03 Nov 09 Communicating Survival

As I continue to work on a special report regarding managing workplace layoff survivors, I’m finding that there are some very consistent communication methods that effective leaders are using. I’d like your thoughts on this:

1. Have as serious a communication strategy with those that are still part of the organization as you did when layoffs were looming. Even if the message is that there are no changes, a lack of communication promotes suspicion and lack of trust.

2. Sincere appreciation from top management to all employees, recognizing the challenges of the current situation and without reference to the “dire” needs of the company. A note saying that management understands the emotional challenge of losing good co-workers can go a long way to communicating empathy.

3.No BS about future changes. If there is a possibility of future layoffs it is not necessary to trumpet that there will be more people losing their jobs, but it is important to let people know that there may be additional organizational challenges and that they will be kept abreast of these changes as they come into play.

4.Schedule get togethers both formal and informal between leadership and staff to discuss upcoming decision schedules and to get input from employees, not about what the decisions should be, but about how they should be handled.

5.Senior management should take responsibility for much of this communication and not depend on front line supervisors to trickle down the information. They are as disturbed by the changes as anybody and it is a senior leadership responsibility to be accountable for organization-wide changes. That means it is a senior leadership responsibility to communicate to employees.

6.At the same time, senior leadership should take the opportunity as a coaching moment with their management and supervisors. Let the middle and lower level managers know the thought process and let them in on the communication plan. Let them feel like leaders, even if they are not the ones doing the communicating. Ensure that employees and supervisors alike understand that senior leaders are doing the talking, not because they don’t trust line management, but because they may have more answers and a bigger picture.

Managing organizations that have had major personnel challenges can be a challenge because, regardless of what you tell your folks, they will be suspicious and they will be hurt. They have already suffered from losing long-term relationships and assuming that they can just “let it go” and “get back to work” is short sighted and reflects a lack of understanding as to what motivates people. Even with ridiculously busy schedules, senior leadership has to take the time to reach out to employees. It is not just a nice thing to do, it is a way to get the organization back on track as quickly and effectively as possible.

Tags: accountability, change, courage, fear, trust

18 Sep 09 The Danger of Dogmatic Leaders

So, I’m in a local Walgreen’s and the person in front of me is talking to the cashier about the fact that Michigan is about to put a tax on soda (”pop” for those of you from other areas). It goes like this:

Customer: “So, my son says they are going to start taxing soda. I think we’ve got about enough taxes.”
Cashier: “Yeah, it’s going to be a Socialist state before long. We’re turning into Russian Communists.”

While I managed not to actually snort through my nose or something, I was extremely puzzled. What does paying too much in sales taxes have to do with being Socialists? And how does being a Socialist state with too many taxes have anything to do with Russian Communists? And how does this conversation begin because Pepsi is about to be taxed in Michigan? By the way, the conversation ended with both of them nodding sympathetically to each other so apparently it was me that missed the point.

As I thought about this later it occurred to me that this kind of thinking, and these conversations, happen all of the time because of our tendency to be so dogmatic in our thinking that it doesn’t matter what is said, we have our opinion. If the customer had said, “They are going to repave the road,” it is just as likely that the cashier would have brought up the Socialist/Communist issue. By definition, dogmatic people have beliefs that are to be undisputed and do not require any particular basis in fact. I believe it because I believe it and if you don’t believe it, you are wrong.

Many leaders that we see in the media are dogmatic leaders. Their beliefs are the only facts they need. If you follow them, you follow them without question because their beliefs are the truth. Often they present evidence, but it doesn’t have to be strong because it is only window dressing to the real issue which is that they are right and everybody else is wrong.

This behavior causes many dysfunctions. For one thing, followers of leaders that are dogmatic have no idea why they believe what they believe…only that their leader does. This creates a dysfunctional situation where the follower may hear or see discrediting evidence about the leader but can not accept it as evidence because…well…because their followership is based primarily on belief about the leader, not on evidence. So, when an auditor starts to question the ethics of decisions, or business results start to decline because the decisions are poor, neither the leader nor the followers will challenge the practices because they are “right.”

It is also impossible to compromise with dogmatic leaders because there is no compromise. Look at the current health care debate raging in Washington. Many of the political leaders have taken an unbending position (on the right and the left) based on ideology and not on the needs or wants of the people. Dogmatic leaders tell people what they should believe and then poll them, using the results as proof that they are right. This circular approach creates a no-lose situation for the Dogmatic Leader.

Truly effective leaders have to understand that the strength of their convictions is based on what they believe to be true at the time. Leaders who care about the welfare of their followers take the time for open discussion and consideration of options. Even when they are sure of themselves, they are always seeking indications that their direction or opinion might need adjustment. These leaders do not measure the intelligence of others by how closely others agree with them, but by how willing others are to be innovative and accountable to the outcomes. They start with the problem and work their way to a solution, not the other way around.

Tags: accountability, dogmatic, fear, global leader, Global Leadership, politics

26 Mar 09 Kneejerks get us nowhere

Frank Furedi, professor of Sociology at the University of Kent and author of “Culture of Fear Revisited,” spoke in Psychologies Magazine this month on the topic of fear. “We are overwhelming ourselves with the emotive language of the media,” he said. “We find it very difficult to just have problems; problems immediately become crises of apocalyptic proportion…we start to close down opportunities and look for guarantees.”

This is an important point to realize as a leader. In times of uncertainty, it is natural for followers to look to their leaders for cues about what is good and bad, what is a crisis and what is only a problem. While the media is certainly a part of the issue, leaders who are not aware of their impact on the panic culture can cause problems inadvertantly. In a culture of fear, it is not only that we are pushed into this panic, but we are faced with a feeling of desperation and loneliness. One way we deal with this is to become associated with others who are panicking. Uncertainty drives us to look to others to see how we should feel.

Barack Obama caught a lot of flack for taking two days to express his frustration with AIG. When challenged on this he responded that he wanted to take the time to understand the problem before he made a response. It would be wise for all leaders to consider this today. Quick responses are often poor responses, driven more by emotion than reason. This gives the impression we are out of control. And kneejerk leaders drive fear, not following.

Tags: economy, fear, leaders, panic, President Barack Obama, urgency

19 Jan 09 Leadership Success Factors

I recently did a poll of 540 business leaders, executives and employees with the question, “Which do you believe is the most important today for successful leaders?” The options I provided were “Courage, Trustworthiness, Openness to new ideas, Listening to followers, Personal communication skills.” Given the uncertainess of today’s environment, and the cycle of fear as recently proposed by Warren Buffet, I thought it would be interesting to see what most people felt concerning the ability of leaders to address these challenges.

The results of the poll can be found at http://polls.linkedin.com/poll-results/17077/drssb. Interestingly, and as I expected, almost 40% of the respondents said “Trustworthiness” was the most important characteristic. If you look at the breakdown of the responses, this answer was strongest amongst the older leaders (the youngest identified “Openness to New Ideas”) and was strongest (go figure) in those who answered from the finance industry.

What does this tell us? I believe, as I have stated before, that the greatest way for leaders to help us as followers out of the current morass and “freeze” that we seem to be in is to give us confidence and hope. Where we would like to depend on our leaders in times like this, our confidence has been shaken by the revelations we have seen recently that many of those in leadership positions have violated our trust. For leaders moving us forward, greater transparency and a deliberate effort to re-assure us and allay our fears will be paramount to their (and our) success.

Tags: fear, transparency, trust, warren buffet