Tag: The trU Group

Should we do an employee survey?
By Scott

Should we do an employee survey?

I always say great conversations start with a question, and this one was offered up to me recently and it really got me thinking . . . . .   Why should we do an employee survey?

Let me first state a couple of core beliefs I have about employee surveys.

First, talent management is about having great conversations.  Conversations are a place where two people come together and do equal amounts of listening and sharing.   To accomplish it, great conversations start with a question.  Especially for people in power (leaders, parents, etc.),  before you respond to anything you need to know what the other person is thinking and/or feeling.  As soon as your opinion hits the table, it changes the conversation.  Culture is built one relationship at a time, so doing this listening / sharing / conversation thing well is critical to people feeling good about their role, feeling part of something special, knowing what they need to be working on, etc  .  .  .   FYI – this is often called Employee Engagement.

Secondly, an employee survey is the leadership team asking two general questions of each person in their organization:  How are you feeling?  How are we doing as leaders?  When the answers are rolled up by team, division, entire organization, some great things emerge (your organizational strengths) and some themes that point you towards areas where you can improve your culture / leadership also emerge.  What you do with those answers tells the organization you are listening, and ultimately makes people FEEL like someone is listening to them and willing to respond to their feedback. (ie.  your opinion matters)  The debrief is to find a way to start another conversation to establish some priorities around  – What do we need to KEEP doing?  What do we need to START doing?  What do we need to STOP doing?  Notice I always use WE because this is not a leadership to do list.  Culture is everyone working to make your organization a special place to work.

Here are a few questions that I ask clients:

Q1: Give me your gut answer – Why do you think you need to do one?  What would you want out of a survey?

 Take a look at the answer and if contains any messages like “have to” or “always done one” or “they did one so we should” then I would recommend thinking through it a little more. By themselves, these are the wrong reasons.

Was one of your answers to the second question “to identify ineffective leaders”?   Safety is critical in these surveys, and leadership effectiveness should be measured by performance of the team (metrics) and cultural fit (which can be assessed by a survey).  If your metrics and/or accountability for performance are weak, a survey is not the place to start.  Focus your efforts on one on one ongoing management conversations and your annual performance conversations.

If your answer to the second question is rooted in a discontent that you are feeling or you have had some surprises in outlying divisions where key people have left suddenly that surprised you but did not surprise the people that were left (or maybe they were thankful), then there is probably an issue in how effectively the leadership team is in listening to the entire organization and identifying opportunities to strengthen culture.  Any employee survey can help address this, and an ROI number can probably be determined.

Q2:  What do you think you do well as leaders?  What makes this place special?

Q3:  How do you think your people would answer the above Q2 questions?  What is your confidence level, based on your current habits around leaders listening to concerns AND cascading those positive and negative themes up the organization so the leadership team can continue to maintain/build culture through strategy?

Q4:  Is that confidence level from Q3 good enough for you to say you are effectively listening to your people? 

If yes, spend your time and resources somewhere else. 

If NO, then a survey can help you listen and put some reasons around both the positive and the negative vibes you are getting from your people.

A few comments to those organizations that are growing quickly . . . . . .

My experience is that there are two things that get in the way of listening well – growth (bigger and locations) and management layers.  If you have 4+ locations it is difficult for any leader to get there often enough to establish the familiarity and relationships with the team so they can get an accurate reading of what people are feeling.  Habits like monthly breakfasts with groups, showing up at lunch and sitting with different people weekly (or daily) are all habits that replace the need for surveys.  This is just not a CEO habit, but a habit for all executive leaders.

Management layers make it difficult for accurate information to move up the organization.  If you have 4 or more layers of management (CEO – frontline supervisor) it is hard to move opinions/feedback up and down the organization effectively.  Remember the telephone game as kids?  A message gets passed around a circle until the person who started the message gets it back.  Is the end message ever the same as when it started?  Rarely.  Hmmmmm . . . . . .    Layers create the same situation.  If you have 4 or more layers of management it makes listening and reacting a little bit like the telephone game.

So the bottom line is that the answer to Do we need to do a survey is . . . . It depends.

What other reasons or resources would you add to this post based on your experience?

 

 

By Scott

#nicematters

Today I am giving a speech at the celebration honoring 11 high school seniors who are receiving the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award. It is one I received thirty years ago, and a long time family friend asked me if I would be willing to come back and help them honor these young leaders. It was an easy YES.

I need your help. If you have a Twitter account, please post a comment today saying thank you to someone in your life that is deserving of a heartfelt thank you, and then use the hashtag #nicematters.

