Leaders in Motion

April 14, 2012 Leave a comment

There is plenty of research that proves the quantifiable impact of an engaged workforce.  Companies with an engaged workforce have higher levels of productivity, growth, and profit.  If you can have a positive impact on the engagement levels of your own workforce, you can bet that will have a positive impact on your financial results.   In our Leaders in Motion series we make the assumption that if we equip our managers with skills that help them manage more effectively this, in turn, will also improve the effectiveness of their direct reports.  (Not too much of a leap, I know.)  That’s why we are doing this — equipped, engaged, and effective managers make for equipped, engaged, and effective employees, which leads to results.  It’s that simple.

At Randstad we have built a strong management development program called “Leaders in Motion” that focuses on the practical, tactical skills needed by entry-level managers.  Of course, these skills apply to all levels of management.  No one has ever ‘arrived’ when it comes to a full set of management tools.

In each of twelve sessions in our series we have identified three premise statements.  The premise statements are memorable, succinct lines that provide the gist of the skill.  When you read each of the premise statements it is not likely that you will say ‘I never thought of that’.  Our primary goal with the premise statements was to organize much common knowledge about management and leadership.  Another goal for those premise statements was to establish a leadership vocabulary for our company.  We are already seeing signs of common terminology being used throughout the organization.  It is exciting so far.

Each session has an associated HBR article that we require as pre-work for our sessions.  The purpose of the HBR article is to provide a new perspective for our managers, a new mindset from which to consider their own management style.  We begin each session with a typical scenario that shows what ‘not to do’ and a group discussion of the mindset of a successful manager and . 

Over the next few weeks I am going to share the premise statements we have for our series we call “Leaders in Motion”.  I hope the premise statements are valuable mind-joggers for you.

Filed under coaching, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance Improvement Tagged with ,

Make your goals Motivating, Measurable, and Manageable!

April 3, 2012 Leave a comment

As I work with leaders to change habits or behaviors, I always drive for actionable goal commitments.  I want to take immediate advantage of any new insight and any emotional commitment to trying something new.  So, I try to drive the close of every conversation into a clear, action step.  The 3 M’s make it easy to remember and provide a clear approach to goal-setting.  Make sure your goals are Motivating, Measurable, and Manageable!

Motivating = Desirable + Stretch

Sometimes in coaching there are things that others may point to for change (maybe in a 360-survey) that the ‘coachee’ is not ready to accept or agree to.  How successful do you think the change effort will be when the said ‘change-er’ is not interested?  Not so much.  The goal that is set must be desirable to the person setting the goal — they must see the value in the change that outweighs the cost of changing.  Instead, let’s encourage goal-setting around something for which the person is excited to change.  Once you have a goal that is desirable, it is also important that the goal is enough of a stretch that there is value in completing.  Who wants to check off a simple ‘yes, I did this’ when it does not require much effort?  Effective folks want a goal that is challenging, that stretches their personal commitment.  So, for the goal to be motivation it must be both desirable and stretch.

Measurable  = Specific + Quantifiable

To make a goal specific and measurable can be as simple as defining what is meant by ‘more often’ or ‘less often’.  There has to be a measure of success that is clearly observable by the person making the change and/or the target of the change (e.g., direct reports).  Of course, measurable to some of us is only exciting if we can apply a mathematical pre-post formula.  But, there are other ways to make a goal measurable, but being specific about the ‘pre and post’ behavior or scenario and then defining the frequency.

Manageable = Reasonable + Chunked

There are people who can set wild, hairy, crazy goals that seem so far out of reach and somehow find a way to achieve them. Maybe all of us have that in us every once in awhile.  However, I would bet on the success rate of a manageable goal on a more frequent basis.  Remember, the goal still has to have some ‘stretch’ to it (see first point), but the measure of reasonableness is also important.  The concept of chunked is related to the idea of setting big goals and then planning ‘small wins’ along the way.  Take that big, hairy goal and break it down into smaller projects, tasks, or steps in order to celebrate progress along the way.

I have seen many models for goal-setting, but like the 3M’s for their simplicity, succinctness, and sell-ability with coaches.  I feel a 3S model coming on next!

Filed under Change Management, coaching, Leadership Development, Performance Improvement Tagged with

SCARF? Doesn’t sound interesting, but…

August 5, 2011 Leave a comment

First things first — I promise I will work on my ‘curbside appeal’ for the new blog, but I really want to get started on this!

Ever heard of the SCARF model?  Until a few months ago, I had not heard of it either.  I had an article from the NeuroLeadership Journal (Issue #1, 2008) called “SCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others,” (http://www.your-brain-at-work.com/files/NLJ_SCARFUS.pdf).  I carried this article around for at least one month without reading it… the title just did not appeal to me enough to let it float to the top of the pile.

Two months later and I am printing copies, distributing the article, and recommending it to colleagues.  I might even go as far as saying it has changed the way I am thinking about improving performance — at least it has added a brand new perspective that has changed a few habits already.

I won’t do the model full justice, but I hope to tell you enough to entice you to click on the link!  The premise of David Rock, CEO of NeuroLeadership Group, is based on the science of the brain and how it responds to situations and conditions.  We have all heard about the ‘flight or fight’ response and how our brains are programmed to respond to threats.  There is another part of our brain’s programming that we don’t hear as much about — the ‘toward’ state; that is, when our brains are motivated to respond positively, take action, and make change.

Rock’s SCARF model describes the five different ‘triggers’ in the brain that can be activated to produce EITHER the ‘threat’ or the ‘toward’ reaction.  The direction we head (either in retreat or toward positive action)  is dependent upon our perception of the situation.  Here is a very brief definition of each trigger.

S = Status:  The brain does a quick assessment of where I am in the ‘pecking order’ in a conversation, a relationship, or a group.  Am I top dog (no threat)?  Am I low man on the totem pole (big threat)?  Or, am I on a level-playing field with the others in the room (potential for action)?

C = Certainty:  Is there predictability in the situation, do I know what to expect (toward state)?  Or, do I have absolutely no idea what could happen, which way things could go (retreat or threat)?

A = Autonomy:  Do I get any choices here (toward) or am I simply here to do what I am told (threat)?

R = Relatedness:  Are we together in this or is this a competition?  Friends or Foe?

F = Fairness:  Are there favorites here or does everyone get a fair chance to advance or win?

Interesting, right?  Where the rubber meets the road, though, is what I do with my understanding of the brain at work.  Here is the key insight for me –  in every interaction I have at work or at home, I have the opportunity to impact each of these triggers in other brains.  And, the impact that I have on those triggers will play a direct role in creating either a ‘threat’ response or a ‘toward’ response in other people.

I’ll let that sit for awhile and encourage you to read the whole article!

Filed under Leadership, Performance Improvement Tagged with , , , ,

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