Author Archive

The Wrong People Can’t Be Motivated to Do the Right Thing

It’s true.  The wrong people can’t be motivated to do the right thing, according to Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and the newly released How The Mighty Fall. 

How woud the performance of your organization be different if you didn’t have to spend time trying to motivate the wrong people to do the right thing?  The “right” people for your organization don’t have to be motivated to do the right thing.  They just do it.

So here’s the challenge.  What percent of your employees are the “right” employees for your organization?  And, what are you going to do to improve the odds of selecting the “right” employees for your organization?

Several free resources are available here on our blog and our website.  If you want to discuss your unique challenges, contact us for a no-cost, no-obligation discussion of your business challenges.  We’ll point you to additional resources based on our discussion.

The Essence of High Level Leadership

You’ve undoubtedly heard the distinction between management and leadership.  In short, it is said, that managing is about planning and control, while leadership is about influence.  However, while many organizations now clearly emphasize the benefits of leadership (influencing behavior toward achieving organizational goals) as an organizational strategy for driving organizational performance, high level leadership remains elusive for many leaders.

So, what’s the difference between average leadership and high level leadership?  And, how can a leader become a high level leader?

In addition to influencing employees to achieve organizational goals, high level leadership requires that leaders also become actively engaged in developing their employees into peak performers in key areas of responsibility.  “Developing employees?  Check.  I do that, so I’m a high level leader,” is what I hear in response from a lot of leaders. 

However, the evidence doesn’t support the claim that most leaders are high level leaders.  Instead, when I probe further, I hear leaders say things like ”John is a very strong analyst, but his people skills are not as strong.”  Here’s the key - Average leaders assume that what they’re getting today is all they’re ever going to get from an employee.

Now, hear me correctly.  I’m not suggesting that every person can improve in every aspect of their jobs with just more training.  John’s personality many not be wired for him to improve his people skills significantly.  That may be the case, but average leaders just assume that John is doing the best he can do and so they don’t even try to help John improve his people skills.

High level leaders understand that there is a predictable human behavior model for developing peak performance.  The process begins when an employee tries a task for the first time and ends when that same employee is a peak performer who can now train and mentor others on the same task.  High level leaders work to build peak performance in employees in as many areas as possible. 

High level leaders get their hands dirty and help employees develop into peak performers, to the extent that they can, in each key area of responsibility.  If an employee is doing the best they can, but isn’t a peak performer, there are some options.  Maybe another employee could use their area of peak performance to complement for an employee’s average performance in a key area of responsibility.  Or, if an employee is average or below average in several areas of performance, maybe the employee is not really a fit for the position he/she is in and could contribute to the company much more effectively in a different role.

The essence of high level leadership is in developing employees into peak performers.  High level leaders know that as they build more peak performing employees, the performance of the team, the department and the company overall will also improve.

Are you an average leader or a high level leader?

Creative Leadership

Leadership is about influencing the behavior of others.  Don’t let your leadership behaviors get you in a rut.  If you’re efforts to improve organizational performance are not successful, try another approach.  Get creative.

You’ve probably seen this plaque:  “Unattended children will be given sugar cubes and a free puppy.”  In a simple and creative way the “leader” is influencing parents to keep track of their children or risk the consequences.  There is no confrontation, no progressive discipline process and no frustration. 

The next time you’re faced with frustration in your leadership efforts, try a simple, yet creative approach to improve employee and organizational performance.

Wake Up The Elephant

As the leader in your organization, among all of the tactical meetings, tasks and conference calls that will occupy your time, there is a way to improve the performance of your organization this week.  Ready for it?

Have the courage to wake the sleeping elephant in your company.  You know that the “elephant in the room” is there.  For those who are not familiar with the expression, an elephant in the room is an issue that everyone sees, but no one wants to talk about it.  The boss knows it’s there.  All of the employees know it’s there. 

