8 Words That Can Kill Your Leadership

Of the hundreds of qualities and attributes that a leader can exhibit, the critical cornerstone qualities that every leader must exemplify without exception are professional integrity and personal trustworthiness.

 

If you are not 100% authentic and credible, your organization’s people will ultimately choose to neither trust you or follow you.

 

While your people are constantly watching your conduct, the decisions that you make, the way that you present yourself, it is your interpersonal communication that your people observe most of all. Do you look them in the eye when you converse with them? Do you shoot straight when you speak? People invariably know when their leaders hesitate, hold back, sugar coat their message or vacillate.

Unfortunately, there are many good leaders who make the crucial mistake of putting their credibility in question by stating the eight words that can potentially kill their leadership. This typically occurs in the course of responding to insightful questions on the part of their people by stating… “Allow me to be completely honest with you.”

Like many everyday expressions and buzzwords, words ultimately convey powerful messages including visual representations to the brain. Quite often and to your potential detriment, the words that you choose can serve to undermine your “intent” and your leadership.

There are a number of similar expressions which as well should be stricken from your leadership communication, which include: 

            “Can I be frank with you?”

            “May I be candid with you?”

            “I’m going to be transparent with you.”

            “I’m going to be blunt with you.”

The response of “Allow me to be completely honest with you” immediately and implicitly implies that you haven’t been appropriately honest with your staff in the past. Although it may be quite unintentional, at that very moment the horse is out of the barn and your personal and professional credibility come under scrutiny and into question.

Here is the big problem with these types of statements… they indirectly convey that you are not always honest (or an honest person). What you are in fact emphasizing is that what you are about to say is something really special, because you are specifically deeming it to be honest.

Your implied need to tell people that you are honest will in fact lessen the level of trust in you as both a person and a leader, as well as what it is that you are about to communicate.

Setting titles and positions aside, there is a distinct difference between individuals who merely “manage” and individuals who truly “lead”. An authentic leader is the custodian of meaningful relationships which are based on trust where people freely and willingly choose to follow said individual as their leader.

It is a matter of allegiance by choice. People do not follow individuals that they do not trust.

The solution is to be authentic, open and honest at all times (without exception). In so doing, you will never place yourself in the position of having to tell people that you are being honest with them. Your people will already know that you are the real deal… a leader in whom they can confidently place their trust.

As your valued resource partner, we look forward to assisting your organization and your people to… Learn more. Do more. Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Leadership In The Truest Sense

The ever present question is… “What” is leadership?

 

At the beginning of our Leadership Academy programs and workshops, the very first question that I typically open up for discussion is… What is leadership? To no surprise, the opinions about what leadership “is” are as varied as the number of people present in the room.

The factual reality is that leadership is in application invariably one thing… “situational”. You need only think back to the countless number of true war stories, books and movies that cite the bravery and leadership of everyday soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines whose combat unit was cornered and in the ensuing firefight, their ranking officers were taken out.

Yet, in the midst of these horrendous situations, there were ordinary service men and woman who stepped forward to take charge of the few remaining troops and then lead them on to heroic victory against overwhelming odds and circumstances.

Although these courageous individuals were without appropriate leadership development training, prerequisite skills or experience, they did possess the key attribute that was required in their respective circumstances… a situational “mindset”.

These individuals weren’t willing to lose the battle. Rather, they were willing to step up, step out and immediately take charge of the situation. They had a mindset that was determined to find a way to protect their comrades and then win the conflict no matter what.

This is exactly why every day citizens run into burning buildings, pull people out of burning automobiles and off of train tracks. They respond to the situation at hand and do what absolutely has to be done without ever thinking twice or blinking an eye. They are willing and comfortable about taking on the situation that is in front of them at that given moment.  

Leadership in its truest sense is ultimately not about titles, positions or even invested authority from an organization.. Authentic leadership is about being willing to make a difference no matter what situation confronts you, your people and your organization..

Are the people in your organization who hold positions of responsibility as supervisors, managers, department heads or members of your executive team appropriately prepared to effectively respond to the “situations” that will inevitably unfold within your organization on a day to day basis?

More importantly, does your organization keep reliving the same situations over and over again?

While many of the common situations in most organizations do tend be repetitive, the more crucial situations are the ones that are unanticipated and occur suddenly without warning.

