Posts Tagged ‘Change Management’
January 26, 2012
The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one’s opportunities and make the most of one’s resources.
~ Marquis de Vauvenargues
Wherever your most desired destination may be, one thing is for sure – if you don’t get on the road, you will never arrive. Once you decide to embark on the less traveled path of pursuing your personal goals, it it important that you set achievable milestones in order to successfully enter the narrow gate of your desired destination. It may feel like a long journey, but with perseverance and dedication to fulfilling your potential, you will arrive…
When you have achieved that goal you have steadily been working toward, ensure you take the time to congratulate yourself and enjoy the satisfaction of having achieved what you set out to do. Absorb the implications of the achievement, and observe the progress that you’ve made towards other goals. At the very least, achieving your milestones will fuel your motivation to propel you toward your next goal – ultimately guiding you to where you want to be. Achieving even small goals (milestones) along the way will give you the self-confidence to pursue new and exciting destinations.
Whether the goal was small or large, STOP and take a little time to enjoy the moment and reward yourself appropriately. Recognize your success for what it is…SUCCESS!
Now, with the positive experience of having achieved a goal, and taking the time to properly acknowledge your accomplishment, review the journey to date and determine:
- Was the goal too easily attained? If so, make sure your remaining goals (or your next goals) stretch your capacity so that you continue to grow and arrive at new and exciting destinations.
- Did the goal take a daunting length of time to achieve? Ensure your next goals are a little more time-bound, and check the distance between your milestones.
- Did you learn something from your journey? If so, leverage your learning and use it to facilitate the journey toward future destinations.
- Did you perceive a deficit in your skills, despite achieving the goal? Think about incorporating some of the more challenging aspects of the journey onto future roadmaps in order to allow you to hone that particular skill for future journeys.
- Have you derived as much pleasure from the journey as you have in arriving at the destination? I hope so – life is all about the journey after all…
Now that you have arrived at your desired destination, it is time for you to reset your navigation system and set that next big, audacious goal that will take you on yet another exciting journey toward the fulfillment of all of your most “desired destinations”…
Where will you go next?
I hope this series has provided some useful guidelines toward helping you to manage your journey toward your ultimate destination. Please engage the discussion and let us know how you will travel toward your next personal goal. Always feel free to contact me atSheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.
Posted in Development, Goal Setting, Leadership, Personal Goal Setting, Planning, Potential, Strategy, Value Creation, Winning | Tagged Change Management, Execution, Goal Setting, Leadership, winning results | Leave a Comment »
January 9, 2012
Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary,obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.
~Herodotus
Goal setting sounds simple right? Well it is, but it can go downhill very quickly. You have committed to your personal goal-setting journey, but there are some roadblocks to watch out for. The first rule of the road is, “keep on moving!” Despite honoring this mantra, you may still fail to reach your desired destination because you (consciously or unconsciously) take some critical wrong turns that keep you off course:
1. You just won’t follow the process through because:
- You can’t think of a good reason to set goals: This is your future we are talking about here – goal setting defines your destination and how you will get there, so that one day your dreams becomes reality. Keep this in mind when you are deciding how to proceed…
- You are in control of your own destiny: You are where you are now because of the action [or inaction] you have taken in the past. Where you’ll be in the future is determined by the actions you take today. Is there any better reason to start setting goals and having some control over your future?
- You don’t see how goal setting will help you: Maps help you get where you want to go, right? That’s all goal setting and action planning really are – the roadmap to your future. Of course it will help.
- You haven’t got time: Goal setting is about working smarter, not harder. Yes, it will take some of your time and energy, you may even have to make some sacrifices. However, the end results are truly worth the effort. Surely you can set aside a small amount of time each day to move toward your life’s purpose and take the actions necessary to get there? The sad reality is that many people procrastinate all their life and never achieve what they really want to achieve. Don’t be one of those people. Visualize what life will be like when you arrive at your desired destination and use this vision to give you the motivation and “drive” to get there.
- You believe it is too hard: Goal setting is simple, but not easy. It takes some time and you need to do some soul searching to determine what it is that you really want out of life – but it is not hard. It may seem overwhelming, however by managing the process with relevant mile-markers, you can continually move in the right direction and ultimately achieve everything you want. The other thing to remember is that goal setting is a skill. Like all skills, goal setting takes exposure and time to develop.