The question is not whether there’s an elephant there.  The question is whether you, as the business leader, has the courage to poke the elephant, wake it up and deal with the consequences of chasing the elephant out of your organization. 

Maybe the elephant is that your brother is not doing his job and you’re pretending you don’t notice.  Maybe the previous owner is still on staff, but has overstayed his welcome.  Maybe the “rain maker” you hired isn’t making it rain.  Maybe your spouse is on the payroll and is not “working and playing well with others.”  Maybe the merger isn’t going as planned.  Maybe it’s a 30 year employee who isn’t cutting it any more.  Maybe the new strategy has failed.  Maybe the largest division’s performance has dropped and no one is really sure why.  Maybe you’re in over your head.

Granted, there will likely be some blood and broken glass from waking up the unwieldy and possibly frightened elephant and chasing it out of the room, but the performance of the company hangs in the balance.  Admit it!  Not taking action is really much more costly than waking the elephant. 

As the business leader, have the courage to tackle the issue.  Do so with dignity and respect, but tackle the issue this week.  You’ll move the company farther ahead more than a month full of meetings ever will.

Your Missing Link

As a business leader, you have your area(s) of expertise.  But, what’s missing?  What’s the missing link?  I think I might know. 

Unless you can achieve business success alone, without the help of anyone else, you need other people to help you.  In addition, you have to create a structure to organize your group to do the work.  Here’s the missing link.  When you need to work with others and create structure, you cross over into my area of expertise.  I help companies apply organizational and human behavior models to improve organizational performance.

You know the printing business.  I’m an expert in behavioral interviewing with more than 1,600 interviews completed.  You’re an expert at providing outsourced payroll services in your area.  I understand the predictable human behavior steps in the organizational change process and how to put it to work to deliver results in your organization.  You’ve made your mark with the design and manufacture of custom heavy equipment solutions.  I understand how leaders can become more effective at building high performing employees and high performing organizations.

You have your areas of expertise.  My expertise is in applying more than twenty organizational and human behavior models to improve employee and organizational performance.  With more than two hundred projects completed in more than fifty client organizations large and small, we’ve delivered, by our client’s count, millions of dollars of improved organizational results.

I’m glad to share my expertise and insights with you through my blog.  I hope you find these free resources helpful in improving results in your organization.  If you need more hands on help, contact me for a free, no obligation, no cost discussion about the organizational challenges outside your areas of expertise that that you are facing.

If your company is under-performing your industry, there might be a missing link.  Let’s figure out what the missing link is so you can improve your organization’s results.

Don’t Confuse Motion With Progress

One truth in our work with organizations large and small is that organizational results is a function of organizational performance . 

So, as business leaders, the focus of our efforts should be on improving employee and organizational performance.  Plan for it, implement action steps and overcome obstacles. 

But, don’t confuse motion with progress.  A flurry of meetings, PowerPoint presentations and coaching sessions doesn’t ensure that organizational performance is actually improving. 

Motion is not the key.  Doing whatever it takes to drive improvements in employee and organizational performance is the only measure of progress.

Improving All Of Your Results…All At Once

 Revenue, profit, productivity, performance, etc.  Each of these is a measure of organizational performance.  Each of these is important to your organization and is a predictor of future organizational results.

However, there are two challenges with focusing on these measures in our efforts to improve results in our organizations.

First, most organizations generally consider these measures independently.  Meetings are convened to discuss “How can we improve our productivity?”  “What steps are we taking to triple sales in the Midwest region?”  And so on.  Considered independently, plans are implemented to drive one measure sometimes at the expense of another.  Or worse, efforts are made to increase these measures, but with different strategies.  Think of a car full of people, each with a different map, each giving different directions to the driver.

The second challenge with focusing on these measures is that we’re focusing on the wrong measures to begin with.  Sure, each of these is a measure and a predictor of results.  But, there is a measure that is more predictive of results and it has a high impact on each of the measures we’ve already discussed.  What is it?  Measure and improve the quality of the leadership strength in your organization and you’ll impact results in your organization like never before. 