Consider the situation that James F. Parker was unexpectedly confronted with after only a few months on the job as the new CEO of Southwest Airlines… the tragic events of September 11, 2001. In a mere instant, all airlines in the U.S were immediately grounded for many days, while stranding hordes of passengers and flight crews wherever they randomly happened to be at that given moment.

While the remainder of the airline industry simply sat idly by and waited for further instructions from the government. CEO Parker immediately directed the staff of Southwest Airlines to do everything possible to address the needs of Southwest’s passengers. Among numerous activities, Southwest Airlines employees even went so far as to take their customers bowling and to the movies.

In another situation when an elderly woman’s son who was to drive from Tucson, Arizona to meet his mom in Phoenix was seriously injured in a car crash, while making every attempt to so, Southwest was unsuccessful in booking her passage on another airline, as Southwest didn’t fly into Tucson. When the women landed in Phoenix, a Southwest employee without hesitation went to the employee parking lot, got his car and proceeded to drive the elderly woman over 100 miles to Tucson and her injured son.

What CEO Parker successfully helped his people to understand is that there is a direct correlation between leadership and customer service as they are both “situational”. Moreover, it is this level of comprehension for what leadership “is” that has earned Southwest the reputation for always putting the customer first… no matter what the situation.

As your valued resource partner, we stand ready to assist your organization in developing its situational leadership and helping your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Putting People Before Numbers

Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to both meet and work with executives and business owners from a wide range of business genres and classifications. When I first sit down with them, I always pose the exact same question of them… “Why are you or your organization in business?”

 

With rare exception, their responses are always the same… “To make money”.

The answer is also much the same for nonprofit organizations, municipalities and government agencies. While the responses may be on the order of “To raise funds” or “To increase operating revenue”, the essence of the “why” remains basically the same, to make money.  Nonprofits still need to cover their general operating costs and the cost of the services that they provide. Municipalities in like fashion need to cover their operating costs and the multitude of services which they provide to their citizens and visitors.

In our age of cutting edge technology and the ability to micromanage virtually every facet of our business operations, there is a higher degree of focus on crunching the numbers and managing the organization’s bottom-line than at any other time in history.

Yet, despite all of the enhanced tools that organizations have at their disposal to run their business operations, employee engagement is at an all-time low and employee turnover continues to be astronomically high.

Contrary to this general business trend, there are a select group of highly successful organizations from business, industry and government that have mastered the invaluable lesson of putting people before numbers.

What these organizations have learned firsthand over time is that if they continue to simply hire people to work for their organization’s money, their organization is going to continue to experience employee mediocrity, low engagement and turnover.  

However, when they started hiring people who “believe” in what the organization believes in, their people willingly invested their blood, sweat and tears in a shared belief of the organization’s mission, purpose and goal objectives. These organizations subsequently experienced substantial increases in engagement, productivity, employee job satisfaction and improved customer servicing.

These organizations developed leaders who believe and practice the unselfish act of risking their own interests so that others may excel. With the acute awareness that people are naturally trusting and cooperative, these leaders purposefully chose to provide their people with a trifecta set of successors:

● An environment of safety in which to work freely and creatively.

● Devote their leadership abilities to the purpose of helping others to succeed.

● Provide a tangible vision and pathway to a shared belief of the future.

When people feel that their leaders have their interests at heart, the lookout for each other, work harder, collaborate openly, bring forth their best talents and innovate.

What you need to comprehend is that the peculiar outcome of this unselfish approach to doing business together is that these organizations ultimately “made more money”.

The questions that your organization needs to come to grip with sooner rather than later are:

How much longer are your organization’s leaders going to view leadership in the context of positions and titles, rather than a responsibility to the organization and the people who comprise it?

How much longer is your leadership going to fixate its primary focus on revenue generation?

And lastly… “why”?

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Training Versus Development

How many times in your life have you heard someone say that a particular person is a “born” leader? Like most people, probably quite a few times over the years. The question now is… do you and your organization actually believe this to be true?

 

Even a number of renowned experts on the topic of leadership indicate that they buy-in to this concept. Yet contrary to this often held belief, there is no empirical research or data to support such a belief or take such a position. 

