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Got an innovative new idea? Don’t share it with your boss (at least not at first.)
One of the fastest ways to kill an innovative new idea is to move it up the chain by asking your boss, having them ask their boss, and so on.
As Scott and Ken Blanchard identify in a new post for Fast Company online, “When you run an idea up the chain of command, you almost never get the permission or the resources to innovate well.
“It’s very hard for people who are invested in the current business to truly embrace disruptive new ideas.
“People at the top of the organizational pyramid are usually running the business using lagging indicators. In general, their focus is on defending present revenue streams. More often than not they are nervous about anything that might cannibalize, compete with, or distract from the company’s core business.”
It’s understandable, say the Blanchards. In many ways, this is exactly what top executives should be concerned about. But that’s also why true innovation usually happens in the corners of the business and works its way up.
How to proceed with your next new idea
Instead of trying to sell an idea to top leadership before it’s ready, the two Blanchards suggest starting off with just enough permission to experiment. This gives the idea a chance to develop and gain momentum. It also gives the innovation a chance to generate tangible results that can be used later in making the business case to senior leaders.
They also recommend identifying the different levels of readiness and capacity to understand change that might be present among members of an executive team.
Highlighting the work of Robert Marshak, the senior scholar in residence at American University, they share Marshak’s descriptions of four different mindsets, represented by different metaphors, which affect how people view innovation.
- Fix and maintain
- Build and develop
- Transitional
- Transformative
What is your relationship to innovation?
Finally, the Blanchards remind readers that an “organization is only as innovative as the people who work within it—which brings up a good question. What is your organization’s mindset when it comes to innovation?
To read the complete post, see The Number One Killer of Corporate Innovation.
PS: Scott and Ken Blanchard will be featured speakers—along with best-selling author Jackie Freiberg and innovation expert Jim Carroll, at this year’s 2012 Blanchard Summit. This year’s theme is Fast Forward: Lead, Innovate and Cultivate. Use this link to learn more about this event (and request an invitation).
Don’t be a lazy leader: 3 bad habits to avoid
It’s the start of a new year and a great time to take stock of where you are and where you are going as a leader. The ability to think clearly and make the best decisions is a key part of any leader’s role. Yet, many leaders tend to fall into bad thinking patterns—especially after a couple of years on the job. Here are three of the most common bad habits and what to do to avoid them.
1. Either-Or thinking
Executives are asked to make decisions—and they get more difficult the higher up you are. People or profits? Centralized or decentralized? Frontline decision-making or command and control? Leaders will often have to choose from among opposing viewpoints and the people supporting those viewpoints will be expecting and asking you to endorse either Plan A or Plan B.
Always consider a Plan C first. While opposing camps argue for why their plan will work while the other point of view won’t, see if you can find a solution that incorporates the best of both proposals while minimizing the downsides.
For example, should we empower our frontline people to make decisions? Yes. Is there the possibility that they will make mistakes if we do? Yes. Does that mean we have to choose between all decisions being made at the frontline, or all decisions being made at headquarters? No. There is a better decision that allows frontline decision-making and maintains accuracy and consistency. Find it.
2. Confusing decision-making with taking action
As a leader, it is easy to think that your job is primarily to make decisions. Decision-making is only the first step. The purpose of leadership is to take action and move. If five frogs are sitting on a log and one decides to jump, how many frogs are still sitting on the log? The answer is five until the decision to jump is actually acted upon. Don’t confuse decision-making for taking action. Take action!
3. Making announcements with little follow-through
If good decision-making is hard—taking action is even more difficult. The biggest trap for leaders is focusing too much time on getting things started and too little time on following through to achieve results. Legendary former chairman of Herman Miller, Max De Pree once likened leadership to being a third-grade teacher when he said that it oftens means repeating things over, and over, and over again until people get it right, right, right. As a leader you need to keep the vision alive—even after the newness wears off. You also have to provide people with the tools and resources they need to get the job done. Remember that there is a strategic and a tactical side to leadership. To be effective, you have to be good at both.
Resources to help you get started
There are a lot of great resources available to help leaders get started or stay focused on making decisions and taking action. Here are three that focus specifically on each of the points above.
- To help combat either-or thinking, check out Polarity Management by Barry Johnson. It details a step-by-step process for finding the best solution when faced with seemingly opposite choices.
- Who Killed Change? A great book which identifies the “usual suspects” that kill good ideas in companies and keeps decisions from turning into action.
- Helping People Win at Work Identifies a clear, 3-step process for setting goals, providing resources, and following up effectively.
