Do, Reh, Me, So, La, Fa, Tee, Do… or at least that’s how I remember it.  3rd grade music class with Mrs. Peterson.  The first time I was ever introduced to formalized music and singing different parts.  I spent plenty of time in church and understood the concept of “making a joyful noise” with the congregation, but my music teacher was showing me something different.

I grew older and left music classes in middle school  and then came back to them in high school.   Once I was in varsity choir, I learned something incredible.  I learned that when everyone sings their part at the right time and on key, a beautiful cacophony of sound is created. A wall of  emotion in different layers that allows the listener to close their eyes and experience depth and elegance.

What most people understand,  but sometimes forget is the rehearsal and preparation needed in order to create this experience.  It is important to understand how much goes into finding harmony because the same structure can be used to build a world class company.

Harmony is defined by Princeton as:  congruity of parts with one another and with the whole.  Harmony in music allows for there to be multiple people singing different notes at the same time as part of  a greater sound.  Sometime people can be singing different words at the same time, too.  The purpose of a composer is to tie all of it together to create a focused experience for the listener.  In order to tie everything together, a well written plan must be created in the form of sheet music.

Leaders should provide the same type of written plan for their team.  Here is  a quick guide for creating harmony in your team:

• Identify the theme of your piece: What is the goal of your team? What are your values? Write them down.
• Who sings what part: Talk to your team.  See who is a bass or soprano.  Don’t make a tenor into a alto. Put the write singer in the  right place.
• Rehearse!:  Meet with each team member to discuss the plan.  Meet one on one and in groups.  Individual training and rehearsal as well as group training is critical to the success of a team.
• Give everyone their part in writing:  Provide written direction and updates to your team regularly.

Anyone who has seen ‘Office Space’ remembers the scene where Aniston goes off on her boss at Chotchkie’s.   Flair!  It’s an empowering moment.  The kind of moment many of us wish we had the guts to create for ourselves.  There is nothing as empowering as taking the upper hand on a person or group that has been sitting on top of you for months or years. Honestly- this is not the best way to handle a decision to change jobs.

What causes a person to want to change jobs?  Could be many things..  Most of the time a person leaves his or her boss not the company or team. Ever see emails from people to their team when they leave their jobs?  Typically they say things like-  ”I loved working with you guys” or “please contact me if you need anything” or “I value the relationships I have built here”.  Seems as if many people like their team, just not their boss.  People do not tell a company or group of folks these type of positive well wishes if they do not mean them.  Maybe they do-  maybe just to be polite..  but I find that shallow.  I find that most people are not shallow and most people want to do the right thing.   Which is what this whole post is about.

FLAIR!

When it’s time to go-  what happens??  I believe that the onus has been put on employees to provide a heads up to their company.  BUT..  What onus does a company or leader have in regard to an employee who is on his way out?  This is very interesting to me.  I have been so passionate about hiring the right people and developing the talent within my teams, I have not taken the time to understand the obligation of a leader to his team when an employee finds he is ready to move on.

Companies and managers must take the time to understand why the employee is leaving the organization.  It is always the hope of any firm that their employees are not leaving due to internal issues within the company.  Many people I know feel it is OK for someone to leave because of personal reasons like family matters or illness- but a chance to take a promotion or move to a better comp package with a competitor is not OK.  Why the dichotomy?

The feeling that a company is owed something in regard to how their employees quit is wrong.  As a manager or leader, if you have  let your team get into a position where they need to look outside your organization to find opportunity, happiness or fair compensation, then you have failed.  The reason  managers do not feel a team member can happily move to another firm is out of shear frustration with their own inadequacies to keep their team intact.

I hear some of you- BUT!  ”There is more to a company than just the employees!!!” I understand a company has an obligation to many stake holders including employees, clients and shareholders.  These different groups should not over ride a core piece of humanity, which is to take care of one another.  Managers must remember that changing jobs is incredibly difficult on people and the decision to move on was is generally not made lightly.

I believe that managers and companies should remember a few simple rules when a person decides it is time to move on.