While there is no credible evidence to support the idea that leaders are born, there is ample evidence to also support the fact that leaders in like fashion cannot be “trained”. The American Society of Training and Development states that U.S. based businesses spend in excess of 170 billion dollars annually on leadership based curriculums, yet the vast majority of these immense expenditures are spent on leadership “training”.  

Although every human being has a capacity for leadership, such individual potential must be “developed”, which is an entirely different protocol from training.

The problem that exists is that training is grounded in the acquisition of new technical skills, systems and techniques for executing tasks. Moreover, the traditional methodology for training is one dimensional and equates to a one size fits all approach. Whatever the lead sensory system of the trainer happens to be, it will become the singular delivery modality that will be afforded to the trainees in mass. Unfortunately, everyone doesn’t learn the same way, process information in the same way or assimilate the learning opportunity that is being provided in the exact same way.

As well, the vast majority of training is provided in a monologue environment which is typically manifested in the form of lectures and power point presentations. Simply stated, traditional training modalities are delivered in a sterile environment which historically focuses on past experiences and result outcomes… Rather than business pipelines, current trends and future needs.

The idea of training is fundamentally an attempt to standardize people and processes by blending to a “norm”. Consequently, these endeavors are all too often referred to as “best practices”, which are typically the safe play when it comes to normalizing people and processes.

 

In stark contrast, the act of developing leaders focuses on the progressive development of core leadership competencies, knowledge retention and the ability to implement the learning on demand. Developmental leadership is ultimately transformational.

Leaders and leadership candidates readily indicate that they dread training and will seek to avoid it at every turn. However, they embrace the idea of developing their leadership abilities because true development programs are fluid, collaborative, hands-on and actionable. Following below are 10 of the prominent key differences between training and development:

Training conforms to standards > Development focuses on maximizing potential.

Training focuses on the present > Development focuses on the future.

Training indoctrinates > Development educates.

Training tests patience > Development tests courage.

Training focuses on technique and content > Development focuses on people.

Training maintains the status quo > Development serves as a catalyst for innovation.

Training emphasizes compliance > Development enhances performance.

Training focuses on efficiency > Development focuses on effectiveness..

Training is transactional > Development is transformational.

Training blends to a norm > Development transcends above and beyond the norm.

If your organization seeks to distinguish itself, grow forward and evolve as a viable business entity, then your leadership must develop the appropriate competencies to facilitate these outcomes.

As your valued resource partner, we provide formal development programs that will assist your organization, its leadership and your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

How To Deal With Emotionally Charged Situations

As a leader, it is essential for you to have highly developed people skills, especially when it comes to dealing with “emotionally” charged situations.

 

In today’s pressure laden workplace, tension, stress and emotions lie at the heart of virtually every situation. Interactions in the Boardroom and management meetings have become as heated as the Friday night fights. When leaders allow their tempers to flare and their emotions to influence their actions, the outcomes are certain to send a negative ripple surging throughout the organization.

You need only recall former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford barreling over a City Councilor during a city council meeting or the recent Parliament brawls in Turkey, Ukraine and Britain’s House of Commons – To be soberly reminded of the impacts of humanity’s negative potential, even at the highest levels of leadership. When emotions run high, leadership will all too often falter, thereby impacting performance, productivity and morale. 

The circumstance which I am referring to, serves as the basis for what the authors of the NY Times bestseller refer to as “Crucial Conversations”. As you have experienced, crucial conversations occur in personal life and business on a regular basis. These interactions range from conflict resolution, providing constructive criticism, policy and procedure, compensation, task assignments and differences of opinion, to name a few examples.

It is important to understand that there are three specific components that comprise crucial conversations, which consist of:

            ● The “stakes” are high (there is much at risk).

            ● Emotions run high (are emotionally charged).

            ● Opinions differ widely (lack of consensus).

In most situations, as can be readily understood, these crucial conversations and subsequent behaviors don’t usually fare well. Crucial conversations typically have a pronounced negative affect on personal well-being, organizational well-being and that of everyone else involved.

The unfortunate reality is that you find yourself in this type of conversational scenario on a regular basis. The salient question for you to answer as a leader is… “How can I remain in control of my emotions, while diffusing these crucial conversations?

As stressed by the authors of Crucial Conversations, it is necessary to be crystal clear about what is important in each given situation. This can best be accomplished by first determining what is “important” to you as an individual and as a leader. They suggest that you begin this process by answering the following questions:

            ● What do I really want for “myself”?