Make 2012 your best year ever. Exercise your decision-making power. Strive for the best solutions, take action, and follow-up. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve when you do!
Are you ready for Open Leadership?
Are you ready for Open Leadership? That’s the question that Charlene Li asks in her book, Open Leadership: How social technology can transform the way you lead. A major theme in the book is that leadership is about relationships, and because social technologies are changing relationships, leadership also needs to change. And while most executives understand the importance of listening and drawing out the best from their people, a majority of leaders are still focused on maintaining control.
One of the biggest reasons why open leadership is feared and avoided is a concern that open leadership may lead to a lack of control. But in her book, Li explains that openness and control are not an either/or proposition. In fact, it requires a leader be both open and in command.
To help leaders get started with this, Li recommends evaluating where you stand on two important dimensions; Optimism versus Pessimism; and Individuality versus Collaboration. By assessing yourself in these two areas you can begin to understand your starting point on the journey to being a more open leader.
Optimism vs. Pessimism
The first dimension is optimism versus pessimism. On this scale, Li asks leaders to evaluate their basic assumptions about people. In Li’s model, pessimistic leaders tend to see people as needing to be controlled because people can be harmful, negative, and untrustworthy with information. Optimists, on the other hand, believe that if given the opportunity, people will be positive and constructive, will do the right thing, and can be trusted with confidential information.
Key question: Where do you stand on this first important dimension?
Individually Focused vs. Collaboratively Focused
The second dimension is whether a leader is more individually or collaboratively focused. Individually focused leaders will believe in involving fewer, more knowledgeable people, and in relying on personal initiative—both in themselves and others. These leaders prefer to limit decision-making authority to people who have the knowledge and responsibility for that function in the organization. Collaborative leaders will believe more in the collective wisdom of the group, will tend to depend on others when times are tough, and will personally point to collaboration with others as a key reason for their own success.
Key question: Where would you put yourself on this continuum?
Changing your mindset
An open leadership strategy requires you and your organization’s leadership to be more open and collaborative. But transforming existing mindsets requires time, patience, and repeated small successes to build confidence. To help you get started, Li recommends four strategies:
- Develop guidelines around the sharing of information. When you share information or push down decision-making, what are your expectations about what will be done with this power? What responsibilities do you want employees to take on?
- Partner with others who are optimistic and collaborative. Seek out other leaders in your organization whom you regard as an optimistic and open leader. Sit down with this person understand his or her perspective and outlook on the world. What does this person do to ensure being in control while opening up? How does this person make openness work in your organization?
- Examine your beliefs. As Li explains, “Your mindset is developed through crucial personal experiences, so talk with people who know you well on a personal level. Every person harbors some optimism, so turn to the people whom you trust to help you find that starting point where you will feel comfortable engaging with people.”
- Start small and build. Personal change is difficult and old habits die hard. You can’t simply announce, “From today forward I will be collaborative; I will be optimistic.” It takes time to shift the mindset, and it happens only with repeated successes.
For leaders looking to be more open, Li recommends taking it one step at a time. In doing so, you can build confidence in sharing information and collaborative decision-making with an ever widening circle of people. To learn more about Charlene Li and her thoughts on open leadership, check out her book here, or visit www.charleneli.com. You’ll find a host of great resources that can help you in your journey.
2011 Thriving in the New Business Reality: 4 Strategies for Leaders
Organizations around the world have been forced to change the way they do business. The worldwide recession, downsized workforces, and value-conscious customers have created a new set of expectations.
A new white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies identifies key strategies for leading successfully in the new business reality. Here are four of my favorites to get you started on positioning your company for success in 2011.
- Change the organizational mindset. In many companies people have been focused on the short term for over two years. The emphasis has been on cutting costs, holding down expenses, and weathering the storm. One thing that leaders can do now is share a vision for the road ahead, indicate that growth is a goal again, and let people know that they can try new things that have some risk involved.
- Give people behavioral examples. What does “try new things that have some risk involved” really mean? The best organizations define the values, attitudes, and practices they desire in clear behavioral terms. Make sure people are clear on what the desired behavior looks like and what they should be doing now. The more specific and granular the examples are, the better.
- Stay open to change. Constant adaptation is a key for thriving in the new business reality. As a leader, it’s important to be a role model when it comes to embracing new ways of thinking that can breathe new life into old practices and generate innovative new ideas.
- Involve everyone. Smart leaders look for good ideas everywhere. This means checking in with people who are informal leaders in the organization as well as the people who are in formal positions. By listening to everyone—including people with divergent points of view, you increase the odds that the organization will be more responsive, adaptive, and successful in the face of change.