• Managers and leaders must take care of their people to the END
• 2 weeks notice is a two way street
• You never know when you may want someone back
• It’s a small world and people talk, post and blog
• Other employees see what you do

Leaders should remember that the road to division has more than one driver and that fairness and equality are critical to building lifelong relationships with employees.  Employers should be quick to recognize that a small bit of generosity during a disruptive time in a person’s life will go a VERY long way.  People will remember how they were treated and will convey that sentiment to people still working at the company, potential hires, the competitions and possible clients.

A recent Houston Chronicle Article discusses 2 weeks notice.  ”Most companies view it as an act of thoughtfulness and consideration by the employee, and they want to encourage that kind of behavior by keeping the worker on the payroll.

If they don’t, he said, it doesn’t take long for word to get around that the company will put its departing employees in a bind.”

With the power of social media, companies should remember that one person can reach thousands.  It is always better to do right by your people even when they are walking out the door-  you never know when you will walk in on them again or who they may be taking with them.

I was sitting at lunch.  I was having a bad week and was looking at my plastic plate piled high with chicken fingers and fries.  I love chicken fingers.  They are a great passion of mine.  I sat across the table from one of the managers in my firm.  I knew what lunch was going to be about-  he was going to complain about the company, about his place in the organization and decisions that he did not understand.

I could feel his negative energy creep into my psyche..  I was beginning to pile on.  I started to complain more and more.  It was a feeding frenzy and we were both pissed off by the time I had finished my strips.  It was now time to go back to work.

So there it is…  negative begets negative…  I guess we all know this.  But I am curious about why we were both negative.. We were both PASSIONATE about our frustration. What happened that allowed us to get to this point?

The funny part is that we spent considerable negative energy because of our positive passion for our company.   Both of us wanted our firm to be better.  We were proud of what had been built and what we had contributed. What was missing??

Could it have been vision?  I have come to the conclusion that many firms do not have a clear vision.  Vision:  A focus on overall goals and a road map we could all follow.  Without a clearly communicated purpose, a company is the same as a boat listing in the waves.

A Pirate’s Life for Me!

Think about an 18th century pirate ship.  Consider a ship that has a group of senior officers who have defined their goals.  The ship sails the seas with a clear purpose.  The Captain and his officers explain to their crew how each of them is critical in achieving specific goals for the journey.  The men on board understand how they contribute to the cause and what their ultimate payoff is when they reach their goal.  From the cook to the man in the crow’s nest, each person is playing a role.  There is a vision and a purpose for each person.

Now consider the boat that is not clear in purpose.  The captain tells his crew that they will sail… generally in “that direction”.  The crew is expected to perform their jobs to keep the boat and team in line each day.  From time to time, the boat may encounter a ship to plunder or an island to explore,  but there is no focused direction.  There is no plan to troll waters rich with the King’s ships.  Just to sail and to do what the captain says as soon as he says it.

At some point, the crew will begin to mutter… they will begin to question their need to wash the decks or get up early to man the lookout.  The crew will lose their passion to push ahead and at some point they will eat their chicken strips together venting frustration over the captain, officers and their decisions.  Passion for success turns into negative frustration.  Engagement is lost and a mutiny is at hand.

Mutiny! Vision is Core to Engagement

Line of Sight

It is crucial to provide line of sight for your team.  Line of sight is simple-  Does the employee understand how their work contributes to the company’s performance?

How does a company or team keep an employee engaged through line of sight?  Here is the bottom line-  your team and your company need to focus on overall goals.  It is incredibly simple. Leadership includes setting goals.

Once a team has goals for the year or for the quarter, then each member should be presented a road-map of  how their daily tasks contribute to those goals.  I personally like having annual ‘Outlooks’ with employees.  These are very different than the ‘review’ structure that many companies use.

Outlooks

An Outlook should be done at least once a year. It is written and should be very simple in structure.  There should be a focus on the future rather than past accomplishments.  Outlooks take into account company and team goals and align those with employee desires, strong suits and goals.  Being able to focus on what makes each person great and providing a way to line that up with the team provides a strong path for everyone to succeed.

Once employees understand what the overall goals are and how they are being provided an opportunity to contribute to those achievements, engagement can begin.  Without a clear and focused vision, company goals will be difficult to define and Outlooks may not be effective.

Do you have a vision that is clearly communicated?  Is the vision of the company lined up with each employee’s greatest attributes and passions?