            ● What do I really want for “others”?

            ● What do I really want for the “relationship”?

After you have honestly arrived at answers for these three questions, take a few more moments to answer this final question:

            ● How would I choose to behave if I really wanted these outcomes?

 

Authentic leaders learn how to use this process to bridle their emotions for the greater good of all parties. Their ability to generate positive responses to these questions, helps them to reframe their attitudes about crucial conversations while taking personal responsibility for how they were initially feeling and reacting. Resultantly, calmer mindsets ensued which provided a more constructive foundation on which to engage the conversation.

A leader’s ability to become better grounded and appropriately focused, ultimately sets a more positive tone for the crucial conversation which thereby assists other participants to also engage with a more positive and expective approach.

The development of right attitudes, self-discipline and effective communication are essential competencies for leaders who want to remain in control of their emotions while handling and diffusing crucial conversations.

As your valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people with the developmental training and processes that will help them to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Redefining Your Perspective

What exactly is it that you absolutely must (without fail) do today? An important report? Your presentation for this afternoon’s management meeting? Or perhaps a project deadline?

 

Like yourself, your people are also focusing on the things that they are responsible for, that as well must be completed today. They sweat the deadlines and potential consequences, just as you do, should they not measure up on this given day.

When you were growing up, your parents advised you repeatedly to “do it now”. The companion piece of advice that they also provided was “don’t put off till tomorrow, what you can do today”. More than likely, you have as well passed these words of wisdom along to your own children.

Throughout the years and course of your life, you have been repetitively taught to live and function in the here and now. I have no doubt that at some point one or more of your teachers told you to stop day dreaming, stay in the present and focus on your schoolwork. Moreover, the act of having been singled out in front of your classmates may have served to make you feel rather embarrassed.

The scenarios which have just been described have created a powerful set of habits and feelings that continue to influence your behavior to this very day. As a direct result of these patterns of influence, you and your people have been conditioned to engage in localized thinking and perspective.

Your predominant focus is that of being “short” term (local). In other words, you are primarily focused on what has to done and accomplished today, while being secondarily focused on what must be addressed in the next several days. i.e. Project deadline today… important meeting tomorrow morning… Johnny’s soccer game tomorrow evening and your mom’s surprise birthday party on Saturday.   

Much like your daily work tasks, you can only tackle so many at one time. Given the hectic pace of life and work, you and your people are typically so focused on everything that literally has to happen in the “now”, that it becomes increasingly more difficult to contemplate the “future”.

The inability of people in mass to think long term has become the new normal. This is precisely why according to “Investors Insight” that only 11% of the Baby Boomer generation are financially prepared for retirement. It is also why only 3% of people actually have real goals. In business, many once heralded household names no longer exist in the marketplace because they failed to see the big picture and the need to think long term. They ultimately failed due to their own short sightedness.

What I am attempting to call your attention to is the critical need for you, your people and your organization to shift to what astronaut and Colonel Ron Garan has come to call the “Orbital Perspective”. While logging 71 million miles aboard the International Space Station, he was awe stuck first by the view of earth from space, then secondarily by the fact that he was orbiting the planet below in an amazing feat of engineering that was the result of 15 nationalities successfully collaborating on earth and then in space.

For Colonel Garan, the opportunity to gaze from outer space, brought the earth down to size and diversity into a new perspective… that human beings need to apply the same spirit of collaboration and creativity to their everyday lives and work down here on the planet’s surface.

It is only when we stop to lift our heads, hands and hearts from our immediate tasks that we will be able to envision what opportunities lie in front of us, rather than what rests on our work bench and at our feet. We must first take time to look up, if we are ever going to truly see our potential future.

As Colonel Garan relished his crystal clear vision from space, the longer he observed, the more details of earth came into focus. While you may be earth bound, you can still experience something quite similar. Quite possibly, you have done this years ago and the experience has dimmed a bit over time.

On a clear night well after dark, go to a place where there are no outside lights to distract your vision. The look upward to the stars. Just relax, enjoy the view and be patient with yourself for a while. What you will soon discover is, that the longer you look, the more stars you will see and the brighter they will become. Such is the essence of your future, if you choose to see it.

