Management Craft

When they won't comply - rejoice! #Management

The title of this post is a bit odd, I know, but stick with me here.... I was working with a client on a talent assessment. As part of the assessment, I met with each of the senior leaders one-on-one to discuss their team members. I had done this with the same client two years earlier and I sent out clear instructions and forms ahead of time.

Two of the executives decided to do things a different way. They changed nearly everything and presented me with their information, based on their reinvented system, when we met. The two executives used completely different approaches, too, not the same different approach.

On the one hand, this is a pain in the neck. I needed to create a report and results and somehow make their information work with the rest of it.

On the other hand, this was wonderful! Both of the two executives were totally engaged in the talent assessment process and they used this opportunity to better get to know their team members and have good developmental conversations. That's what we want to have happen during a talent assessment. And although the process I laid out could have resulted in the same or better level of engagement, it was because they OWNED the process and did it in the way they wanted that felt fueled to do the work.

The two executives who did not comply got the most out of the process. It was a bit more work for me to bring it all together but it was work well worth the time because the by-product was better developmental conversations between leaders and team members. I thanked them for their great work.

This got me thinking.... How often do we squelch ownership by forcing particular processes and forms on people? Even the BEST processes might not be as good as the clunky processes that they initiate.

Management is not about control anymore - that is so 1950s. Great management is a catalytic act.

Internal Branding, External Branding and Our Multicultural Strategy

Check out this thought provoking blog post from John Hawkins called The Business Case and Key Success Factors for a Holistic Multicultural Strategy (BTW, John is the new owner of my consulting firm, MPI Consulting).

John makes some great points about how we could and should think about building multicultural companies for a multicultural customer base (that is growing more diverse). I could not help but put on my OD and management hat and think about the ramifications of his recommendations for how we build and cultivate teams and the work environment.The external efforts affect internal practices - or they should.

This post offers a great example for how our external branding and business building efforts ought to link up and be supported by corresponding internal branding and organization building efforts. Do your strategies and practices help managers and employees develop a multicultural mindset? - Are your diversity intentions baked into your strategies, plans, goals, actions, and processes?

This could be a great discussion starter as you prepare to take a fresh crack at the new year. Encourage a generative debate on what might be possible if you created and implemented a multicultural strategy to support your external and internal brands. It's the perfect time! New Years realignment discussions can catalyze the energy and engagement needed to make things better every day.

Check out John's post and tell me what you think.

Happy Turkey Day!

What is your #management "brand?"

I was talking with someone about a potential project last week and she asked me what is most unique about how we work and approach the discipline of OD. It reminded me that this is one of my favorite things to learn about manager - their unique approach to management. Their management brand. You all have one. If I were talking to your boss and team, I might ask what your greatest contribution had been over the last year. And I might ask them what you do that helps them do their best work. And I would ask how they would describe your management in one sentence. All of these questions would provide hints.

• I have a friend who manages based on love - his brand is that he manages from love.
• Another friend manages from a place of challenge - her brand is to manage based on creating positive challenges.
• When I manage, I tend to come from a place of bringing forth the amazing in others - my brand is that I seek to help people and teams see and use their strengths.
• I worked for a guy who managed from a place of fear - his brand was to reduce apparent risk and to have high oversight.

No brand is all that we are - we use many managerial tools and practices to get the work done. But our brand is what precedes us in the room and the lasting impressing we leave and it affects how we do many things. We might have a couple of key branding elements that we are known for, but it is usually just a couple.

There is also no right or wrong about the brand, although some brands might work better or worse in each workplace or situation. It is often the case that our brand represents both a great strength and one of our blind spots. If we do not know when to dial in or out, we might over do it. Too much love, challenge, coaching, or oversight might not be a good thing.

I am not sure what the point of this post is others than to invite you to think about your current brand and whether it is what you want it to be. Just like with external and internal organizational brands, it can be shaped and changed to better align with your intentions.

What's the difference between behaviors and a brand? A behavior is something we do and brand is something we are known for. It is more like a culture in that is it built over time and comes from your values and beliefs. This is also the path to changing your brand - to better align your values and beliefs to support your intentions.

When I work with or interview managers I try to uncover their management brand because it helps me understand the driving force of what they do and why they do it and knowing this helps me better support them and bring forth their brilliance. And if I am interviewing a manager for a job, knowing their brand helps me determine fit and potential development needs.

Infinite Vision - Looks Like a Great Book @bkpub

I received my monthly newsletter from Berrett-Koehler publishers yesterday and this book seems really interesting and might be a perfect one to kick off the new year with renewed purpose, drive, and meaning. Here is the description from the newsletter:

Infinite Vision

Why Read It? The Aravind Eye Care System reinvented the rules of business to restore sight to the blind. Based in India, it is the world's largest provider of eye care and delivers results that equal or surpass those of any developed countries -- at less than 1% of the cost. In thirty-five years, Aravind has treated over 32 million patients, the vast majority for free. Those who can pay choose what they pay, and there is no paperwork. Aravind accepts no donations, yet it is highly profitable. Its baffling model is a popular Harvard Business School case study and is admired by Peter Drucker, Bill Clinton, and Muhammud Yunus. 
 
Written by Pavithra Mehta and Suchitra Shenoy, Infinite Vision is the first book to probe Aravind's history and the practices and values that unleashed its phenomenal success. While we bicker and moan about health-care coverage in the United States, perhaps there's a lesson here for all of us.  
 
Read an excerpt from the book here and then buy the book for 30% off here.

