for moving ahead.
1. Information Concerns—What is the change and why is it needed? Make sure that you’re telling instead of selling at this early stage. People want direct, honest answers instead of being “sold” on the change and why they should accept it.
2. Personal Concerns—How will the change impact me personally? Leaders need to create an atmosphere of trust and genuine concern for how the change will impact people personally.
3. Implementation Concerns—Once their first two concerns are out of the way (and not before) people are ready to hear about the details of the change process.
4. Impact Concerns—At this stage people want to know about the impact that the change is having.
5. Collaboration Concerns—Once people understand the benefits of the change, they are ready to spread the word and encourage others. At this stage, leaders need to shift roles and allow others to run with the ball.
6. Refinement Concerns—With the first stage of change successfully implemented, your role at this point is to encourage refinement and support further innovation.
Change Readiness Quiz
Change happens one person at a time. By taking the time to address the concerns that people naturally have when they are asked to change, leaders can surface these issues before they occur. Is your organization ready for change? Take our Change Readiness Quiz and find out where you stand. (Please note that one-time registration at The Ken Blanchard Companies web site is required to see results.)
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BNET columnist Jessica Stillman recently shared some reactions she got from readers to a blog she wrote on What’s the First Thing New Managers Need to Learn? The original posting prompted so many responses that Stillman offered up a second column on the subject aimed at sharing some of the ways that recently promoted managers could avoid “new manager syndrome.” According to Stillman, here are some of the symptoms that afflict the under-trained management newbie:
- Providing reports with too much “helpful” advice.
- Trying to show confidence by refusing to admit weaknesses or mistakes.
- Missing the mark with recognition through overdone or meaningless kudos to staff.
- Working 12-hour days to complete all work individually, instead of delegating.
You can read the complete second posting—plus see up-to-date additional comments by readers, at Readers Diagnose “New Management Syndrome,” Offer Cures
For additional thoughts on the challenges new managers face and some of the ways to meet these challenges successfully, be sure to check out two past articles featuring The Ken Blanchard Companies Madeleine Homan-Blanchard. Madeleine is co-founder of Coaching Services and she shares her thoughts on the challenges new managers face in an article entitled First Time Manager: It’s Not Just about You Anymore and is featured in a second article for new managers on Providing Feedback and Direction.
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