Afterwards, simply know that this same principle works universally and that it will work for you, just as it did for Colonel Garan. Then adapt an Orbital Perspective to your life, your work, your people and your organization. Start looking up at the “Big Picture”, as well as focusing on a long term view of a new and brighter future. 

As your organization and people cease thinking locally and begin the process of thinking Orbital (globally), your collaborative efforts will lead you to share Colonel Garan’s belief that “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth, only crewmates.”

For we are all here for the same reason and we all share a common purpose.

As your valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more. 

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Potential, Pinocchio and Truth

At this point in time and considering how often it has been shown, you have undoubtedly seen the Geico commercial which portrays Pinocchio as a bad motivational speaker.

 

As someone who is a motivational speaker, I would hate to begin my presentation with such a stereotypical cliché. With no pun intended, Pinocchio clearly points out what an abstract expression “potential” really is.

Moreover, the concept of potential is highly interpretive. How do you personally define potential? Is your definition for other people such as your children or those who you lead professionally conform to the same definition that you hold for your own self-potential? How does your organization define potential when it comes to its employees?

As you can see, there is no clear line in the sand when it comes to exactly what potential is. The concept of human potential is subjectively (and often unrealistically) linked to human expectation. This is often typified by employers who exhibit the corporate attitude “what can you do for me today?”. Then, there are overbearing parents who continually pressure their child to become a doctor or lawyer… because that is what the parent wants for the child.

While I can tell you first hand that throughout my life, other people saw my capabilities (potential) long before I did. Unfortunately, many of these people kept harping at me that “I wasn’t working up to my potential”. The problem with this approach was that it didn’t help me in any way to understand what this mystical potential was, let alone help me to utilize it. Rather than making me want to reach higher and work harder, in reality it made me feel inferior while sending a clear message that “I simply didn’t measure up”.

Thank the good Lord above… that He put some other people in my path along the road of life who not only saw my capabilities, they took the time to point them out to me and then proceeded to mentor me in learning how to develop them. While I could elaborate in further detail, those are stories for another day.

What I want to focus on in present time is the need to clarify what potential is. Confucius observed that “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”  

Winston Churchill believed that “Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking your potential”.

While these observations indicate that your will coupled with your continuous effort will help you discover what your potential is -- I have come to comprehend and to teach that your actual potential is simply your “capacity and need to do something better”. 

The reality is that every individual and every organization have the ability to better utilize their talents, abilities, skills, resources and assets to improve some aspect of their everyday performance.

Therefore, you, your people and your organization are already equipped (have the capacity) to make significant improvements (do something better) in actual performance. What remains for individuals and organizations to determine is where is it that you specifically “need” to improve.

What is the most important thing (top priority) that you need to change or improve? What skills and abilities do your people have that your organization needs that to help them use more often, more effectively and more successfully?

When you view the issue of potential from this perspective, there is far more clarity about what your potential is (what are you capable of doing better), where your potential lies (what skills, talents & abilities are on board and already available) and how to harness such potential (what is your most important need).

Making improvements to individual and organization performance along with identifying and tapping into your potential is a “process”.

As your valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people with the processes that will enable them to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

My Door Is Always Open

When most people stop to consider what qualities and attributes contribute to someone being a good leader, they generally cite qualities such as honesty, integrity and trustworthiness.

 

Aside from these particular personal attributes, it is also common perspective that good leaders must be effective problem solvers, decision makers and communicators.

While many leaders actually embody these qualities and attributes, their leadership potential is often thwarted due to an absence of another essential leadership element that is all too often overlooked.

This important element is “accessibility”. As you think back over your working years, just how many of your various leaders professed to have an “open door” policy, yet somehow they never happened to be available when their people needed them?

When individuals who have been placed in leadership roles declare that “my door is always open” and then fail to be accessible to those who they are charged with the responsibility of leading – They are ultimately doing a huge disservice to their people, their organization and their own career.

From an employee’s perspective, when their leader tells them “if you need me for any reason, my door is always open to you”… While it may sound good, perhaps even reassuring to some degree, the vast majority of employees simply aren’t buying it based on their prior experiences.

The truth of the matter is that most employees are apprehensive about availing themselves of an open door scenario. Only in the most dire and urgent of situations will they actually consider approaching their leader. And even then, more so out of necessity than actual want to.

