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There are two things every leader wants from their organization: Predictability and Reliability.
To tell you the truth, every stakeholder wants these two things from every organization – they’re that important. Take the stock market for example. In the stock market, if you project results and then deliver or exceed those results you are rewarded, and if you fail you are punished. In the government, if an elected official can be relied upon to do what he or she has promised, they stay in office, and if not they end up being voted out. Not for profit organizations are answerable to their funders in the same way—providing the expected results in the expected time. Even employees want to count on their jobs to be there and that they are able to do their jobs in an environment with predictable methods, policies, and procedures.
These two main factors are important for professionals, customer service, education, and, many would argue, popular entertainment like television and music. Even household products! Being predictable means we can measure where we are and where we should be. Reliability is about trust. Can you trust this person, company, or organization to deliver on its promises? We all want the people, things, and organizations to do what they are supposed to do.
When a company decides to change they become, as far as people are concerned, unpredictable. There is doubt among employees, shareholders, and customers about the company’s ability to fulfil its promises even if it has reliably done so in the past. “Why the change?” they ask, “If it’s not broke don’t fix it” they say, “and if it is broke that must mean it’s all over!”
As a leader, navigating a large organizational change is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish, because it is accompanied by doubt and fear from all sides. Remember your goals, and keep reminding your employees, customers and shareholders that this change will be for the better. Steering your organization through the change curve and back to a more-comfortable state of reliability and predictability may be one of your greatest leadership challenges. Have confidence in yourself, and faith that the effort will be worth it and you will be successful.
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 David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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Whether looking to solve new problems or to increase efficiency, change is necessary for organizations of all sizes and make-ups. But change is rarely easy, and all too often companies flounder about hoping that rallying cries and motivational speeches will generate the changes required for success. When I work with an organization that is looking to make a shift, I focus my effort on two main areas:
1. What is working and not working at a task level?
What is getting in the way of accomplishing any given task? This is a diagnostic assessment where we identify the true opportunities for change versus the presenting problem. If sales figures are down, that is a presenting problem. The true opportunity is what is getting in the way of making sales. There can be many tasks that need to be examined, and maybe not every task needs changes. Where we find a true opportunity is where we then focus on creating effective change.
2. How is the organization operating?
How are they doing it (or not), and what do they need to do differently? This is less about the details of individual tasks and more about how the overall corporate structure and culture are operating. The sales example above can be fixed with changes at the managerial level, but when we look at a larger organizational problem, we need to look at larger processes to find the opportunities and solutions. Sometimes this means moving the right people into the right roles, sometimes policies have to change, and sometimes it means more significant shifts in the way an organization is structured and operates must be undertaken.
What happens is, all too often, people focus on one or the other. This is usually because most leaders have strengths in only one of these areas. Some leaders are great at identifying problems, and what needs to change, but not so great at figuring out or implementing the actual changes in operations. Some leaders are good at making changes in procedures or policy, but without correctly identifying what needs to change, this can be a wasted or even counterproductive effort. The secret to successful change is to keep both areas in mind.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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Mobility and flexibility are some of the watchwords of the 21st century workforce. People now take it for granted that they will be changing jobs frequently, moving from company to company and position to position. Besides the challenges presented by a new position (or the same position in a new location), you need to be able to adapt and succeed in a new environment. You have a new team, new structures, a new corporate culture, and maybe a new country with all its political, linguistic, religious, and cultural differences. So what is the best way to succeed?
There are 2 keys:
1. Build your network.
Whether it is a new company, or a new location, you will be surrounded by new people. These people are essential to helping you succeed, and so you need to know them, how they work and how they think. Take the time to cultivate individual relationships with them, even if you don’t work with them directly. The time you spend developing a trusted network will pay dividends in the future.