“I don’t get paid enough to do this.” I have heard it, thought it and even lived it.  What happens when someone wakes up one morning and comes to the conclusion that they are not happy with their job?  Why does a person finally decide they have had enough of their job?  In almost all instances, it is because the employee is no longer engaged.

Engaged…  ??  Leadership is about fostering engagement.  The Conference Board defines engagement as “a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work”.

Patricia Soldati summarizes some great points on engagement.  Her findings from the Conference Board study summarize 8 key drivers of employee engagement:

• Trust and integrity – how well managers communicate and ‘walk the talk’.
• Nature of the job –Is it mentally stimulating day-to-day?
• Line of sight between employee performance and company performance – Does the employee understand how their work contributes to the company’s performance?
• Career Growth opportunities –Are there future opportunities for growth?
• Pride about the company – How much self-esteem does the employee feel by being associated with their company?
• Coworkers/team members – significantly influence one’s level of engagement
• Employee development – Is the company making an effort to develop the employee’s skills?
• Relationship with one’s manager – Does the employee value his or her relationship with his or her manager?

Each of the drivers listed above should be studied in depth by managers and leaders.

I Got Your "Working Late" Right Here!

Why do your employees hate you and their job? Most likely you are not setting goals and giving your team an opportunity to achieve in areas where they excel. I will be looking at all of these drivers over the next few weeks beginning with line of sight between employee goals and company goals.

Do you have a culture of engagement in your company?  How does a positive culture provide engagement?  Do you have examples of positive motivators in your firm?

• Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
• Never us a long word where a short one will do.
• If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Never use the passive where you can use the active.
• Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
• Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

So there I was-  just putting the finishing touches on a new process masterpiece!  I had worked on it for weeks.  I had been given a directive to fix a problem with one of our processes.  (I could go into detail, but it does not matter as my story is really a conglomeration many different times when I have worked to develop a new product or process. )

I was debriefing my boss on the progress of the initiative.  She had no involvement in my planning up to this point despite the multiple emails I sent her detailing our progress.  I had asked for meetings about our status and she replied, “I trust you are getting it done.”  No Meeting….

It was time to begin execution of the process changes.  I began to walk her through the last steps.  We were 2 days out from executing my plan.  That is when I heard the ‘Seagull Call’.

In Ann Rowley’s book, Leadership Therapy: Inside the Mind of Microsoft, she discusses the Seagull Call.  Microsoft management referred to an event where Sr. management would come in at the last minute and swoop down over their project and crap all over it.  Much like a seagull at the beach.  Wow….  I love this analogy.

The call was loud and swift.  I had been pooped on.  My project was ripped apart at the last minute.  I managed to fight off most of the changes, but the damage was done.  I felt like a child and thought my work was lacking in some way.  My project was changed and did not have the impact I had intended it too.

This is a Great Idea.... For Me to POOP ON!

This was not the last time I would be pooped on.   It was not the only time I had been involved in a pooping, either.  I have been guilty of letting a project run too far without my guidance and then jumping in at the last minute to ‘fix’ it.  I have done this out of poor planning on my part and trusting a team member to read my mind.

As a leader, it is our job to provide guidance.  We should be setting goals and giving feedback to our team members regularly.  Our team will only grow if we allow them to execute all the way to the end.  When a project is changed, dumped or micro-managed at the last minute; there is a strong possibility it is the manager’s fault and not the employee’s fault.

When allowing an employee to develop a process, product or project, managers need to:

• Provide structured guidance and feedback along the way
• Set clear goals and desired outcomes
• Create boundaries from the jump
• Allow your employee to struggle-  difficulty is just as important as success
• Do NOT come by at the last minute to ‘fix’ the project

By setting your people up from the beginning for success, you eliminate the possibility of having to poop on their ideas at the last minute.

I was yelling.  I mean yelling.  I was 3 months into my job as a manager and I was on the phone with one of my guys and we were going at it.  I was the boss! Who was he to question me or to push back on my direction.  I had tried incentives.  I had tried to relate to him, but nothing was working.  It was time to use my power to force him to do what was needed.

He hung up on me.  He also did what I yelled at him to do, but he did it begrudgingly.  The effect on the account was half-ass and we both suffered from the lack luster effort.  I later apologized for treating him like a child.  He apologized for letting it get that far, but the truth was he had nothing to be sorry for.  I had failed in my leadership.

