There are four primary functions that you, the leader, must play in reference to organizational culture. Your first role is to determine organizational culture and the impact of that culture on your sphere of influence within the organization. This is no easy task and you will occasionally receive mixed messages on culture. Some people around you and above you will walk the talk while others balk at it. You will have to gauge key objectives, vision, mission, core values and the tone of leaders to determine the culture.
When the culture is built on solid ground and clearly defined, your second role related to culture is relatively easy. Simply support it and build upon the strengths found in the organization’s culture. The one challenge point in this area will be your ability to subordinate some of the strong feelings that you have related to how things “should be” with how thing actually “are.” Your support of the organizational culture is critical to how your team will respond within the culture and your overall leadership message of support and oneness.
When an organization’s culture is a little fuzzy or you are unable to reconcile what the culture really is all about, you will need to provide some fine tuning for your team. This requires you to find the strongest and most positive messages within the culture and constantly reinforce those messages. It will also require you to quash the messages that are counterproductive or not helpful to the organization and redirect team members to the strong and positive points of the organization’s culture.
The final role that you may have to play related to organizational culture is that of definer. You may be the one that establishes values, connects to the vision and provides clear messages related to the organization. Many new, emerging and growing organizations lack an organizational culture and leaders, at all levels, must work to define that culture and produce the environment that cultural drivers have the correct balance. This is also seen when there is a change in senior leadership and the previous keepers of organizational culture are replaced. When in the role of definer it is important to see the needs of team members, customers and all stakeholders and to determine what cultural elements will produce the highest degrees of success for all.
Showing posts with label leadership role. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership role. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Monday Mentor-Week 6-Leadership Influence in Turnover and Morale
Turnover and the Role of the Leader
Many organizations have an exit interview process that is usually administered by the human resources function. Almost without fail, the exit interviewer asks why the person is leaving. Almost equally without fail, the exiting team member says something about compensation. Box checked. Exit interview complete. Statistics now tell this organization that turnover is due to compensation issues.
Unfortunately, most organizations are asking the wrong questions in exit interviews. Rather than ask about why someone is leaving, ask why someone started looking for a new job. Why did they put themselves through resume’ updates, interviews and background checks for just a few more disposable dollars per year? It is with this line of questioning that you receive significantly different responses and ones that are more connected to the leadership within an organization.
With the “why were you looking” question, you will tend to hear more about how they were unappreciated by their boss, not connected to the group or never built a relationship with the leader. All of those point directly back to the personal connection of leadership and the impact it has on turnover.
The finance department does not have a turnover problem, it has a leadership problem. There is not a turnover issue in the Pawtucket branch, there is a leadership problem in that location.
Reasonable stability in employment will be a good measure of leadership quality within a working unit. There are some economic factors in play, especially with entry level team members, but this is largely about the leader.
There is an additional extrapolation in this topic. Good people want to work for good leadership. Conversely, poor team members will often tolerate poor leadership. Poor and difficult team members will struggle with good leadership because it challenges them and undermines their power over the working environment.
Morale and the Role of the Leader
Just as with turnover, the personal connection of leadership plays and important part of team morale. The marketing unit does not have a morale problem, there is a leadership failure in the marketing unit.
Just as children will follow the tone lead of their parents, team members will derive their queues for attitude and morale from the work leader. If the work leader is consistently upbeat and in good morale, the team will demonstrate the same. By contrast, if the leader is sullen, unresponsive, abrasive or hidden, that will suck the life out of the team.
The second leading question that we often ask in leadership training programs is if you can motivate someone else. About half to two-thirds of a typical group will respond in the affirmative while the remainder believes that motivation is an individual and personal function. The second group is correct but the example of how to be motivated is provided by the group’s leader. Motivation is personal but the role model is the leader. Motivation is personal but the spark to ignite motivation is often provided by the leader.
In the absence of a high quality, tone setting leader, other voices become stronger. The complainers set the tone. The whiners are the tone makers. The pot-stirrers become powerful. Team morale is not slightly dependent upon the leader, it is wholly dependent upon the leader.
Many organizations have an exit interview process that is usually administered by the human resources function. Almost without fail, the exit interviewer asks why the person is leaving. Almost equally without fail, the exiting team member says something about compensation. Box checked. Exit interview complete. Statistics now tell this organization that turnover is due to compensation issues.
Unfortunately, most organizations are asking the wrong questions in exit interviews. Rather than ask about why someone is leaving, ask why someone started looking for a new job. Why did they put themselves through resume’ updates, interviews and background checks for just a few more disposable dollars per year? It is with this line of questioning that you receive significantly different responses and ones that are more connected to the leadership within an organization.
With the “why were you looking” question, you will tend to hear more about how they were unappreciated by their boss, not connected to the group or never built a relationship with the leader. All of those point directly back to the personal connection of leadership and the impact it has on turnover.
The finance department does not have a turnover problem, it has a leadership problem. There is not a turnover issue in the Pawtucket branch, there is a leadership problem in that location.
Reasonable stability in employment will be a good measure of leadership quality within a working unit. There are some economic factors in play, especially with entry level team members, but this is largely about the leader.
There is an additional extrapolation in this topic. Good people want to work for good leadership. Conversely, poor team members will often tolerate poor leadership. Poor and difficult team members will struggle with good leadership because it challenges them and undermines their power over the working environment.
Morale and the Role of the Leader
Just as with turnover, the personal connection of leadership plays and important part of team morale. The marketing unit does not have a morale problem, there is a leadership failure in the marketing unit.