2. Understanding culture.
How does this organization work? Even if it’s the same company, a new location (even a different building down the street) can have a different culture. Take the time to learn about the larger culture. Each organization and location has its unique ways of reacting to authority, thinking about the best way to work together, and even ways of conversing. Go out and ask questions. Be genuinely curious and be willing to learn. You don’t have to adopt all aspects of the new culture, but you have to respect it if you want respect in return.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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Organizational change is a huge task, and often an overwhelming experience, that requires very strong leadership. If you are not willing to lead it, you will not succeed. While small changes can be accomplished by delegating to others, transformational change needs strong leadership, and requires everyone in leadership positions to be aligned and committed to moving in the same direction.
As a leader, you have probably been thinking about, planning, and analyzing the change(s) you want to implement for a long time. Of course! You wouldn’t be leading change initiatives if you were not convinced it would be for the better. The problem is that your leaders, managers and employees have not been thinking as much about change, and they need time to both adjust to the idea of change, and accept that change is necessary.
When it comes to your role and your leadership effort I always refer to the change curve. In the early stage of the change, your leadership effort has to increase. You have to invest more and more effort into that change (think: aligning the leadership team, cascading communications, engaging managers and subordinate managers, collecting feedback, influencing influencers) until the organization reaches critical mass.
Critical mass means that enough people have adopted the change that it is now self-sustaining. It is at this point, and this point only, that your leadership effort can start to decrease. There is no metric for critical mass—or at least no metric I have found. Sometimes once 20% of your organization has adopted changes it is enough for critical mass. Sometimes it takes 50% or more! It doesn’t matter if your organization has 20 people or 1000 people. What is vital is that you as leader know when that critical mass is achieved.
How do you know you have reached critical mass?
It’s all about your results. Usually you implement change because results are poor, or stagnant, or not improving by as much as you want. The irony of change is that as it starts to take effect and as you are giving more than you have ever given before, the results haven’t started to improve yet! This is right before critical mass. People are distracted and focusing on the adaptation to change and results are suffering. This is a dramatically demoralizing point when you have to be the best leader you have ever been. You can’t lose faith. It is essential to stay on track and get over the last hump before it starts getting easier, and your results start to improve.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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The sea of information surrounding leadership styles can be nothing short of confusing. From transactional to autocratic to laissez-faire, finding that “perfect” leadership style is seen as an important factor in helping both you and your organization achieve success. So, which one is best? Which one will work in every single situation? The answer may surprise you.
The Number One Leadership Style Is . . .
There is no perfect leadership style. Different styles will work best for certain individuals in different organizations. The simple reality is that your leadership style – the way you communicate, delegate, manage, and perform – is going to depend on your personality, temperament, and experience, as well as where you are, and what’s going on around you.
There are, however, a few things that help define all great leaders, regardless of what style, or styles, they employ:
- Great leaders are connoisseurs of talent. The best leaders know how to find the best people and bring them together to create high performing teams, and ultimately achieve organizational goals.
- Great leaders have the ability to continually remind people what is important. The best leaders keep individuals and teams focused on the organization’s vision, strategy and goals. Consistently asking “what are we focused on right now?” and understanding how that effects – or does not effect – the company’s end goals means leaders can efficiently guide their organization, and its people, toward success.
A great leader is at the foundation of every successful company and high performing team. Being a great leader though, is not about what style of leadership you subscribe to. Instead it is contingent on your abilities to bring together the best talent and keep them focused on what really matters.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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Frustration and burnout. They’re not uncommon among executives and CEOs, and part of the problem is that all too often you have no one to turn to. Leading an organization or team is hard to do in the best of times, but without someone there to listen, comment, ask questions, and offer advice, it can feel next to impossible. The idea that it’s lonely at the top certainly isn’t new. For CEOs, there are literally hundreds of conversations that simply can’t be had with another person in their organization, and that can be tough. From struggling with important decisions to dealing with conflict, to feelings of uncertainty, the chance to discuss ideas, problems, and even successes is a must.
