Blanchard LeaderChat

Everyone agrees on the importance of trust as a building block to creating strong relationships at work. But what is trust composed of? Trust experts Randy Conley and Dr. Pat Zigarmi point to four key areas (represented by the letters A, B, C, and D) that leaders have to be aware of when they are looking at building or restoring trust with the people they lead.

1. Able is about demonstrating competence. Do the leaders know how to get the job done? Are they able to produce results? Do they have the skills to make things happen—including knowing the organization and equipping people with the resources and information they need to get their job done?
2. Believable means acting with integrity. Leaders have to be honest in their dealings with people. In practical terms, this means creating and following fair processes. People need to feel that they are being treated equitably. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone has to be treated the same way in all circumstances, but it does mean that people are being treated appropriately and justly based on their own unique circumstances. Believability is also about acting in a consistent, values-driven manner that reassures employees that they can rely on their leaders.
3. Connected is about demonstrating care and concern for other people. It means focusing on people and identifying their needs. It is supported by good communication skills. Leaders need to openly share information about the organization and about themselves. This allows the leader to be seen as more of a real person that a follower can identify with. When people share a little bit of information about themselves, it creates a sense of connection.
4. Dependable is about reliably following through on what the leaders say that they are going to do. It means being accountable for their actions and being responsive to the needs of others so if leaders promise something they must follow through. It also requires being organized and predictable so that people can see that the leaders have things in order and are able to follow through on their promises.

How’s the trust level in your organization? If it is less than you want it to be, use the Able, Believable, Connected and Dependable (ABCD) model to help leaders rebuild trust in any areas where it has been neglected or broken.

Ken Blanchard and Southwest Airlines president emeritus Colleen Barrett present an extraordinary, wide-ranging conversation on the leadership secrets that have propelled Southwest Airlines and other great companies to unprecedented business success. Drawing from their new book, Lead with LUV, these two legendary leaders will share what “leading with love” means, why it works, and how it can help you achieve unprecedented business performance.

Participants will learn:

• What “leading with love” looks like in an organizational context
• Love in action: what leaders need to do to make it work
• “Tough love” and redirection—how to handle inappropriate behavior or performance
• Love and culture—building the right vision and helping people succeed in the long term

The complete webinar can be viewed for free by visiting http://www.kenblanchard.com/Webinars

Join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a special complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern).  Best-selling author and consultant Ken Blanchard will be joined by Southwest Airlines president emeritus Colleen Barrett to present the key concepts from their new book Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success.  The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 1,500 people expected to participate.

Immediately after the webinar, Ken will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes.  To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.

Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat 

1. Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
2. Type in your question
3. Push SUBMIT COMMENT

It’s as easy as that!  Ken will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received.  Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.

We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.  Click here for more information on participating.

Close your eyes for a moment.  Place yourself in a traditional learning situation.  What’s happening?  The teacher is at the front of the room, right?  Who is doing the talking?  The teacher, right?  Who is standing, moving around the room?  Who is engaged with the ideas and the information?  Whose voice do you hear most of the time?  Who’s excited?  The teacher, the teacher, and the teacher.

In her new book, Brilliance by Design, Vicki Halsey explains that if organizations want participants to be as knowledgeable and excited about the content as the teacher, they need to shift the focus from the teacher to the participants.

In any good design 70 percent of the total learning event time needs to be the learners practicing new skills, working with them, and teaching others. Only 30 percent of the time should be devoted to the teacher teaching the skills to them.

That means that instructors need to focus less on what they are going to say and instead devote a full 70 percent of their time and energy on creating activities that embed learning.

As Halsey explains, “Active involvement with concepts—versus passive listening—enhances learning and application. The more active, rigorous practice the learner does with your content, the more automatic and natural it will be to use that content.”

To help presenters make the shift, Halsey suggests a six-step ENGAGE Model to replace the old “sit ’n’ get” model with “woo ’n’ do” so learners are actively drawn in and perform activities that reinforce the learning.

Energize learners by challenging thought patterns with pre-reading before session

Navigate content by presenting it in small chunks with interactive experiences  

Generate meaning by helping learners determine the significance of the content in their lives

Apply to the real world by helping learners put into practice what they’ve learned

Gauge and celebrate by creating ways to assess and celebrate what has been accomplished

Extend learning to action by following up and helping learners create action plans

Where is your training focused?  Is it on the material and your role, or is it on giving students a majority of the time to practice and engage the new skills?  Shift the focus for greater success and application.

To learn more about Halsey’s new book, visit her book page at Amazon.  To see Vicki in action with engaging content check out her recorded webinar on Managing and Developing People to Be Their Best: The three keys to becoming a smart, flexible, and successful leader

“If you seek long continued success for your business organization, treat your People as family and LEAD WITH LOVE.” 

That is the advice that Herb Kelleher, legendary founder of Southwest Airlines, offers readers in the foreword of a new book, Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success that looks at the leadership practices that have made Southwest a benchmark for great management.