Here is the why behind that request. I am sharing three tips with them:

  • Learn to say NO
  • Face to Face: Show your best YOU
  • Store Gratitude (keep a #nicematters file with notes you receive from others)

At the end of my talk, they will get a thank you card with #nicematters on it, and I will ask them to practice gratitude with someone by sending them a note in the next 24 hours. I will also ask them to tweet a thank you to someone, and attached the hashtag #nicematters to it. When they look, I would love them to see a bunch of other messages from different people with the same hashtag.  I need your help to make a point with these 11 future leaders.

For me this is one of my Google-Time activities.  When I started my business four years ago, I made a pledge that I would spend 10% of my time saying YES to certain things because they were fun.  Today is one of those days.  The request cane from a friend who has known me since I was born, and my kids, my Mother, my Father, and my Aunt Ginny will be coming.

Thank you for helping the message of gratitude get passed today!

By Scott

A lens for your talent conversations: 30-30-40 Conversation™ Rule

I spent a year working with some friends on a product to help people have conversations.  It hit me as my kids grew up that having meaningful conversations actually became harder as they grew up.  I also watched grandparents have the same challenge.  Alas, like any great idea someone else came up with the same idea and put it into a nice plastic case.  Table Topics is actually a fun and effective thing to have around.  We own two.  🙂

That exercise taught me something.  Great conversations have a nice balance of past, present, and future topics.  The lens I use to view every talent management conversation is governed by a simple rule: 30-30-40.

30% Past: Performance is measured in the past.  Our learning is measured in the past.  Spending time there is important.  Celebrations happen here.  Learning happens here (especially: what did not work).  Self awareness gets generated here because fresh memories reveal where we are at our best and where we struggle.

30% Present: Today is important because in it are the unsolved problems or the worries we bring to work.  In this space are the questions like: What are your top priorities today?  What is hot?  What are you concerned or worried about?  Life happens here, and relationships are built here.  There is no guessing about the present – it is what it is.

40% Future: The biggest chuck by design.  Defining our future, dealing with worries or barriers, and asking people “How can I support you?” all happen in this space.  This is the #1 neglected piece of the 30-30-40 Conversation™ rule.  Goals get set here.  Barriers and development needs are defined proactively here.

The lens put into our glasses help us to see more clearly.  Try this lens on your next conversation around performance, team meeting, or one on one.  How do things look?

This lens is actually where the trU came from in The trU Group.  trUth and trUst happen when it is used.

Great conversations are such a gift.  Go share one.

By Scott

7 Books That Make Great Gifts For A New Job

My personal graduation party count is in the teens now and I am not done.  Strangely I find myself energized with each new party because it gives me a chance to connect with a graduate, hear some of their plans, and revisit their first 18 years by looking at all the pictures they (or their parents) have posted.  It if fun and scary at the same time.  I always appreciate the graduates that look me in the eye and admit some of those fears.  I get it.

Transitions are like that – fun and scary.  Fun because of all the new things that are presented to us – new people, new challenges, new learning, and new perspectives.  Scary because they often bring us into unfamiliar territory that will challenge our basic beliefs and put us into situations where we will experience failure.

Failure.  It is a word that nobody likes to hear, and yet it is so necessary to learn.  One of the reasons I like hanging around a start-up minded community is they see failure as a way to grow.  You cannot have growth without it.  While graduation is a great thing to celebrate, those graduates that will be going off to their first job in the next several months will need more help.  The help they need is the support from the people around them for a great start in that new role.  In the corporate world it is called, and when it is done well it provides a foundation for success.  The key to onboarding is really after the program(or first 2 weeks), when the work begins.  Being able to step into that work with the right perspective and attitude is critical.

Lets focus on the college graduate that will be starting their first job. As part of any new beginning, it is good to mark that day with a gift.  Here are several books that have the potential to equip people and start some great conversations that will lead to a successful transition into their new role.

If you have read my blog long enough you know that I believe in learning pairs.  My philosophy of giving a book as a gift is simple – keep the books thin(<200 pages) and as part of the gift offer to read it/discuss it with them.  (here are some other helpful gift giving tips)

 

 

By Scott

Beware of MORE Leadership

I was once asked during start-up of my own business what my sales plan was.  I thought for a second about my business plan, the problems that I wanted to solve, the clients I wanted to help – – and then, after a deep breath, I said “MORE”.  MORE is a great start-up word and a great growth word.  I have seen it uttered by 10 month old companies and 25 year old companies.  The last great recession we faced, MORE became a very important word as companies scrambled for cash.