Finding a Sounding Board
In the past, many executives had personal or professional mentors that provided this level of interaction. These days, though, few people have mentors, and finding a place to turn is complicated. The answer to this is: Executive Coaching.
More Than Listening
While playing the role of a sounding board is certainly an integral part of any executive coaching session, there’s more to it than that. A CEO or executive might invest in coaching so they have someone to bounce ideas off of, but they leave with serious benefits. By ‘talking through’ issues, ideas, and ideals with a coach, executives can:
- Discuss current and lingering issues at a deeper level than can be discussed with others within the organization
- Develop personal and professional goals that help to target and focus their thinking and actions
- Investigate why initiatives in the past were or were not successful, keeping them from repeating mistakes in the future
- Bring to light various perspectives and unique angles to the problems at hand, helping them think ‘outside of the box’
- Holistically look at issues and solutions, ensuring they are engaged in “big picture thinking” rather than quick fixes
- Focus on action items, ensuring conversations lead to actionable steps
A sounding board is designed to give you the outlet you need, helping you find your own ways of tackling the problems that help to invigorate your work or your organization as a whole. Executive coaches can be those outside ears that help initiate that change.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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A typical leadership team resembles a pyramid. The leader is at the top, and executive team members are at the base. It’s the power structure of most organizations in miniature. That hierarchy, however, doesn’t usually work for high performing teams. A high performing team’s structure more often resembles a circle. The leader does not occupy a place of prominence anywhere on the circle; he or she acts much like a member of the team. This kind of team leadership model is used at many levels of NASA (rated #1 for leadership of all American Federal agencies in 2012), and their engineering teams often have no leader at all.
A Circle of Peers
When an executive team operates as a group of peers, the model is a circle. Everyone has their role to play, and the leader has a particular kind of role within the team. Leaders willing to sit in the circle believe that the collective strength of the team is stronger when all of the team members share responsibility for the teams performance. In this structure, the leader is accountable to the team, just as the team is accountable to the leader. Everyone takes ownership of the group’s goals.
It is important that the leader never forget that he or she is the leader. Leaders don’t abdicate their responsibility. Much of it is shared with the team, but not totally given up. It is still the leader’s role:
to keep the team working in the right direction,
to address dynamic problems between members,
and to make decisions when the team may is stuck or has reached an impasse.
They are responsible for ensuring everyone is performing adequately, and to address people who are not. This is not to say team members cannot make decisions or address another member’s poor performance. It’s just that these are usually tasks for the leader.
Respect
For a team to be high performing, it must consistently meet its goals over an extended period of time. One of the most important aspects of a high performing team is mutual respect. When a leader treats his or her team like equals, this respect is reciprocal.
It is both the role that the leader chooses and the values that are implied by the leader’s behaviour that help create high performing teams.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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If you’re familiar with the expression, “you get out what you put in”, you’ll understand that to improve, you must change. Results are the tangible outcomes of improvements and initiatives and can be directly linked to the individual processes and performances within an organization. To achieve a different result, there must be a change in ‘business as usual.’
Organizational Change is like Open Heart Surgery
Actually, it’s more like a complete transplant.
When a new heart is transplanted into the human body, it will only work if the body accepts it. And left to its own devices, it won’t. In fact, the body will naturally try to reject the heart – not realizing that without it, the body will die. This resistance is counterintuitive, but very real. Knowing the very sensitive nature of organ transplants, doctors prepare patients for the surgery with special medications to increase the body’s likelihood of accepting the heart upon implantation; and this extra care continues long after the operation and recovery.
In the business world, for change to be successful, a healthy new idea must replace an old one, and there needs to be special preparation, planning and monitoring to ensure the change has taken hold and is in practice. Left to its own devices; natural resistance will take over and revert back to old habits.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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Oftentimes leaders have to approach team members who are not performing at the appropriate level. Perhaps the leader has implemented changes in the way the team operates, or perhaps the individual has something going on in their personal life that is affecting their work performance. Whatever the reason, if a team member’s behaviour and performance are not where they should be, the leader needs to have a considerate conversation with them. It may seem like a difficult conversation to have, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s not about disciplining that person; it’s about being supportive, and reminding them that in this situation they have choices.