There is a compelling video clip on the book page that you should check out here.

I have not read this book, but I am going to pick it up and add it to my December reading list. What appeals to me about this is that I think we all want to help improve the positive impact that our businesses have on the community and we often struggle with how to think about this while having a financially successful business. We sometimes suffer from functional fixedness and can't think outside our business model box. Perhaps this case can inspire news ideas and ways we can help our organizations do good while performing well.

And kudos go to the designers at BK - what a beautiful cover. Makes me want to curl up with the book with a warm cup of tea. Darjeeling, of course.

Enter Your #Management Ideas for @human_capital M-Prize @hackmanagement

A couple of weeks ago I suggested that you share your best ideas and enter the HCI M-Prize (hosted by HCI and the Management Innovation eXchange) for management innovation. And while it is nice to win, the greatest outcome is getting engaged and getting feedback on your idea and sharing it with others.

See more here. There are 30 days remaining and so far 33 ideas have been submitted. Check them all out! For example, here is an interesting one called, "Culture Eats Strategy." And just a pointer - last year I waited until the last day to enter and I wish I had done it earlier because I would have gotten more feedback from MIX readers (a really smart and engaged bunch of folks).

Why not use this as an opportunity to collaborate with peers do a group submission? How do you capture, ignite, inspire, and cultivate leadership in your organization? How do you transcend hierarchical structures? How do you help leaders focus on what really matters?

Management is a craft and part of the learning process should be active and challenging. When we share with others, we speak from a different place. Our ideas develop and we reshape them. In sharing our ideas we learn so much more than if we did not share.

=========================================

Also, the fine folks at HCI are sharing the following discount with Management Craft readers (I get no cut of this, just passing the info along) for their Learning and Leadership Development Conference (virtual conference admission, no travel required!). Target audience: HR, OD, talent management, or training professionals, or leaders interested in leadership development systems.

Here is the discount deal from HCI:

"As we discussed, we would love for your followers to be able to participate in our HCI Virtual Learning & Leadership Development Conference on November 17th & 18th. We can offer our best discount which is $200 off the registration fee of $595. By entering code Virtual200, we can register them for only $395 for the full two days, plus they will receive a link to the presentations and videos on December 12th. Here is agenda information on our site: http://www.hci.org/2011learning/overview."

Listen to understand or to respond? #management

One of Covey's classic suggestions is to "seek first to understand, then to be understood." This assumes, of course, that our aim is to understand or be understood. Often this is NOT our aim. Many people, and all of us some of the time, listen in order to prepare a response.

Response-driven listening manifests itself in many ways including:

• Shallow conversations - people are speaking but never getting to the heart of things.
• Dismissive behaviors - the person speaking feels disregarded, not heard, like you are going through the motions.
• Misunderstandings and poor judgment- the conversation fails to unearth critical information or new ideas.

When we listen with the goal of understanding, we open up the conversation and the relationship for new possibilities. While this sounds appealing, I think that this idea - that if we seek to understand, that our thoughts might change - is also a powerful reason we don't listen. Many of us don't want to change our minds or thoughts or ideas or be influenced.

How do you know if your listening is driven by the desire to respond or understand? Notice what you think about when the other person is talking. Catch yourself from rehearsing your response and remind yourself to be there for the other person and to seek to understand. I think it would be safe to assume that you likely listen to respond more than you listen to understand - this is most often the case!

If you want to create a better and more engaging workplace, one of the best things you can do is to become a better listener. Think about what it feels like to be listened to in a way that demonstrates that our thoughts are valued and important. We perk up, we think better, and we bring our "A" game. You want your team members to feel this level of connection and meaning and they will only do so if you show them through your listening.

Faux Diplomacy, Faux Management, Faux Purpose

I just got back from 10 days in Italy and the region and overheard someone using the term "faux diplomacy" in the airport. I like the phrase! This got me thinking about one of the most common differences between great managers and lousy ones - great managers don't do faux.

To be fair, faux moments are common and everyone has them. I define faux as: not genuine, fake, false, or an imitation. Faux is great for warm coats, terrible for management. We are all faux some of the time - not intentionally (most of us), but sometimes our words and deeds don't square up. We come across as fake or not genuine. It takes a lot of energy to be real because we must constantly filter our decisions and actions through the lenses of our stated purpose, values, and intentions. Although we might all be born as real, our cultures quickly complicate things by teaching us the short-term and long-term benefits of being political, evasive, sketchy, closed, and at arm's distance. The rewards of being real often outweigh those that come from faux actions, but faux tends to feel more immediately profitable - more glitter.

We love highly flawed characters in the movies and we love them in person. We would much rather be lead by a real manager who seems at peace to be vulnerable, open, and fallible. We ache to be lead by those who are driven to do great work, even when something less is easier and more consistent with the workplace culture. We gain inspiration from the moments of truth that tell us our manager is willing to fight for what's important and that he or she has our backs.

• Faux diplomacy occurs when we say we care about the relationship but don't demonstrate this.
• Faux management occurs when we approach management as a title or right versus a privilege and a chance to serve others.
• Faux purpose occurs when our deepest motivations, and our organization's, don't ignite and engage our employees.

When people are truly at the core of your concerns and when you know and show your interest and commitment and when you are in awe of the big "whys" for your business, then real will be front and center and faux will fade to a faint shadow (never disappearing, for it will always tempt us).

If you are like most managers, you have several meetings coming up over the next couple of days. What's on the agenda and how can you reinforce real over faux?