I have always referred to the use of power as a case of either ‘the carrot or the stick’.  Power…  That is right-  I used THAT word.  It is absolutely true that all managers have POWER.  We have to have power in order to do our jobs.  Some people may not like the word, but it is what it is.  Princeton online defines power as:  Possession of controlling influence.

I have recently learned that there are different types of power.  There is Hard Power and Soft Power.  Hard Power is power exerted through force.  You may have seen it displayed at the office in the following ways:

• Emails in all caps
• Actual yelling at grown men and women
• Proximity management (sit here so I can watch you)
• Write ups with no direction on improvement
• Incentives to do your job- bonuses without direction

Conversely there is such a thing as Soft Power.  Soft Power is used when a leader has buy-in.  It is a direct contradiction to Hard Power and is defined by asymmetricthreat.net as-  The ability to shape the preferences of others and get others to want the outcomes you want.  YESSIR!  See the difference?

The Carrot or the Stick?

What is ‘the carrot and the stick’ (CaS) some of you may ask?  It is a metaphor used by managers to describe how to motivate people.  The idea is that much like a donkey, people can be motivated by either being whipped with a stick or being tempted to move along with the aid of a carrot dangled in front of them. Many managers believe that the carrot is a Soft Power tool. FAIL

I have recently decided that the carrot is as much a tool of Hard Power as the stick is.   Managers can tempt their teams with a carrot, but it is only generating a preconditioned response.  There is no buy-in from the employee.  The carrot becomes a whipping tool used just like a stick.  Most diplomacy defines Hard Power as having control financially over a country or region (sanctions for example).

The CaS metaphor further breaks down as it equates employees to stubborn mules (or Donkeys- I know there is a difference).  There is no way people and donkeys are even in the same boat, even though I believe Donkeys are AWESOME and way better than most animals-  like say…. otters!

I recommend that all managers and leaders work to gain buy-in from their staff on the direction and ideas of the team.  When direction is a group effort and the team works together to achieve goals, then Hard Power is not necessary.  Here are 5 lessons on how to improve on your ability to use Soft Power:

• Write down what you believe and share it with your team. I call this a Leadership Manifesto. It is a tried and true list of 5 – 10 core beliefs you have as a person.  Once your team knows what you believe, they can communicate with you more effectively.
• Never push back a one-on-one meetings for any reason. GUILTY!  I do this way more than I should.  This shows disrespect for your team members and does not generate buy in on team ideas.
• Ask Questions. It is critical to get ideas and input from everyone and asking questions is the only way to do it. Ask WHY and then when you have an answer,  ask WHY again.
• Say good morning to everyone and good night to anyone left. This may not seem like a big deal, but I say hello to most everyone on my team each morning.  It is sometimes the only 3 minute pocket I have with them when the world is not blowing up in our face.  I have the time to invest in what they say.
• Tell your team when you have to fight for them.  I will let my team know when I have to scrap for them.  I never do so in a way that makes management seem off-putting to their issues.  I simply let them know that it is my job to take bullets for them.  That is part of why I get paid.

Simply understanding what power is and how it can be used is critical.  By implementing some changes in how you work with your team, you could instantly change the team dynamics.  Try it and let me know how this has worked for you.

Do you believe that there is a place for Hard Power in the work place?  Have you seen areas where the carrot is just an orange, edible stick?

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She was not an imposing figure, but she demanded respect.  Judy Childress was the varsity choral director of my high school.  She had sharp and wild eyes; the kind you get from a lifetime of artistic opportunity.  She was incredible at harnessing the talent of her students and her community.  Judy was a tenured and talented teacher that was respected across the board as a person who could get things done.   I was scared of her…

I cannot remember why I was late or what I was doing, but I remember what happened on that stage….  It was during a musical rehearsal.  I was running late and I strolled across the stage.  At the time, I was too cocky, overly self assured and thought I had the world figured out.  I was 17 and needed a push.

There were at least 30 people at the rehearsal and I was sure that I had the clout to walk in late and not get called out.  I was wrong.  ”ANDY!”  Judy Childless was behind the piano at the left of the stage.  She had waited until I was in dead center stage.  The entire chorus was sitting on the front two rows of the auditorium.  It was an audience..  an audience to watch what was to become my most public dress down.

