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Wow! Team Stick Strategy

Big businesses in the U.S. are receiving bailout funds. Whether they “deserve” this or not is something many of us question. I for one am always loathe for dollars to be thrown to who yells the loudest or can harm the most, rather than those positioned to add the most value. Ok. It’s done.

So what?! Lots of things happen “just because” and we can whine about it, or we can make our own success. Every action is our choice.

We choose to keep adding value with what we’ve got… We are sticking to it! We are confident, accountable .. and we trust that our journey is adding value, including to those in our company.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to Abrige & C-Secure team members who are doing all they can with the resources at hand today…knowing there is a better tomorrow and that we control that. The prize is near from this entrepreneurial journey. You know who you are, because you are here. You exhibit confidence, trust and accountability. We are sticking together.

Why is this “wow!”? Choosing to stick when pay or perks become more tightly linked to performance requires confidence, trust and accountability. One must have the confidence in themselves that they can complete what was started. There must be trust that the leader will steer the company well if all the crew are doing what they are supposed to do. And accountability is required to meet promises to reach a long term goal, which may require more effort with less reward in the short term. We will remain strong because we have confidence, trust and accountability. Continue reading “Wow! Team Stick Strategy”

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve your results. Step 1: Strategic Themes

Overwhelmed with your days right now? Underwhelmed with your business or job?

Let me re-introduce you to …connection… starting with the people around you…

I’m a bottom-line gal… and I am here to tell you to get social within your organization. I am positive that doing so will improve performance across the organization. No worries if you haven’t really excelled at this to date. We can tell and if you look around you, you are not the only one. (and it’s not your fault entirely… technology, and actually performance management systems specifically, has played a role in this trouble and I’ll get to that later in this series). But you CAN realize improvement quickly, by making a few small shifts in how you connect with people.

So how you do this without changing who you are? Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve your results. Step 1: Strategic Themes”

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Wow! Thinking like an owner

Today more than ever a leader needs their team to care and tend to the bottom line. We’ve got that – Wow!

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to —- who decided that he and a friend could build an application we needed, and do so on their own time. This way we could get exactly what we wanted, and without a subscription cost. —- was watching out for opportunities that would help us, and for the impact on our bottom-line. This is exactly what one means when they strive to have their team “thinking and acting like owners.” That we have this in our team deserves a resounding, Wow! Continue reading “Wow! Thinking like an owner”

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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!