In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

I’ve noted that as you work through this series you are bound to run into questions (I’ve opened up Ask Lori. for questions to me currently at no cost to you) and bottlenecks…

In this post I address a common question that often becomes a bottleneck, as it seems complex: determining up front the cause and effect relationship between objectives in your Strategy:

Question: Does cause-and-effect matter? When is it critical (figuring it out is slowing us down)? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to —, our newest team member for his self-starting attitude and motivation to make a difference in moving us forward.

Why is this “wow!”? To best identify for the employer if the person is the right fit, deliverables are needed. To best identify for the employee if they are in the right fit, they need to take action.

If both the manager and the employee are thinking “how can I add most value to him/her, while staying aligned with company goals” then quick wins will follow. It takes both employee and manager to ensure a good fit and nurture the value for the company. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I shared a “People Measurement’ and leadership conversation with Carlos Santayana, Owner and Principal at Santayana Group, and a prior Training and Leadership VP at Citi Group. I felt power and wisdom in his words and wanted to share them with you. With his approval I am publishing parts of our conversation below.

The selection and promotion of managers who invest in their teams and nurture excellence is a key transformative strategy.

• Leadership can create an atmosphere where subordinates are treated as valued partners and encouraged to think deeply and contribute ideas that increase profit, stakeholder well being and long term sustainability. Read the rest of this entry »

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

If you are just starting this series, you can catch up by reviewing the earlier posts. Find a recap at the end of this post.  In this post we’re focused on two points:

1. You must measure what you expect to get, in order to get it.

2. Instead of doing things (those things as you’ve always done them) right, you must be doing the right things right to be successful.

And I provide you with action you can take right now - using information you’ve already gathered in Job Descriptions and Performance Reviews - to improve performance now for your company.

In the last step of this Series you collected important materials, many and maybe all of which you are using to plan what you expect and see if you’ve realized that. Some of you may even have information that clearly shows where you were, and were not aligned, leading from your plan to your reality. Most of you won’t have this clear story connecting expectation to reality. You will soon if you are following these steps.

I listed five (5) groups of materials in Step 5. Since you may have recently completed Performance Reviews for last year, I’m going to start with those. If the Review does not specify the most important duties for a role, please also grab the Job Description associated with each Review. There is a huge opportunity waiting for you in this process, which you can start realizing benefits from right away, so bear with me… Read the rest of this entry »

You may not realize how important real (honest, open) customer feedback can be…

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to — who as a trusted advisor gets our customers to tell us how they really feel about us, about our products and about any part of the process, even if it is under their full control, which might be a roadblock to complete success. Read the rest of this entry »

When an employee steps up, something has gone right. Drill down and you’ll find … continuous communication.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to —- who has grown remarkably in his ability to compare how he is doing not to others but to to where he wants to be, and to take accountability for getting there. His positive mindset and drive are making him and our company stronger each day. And his continuous communication and accessibility made him the “go to” person when a challenge appeared. Read the rest of this entry »

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Let me intro this next step before we recap, so that those that have been reading along don’t have to repeat (thanks to those who gave me this good feedback; the recap is at the end of the post)…

In Step 4 you removed roadblocks to aligning people’s actions with Strategy. Woot! Let’s get going!

For Step #5, collect these materials:

1. Your 1-3 Critical Strategic Objectives, which are now mapped to show relationship and the priorities of these Objectives and their Steps

See the Recap below for links to these prior steps. Questions? Click to “Ask Lori”

2. Your Annual Budget

If you do not have access to this, even for your department, you may want to pass this blog and Leadership series on to someone who does. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re building an A-Team!

In place of our individual Wow, I’m going to take this opportunity to share a list from Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” of the key things an A-team needs. It’s a good list and if we absorb it, and live it, we too can keep the “Wow!s” coming!

According to Jim Collins, one of the key factors for building a world class organization - and keeping it great - is its people.

A-Team Qualifications — Let’s put it to good use now!

1. You know a person is a great fit for your team when they fit with your core values walking in the door. You can train for skills. You can’t train for values.

2. An A-Team person doesn’t need to be tightly managed. The moment you feel the need to micromanage an employee, you know you’ve made a hiring mistake.

3. The right person will understand that they don’t have a job - they have responsibilities.

4. The right person will do what they say they will do. They are accountable in every action.

5. The right person will have “window” and “mirror” maturity. When something goes wrong, they look in the mirror and say “I’m responsible. Here’s what I will do to grow and change.” When things are good, they point out the window and share the success and accolades with their team. They look outside of themselves to share the praise and recognition.

6. They think that what you do is really cool and believe it is a privilege to work for you.

Hey team… we are already achieving many of these. Wow! As you and I bring new people into the company, let us always keep this list in mind. It fits who we are.

Thanks to my local colleague, Anne-Marie Faiola, The Soap Queen, for posting this first. Look for this list and lots more good stuff in Jim Collin’s upcoming book due out in May 2009.

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Recap:
In Step 1 you selected up to three of the most critical strategic themes or objectives. In Step 2 you mapped these themes to your Strategy so that key objectives can be prioritized and contrasted (it is not uncommon to have conflicting objectives that need to be sorted out). And in Step 3 you prioritized so that you’d be sure that what is most important gets done.

Now before we move on, it is critical to have a plan for identifying and removing roadblocks. You will face at least one. I’m going to list a few of the most common ones here, along with answers that have worked for others. I’d love to have comments and additions from readers.

Here are three common roadblocks to getting what you expect: Read the rest of this entry »

Timing matters. Trust matters. If you are not sure you have all the information, take time to dig deeper before you make a critical decision about people.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to two individuals who I had all but given up on. At one time, not so long ago, I felt each relationship was irreparable. When someone feels this way about you, and perhaps you feel it too, it is so easy to just break. One thing bonds people together strongly enough to avoid that break: Trust. We trusted ourselves and each other enough to dig deeper.

Why is this “wow!”? What changed? Did one give in to another’s demands? Actually no, and this is another aspect that is so powerful. What trust does is allow difficult conversations to be shared, and those conversations can lead to repair. To an outsider it may seem nothing. But truly this is huge. We are in business to build value. A leader cannot do that if he or she is not trusted or if he or she does not trust the team. But it goes even further than what may seem to you very touchy-feely stuff (which it is)… trust, or lack of it, and retaining people (or not) have a significant impact on the business bottom line…

Why is this important? Trust, and taking the time to dig deeper using objective methods, can ensure that you (the leader) are not making hasty decisions that will tear down value, and immediately and negatively impact your business bottom line.

If you aren’t building trust you will experience loss. If you are not tracking what goes right and wrong, throughout the year (and why) - and if you do not have the right data to identify the real causes (and rarely are we correct when we assume what someone’s intentions are) you cannot possibly make good decisions about people.

When you are unsure, it often makes the most sense… even to the business bottom-line… to retain a person and re-fit them in a role that plays to their strengths and supports your Strategy best. Also consider how you can adapt your style to support a better fit for all.

Congrats! Wow! Trust has allowed us to dig deeper, retain people, and build value.