Make 2011 your best year ever. To learn more ways to increase your organization’s ability to succeed in the coming year, be sure to check out the complete white paper, Thriving in the New Business Reality.
4 Keys to Making 2011 Your Best Year Ever
Senior executives in most organizations have spent the better part of the last month putting the finishing touches on their respective strategic plans for 2011. Before they finalize those plans, best-selling business author Ken Blanchard recommends that leaders take one more look at their strategies and goals to see if they have covered off on the four key traits common to all successful organizations.
In his book, Leading at a Higher Level, Blanchard recommends that leaders have specific goals in each of the following four areas:
1. A focus on three bottom lines instead of just one. In addition to financial success, leaders at great organizations measure the satisfaction and engagement levels of their employees and their customers also. Leaders at these companies know that in order to succeed they must create a motivating environment for employees, which results in better customer service, which leads to higher profits.
2. A focus on customers. To keep your customers today, you can’t be content just to satisfy them. Instead, you have to create raving fans–customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell others. Companies that create this emotional connection with their customers enjoy the accelerated growth generated when customers brag about them to other prospective clients.
3. A focus on employees. You can’t treat your people poorly and expect them to treat your customers well. Treating your people right includes setting clear, meaningful goals, providing day-to-day coaching, and finally, setting up performance reviews so that there are no surprises.
4. A willingness to turn the organizational chart upside down. The most effective leaders recognize that leadership is not about them and that they are only as good as the people they lead. In successful organizations, once a vision has been set, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, supporting and removing roadblocks for the people closest to the customer.
If leaders take care of the people who take care of their customers, profits and financial strength will follow. Make 2011 your best year ever by implementing a strategic plan where people and profits both grow and thrive.
Don’t Lead In A Vacuum: 3 keys to creating a successful vision
Even under the best of circumstances, creating a business plan and getting others to actually buy into it is a difficult task. Don’t make things three times as hard by trying to do everything yourself. That’s the advice from Jesse Stoner in a recent article on Creating a Vision Statement that Works.
Stoner explains that too many executives try to do everything on their own. They don’t leave room for other people. As a result, people don’t feel like they own the vision and so they are less likely to follow it.
For executives looking to create a strong picture of the future for their company that will guide planning and decision-making in the coming year, Stoner recommends paying special attention to what she calls the three “hows.”
3 “Hows” of Creating A Successful Vision
- How it’s created. Resist the temptation to huddle together with a small group of executives at an off-site retreat to create a vision for the organization. While part of leadership entails setting a strategic direction for the company, the key is to make space for all of the people who are going to be responsible for implementing the vision. If you want them to buy into the vision, give them a chance to be a part of the process.
- How it’s communicated. Avoid the urge to laminate your latest vision statement, frame it on the wall, and distribute copies among the rank-and-file. Instead, ask managers to share the new vision in small group settings, discuss what it means, answer questions, and gather feedback.
- How it’s lived. This is something that a leader can do personally. Actions speak louder than words and employees will be watching a senior leader’s behavior to see if the vision is really a new direction or just words on a paper. Make sure that your behavior is consistent with the stated direction of the company. Nothing does a better job of bringing a vision to life.
Don’t lead in a vacuum—involve others in the process for better buy-in and greater results.
To learn more about what Stoner has to say on creating a clear direction for 2011, be sure to check out Creating a Vision Statement that Works in this month’s Ignite newsletter. Also, learn more about a free webinar Stoner is conducting this Wednesday on Creating Engagement and Alignment through a Shared Vision. Over 700 people are registered already!
Thriving in the New Business Reality: Four Strategies for Leaders
Organizations around the world have been forced to change the way they do business. The worldwide recession, downsized workforces, and value-conscious customers have created a new set of expectations. A just-released white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies identifies key strategies for leaders. Here are four of my favorites to get you started on positioning your company for success.
- Change the organizational mindset. In many companies people have been hunkered down and focused on the short term for almost two years. The emphasis has been on cutting costs, holding down expenses, and weathering the storm. Now that the worst is over, how do you let people know that it’s okay to lift your head, look around a little bit, and cautiously make new plans for the future? One thing that leaders can do is share a vision for the road ahead, indicate that growth is a goal again, and let people know that they can try new things that have some risk involved. You want people to start thinking about stepping out again, but they have to feel safe in order to make that leap.
- Give people behavioral examples. What does “try new things that have some risk involved” really mean? The best organizations define the values, attitudes, and practices they desire in clear behavioral terms. People have gotten pretty clear about what they shouldn’t be doing over the past 18 months; make sure they are just as clear about what they should be doing now. The more specific and granular the examples are the better.