Now, I know that as a business leader, or THE business leader, that I might be talking about YOUR leadership strength, but hear me out.  The fact is that if you can increase the leadership strength in an organization, all of the measures we discussed above can go up.  But, don’t take my word for it:

• Jim Collins in Good To Great talked about the 5 levels of leadership and his team’s extensive research on the topic. 
• Ken Blanchard developed Situational Leadership II to document the process of building peak performing leaders.  Some twenty years later, more than 400 of the Fortune 500 have tested the model in pre- and post-test assessments and found it to be very effective. 
• Marcus Buckinham’s research focused on talent as the most predictive factor in building a true strength.  In this case, finding and developing leadership talent will improve leadership effectiveness.  

The list goes on.

As your company emerges from the dark forest of the Great Recession, you’ll have a decision to make about what to focus on to build competitive advantage in this new landscape.  Sure, measure and focus on revenues, productivity and profits.  But, put building leaderhip strength at the top of your list and find the resources and the time to focus on THE factor that can drive all other factors.

Assessing Organizational Performance

I’ll admit it.  Sometimes I get so enamored with some component of organizational structure or element of human behavior that I can quickly dive into more way more detail than is necessary.  But, I love what I do and, if you want to talk in detail about some aspect of organizational performance, I’m up for an all nighter.

2 Simple Questions

However, as I step back and look at organizational performance from a healthy distance, improving organizational performance in your organization is really about the answers to 2 questions:

• Are you underperforming your industry?  Not knowing the answer to that question is, in itself, insightful.  If you don’t know the answer, find out and honestly answer that question for your organization.
• Are you committed to doing something about the fact that you are underperforming your industry?  If you are underperforming your industry, that means others are achieving better results.  And, if they can do it, there’s no reason you can’t achieve industry leading results as well.  Are you committed to getting there?

If you answered YES to both questions, do whatever it takes to achieve industry leading results.  Read a book.  Hire a new employee.  Expand your products/services.  Attend a seminar.  Engage a consultant.  Fire an employee.  Write a strategic plan.  Close a division.  Do all of the above.  Don’t do your best.  Do whatever it takes!

“Where do I start?”

If you really don’t even know what to do first, call me for a free, no obligation phone call.  I’ll ask you a few questions and then I’ll give you my best advice on how you should get started.  Really, it’s free.  Really, no obligation.  Why would I do this?  Because, if I can help you jumpstart an effort to improve your organization’s results with a phone call, I’m glad to do that.  My name is Jim Connolly.  You can reach me at (309) 828-9060.

All the Best!

While Every Person Is Unique, Human Behavior Is Predictable

As an organizational behavior consultant, I view every business challenge as a combination of organizational issues (policies, organization structure, processes, etc.) and human behavior issues (predictable patterns of human behavior that influence our actions and reactions).  Today, I want to dig deeper on the human behavior side of this equation.

Human Behavior Is Predictable

From the start, some argue that, because each person is unique, human behavior cannot be predictable.  However, beginning with the fight or flight instincts present from early human existence, there are many such predictable behavior patterns evident today.  If we understand these patterns and apply this expertise, it’s possible to improve employee performance and organizational results.  Today we’ll look at four predictable human behavior patterns.

Organizational Change

From the time we first hear about any significant change (organizational or personal), there are a series of predictable steps that each person hopefully progresses through until the time they fully embrace the change.  

For example, the boss announces “our company just bought another company.”  Our first reaction is to want to know all about it.  What happened and why?  Next we move on to the ME questions.  How will this impact me?  And so on through the process until we fully embrace the information and return to full productivity.

There are many applications for this model to help employees move through the process as effectively and productively as possible.  Check out my other articles on organizational change.

The Path to Peak Performance

The process from being brand new to a task (new job, promotion, new responsiblity) to becoming a peak performer is a very predictable process.  There are some roadblocks along the way that, when we know about them, can be overcome more quickly. 