The truth is – At some point, MORE is not enough.

1.  It is not enough when you are faced with a choice: doing work X that gets you excited, in a new industry, but not as profitable vs work Y that is what you do well, feels a little bit boring to your entrepreneurial energies, nurtures/expands your current customer base, and creates a healthy cash flow.  MORE provides no focus, only motion.

2.  It is not enough when your team looks to you, as the leader, for some direction around ‘How did we do?”  When you point to MORE, say thank you, and then head off in your new luxury car that MORE helped you afford – – they begin to see what MORE did for you, and then their part of MORE seems not enough.  Dilbert owes some if its success to MORE leadership.

3.  It is not enough when you are looking at your own succession/future, and the two people that could move into your role and your measure of their ability to understand MORE and follow your lead is the only measure you have.  MORE leaders hire MORE leaders.

4.  It is not enough when you want to sit back for a few months, catch your breath, and enjoy some of the fruits of your MORE labor.  Your team is left wondering when MORE became ENOUGH, and in a few weeks begins to believe ENOUGH is the goal now.  When you re-engage, probably starting with the lecture around accountability and ownership – they get confused, angry, and sometimes bitter.  MORE becomes an irritating word.  MORE erodes TRUST.

4.  No celebrations can be planned around MORE because it is always moving.

5.  When MORE is used as a goal for a career change, it moves you towards increases in the numerical parts of a job, but not necessarily the passion/energy/fit parts.  Inevitably the MORE reasons will move to NOT ENOUGH.

6.  No development plans or talent management activities can be directed by MORE goals.  Are MORE Nicer or MORE Communication real targets?

MORE has its place in circumstances where it is important to push forward through things and speed to opportunities is critical.  It is okay to be in a MORE state, but staying there for long periods of time is not healthy.

More can help you get to BETTER, but it will never get you to BEST.

 

By Scott

Leaders – How are your people feeling? 3 Tips for starting this conversation

In a career transition program I facilitate in Michigan, our second day starts and ends with the question How do you feel?.  It is a critical and strategic because it challenges people to put one word around where they are at that moment, and as facilitators we can use that word to know where we need to spend more time to circle back for some one on one conversations.  It is not about fixing someone’s answer, but more about giving a voice to knowing when there is a potential barrier to learning/doing the work.  This is one of those keeping the pulse strategies, that allows a group to move forward to important work, lets individuals share where they are at that moment, and in a very direct way ask for help or pause for a celebration.

So what can we do as leaders to create those moments?

First, Do you believe it is important to give your people space to air some of this stuff? If yes, read on.  If no, I encourage you to read one of two books: First Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham/Curt Coffman or Drive by Daniel Pink.  I share these not to make you a psychologist.  My advice to leaders is their best focus is NOT to try and get inside the heads of their people, but try and get what is inside the heads of their people on the table so it can be talked about. I probably opened a can of worms with that comment – consider the comment section of this blog as a space to explore that if you desire.  I am happy to defend/discuss it there.  Back to the question – How can a leader get feedback on what is on the minds of their team?

Here are 3 habits that will help you understand where your people are in terms of what is on their minds and/or how they are feeling:

1.  Meeting space (weekly/monthly) – The question: Create an agenda item at the beginning:  Around the room:  3 Wins this week/month and 1 frustration.  The execution: Just listen.  Be ready to plug a big frustration aired by the team into a brainstorming/problem solving space later in the meeting or ask the person to connect later in the day with you to spend some time.  If you are uncomfortable with asking/handling this question/space – get some training/mentoring soon.  Not being able to ask this question and process the answers effectively will be an issue.

2. Create regular space/time to connect directly with employees – The question: What is one question you have or you are hearing that needs an answer?  (note the strategy – people can ask their question (higher risk) or just share one from someone else.  The execution: Make this a monthly habit with coffee and donuts.  This space should be all non-direct reports and select based on anniversary dates for that month / birthdays / just became a leader in the last year / new employee that month/quarter.  The key is make it inclusive and give you a chance to listen.  Small company?  Pizza once a month and find a round table – and whoever is there gets the question.