For the organization and the leader, the consequences are that you won’t know that there is a problem until such time as it has already become a “crisis”. The important questions, concerns, complaints and creative ideas that would have impacted your organization either positively or negatively… will simply never surface to see the light of day. 

The day to day reality of business at any level is that people have questions that require real answers, instructions that need clarification and problems that need solving. In like fashion, they also require general direction, support and encouragement.

However, when employees continuously find that their leaders are perpetually on the phone, in a meeting or out of the office – the rank and file is left in the daunting position of having to fend for itself. The results of which usually come at the expense of the organization.

While a quintessential function of leadership is that of dealing with challenges, especially people challenges – It is the very challenge of being an individual leader, that most leaders collectively struggle with.

The more successful that you and your organization become, the more exceeding are the demands for your “time”. Your finite amount of time on a daily basis is divided up between an ever increasing number of people and situations. Your prerequisite challenge is that to become an authentic leader, you must also truly be an available and accessible leader.

Leadership’s Catch-22 very much parallels Newton’s Law of Physics, where for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For when you as a leader devote your time to a particular person or situation, you are conversely taking time away from other people and circumstances that are concurrently competing for the finite amount of time you have to work with.

This is precisely why you must learn to become proactive as an accessible leader who clearly understands their need to be visible, accessible and involved with the people whom you lead.

Given that leadership is also about recognizing your priorities, make it your daily priority to visit with your employees, have meaningful two way communication with them and consequently learn firsthand what is really happening in this segment of your organization’s operation.

For when you do, not only will you truly be an accessible leader… you will be a highly respected leader that people willingly choose to follow.

As your valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

 
Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

When Talent Walks Out The Door

Have you ever lost an employee that you didn’t want to lose or possibly couldn’t afford to lose?

For most organizations, the material costs of employee turnover are more than evident. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), its cost estimate for replacing a salaried employee is between six and nine months of that employee’s salary on average.

The SHRM cost estimate may actually fall at the lower end of loss scale, as other industry experts and economists state that replacing a talented employee can cost as much as two times their annual salary.

Regardless of where you exactly peg it, the replacement cost that occurs when talent walks out the door is huge. Moreover, the important caveat here is that this is only the “replacement” cost. While the material/financial costs of employee turnover are clearly substantial, there should be an equal and commensurate focus on the intangible cost to your organization from the ripple effect that talent loss permeates throughout the organization.

The ripple effect ever so subtlety makes it way to the shores that stretch from the boardroom to the boiler room. Executives begin asking… “What is causing our organization to keep losing such talented people, especially after the substantial investment that we have made in them.”  All the while, front line employees throughout the organization are asking “Why did John Smith suddenly decide to leave the organization?”

These are upfront questions that could be considered normal, reasonable and to some degree predictable. Of course, every organization has its culture and its internal grapevine. So before long, reasonable questions turn into rumors and speculation that ultimately lack substance.

Let’s be honest here… It’s no secret that employees in mass recognize the talents and abilities of their fellow peers. And when a talented individual chooses to jump ship, it is most assuredly going to raise the question “why”. However, the questioning process doesn’t stop there. Rather, it serves as the beginning of a series of questions, such as… “Did John Smith know something that we don’t know?” “Did John Smith get off a sinking ship before it actually sinks?” “Is our company in financial trouble and we don’t know it.” And… the beat goes on.

These are the kind of ripples that travel much more like a tsunami and their effect is just as destructive. For when attitudes become “infected”, many detrimental things can occur beginning with poor moral and declining productivity.

Given that human nature and human behavior are often quite predictable, the act of a hardworking and talented individual like John Smith suddenly leaving the company and catching his peers off guard is certainly bound to raise some red flags.

Unfortunately, it is also bound to create a very real sense of job insecurity, worry and anxiety. As I recently cited a few weeks back, 70% of American workers don’t feel secure in their job and with their company/organization.

In many cases with diligent-hardworking-talented people… organizations just like yours, don’t see the warning signs until the employee is sitting there smack in front of you informing you that they are leaving and there is nothing more that you or the organization can do to change their mind.

The reality of this scenario which plays out every business day is that all of the compliments, pats on the back, awards, raises and even promotions don’t in the end provide the true measure of what the employee has been longing for all along.