- You are afraid of failure: What is fear? False Expectations Appearing Real. You determine what you are capable of, and more than likely you are your biggest constraint. What is the worst case scenario of not achieving your goals? You may achieve some of your goals or, perhaps, a portion of a goal. You will know that you gave it your best effort and as a result achieved something… Now, what is the most likely outcome of not setting any personal goals? Not going anywhere - far worse, by my estimation. Fear of failure is real. It is critically important to come to terms with this, as fear of failure can result in a complete lack of action… resulting in failure to achieve anything meaningful. Learn to grow from failure, rather than fear it.
- You don’t take your goals seriously enough to fully commit: You need to take goal setting seriously if it is going to work for you. You have probably tried New Years resolutions in the past – did you take them seriously? Did you succeed?
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Posted in Personal Goal Setting, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged Change Management, Goal Setting, Leadership, Potential, results, Strategic Planning, success, winning results | 2 Comments »
June 9, 2011
Some confrontation at work is expected, however if there are individuals in your organization with Chronic Confrontationitis, it’s up to you, as a leader, to protect your organization. Those afflicted by the disease separate people from general information, social situations, peers, tools to do their job, affection and admiration, as well as hard earned acknowledgement and praise. They actively create a culture where people feel “less than”, causing both emotional and physical stress. Without the acquisition of effective strategies to combat Chronic Confrontationitis, competent employees may damage their careers or become so uncomfortable with the conflict in the environment that they opt out all together.
If you, or individuals within your organization, are impacted by someone with Chronic Confrontationitis, there are several things you may want to consider:
- Don’t take it personally. Avoid becoming self-critical or becoming isolated. Cronic Confrontationitis is about the bully, not the target. There is nothing you could have done to deserve this behavior.
- Understand the circumstances. Even if you know historically that the individual is afflicted with Chronic Confrontationitis, give the initial benefit of the doubt. Ask the individual to clarify the intention of their confrontational approach.
- Don’t ignore the confrontation. Call it out. Point out what the afflicted individual is doing that is offensive and notify this person that you will not put up with it in the future. By calling the conduct into question, you’re putting the person on notice. Maintain your position and by the second or third attempt, the diseased individual will tire of spinning his wheels and move on to another target.
- Confront the offender in a professional manner. Don’t sink to their level. Stay as calm as possible. Chronic Confrontationalists are looking for a reaction and it will encourage them to come back for more.
- Listen to what the infected individual has to say – especially when they become aggressive, intimidating or hostile. Get their attention by starting your sentence with their first name, and keep direct eye contact. If they cannot control their behavior, give them time to cool off and suggest another meeting time.
- Respond appropriately. Sometimes the offense cannot be smoothed over with a clever tactic. You must respond to the individual in an assertive manner. Bullies don’t expect direct comebacks, which is why they take more liberties in what they say to those they expect compliance from. Most people avoid the toxic individuals or soften their response so as not to offend the offender — which weakens their credibility. Keep the response brief and pointed, in a tone that is authoritative and controlled.
- Remember you have choices. Many excellent employees leave organizations which allow Chronic Confrontationitis to run rampant. You don’t have to tolerate a hostile work environment. Knowing you have choices and investigating your options will give you strength. Remember, Chronic Confrontationitis is not about you. It’s about the afflicted person and his personality problems.
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Posted in Chronic Confrontationitis part 2, Communication, Danger Series, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged alignment, challenge, Change Management, communication, Leadership, organizational insight, Strategic Planning | 1 Comment »
June 2, 2011
Is there someone at work who seems intent on drawing others into a state of constant confrontation? Does he belittle, embarrass or even disrespect people on a regular basis in order to goad them into engaging him? Maybe he is overly critical or micromanaging, attempting to intimidate or control everyone in his path? If this behavior is blatant and habitual, this person is likely afflicted with a dangerous and difficult to cure disease – Chronic Confrontationitis.
An individual with Chronic Confrontationitis is persistent in his attempts to force others to comply with his will. His methods are subtle – disguised with all the right behaviors. People respect and trust him, and he quietly betrays their trust whenever necessary to fuel his addiction. He must always be right, using confrontation to prove his point because, to him, the end always justifies the means. And if he is particularly good at this, no one except his targets notice the betrayals. In some lethal workplaces, he may survive for years, or even become a high-level executive.
To make matters worse, our chronic confrontationitis victim usually has the dedication, focus and business acumen to create success, or at least the appearance of success. He is held up as an example of a company-centric leader, despite his underhanded tactics and inability to lead. He is rewarded, while the frustration builds among the targets of his bullying, intimidating, backstabbing and manipulating behavior.
A skilled, clever victim of the disease displays an elaborate, complex set of behaviors to exploit people around him and draw them into open confrontation. Habitual patterns of intentional, socially inappropriate behavior are indicative of the disease, including the subtle tactics of deceit, distortion, misrepresentation and misdirection.
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Posted in alignment, Chronic Confrontationitis part 1, Communication, Development, Education, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, Game Changing Future, Global Leadership, influence, Leadership, Potential, results, winning results | 1 Comment »
May 23, 2011
Control Cataracts is a disorder that occurs in a leader’s vision. It happens when someone becomes desperate to maintain control at the expense of the group or the organization. He or she becomes reluctant to share any measure of authority for fear of losing control. This results in a blindness to the value that could be added by those around them, as well as a short-sightedness as to what success really is.
Leadership is about influence – not control. I am not the only person to make this observation, but it is worth repeating. If leadership involves control, it is only over setting an organization’s course and priorities. Those companies increasing in value the most are those with leaders that have a clear vision, continually communicate that vision, and then get out of the way and let their people do what they are paid to do. Trust is one of the most valuable things you can give to both individuals and teams. It is important to keep in mind that often our people can do things just as well, or in some cases, better than we do.
Your role as a leader is to bring people to a higher level of effectiveness, whatever the goal might be. A team is only as effective as its weakest link. If you have the unfortunate disorder of Control Cataracts within your organization and fail to eradicate it, you make your organization weak because over time self-confidence wanes and self-esteem diminishes across the board.
Even the best leaders, however, sometimes fall into the trap of involving themselves in minute details where they would do better to leave well enough alone. When leaders succumb to Control Cataracts, they are very likely to fail. Even good leaders need reminding of that. Delegate responsibilities and let those responsible for the tasks be accountable for getting them done.
Micromanagers prevent employees from making – and taking responsibility for – their own decisions. But it’s precisely the process of making decisions, and living with the consequences of those decisions, that allows people to grow and improve. Effective leaders empower employees to do well by providing opportunities to excel; Less effective leaders disempower their employees by hoarding opportunities. And because a disempowered employee is an ineffective employee he or she will require a lot of time and energy. It’s that time and energy, multiplied across an organization of timid, intimidated employees that amounts to a serious and self-defeating drain on a leader’s time.
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Posted in Communication, Control Cataracts, Danger Series, Development, Education, Global, Global Leadership, Innovation, Leadership, Leveraging Leaders, Potential, Resources, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, competitive advantage, Execution, global organizations, influence, Leadership, Potential, results, winning results | 1 Comment »
May 12, 2011
Leadership Laceration is a common disorder found when people complain about the leadership that has been placed over them. This is not only harmful to the leader, but it can be fatal for the group. The symptoms can be difficult to detect and are often mistaken for benign interactions. Those without a strong immune system can easily become victims, often unable to differentiate antagonism from healthy criticism. This condition is highly contagious and anyone found to have the symptoms should be quarantined right away…
All kidding aside, those individuals who choose to verbally lacerate leadership can be a serious threat to organizational alignment and morale. Because neither employees nor organizations are immune to employees with the propensity to lacerate leadership, you will need to be aware of the signs, symptoms and impact of leadership laceration.
It is your job, as an organizational leader, to create an environment where brilliant people of all backgrounds, personality types, and work styles thrive. Companies where smart people with diverse backgrounds and work-styles can succeed have significant advantages over those that don’t. However, sometimes really smart employees develop agendas other than doing what is in the best interest of the company. Rather than identifying weaknesses, so they can be overcome, these employees look for faults in leadership to build their case. The smarter the employee, the more destructive this type of behavior can be. Don’t underestimate the fact that it takes a really smart person to seriously lacerate leadership – otherwise, nobody listens.
It can be very difficult to amend the behavior of these smart, but destructive, employees. Once an individual takes a public stance, the social pressure to be consistent is enormous. If he tells his closest colleagues that the CEO is an incompetent, reversing that position will cost him a great amount of credibility the next time he slashes away at the leadership team. Most people are not willing to take the credibility hit.
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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Danger Series, Global Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Laceration, Resources, Strategy, Team Building | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, complexity, Global Leadership, Global teams, Leadership, organizational insight, Potential, transformational management | Leave a Comment »
April 15, 2011
As my husband, Steve, and I traveled through the Carribean last week on the Re:create cruise, I realized that not only were we on board to hear wise men speak on our ability to be creative (and to enjoy the Carribean in April), but also to meet new people and establish new friendships.
As Steve and I spent time on the cruise with Rob and Kim Bruce and Scott and Idelette McVicker, I was reminded of our dear friends at home and how friendships, both new and old, enrich and add texture to our lives. Today, I am in Denver speaking at a conference, and guess what? I was able to meet Kim for lunch and catch up on what has been going on since we returned! The Re:create cruise really brought the importance and value of friendship to the forefront for me.
Often as leaders, we believe we are too busy for friends. We forget how important it is for us to surround ourselves with people we can trust and that care about us unconditionally. Things have been tough across most industries over the past couple of years, job security for the global executive is often precarious at best, and we are often stretched to our limits at work. When things get really tough, do you have a group of friends you can rely on to commisurate and help pick up the pieces? When times are good, do you have a select group of people you can celebrate and relax with? Pete Wilson said something very important on the cruise. I am paraphrasing, but he made the point that leaders need “cliques” and that it is a good thing when we are surrounded by people with like interests who genuinely care about our well being. It is one thing to be friendly at work, but it entirely something else to invest yourself in friendships. If you have them, treasure them. If you don’t have them, you need to get out there and actively search them out. In both good times and bad, friendships are an essential part of life, and we all need to regard them as such. Leaders, you need true friends in your life.
Leaders, what are you doing to invest in meaningful friendships?
Please engage the discussion and let us know how maintain balance in your life through friendships. Feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back soon for the next post on Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.
Posted in Communication, Culture, Development, Global, Leadership, Networking, Potential, Re:create Series, Re:create... Friendships | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, Game Changing Future, Potential, reinvention, reward, success, winning results | Leave a Comment »
March 30, 2011
Last week we looked at some common myths surrounding change management that have the potential to derail the change effort. Organizational change often reminds me of the movie Jumanji that involves a supernatural boardgame that brings its jungle world to life and puts the actual players in jeopardy of being maimed, or perhaps worse yet, caught in the drama forever. Sound familiar? It’s a jungle out there, and if you want to avoid drama that could maim your change effort, not only do you need to dispel myths (last weeks post), but you also need to put solid game rules in place that will keep everyone on the same game board. Here are some suggestions to foster effective change:
1. Acknowledge The 300 Pound Gorilla In The Room
Don’t try and institute change covertly
- silence, denial and mislabeling always make the situation worse. Call the gorilla, well… a gorilla – let your people know that there are uncomfortable changes taking place. Demonstrate your commitment by asking your opinion leaders for their ideas as to how to go about the change… and actually implement the best contributions. If you want your people to embrace change, they must have a chance to voice concerns and offer input. Effective change management includes listening carefully to concerns and fears – perceived, imagined, or legitimate – that could become barriers. Open communication provides valuable insight, letting you lay the foundations for effective change.
2. Provide Clear, Concise Communications
Even the most dedicated employees want to know how change will affect them personally. It is critical to provide clear and accurate information to the furthest extent possible. Whether they say it or not, people will naturally question:
- How the change will affect them
- What they will need to do differently
- If they will need additional skills to be successful… if so, how will they learn them?
- How they will know if the change is good for them
- If the change will affect their position. Will they be moved or eliminated?
Communicate openly. People can more easily accept change if they know what to expect. Managing expectations is tricky, but it’s vital to success. Make the case for change - provide a clear and convincing rationale for the change and support it with sound evidence. Let those affected know about the proposed change in advance. Advise everyone of the honest implications for individuals, teams, functions, and organizations.
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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Resources, Strategic Planning, Team Building, The Challenge of Change, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, Execution, Global Leadership, Leadership, organizational insight, results, Strategic Planning, success, transformational management, winning results | 2 Comments »
March 22, 2011
It is inevitable – change creates drama in most organizations. However, you have a choice as to whether you deal with change effectively or let it spiral out of control - controlling you and creating unnecessary drama! Leaders need to be able to present a unified vision and convey support if they expect their people to embrace change. Indifference can lead to a rapid demise of the change effort. As a leader invoking change, make sure you provide:
- A vision for how the change will impact the individual, team, division and organization
- A firm commitment to change goals, while accepting input on the details
- Specific, achievable objectives along with plans for achieving them
- A roadmap for success with realistic timelines, budgets, and owners
- A communication framework to support change adoption
- Opportunities for people to give feedback during and after the change
Admittedly, organizational change is complex, but we often make it harder on ourselves than it has to be. Just as in the board game Clue, it is easy to engage in false assumptions that can lead our people down the path of suspicion and drama – away from the truth and the ultimate win. The result? A whole lot of ambiguous thinking regarding the application of structured, human-focused, change within the organization.
Here are just a few examples of how we can easily fall victim to false assumptions over our own realities:
People Resist Change: Actually, not always. People frequently seek out drastic changes in their lives and voluntarily embrace them. People do, however, resist being forced to change.