3.  At monthly/weekly one on ones – The question: Give me one word – how are you feeling?  (Yes it is a little squishy for some, but trust me it is an effective question).  The execution: If you are not comfortable handling the conversation – you need some development help as a leader.  The ROI:  The $ spent getting better at this will save your organization $$$$ in the future and will probably have a positive impact on your relationships outside of work too. (marriage, kids, partner, name it . . . . )

 

Mini trU Tip: Why I think some coaching training for leaders is critical? When you invite people share things stuff will come out that requires you as a leader to: 1) Ask more questions to help the individual reveal what is at the core of this issue  2)  Help the individual identify one thing they can do to address it or explore it more so it can be solved at some point in the future.  If you want to spend some time learning about the voice of a coach I direct you to a blog I love by Mary Jo Asmus or a book I like called Co-Active Coaching.  My only caveat is that spending time in both of these resources will help you experience the voice of a coach, and especially the Co-Active Coaching book will help you understand the process of coaching.  In the end, if you want to become proficient at it plan on starting with a year-long commitment to learn about it and practice it.

By Scott

New word for your leadership toolbox – Capacity

In a recent conversation I was sharing a story with a mentor and friend about how I handled a difficult moment in a facilitation.  As I reflected back on how I reacted to the individual causing the problem in the session, the outcomes, and how some of my facilitation work in the past year prepared me she shared with me a reflection of her own:  Scott, you have increased your capacity to manage a space filled with many different perspectives and voices.

That word caught me off guard.  I started my career in a capacity planning role worried about the output of a steel mill and then 80+ injection molding machines.  It was a very familiar word for me, and yet it was one that I had only use with very physical and definable assets . . . And I like it!

If you are focused on your own ongoing growth of skills and knowledge, or have a team of people that you are helping prepare for future roles or challenges, this is a word that you should add to your toolbox.  Here are two examples of conversations where it could be valuable:

  1. Preparing a team for change: What is the capacity of this team to handle this change?  What will it require of us?  What proven skills and talents do we have?  What is one area we need to increase our capacity?
  2. Your own development: What part of your job are you “at capacity” and feel like you cannot possibly have any more to give?  What part of your job are you avoiding because it is unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and/or undesirable – but important?  If you added 10% capacity in that area what would that look like?  How can that be accomplished?

Coaching is about increasing capacity in clients.  I get great satisfaction when I hear people say they see themselves differently and, as a result, are able to navigate situations effectively that would have tripped them up in the past.  One of my all-time favorite books on development is Mastery by George Leonard.  Inherent in a journey to mastery is a commitment to always be open and able to increasing your own capacity.

Capacity is a tried and true manufacturing word, and a great word for the world of managing talent in an economy putting so much emphasis on the knowledge and capacity of people.

How does the term capacity show up in your conversations today?

What other words are cornerstones to your talent conversations?

mini-trU Tip: The only way to know your true capacity is to exceed it because you push the boundaries.  That was true when I first started my career worrying about the capacity of equipment, and it is equally true as I enter the second decade of a career focused on the capacity of people.  A good topic for another blog posting . . . .

 

By Scott

3 Books That Make Great Graduation Gifts

College graduation is coming up, and after last weekend working with 21 students in Michigan through our Governor’s Economic Summit I have been thinking a lot about what I experienced and ways in which all of us can invest in someone starting a career.  While high school graduations might compel us to get something like Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss, college is a little different.  Here are three books that would be great gifts for a new grad to help them to success in their first job and connect you with that success:

LinchPin by Seth Godin:  A little longer, but is focused on helping people be purposeful about building their brand and reputation through their work.  It is a good balance between practical advice and thinking bigger.

Great On The Job by Jodi Glickman: This book is targeted at college students.  I have also used some of the advice Jodi gives (especially around getting feedback) with some of the mid/late career transition individuals I coach through Shifting Gears, but she targets the new grad.  Our governor is actually giving a signed copy to each student from our recent summit.

Effective Immediately by Emily Bennington and Skip Lineberg: I am preparing to review this book and share my thoughts through my TruTips, but in advance I also like this book.  It differs from Jodi’s book in that it provides lots of 1 page tips for individuals.  How I would make this a great gift would be for you to write a note that identified your top 5 and pledge to be a mentor as they read and use this in their first job.

There are other books new professionals should read, but hold off until they get a job.  I actually like one of the chapters in Effective Immediately where the authors give them a list of books to keep in their cubicle and to read.  The great thing about all of these books is they are focused on helping them be successful, and coupled with a pledge from you of some time to read it with them/mentor them – this actually become a great gift.

By Scott

How do I know you are a high potential? My 5 Qualifiers

As I watched them present, I realized that in the 16 hours since I last saw them – they got better.  It made me smile.