- Stay open to change. Constant adaptation is a key for thriving in the new business reality. Pay attention to customers’ expectations and competitors’ innovations. Especially after an extended time of downsizing it’s important for organizations to embrace new ways of thinking to breathe new life into old practices and generate innovative new ideas.
- Involve everyone. Smart leaders look for good ideas everywhere. This means checking in with people who are informal leaders in the organization as well as the people who are in formal positions. By listening to everyone—including people with divergent points of view, you increase the odds that the organization will be more responsive, adaptive, and successful in the face of change.
By sharing power and expanding influence, leaders can create an organization with a strong overall capacity to change and succeed. The new business reality demands that organizations find new ways to address old problems. To learn more ways to increase your organization’s ability to succeed, be sure to check out the complete white paper, Thriving in the New Business Reality from the Blanchard website.
Join Ken Blanchard for a Complimentary Webinar and Online Chat Today!
Join Ken Blanchard for a special complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). Dr. Blanchard will be speaking on the topic of From Recovery to Prosperity: The Power of Vision and Leadership. 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, Dr. Blanchard will be answering questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes. To participate in the online discussion, follow these simple instructions.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
- Click on the COMMENTS link above
- Type in your question for Dr. Blanchard
- Push SUBMIT COMMENT
It’s as easy as that! Dr. Blanchard 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.
How Leaders Can Create a Mindset for Growth
In a recent article for CLO magazine entitled Rebuilding Business: Aligning to Goals, Scott Blanchard talks about the challenges businesses face in creating a growth mindset. The economic conditions of the last 18 months have drained a lot of people mentally and emotionally. While people are thankful to still have a job, leaders need to tap into something more than that if they want to get their organization firing on all cylinders again.
To help with the process, Blanchard recommends that leaders help their people make this shift by providing leadership in three key areas: defining reality, setting a clear direction, and managing people’s energy.
Defining Reality—acknowledge the present situation and fill people in on where the company is. People are probably unsure of exactly where the company stands financially. Without accurate information, people usually imagine the worst. Share what you know as completely as possible. People understand the challenges of today’s economy, and it is reassuring to know that their leader is on top of it too.
Setting a Clear Direction—the second step is to share the company’s plans and key objectives for the coming year. Charting a course, or setting up a plan, is vitally important because leadership is about going somewhere. In order to get people out of the inertia of their worry, leaders need to point to the direction that the organization is going. The good news is that there is tremendous opportunity in recovery from a recession. But in order for that to happen, there needs to be a plan in place and that plan needs to be communicated clearly.
Managing People’s Energy—the final step to getting people back on track is to pay special attention to how people are feeling. It’s important to acknowledge where people are at individually and at the same time give them hope and get them excited about the direction the organization is going.
Find out how people are feeling by encouraging managers and supervisors to schedule one-on-one conversations with their direct reports. Discuss organizational objectives and individual roles. Ask about employee concerns and challenges, both at work and in general. During these conversations managers can identify individual needs and look at ways to provide direction and support. In addition to showing that you care, authentic conversations leave people feeling good about you as a manager, as well as good about where the company is going.
You can read the full article here.
PS: Interested in learning more about the role that leaders can play in creating an energized and focused organization? Join Ken Blanchard for a complimentary webinar on January 19. Details here.
What Great Leaders Know and Do
Today’s leaders need to be skilled at both setting overall corporate vision and serving in the role of coach and supporter for their people. That’s the message that Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller will be sharing in a live online presentation tomorrow. (A few seats are still available, but registration does close today at 12:00 noon Pacific Time.)
Based on their best-selling book The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, Blanchard and Miller (who is VP of training and development for quick-serve restaurant chain Chick-fil-A) will share five keys for being more effective in this dual role.
- See the Future: Start by setting a clear vision for your organization. Leadership is about taking people from one place to another.
- Engage and Develop People: Once the vision is set, you have to turn the organizational chart upside down. Great leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager to the people who report to them.
- Reinvent Continuously: Does your organizational structure serve the business, or are the people serving the structure? Great leaders understand that their organizational structure should be fluid and flexible to meet changing needs.
- Value Results and Relationships: Great leaders value both results and relationships. Both are critical for long-term survival. For too long, many leaders have felt that they needed to choose.
- Embody the Values: All genuine leadership is built on trust. The leader, above all, has to be a walking example of the vision and values of the organization.
As you think about the great leaders you’ve known, which of these characteristics most define them in your mind? As you think about developing leaders, which of these characteristics is probably the most difficult to learn or change?