I turned to see Mrs. Childress walk from behind the piano.  ”What gives you the right to show up 20 minutes late?”  She asked.  I began to stumble through a canned response-  like Jake Blues…  I ran outta gas. I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from outta town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake, a terrible flood, locusts. It wasn’t my fault!! I SWEAR!!!

Her eyes were piercing.  She let loose on me.   “I am sick of your excuses!  You have to grow up.  You are responsible for yourself and the sooner you realize that the better we will ALL be.  Go sit down, now.”

I stood in the lights of the stage.  The lights that had been my blanket of security.  I had loved the gaze of an audience and enjoyed my time in front of the curtain.  Something was wrong, this was not the attention I had come to love.  I turned to see the entire cast of the musical looking at me like I was a 2 year old.  I felt about a foot tall and suddenly had a moment of clarity.  I WAS THE PROBLEM.

Personal accountability.  This is the core of my Leadership Manifesto.  From that day forward I have never pawned off my accountability.  I do not make excuses for my own actions.  I accept the fall out for my my decisions in their entirety.

Leadership must have personal accountability at its core or there is no authenticity. Leaders who do not accept the credit for their actions, both good and bad, are not able to gain trust from their teams or bosses.  I have found that many times when I stand up, accept responsibility and take accountability for my actions, I walk away having gained the respect of my superiors.

Russell Bishop talks about accountability in his blog.  He discusses CPA.  The idea is that we all “Create, Promote or Allow…“ events to happen in our lives.  We are accountable and this accountability provides us power over our lives.

I may have learned the lesson of accountability at some time in my life even if I had never been called out on that stage.  But the fact is-  I learned how to be an adult and I had a pillar of my success forged by Judy Childress.  For this-  I say:  Thanks Judy!

Inspire-  to arouse the mind to special or unusual activity and creativity

As a leader, when you are prepared to direct your team, make sure you take the time to inspire them and not talk-down to them.  Leaders inspire.  Look at the word ‘inspire’.  The humanityquest.com breaks down the etymology of the word  like this:  In + Spirare – to breathe, conveying the idea of motion or direction.

To direct with your breath-  to breathe into someone a direction.  We as humans make a huge deal about our breath.  About someone’s last breath, wasting our breath or a breath of fresh air… As leaders, we should understand that every breath we give to our team should be about direction-INSPIRATION.

Onions for Lunch!

Just remember the next time  you are talking to a team member or your group and you need to provide direction or criticism, be inspirational not someone’s dad.  We all have fathers and mothers.  No one ever succeeded in life because of what their folks told them- it was how their parents inspired them, nurtured them and lead them by example.

I have been trying really hard to provide entertaining content on what is a pretty dry subject for most people.  I LOVE leadership and management.  I believe that there are opportunities for the subject to be engaging and entertaining because the subject is dynamic and deals directly with…. Wait for it…..

Direct Personal Interaction.    Can’t be any more compelling than that. RIGHT?!?!?!

Evidently-  I am not right.  I am finding some real boring crap online.  I mean really boring.  How can a subject about interacting with people be less compelling than say this article title I found on Reddit.com:  ”UK parliament science and technology committee says Homeopathy has no evidence beyond placebo effect and spending NHS money on homeopathy can not be justified.”   I clicked on the link-  and there was no porn or free online money or anything that would lead 420 people to comment on the link!  :o (<-sarcasm and disbelief face)

Should not have gone shopping when I was hungry.

I have determined that the reason the general subject matter is not good is because the contributors (about 1% of all online users according to Seth Godin) are stuffy, starch shirted managers who do not really understand the actual JOY that a person should get from creating a leader or managing something with skill and focus.

My cry to leadership bloggers:

• Be Personal-  Even if it hurts and might be difficult for your bosses
• Be Witty-  I do NOT want to hear a dissertation or case study
• Be Effective-  I have too much actual management to do.  If I use my time to read your blog I better laugh  or have a light bulb go off
• Focus on People-  That is the core of leadership and management- SERIOUSLY!

Focus on these topics and you will find response- interaction and readership.  I will not purport to be all of these things in every blog I write-  but I am trying.  I will get better and I will LEAD the rest of the bloggers in my field to do the same.

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