They don’t merely want to be appreciated for their talents, abilities and technical skills… because in the age of robotics, they perceive themselves to simply be one and nothing more in the eye of your organization. As stated earlier, human nature is highly predictable. Ever since their early childhood when these individuals were endlessly trying to gain their parent’s approval, the thing that they wanted most in life was to be “valued” as an “individual”.

Once your organization has been afforded an ample opportunity to measure up and subsequently failed to meet the employee’s litmus test of being truly valued… talent will walk straight out the door and never look back.

It’s important to remember that your organization’s culture and practices are a vivid reflection of your organizations leadership and its attitudes toward employees… And that your people are staring into that mirror 24/7.

As your valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Two Strategic Questions

I have two very important and straight forward questions for you, which are:

 

Are your employees actually “happy” at work?

Do your employees truly feel “secure” in their jobs?

Your organization may be surprised at the answers. I recently received the results of a Rutgers University Work Trends survey study which reported that American workers are unhappy, worried and pessimistic about their post Great Recession futures.

 

With regard to Question #1… Rutgers University’s report revealed that only a scant 14% of the workers surveyed said that they were happy at work. The flip side of this finding would indicate that the other 86% of the workers surveyed were in fact “unhappy” at work.

 

The eerie thing about the Rutgers report is that it directly corresponds with a report of several years ago which was performed by Salary.com. At that time, Salary.com reported that 84% of all American workers were either “unhappy” or “dissatisfied” with their job or career. Salary.com also concurrently reported that 86% of all American workers were not fully engaged in their work.

 

When it comes to Question #2… the Rutgers report states that 70% of the workers which they surveyed did not feel secure in their jobs.

Regardless of how you frame these reports, the picture that they paint is quite somber. Given that the Rutgers University and Salary.com reports were conducted nearly five years apart – Clearly signifies that the Rutgers findings are not simply a momentary snapshot of a current circumstance. In consideration of the lengthy time frame that these feelings have prevailed, it is also something far more than a trend.

In consideration of such an extended period of time, what your organization is now confronted with is an engrained pattern of negative perception (thinking) which translates into negative feelings and then manifests as negative behavior in the form of lack of engagement, impaired productivity and indifference. Simply stated… a poor (negative) “attitude”. Moreover, that attitude has now become habitual.

As first cited above, when your people are unhappy, worried and pessimistic – They are not going to have positive attitudes, nor are they going to have “hope” of a better future. Research has time and again confirmed that there is a direct correlation between attitudes and productivity. These attitudes and behaviors also result in increased absenteeism and employee turnover.

What then are you as an employer to do? Your first undertaking is to comprehend what author Patrick Lencioni refers to as ‘The Three Sign of a Miserable Job” which he defines as:

Feeling of anonymity. As I have cited before, the number one cause of employee turnover is a lack of connection with the employer. In essence, not “feeling” that they belong. The relevant questions is… do your people feel “valued” as individuals or do they feel like a number who just happens to have some skills that your organization happens to need at the present moment?

 
Inability to measure the quality of their own work. When people don’t know how their work brings value to the organization, they are resultantly incapable of finding value in themselves and the work that they perform. In like fashion, when they don’t have performance standards to live up to, they are incapable of setting similar standards for their own lives.

Not understanding the significance of what they do and how it affects both internal and external customers. There is a clear disconnect with your organization when your people don’t understand how their work benefits the organization, let alone the achievement of its objectives and goals. This is a very common circumstance and is highly detrimental to both internal and external customer relationships.

As an employer that undoubtedly has a genuine concern regarding their workers job satisfaction, what you need to comprehend is that the above cited reports and related issues inevitably boil down to three distinct issues: 

       Organizational Leadership.

       Communication.

       Personal Leadership (on the part of the employee).

The good news is that all of these foundational issues can be readily addressed with appropriate developmental training.  

As a valued resource partner, we can readily assist your organization and your people to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.

 

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC

Never Forget Who You Are

You frequently hear reports of leaders who for a time “forget who they really were” and who lost touch with reality amidst the trappings of success and their station in life. Many a state governor, congressman and business executive have fallen prey to this fall from prominence and public grace.

 

Several recent events reminded me of the story about a former United States Under Secretary of Defense who was delivering a corporate speech to a gathering of over one thousand business executives several years ago.