As Kelleher explains, “…an infusion of love is an essential, but oft overlooked, ingredient in any business organization that wants to be superlative for a long period of time, rather than just “successful” for a limited time.

“Most people are looking not only for monetary security but also for psychic satisfaction in their work. That satisfaction is provided in our personal lives by the love and affection of family and friends. Why shouldn’t a business simply be an enlargement of our circle of family and friends?”

A large part of Southwest’s success is the servant leader attitude of its top executives as well as leaders through all levels of the organization.  And a great example of that philosophy in action is Colleen Barrett, president emeritus and coauthor of the book. 

“For more than forty years,” says Kelleher, “in her relationships with the People of Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett has ensured that no grief goes unattended; that no joy goes unshared; that each achievement is celebrated; and that those requiring help receive it.”

The result has been a corporate culture where Southwest’s employees feel the love and in turn, share the love, with customers.  And customers have responded with Southwest generating the same types of legendary customer service stories in their industry that Nordstrom’s generates in retailing.

Where does love fit in your organizational culture?  Do your people feel that someone has their best interest at heart—or are they just another cog in the machine?  Try a little caring.  You might be surprised at the difference it makes!

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To learn more about how Southwest has made love a part of their operating system, download the first chapter of Lead with LUV here.  And if you know of an organization that exemplifies love in action when it comes to treating employees and customers right, be sure to let others know at Spread the LUV –a special blog site for success stories.

PS: On January 26, Colleen Barrett will be presenting a free webinar together with Ken Blanchard, her coauthor on Lead with LUV.  The event is free and over 2,000 people have already registered, but there is still room for others to attend.  To learn more visit http://www.webex.com/webinars/Lead-with-LUV-A-Different-Way-to-Create-Real-Success

No, the coach didn’t actually die, but if you perform a “leadership autopsy” on the recent firing of Rich Rodriquez, the former University of Michigan head football coach, I think you’ll find that the ultimate cause of his demise was that he was killed by the culture because he didn’t build trust.

As a college football fan (and in the spirit of full disclosure, a rabid University of Michigan fan), and a student of leadership, I’ve found the Rich Rodriquez era at UM an interesting case study of how a recognized expert in his field, with a winning track record, could experience such turmoil and discord in 3 years that would lead to the loss of his job. His experience is a lesson for those of us in any type of leadership position. My conclusion: he was never a fit for the culture from the very beginning.

Some of that was by design. After 13 years of steady, yet mostly unspectacular success under Coach Lloyd Carr (save one shared national title in 1997), there was a move afoot by school leadership to shake things up and create a more dynamic and electrifying brand of football. Usher in Rich Rodriquez and his high-scoring spread offense, a system heretofore unseen in Michigan. So some of the blame of this failed venture falls directly on the shoulders of school leadership.

However, Rodriquez underestimated two factors (among many others!) that led to his downfall. The first was the power of the culture to kill his efforts to implement such a drastic change in philosophy. Stan Slap, an organizational consultant, calls this failure to recognize the power of the culture the “original sin” of a strategic implementation. Coach Rodriquez committed many cultural missteps when he joined Michigan. He said and did things that showed he didn’t understand or appreciate the longstanding traditions of the winningest program in college football history. When leaders implement a large organizational change, they have to remember that most people view change as a “loss.” People often lose perspective when change occurs so we have to remind them about what isn’t changing so they can have security in some form of consistency. Rapid organizational change rarely succeeds.

A second lesson that we can learn from the downfall of Rich Rodriquez is the importance of building trust. When it comes to building trust, there are four elements that need to be present: ability, believability, connectedness, and dependability. Rodriquez had ability in spades. Before coming to Michigan he was the head coach at West Virginia where he compiled a record of 60-26, four Big East titles, and six consecutive bowl game bids. But ability will only take you so far when it comes to building trust.

Rodriquez’s believability was damaged when NCAA infractions came to light during his second season. For a University who had never suffered any NCAA sanctions, this severely damaged the perceptions of his honesty and values. He also eroded trust through his lack of dependability. Dependability involves being organized and accountable in following through on commitments. Anyone who saw the repeated mistakes and disorganization of the Michigan defense this season can attest to this fact! But most of all, Rodriquez failed to build trust by connecting with folks. He didn’t show the aptitude for communicating well and building relationships. There were times he threw his players under the bus in press conferences and he seemed to be perpetually unhappy and angry over the state of affairs. Perhaps this is all a case of misjudgment, but when it comes to building trust, perception is reality.

By all accounts Coach Rodriquez was an earnest, hard working man who took pride in his efforts. We can learn from his experiences to help us in our own leadership journeys. We have to deftly manage organizational change and respect the power of the culture to work against our efforts, and we can leverage the power of the culture by building trust. Building trust in relationships is the key to success, whether we’re on the playing field or in the board room.

New research suggests employees who must appear dispassionate at work may have less energy to devote to work tasks and may receive less than positive appraisals from others.