Here’s an example of this process in action.  A new employee may appear almost giddy the first day on the job.  We call this the Enthusiastic Beginner.  Then comes a phase commonly called buyers remorse.  “Wow, there is so much to keep track of in this job. I don’t know if I can do this.”  The process continues through other steps until we get to the Peak Performer.  The Peak Performer does the job very well and is able and willing to train/mentor others. 

Again, there are many applications for this model to improve employee performance and organizational results.

Non-Verbal Behavior

Non-verbal human behavior is very predictable. 

I don’t mean the books that say if a person looks up and to the right they are lying.  That’s not science.  It’s garbage.  I mean, for example, that there are seven facial expressions that humans display unconsciously, sometimes only for a fraction of a second, before they hide them with the expression they want you to see.  So, by looking for patterns of consistency in expressions and body language, it’s possible to gather more information than the person shares verbally.

There are many applications for this expertise from job interviews to employee performance.

Communication Style

Finally, by getting to know a person briefly, it’s possible to predict, in a broad sense, how each person is likely to view the world.  In addition, it’s also possible to predict how a person will also react under stress and pressure.  For example, some people thrive under pressure; others shut down. 

These insights have many applications in business from selecting the right employees to helping them succeed so that they are contributing to improving the organizations results.

Application for Improving Organizational Performance

These four models of human behavior are predictable.  The challenge in each of them is that there is no guarantee that an employee will progress all the way through a model.  That’s why, in many cases,  we get less than desirable results such as:

• the employee becomes an average performer instead of a peak performer
• the person hired is not the best fit for the job and later quits or is fired
• the employee is resistant to change and, as a result, reduces productivity and progress
• the employee’s communication style causes them problems and reduces their effectiveness.

Human behavior is predictable.  If we approach business challenges with this mindset, then we can more effectively appply these models and to improve employee performance and organizational results in our organizations.

What and Why of Organizational Restructuring

Organizational Restructuring - Defined 

Organizational restructuring is the reorganizing of a company’s structures (legal, ownership, operational, etc.) for the purpose of making it more profitable and better positioning it for the market’s changing needs.  Notice that there are two goals for an organizational restructuring.  First is the short-term goal of reducing the cost structure of the company down to the point so that revenues outpace expenses.  Secondly, critical to the company’s future, is positioning the company to adjust to the market’s changing needs. 

Why does organizational restructuring become necessary? 

In most cases, restructuring becomes necessary because shareholders and business leaders take the current situation for granted.  When things are going well, there is a human behavior tendency to prefer the status quo even when there are indications that potential trouble is looming.  As one CEO client of mine put it, “we got fat, dumb and happy.”

Sometimes restructuring becomes necessary because of external factors.  Case in point is the current global recession.  Companies that were weak succumbed more quickly to the pressures of the economic collapse.  The choice at that point is to restructure operations,  declare bankruptcy or close the doors.   Everyday there are reports about companies being affected by the economic collapse. 

However, even strong companies have been forever affected by this economic recession.  Many companies with strong financial and operational structures thought they would ride out this recession just like they did during the last recession.  But, this “recession” is turning out to be different.  Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft has said several times in the past few months that we are not experiencing an economic recession.  Rather, Ballmer says, we are experiencing an economic reset. 

If this is true, what we are experiencing today is the new “normal.”  Our economy and our businesses will grow again, but not from where we were eighteen months ago.  We will grow from where we are today.  This new reality causes even financially strong companies to consider restructuring operations because their customer’s needs will be forever different.  Relying on the “rainy day” fund to get through the temporary economic slump won’t work if the “slump” isn’t temporary.  

Whether your organization is financially and operationally strong or weak, today’s circumstances may, in fact, be the new “normal.”  If that’s the case, what steps will you take to position your company for a strong operational and financial performance?

For more insights on organizational performance, check out our other free articles here.