 

During his presentation, he paused for a moment to take a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup which he was holding. As he briefly gazed at the cup in his hand, he interrupted his presentation to then say…

“When I spoke last year at this same venue for this very same event, I was at the time the Acting Under Secretary of Defense. I was flown to this event business class. When I arrived, there was a car and driver waiting to take me from the airport to the hotel where someone had already checked me in. I was then taken directly up to my room.

The next morning we I came downstairs, there was someone waiting in the lobby who then took me to this very same venue where I was taken to the back entrance and then escorted directly to the green room… At which point I was served a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic mug.

It is now a year later… and I am no longer the acting under secretary. This year I flew coach and then took a taxi to the hotel where I checked myself in. This morning, I took another taxi to this same venue… walked in the front door… and found my way back stage on my own. At which point I had to ask… Do you have any coffee? After which someone simply pointed to the coffee machine over in the corner. I then poured myself a cup of coffee in this Styrofoam cup.

The object lesson is this… the ceramic mug of coffee was never meant for me. It was meant for the position that I held. What I ‘deserved’… was a Styrofoam cup.

As you become more successful… As you do well in life… You will be rewarded with many advantages. People will refer to you as ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’… They will carry your luggage… They will hold doors open for you… They will bring you a cup of coffee or tea without you even asking for it. But it’s not meant for you, it’s meant for the position that you hold… And when you move on… they will give all of those things to your successor.

Never… ever… forget who you are… and that what you ‘deserve’ is a Styrofoam cup.”

I can personally relate to the former Under Secretary’s message, as I have had a somewhat similar experience a few years back myself. After boarding my U.S. Airways flight from Dulles International to the Denver International Airport in Colorado, I soon found myself along with the rest of the passengers and crew grounded on the tarmac for over three hours due to several mechanical difficulties with the aircraft.

After finally disembarking from the disabled aircraft, we boarded another plane for the flight to Denver. Unfortunately, by the time that the plane finally took off, it was more than apparent that I would miss my connecting flight out of Denver to Helena, MT. Moreover, the 10:20 PM, flight was the last flight out for the night. Therefore, I was destined to be stranded in Denver later that night.

Prior to the delayed take off from Dulles, I placed a cell call to my client contact in Montana to inform them of the unexpected delays and that I would miss my connecting flight in Denver. I was advised to just relax and enjoy the flight and to call them once I had landed at Denver International.

Upon touch down in Denver at 12:30 AM, I immediately called my contact who instructed me to proceed to a specific gate at the airport where a car and driver would be waiting for me. They reassured me that I would not be spending the night stranded in Denver and that the driver would explain things more fully from there.

As I proceeded through the airport terminal, I saw extensive lines of my fellow co-passengers waiting to deal with a customer service representative about their unanticipated circumstance and how the rest of their night would unfold. Then too, I didn’t exactly know how mine was going to unfold either.

When I got to the specified gate, I was met by a very polished chauffeur who whisked me away in his limousine and then informed me that we were going to the commercial side of the airport where a private jet was awaiting me. My first thoughts were… are you kidding me? Are you talking to me?

A few minutes later we arrived on the commercial side of the airfield which was completely dark with the exception of one brightly lit facility which belonged to a corporate charter company. As I entered the facility, the gentleman at the front desk inquired… are you Mr. Swank? To which I replied yes. He (the owner) replied… I don’t know who the heck you are… but you must be someone who is pretty darn important to get me and a top notch private pilot out of bed in the middle of the night!    

He then introduced to me to my pilot who escorted me to our corporate charter. Moments later, I found myself viewing a gorgeous western night sky while aboard what I equated to be my “Pretty Woman” flight (hope you grasp the movie reference). A little over three hours later at 3:40 AM, we quietly and discreetly touched down in Helena, MT where my contact was patiently awaiting my arrival.

For many people, this event may have seemed very surreal. After all, it was potentially a once in a life time experience. While my ego could have soared for a moment, it never did. For I realized that it was entirely about the agenda for the next business day… it wasn’t about “me”.

In closing I, like the former Under Secretary urge you to keep your head about you and to realize the perks which you enjoy are for the position you hold or will one day hold and are not for you. The top CEO’s of America’s Fortune 500 companies typically only have an average tenure of about three and one half years.

So, never ever forget who you are and where you came from. Your deserve a Styrofoam cup… just as I deserved coach and a night stranded in Denver.

The Leadership Academy… Learn more. Do more. Become more.

Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC