Author: Lori Michele Leavitt

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Connecting people to business performance!

From what is (now) to what can be (in the future)

What’s in it for me? (aka WIIFM). You may be asking yourself this right now. Do you think there has been a disconnect in communication, and strategy, in corporate America? I know there has!

When people are not communicating transparently and with empathy, the disconnect between what people do and what leaders expect (aka Strategy) grows larger.

Reconnecting people – at all levels – into performance management systems and to the performance of the company is critical. And it is do-able! 

The first step might be to shift from performance management to performance momentum! An Aligned Momentum program, powered by the A.M. software, just might be the transformative solution you are looking for. Feel free to reach out to me directly at lori[at]thepivotcatalyst[dot]com.

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Wow! Teamwork in hard times

What does teamwork really mean? Would the U.S. economy be where it is today if we really had this? Ok, the U.S. economy is for another post. This post is about us, and how in bad times we are becoming a better and more focused team.

This Wow! was hard to write. It was also exciting to write. It exposes leadership weaknesses (clarity, verification). It also cheers leadership strengths (vision, empathy, persistence) that compel people to do the right thing right…to keep the business – our ship- clipping along in or toward a blue ocean (niche success!), even in the midst of chaos…

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to my team. This month every single person on the team deferred their pay until the work they have in progress is completed. The only exceptions made were for part-time team members who completed short projects.

Why is this “wow!”? I look around and see that we are not the only team not completely in check with our strategy day to day. There’s a better way and we are moving to it…and ready to help others do the same.

If people stop doing the right things right, the ship stops, or at least stalls and goes off course.

We didn’t stop…thanks to the team. The communication is becoming clearer every day. And we are making the small yet continuous adjustments needed to keep on course. Continue reading “Wow! Teamwork in hard times”

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Wow! Righting the Weakness…in Strengths

Have you ever leaned toward avoidance when you haven’t delivered because you “know” the person you must speak to is going to be disappointed? Getting past this block can be difficult.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to two team members who tend to be troubleshooters and do-it-yourselfers. You did it! No, not what you expected. You crossed a barrier for you – and got in touch with me even though you did not have the news/deliveries you wanted to give. Now we are moving forward again. Continue reading “Wow! Righting the Weakness…in Strengths”

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Wow! Adding value in a new role

It is not often easy for a new employee to show value…and then often they don’t feel valued. This is an important time for communication. It’s even tougher when the boss doesn’t really understand the role well…

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes out to — who knew he had value to add and needed to remain persistent in showing this.

Why is this “wow!”? Have you ever had a job in which your boss was not an expert in your role… and it seemed that your expertise was not valued, perhaps because of this? We certainly strive to listen and understand, and be patient with new employees as they find how to best show their strengths. Continue reading “Wow! Adding value in a new role”

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Wow! Getting the right things done, with less…

Getting the right things done, with less… When we make steps toward this goal, even small ones, then I just have to say…Wow!

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes out to —- for continuously seeking ways to meet our design needs – which are defined by our market’s needs – at a lower cost, but still keeping our highly professional look and feel. Continue reading “Wow! Getting the right things done, with less…”

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Transform data into information, and information into knowledge…for and through people!

A goal of the Collaborative-Action blog is to bring practical, do-able steps that will lead to performance management that works. Following is the first in a series of interviews to meet that goal.

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Andy Neely, of University of Cambridge, Cranfield School of Management. You will find us both quite excited about the opportunity to add value, as we focus on translating data into information and information into knowledge. Or as Professor Neely shows in the diagram below, “From Hindsight to Insight.”

Click to play

This brief interview was entirely unscripted; it is a conversation chock full of immediate take-aways for CEOs, and all executive, division and department heads including Human Resources and Organizational Development. I look forward to your comments about this interview and any questions you may have that can be answered in future posts, interviews. You can also email me.
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Managing Performance includes Managing Risk

People matter most to the performance – and risk – of your business or organization. Their actions, and their in-actions, can make a good strategy, or a bad one, and can ensure that a good strategy is realized, or not. A great way to manage risk, then, is through keeping a pulse of what your people think and do. And the best and most practical way I’ve found for doing this is through gathering feedback through surveys, assessments, evaluations and reviews.

Whether for internal control, governance, security, privacy, other compliance or due diligence (to name a few), setting a positive environment for feedback, asking questions, and showing that you are ready to take action on the input can help leaders keep their organizations on track and out of trouble.

In future posts I will link you to samples of how to gather and manage information for risk mitigation and performance improvement!

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Wow! Keeping track so you and others can rejuvenate

Is there a Wow! to be raised when the team is rejuvenating for the holidays? Yes

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes out to —- who was out of touch but not out of mind during the break. I could tell this by our productive conversation today.

Why is this “wow!”? —- faced holidays, a root canal and poor Internet all at the same time. We’ve all had those kind of days and weeks. And it’s so easy to just, well, let stuff go. The best course, however, is to log pending actions, if it cannot be delegated, so that the work can be picked up easily again…and share that log so that others relying on that work can also gain some peace. That’s what he did. Continue reading “Wow! Keeping track so you and others can rejuvenate”

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A scorecard for your Wellness initiative

Until recently, employee benefits costs – healthcare, in particular – have been considered a necessary cost of doing business, external to a company’s core products or services. An emerging school of thought, however, suggests that employee wellness affects much more than a company’s bottom line as a human resource expense. Wellness also affects absenteeism, productivity and efficiency. In other words, healthy employees are more likely to successfully contribute to a company’s core business than sick or injured employees who are unable to perform at optimal levels.

In this way, wellness does, indeed, contribute to every company’s bottom line and, as a result, needs to be stated as a measurable goal of every company. But how can wellness be quantified? Continue reading “A scorecard for your Wellness initiative”

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Wow! Family matters to our success at work

Please take this time to extend my Wow! to your families, for supporting your work and our company.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: To our families, and even our friends, I am sending you this “WOW!” because of your flexibility and understanding. You never signed up to be part of a global company, with your loved one often working crazy hours. I appreciate your support.

Why is this “wow!”? What the people close to us think, say and do … especially those who love us… can have a strong impact on how successful we are at our work. So it seems we must have very supportive families because 2008 was one crazy year! THEY deserve a “Wow!”

Why is it important? Expressing ourselves – through work – in a way that adds values for our colleagues and customers may not offer so clear a benefit to those who are near or dear to us. Our friends and family are not our customers. Sure, they want us to be happy in our work. But they also want some things that may have to wait when work does not readily supply it. If our work roles are fulfilling in a way that also brings benefit to our family, while also being aligned with Strategy, the result to the company is success…which then cycles back through us…to them.

In 2008 we experienced a variety of mis-alignments. In fact, it felt like a strong upheaval. Thanks to all of you who did not whine or take advantage during this time.

In 2009 we’ll be more systematic in the way we stay aligned. It will require your participation. With this new plan we shall better align what we want with what our roles are, and better align (and clarify) our roles with what is best for the company’s success.

Congrats (and Thank you!) to those near to us! Let them know that success will be shared.