How change is presented and managed will impact its success or failure far more than the change itself. Most of us respond far better to change when we comprehend a valid reason for it – without solid justification, most people are likely to resist anyone who tries to force change upon them… and cause drama along the way.
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Posted in alignment, Change, Communication, Global Leadership, Leadership, Part 1, Potential, Save The Drama Series, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged Change, Change Management, complexity, Execution, global alignment, Global Leadership, influence, Leadership, Potential, results, Strategic Planning, success, synergy, transformational management, Unity of Purpose, winning results | Leave a Comment »
August 20, 2010
We go to business school to learn all the right skills, but what are the right skills? Of course we all need to know the fundamentals of basic business management, but what about those critical, but less obvious, competencies that global executives must know in order to succeed? What are those essential skills not taught in business school that often cause high potential leaders to derail and never achieve their potential? Here are a few important aspects of global leadership that are not taught in business school:
1) How To Create A Global Vision:
“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizon are limited by obvious realities. We need men and women who can dream of things that never were.” ~ John F. Kennedy
The problem with this statement is that many global leaders do not know how to create a vision, do not realize how very vital it is to the success of their organization, nor what to do with the vision once they have finally figured it out. Here are a few simple tips:
- Work backward from your imagination, rather than forward from your past – the old adage, “What got you here, will not get you there” is an absolute truth.
- Remember that whatever you can imagine, you can accomplish
- Ask yourself some revealing questions as you develop your vision:
- What is an enormous strategic opportunity within your domain/organization/industry?
- What would change your business and your clients business forever?
- What is missing that would truly revolutionize the products/services/processes/etc.? (Think Apple, Netflix, Facebook…)
- What will take your company/domain from status quo to breakthrough?
- What are you so passionate about that you would be willing to transform not only your company, but yourself?
- Think through and understand what it is going to require of you and the organization to realize the vision: Realistically ensure the benefits outweigh the costs
- Document and Publish an explicit, living, breathing, step by step plan that senior leaders, peers and staff can buy into and share ownership.
2) How to Execute With A Results Orientation
They don’t teach the dogged determination that creates the ability to execute in business school, but this quality is more important in making people successful and in executing in global business than any other. However, if that is all it takes to execute, why do so many executives lack this ability? Because there is no system, formula, strategy, or tactical plan behind the vision – there is a weak results orientation and a lack of process knowledge to support forward movement (aside from a few additional factors we will cover next week). Naturally, it is important to begin with the end in mind, but many executives are so focused on the end, they end up chasing their tails and accomplishing little. Here are some straight forward ways for executives to facilitate their ability to execute:
- Focus on the process, not the prize – concentrate on what will produce the results, rather than the results themselves.
- Get and stay connected – identify key strategic partners that can help you get where you want to go and consistently engage.
- Have both a tactical and a strategic plan.
- Execute one step at a time – By the inch it’s a cinch, by the yard it will be hard.
- Consistently engage ALL key players across boundaries & borders – without the buy-in and commitment of critical resources you will never succeed.
- Listen, don’t just hear – listen to what your subject matter experts are telling you and remain flexible in your gameplan.
- Incorporate strict accountability measures – if no one is openly accountable, little will get done.
3) How To Network For Success
There is great power in knowing you can reach out to your network whenever you have a problem to solve, to be able to reach key influencers at conferences and meetings, to make an impression on audiences, to project confidence and trustworthiness, and to make friends with other successful people. The ability to connect on many levels is essential to success in global business – in fact many top executives say networking is one of the top reasons for their success. Surrounding yourself with successful and intelligent people will allow you to consistently think smarter, as well as having access to brilliant people that will support your objectives and provide valuable insights. Networking presents opportunities to interact on a personal level and to develop profitable relationships. Most people have a reluctance to connect with strangers, however in business talking to strangers is essential and the only effective way to generate interest and support for what you do. It is so easy to stay within your controlled environment, however if you only talk to people you already know, you will miss significant opportunities to make new connections, establish valuable connections, and position yourself for success.
The greatest people in business have certain attributes in common. Some are natural gifts, others are learned attributes. Beyond personal qualities -
Can we prevent the derailment of high potential global leaders through the acquisition of critical skills not taught in business school?
Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for Part 2 of “Business School or School of Hard Knocks?”
Posted in Business School Part 1, Development, Education, Global, Leadership, Potential, School of Hard Knocks Series, Value Creation | Tagged Change Management, coaching, Cultural Orientation, Execution, Global Vision, mentoring, politics, Strategic Planning, Succession, Talent Acquisition, Value Creation | Leave a Comment »