Consideration For The Individual
When someone is not performing adequately, it is a leader’s job to remind them that they are not doing what is expected. There are traditional ways to address this, like saying, “It’s my way or the highway” or “Shape up or ship out.” A much better way is to remind them they have the choice to do the job, or look for a more suitable opportunity. How is this type of conversation any better? It’s better because it comes from a genuine desire to support that person in owning their performance.
Coming to an employee in this way gives them agency. It’s not a threat of termination; it’s a leader asking his or her employee whether they still want the job. If they do, then the leader can offer the necessary support to get them back on track. If not, the leader can still offer support by helping them find a position that they do want. It is their choice whether they want to stay or go. All too often people forget they have options, and instead of choosing to leave a position they don’t want, they let their performance slide. It’s a literal slippery slope.
Consideration For The Team
A good leader has to look out for the team, and must not put up with poor performance. Nothing poisons an organization like a poor performer who is not dealt with. Good performers get resentful as they pull more weight, and one person’s dysfunction can start to spread. For the good of everyone, it is best to deal with a poor performer as soon as possible.
The Actual Conversation
Speaking to someone whose performance is unacceptable doesn’t have to be difficult, tense, or confrontational. The conversation is about what is best for the individual, and the organization as a whole. It is an honest and supportive discussion about what the business needs. If an employee is not interested in working towards the goals of the business, they probably don’t want to be there. The longer this conversation is put off, the harder it gets. A poor performer knows this conversation is coming, and putting it off hurts them too.
The sooner a leader addresses a problem with performance the better. By doing so, a leader supports the individual, the team, and the organization (and albeit, themself).
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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he success of an organization is dependent on its many leaders and their ability to effectively motivate and manage employees. As a leader, incorporating these 6 rules into your communication plan will go a long way in establishing a solid foundation of trust between you and your team.
1. Talk Straight
Being straightforward allows people to understand your position on any issue. Using simple language, without manipulating, distorting facts or telling half-truths will allow people to understand precisely what you mean and where you stand. Do not ignore the tough issues, whether that entails a failed attempt or upcoming problem. Acknowledging an unpleasant issue speaks to your courage and transparency, while simultaneously disarming critics. Over time they will see that they can take your statements at face value.
2. Be Transparent
Tell the truth. And whenever possible make it easy for people to verify it. Make your intentions known and operate with as much disclosure as possible in all situations. It’s OK to admit when you’re wrong, or don’t know the answer. Do not cover up your mistakes when you are wrong and do not let your ego prevent you from admitting mistakes. In fact, it makes you human.
3. Listen Willingly
Building trust is not a one-way street. Understanding others – what is important to them, how they feel about various things, etc. – is paramount to building a trusting relationship.
4. Clarify Expectations
Establish expectations beforehand, never after. Do not assume that others will share your expectations, and never violate the standards you impose on others. Be as specific as possible, detailing what you want from colleagues and employees and assess their actions accordingly.
5. Keep Commitments
Breaking commitments and neglecting obligations is a great way to earn the “untrustworthy” label. If you say you will do something, do it. If you fail to abide, own up to it and do better next time. Make sure to commit only to what is realistic and attainable. Build a strong track record of positive performance so that others are able to count on you, not only to do your job, but do it well. Operate within the time and budget parameters you set before hand, and do not promise what cannot be delivered.
6. Demonstrate Loyalty
Acknowledge the assets and contributions of others; do not take credit for something you did not do. Never speak of someone not present in a way that you would not speak if they were. And do not disclose other people’s private information; you cannot build trust with someone by betraying another.
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David Swain, BSc Mgmt., MSOD, CEC, PCC with over 30 years’ experience in both coaching the leaders of large organizations and leading them himself.
LinkedIn
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