Sunday I had the opportunity to join a group of coaches to help 21 students looking for jobs in Michigan prepare to address 500+ business leaders and tell their story in 3 minutes.  The workshop included them presenting their story 4-6 times and having their peers and their coach give them feedback on what they did well and what is one thing they could do to improve next time.  Not surprisingly, they got better.  But what really made me smile is that after we sent them off (paired up with another student to do one on one coaching with each other), they returned and they demonstrated a huge leap in performance from the previous day.  In my 10 plus years being around high potentials through leadership development programs, it reminded me that is what high potentials do.

Are you a high potential?  Here are five things that tell me you qualify:

  1. You learn when I am not looking: If you read some of the research by Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger they call this Learning Agility.  It is measurable and backed by research.  When I am helping leaders teams think about potential and what it looks like I use the book The Leadership Machine.  If you are charged with developing leaders in your organization, this should be in your library because it is backed with research and it will help you focus on the right things in your efforts to find and develop leaders.
  2. I experience your infectious energy: High potentials might not be the smartest person in the room, but they are never accused of being disengaged or along for the ride.  They see problems as opportunities, and that rubs off on the people around them.
  3. You listen: In any relationship a key part of listening is receiving feedback.  I know people hear something because instantly it is reflected in their performance and they say thank you in such a sincere manner that you know they appreciated it and are going to strongly consider it.  Listening is also apparent from the questions that people ask.  When you ask questions that help clarify or lead the speaker to an area they need to address next or completely missed, it means you are listening.
  4. I see you teaching: I watched strangers give each other great feedback, both on the positive and the negative (ie. improvement) aspects of their performance.  It was great, and it was extremely accurate.  I also found myself learning.  They showed me how about effective networking and gave me some tips about how colleges are preparing students today.
  5. I see results: In the end, high potentials figure out the learning curve and get to a result.  Most of the time it is quicker than what is expected, and often time the answer redefines what would be considered a great outcome.  The improvement and final deliverable of the performance is the special sauce.

One thing I did not include is “Everyone likes you.”  I left that out because high potentials have to learn to manage relationships effectively with peers and subordinates, but often times that lesson is part of the learning / development program.  It is critical that leaders like and respect you, so the ability to manage up and do the work is critical from the beginning.  Ultimately, high potentials should not move up without learning the craft of building respect at all levels and demonstrating the ability to build healthy relationships and teams – but that is for another blog.

If you want to see some of these students speak, here is a link.

Do you have anything to add to my list based on your experience?

4 Keys To Successful Transitions
By Scott

4 Keys To Successful Transitions

Not Cool Robert Frost

If you have not seen the Kid President video on YouTube you should.  It has been played in our house through Apple TV no less than 12 times, with the funniest being watching my 86 year old father viewing it with his grandchildren saying “Isn’t this great Grandpa!”  It might not connect with all generations, but he was gracious. 🙂

There is a part in the video where Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken, is referenced and the kid president talks about how hard that road is with all the rocks, thorns, etc. . .   He then delivers the line – “Not cool Robert Frost”.  That line resonated and has been often repeated by my teenage daughter.  In the last two weeks, almost daily I have found situations where I repeat it.

Not cool Robert Frost

I love transitions.  People.  Teams.  Companies.  There is much to be gained in a great transition, and there is lots at stake because it is not an easy road.  Even in a successful transition there will be moments of failure.  My experience tells me that there are four key things that have to be there for a successful transition (whether it is corporate or individual):

  1. Desire to make the change
  2. Community of support for individuals doing the change (including at least 2 people willing to provide one on one support)
  3. Willingness and ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn (thanks for those words Greg Hartle) as part of the process.
  4. Resilience to do the work, regardless of the conditions (this is leadership)

As I look at this list, I see number 2 and 3 as the things anyone can be working on today regardless of their situation.  In fact, if you are not doing the work of making those a part of your work life, you are guaranteeing yourself / team / organization a difficult journey.

A story.  I was talking to someone who had successfully transitioned to a new role, only to have it go away months later.  The one thing they stopped doing when they landed?  Building/maintaining their community (#2).   Networking and maintaining your community is easy to stop when we are ‘busy’.   But it is the road that will become overgrown if not used at least a little.  It is also the piece that takes time to rebuild.  We create more rocks and thorns for ourselves when we stop doing all of the work of preparing ourselves, our teams, or our organizations for the transitions that will occur.

It is okay to rest, but don’t stop doing the work of preparation.  And when you hit a rock or a thorn, just blame Robert Frost and keep moving. 🙂