“Our study shows that emotion suppression takes a toll on people,” said Dr. Daniel Beal, assistant professor of psychology at Rice University and co-author of the study.

“It takes energy to suppress emotions, so it’s not surprising that workers who must remain neutral are often more rundown or show greater levels of burnout. The more energy you spend controlling your emotions, the less energy you have to devote to the task at hand.”

The research also found that customers who interacted with a neutrally expressive employee were in less-positive moods and, in turn, gave lower ratings of service quality and held less-positive attitudes toward that employee’s organization.

Are You Trying to Be Neutral?

What’s the culture like in your organization and what is your role in influencing it in a positive or negative direction.  Sometimes employees want to stand outside of the fray, not getting involved. Their attitude is that they are neutral—neither acting in a positive or negative manner. But what type of signal does “being neutral” really send to fellow employees? 

This research shows that being neutral is actually perceived as being negative. Take a more proactive approach to influencing the culture in your organization. Every person who joins a company, department, or team changes the personality mix. Don’t buy into the myth of neutral. Instead, actively promote a positive mood! 

To read the entire article, Neutral Disposition at Work May Take Toll, check it out here at PsychCentral.

All organizations have three groups of people that they need to keep happy—customers, employees, and shareholders.  It can be a real juggling act at times trying to balance the needs and desires of all three groups—especially when important decisions need to be made.  How does your company rank order these three groups of stakeholders? 

At Southwest Airlines, (NYSE stock symbol LUV) the rank ordering may surprise you.  Employees are first, Customers are Second, and Shareholders are third.  The reasoning behind this is based on the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have done unto you. 

Treat your people right, and good things will happen

As Colleen Barrett, president emeritus at Southwest, explains in her new book, Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success, “When we talk to our People, we proudly draw a pyramid on the chalkboard and tell them: You are at the top of the pyramid.  You are the most important person to us.  You are our most important Customer in terms of priority.”

As a result, managers at Southwest are expected to spend approximately 80 percent of their time treating employees with Golden Rule behavior and trying to make sure that employees have an enjoyable work environment where they feel good about what they do, about themselves, and about their position within the company.

But this managerial focus on employees also sets an expectation that employees will demonstrate the same behavior with customers.  As Barrett goes on to explain: “But if I do that, what I want in exchange is for you to do the same thing by offering our Passengers—who are our second Customer in terms of priority—the same kind of warmth, caring, and fun spirit.”

At Southwest, the belief is that if leaders take care of their people, then their people will take care of their customers. This in turn will create a loyal customer base which comes back often and recommends Southwest to other travelers which pleases the third Customer—shareholders.

What’s your ranking?

At Southwest, leaders put their employees first, their customers second, and their shareholders third.  It’s a winning formula that has resulted in superior customer satisfaction ratings and financial performance in a notoriously competitive industry.  How does your top management prioritize these three groups of people?  Could your company benefit by creating a high support, high expectations “Golden Rule” environment for employees?

PS: To learn more about the benefits of putting people first, be sure to check out Barrett’s new book (coauthored with Ken Blanchard) Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success.  Also check out a free webinar she is conducting together with Ken Blanchard on January 26.  Over 1,400 people have registered for this complimentary event, but online seats are still available. 

Click here to learn more.

Once, while sharing her thoughts on leadership, Colleen Barrett, president emeritus of Southwest Airlines (stock symbol LUV), was asked if she was worried that competitors would now be able to steal her management ideas—like writing thousands of thank you notes to employees.  She said “no” because the real magic wasn’t in knowing the concepts, it was in doing the work.

For Barrett, doing the work is a key ingredient to the success that Southwest has enjoyed in the tough airline industry over the past forty years.  It’s also one of the reasons why best-selling business author Ken Blanchard wanted to work with Barrett on a new book that captures the real-life leadership examples that have made Southwest Airlines a model of good management. Titled Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success, it’s just out in bookstores this month.

 “She does the things I write about,” says Blanchard. “The stuff that I’ve learned and taught over the years, it’s all in there with a real person who did it.”

And one of the things that Blanchard writes about often is the importance of celebrating both people and results.

As Barrett explains, “What’s important is the fact that you’re honoring people and acknowledging that what they do makes a positive difference. In the process, you are making heroes out of them. You are letting them know that you love them for their efforts and you want everybody to celebrate their success.”

But it does require doing the work.  And at Southwest, this means that officers hand-write notes to thousands of employees each year.

As Barrett explains, “Besides being loving, we know this is meaningful to our people, because we hear from them if we miss something significant in their lives, like the high school graduation of one of their kids. We just believe in accentuating the positive and celebrating people’s successes.”

You can learn more about the ways that Southwest Airlines takes the time to stop and recognize their people by accessing the first chapter of Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success here.

Also, don’t miss a complimentary webinar that Colleen Barrett and Ken Blanchard will be conducting on January 26.  Hosted by Cisco WebEx, click here to find out more about this free Lead with LUV event.