Just as children will follow the tone lead of their parents, team members will derive their queues for attitude and morale from the work leader. If the work leader is consistently upbeat and in good morale, the team will demonstrate the same. By contrast, if the leader is sullen, unresponsive, abrasive or hidden, that will suck the life out of the team.
The second leading question that we often ask in leadership training programs is if you can motivate someone else. About half to two-thirds of a typical group will respond in the affirmative while the remainder believes that motivation is an individual and personal function. The second group is correct but the example of how to be motivated is provided by the group’s leader. Motivation is personal but the role model is the leader. Motivation is personal but the spark to ignite motivation is often provided by the leader.
In the absence of a high quality, tone setting leader, other voices become stronger. The complainers set the tone. The whiners are the tone makers. The pot-stirrers become powerful. Team morale is not slightly dependent upon the leader, it is wholly dependent upon the leader.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Top Talent, Top Strength
Recently, I've read commentary that forecasts job changes by a surprisingly large percentage of employees when the economy stabilizes. Given this prediction, plus the fact that baby boomers have already begun to retire, it's clear that supply management leaders face a grave threat to business success in the near future. In short, intelligence might walk out the door precisely at the moment when business begins to boom again.
For this reason, it's imperative that we refocus today. Retaining high performers is a top priority. Now more than ever, talent management is critical to our companies' success.
Like so many people with whom I've spoken recently, you might operate under the assumption that, due to the current business environment, your employees are simply thankful to have jobs. You might assume they're not being recruited or looking for the next opportunity. In reality, however, recruiters are actively contacting your high-performing supply management professionals — especially those in leadership roles.
Read the rest of the Article: http://www.ism.ws/pubs/ISMMag/ismarticle.cfm?ItemNumber=19816
For this reason, it's imperative that we refocus today. Retaining high performers is a top priority. Now more than ever, talent management is critical to our companies' success.
Like so many people with whom I've spoken recently, you might operate under the assumption that, due to the current business environment, your employees are simply thankful to have jobs. You might assume they're not being recruited or looking for the next opportunity. In reality, however, recruiters are actively contacting your high-performing supply management professionals — especially those in leadership roles.
Read the rest of the Article: http://www.ism.ws/pubs/ISMMag/ismarticle.cfm?ItemNumber=19816
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wall Street Journal-How to Develop Future Leaders
It’s a key task for managers: developing the company’s next generation of leaders.
It’s usually less expensive to retain and develop homegrown talent than to hire it from the outside.
Experts recommend creating in-house leadership development programs that single out so-called high-potential employees and put them through multi-year programs, including mentorships, management classes, stretch assignments and coaching. The goal is to elevate candidates above a single function and give them a broader vision of the company.
Read the rest of the article: http://guides.wsj.com/management/managing-your-people/how-to-develop-future-leaders/?mod=rss_WSJBlog
It’s usually less expensive to retain and develop homegrown talent than to hire it from the outside.
Experts recommend creating in-house leadership development programs that single out so-called high-potential employees and put them through multi-year programs, including mentorships, management classes, stretch assignments and coaching. The goal is to elevate candidates above a single function and give them a broader vision of the company.
Read the rest of the article: http://guides.wsj.com/management/managing-your-people/how-to-develop-future-leaders/?mod=rss_WSJBlog
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Lean Times Require Great Leadership
Lean times require leaders to step up and lead. Manage the process. Dig out and recover. Some tips to make sure your recovery in difficult times is successful include:
1. Avoid any type of panic. Stay away from words like crisis and avoid emergency meetings. These things reinforce how bad things are becoming.
2. Keep routines. Maintain as many regular events as possible. This sends the message that all is going to be alright.
3. Improve visibility. During tough times it is absolutely critical that leaders increase their visibility and approachability. Again, this will have a calming affect.
4. Increase communication. Leaders must use the impetus of a slow down as a chance to increase communication and insure that all team members are hearing the same message from the same source.
5. Think lean and not slash. Look at opportunities for improved efficiency and not just cost cutting for cost-cutting's-sake. Aggressively attack vanity tasks. Better processes and leaner methods will last even when tough times subside.
6. Manage both sides of the income statement. The approach of looking only at the expense side is short-sighted. Look also at options in enhancing revenue. Is there income or income potential being ignored?
7. Use issue as a rally point. A challenge can be a great organizational rally point. When times are tough, use it as a single focus charge cry for all team members.
8. Refer to history. History (and old age) tells us that all downturns are cyclical. They come, they cause pain, and they go. Tough times don't last. Tough people do.
9. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Unfortunately, tough times often bring out the worst in people. Some will become territorial. Some will throw others under the bus. Some will paint unclear pictures about their value. The only way to debunk these is to keep them close.
10. Return to basics and core values. Slow downs and down turns are great times to return to core organizational values and the basics of service delivery. Remember the reason that you are there.
1. Avoid any type of panic. Stay away from words like crisis and avoid emergency meetings. These things reinforce how bad things are becoming.
2. Keep routines. Maintain as many regular events as possible. This sends the message that all is going to be alright.
3. Improve visibility. During tough times it is absolutely critical that leaders increase their visibility and approachability. Again, this will have a calming affect.
4. Increase communication. Leaders must use the impetus of a slow down as a chance to increase communication and insure that all team members are hearing the same message from the same source.
5. Think lean and not slash. Look at opportunities for improved efficiency and not just cost cutting for cost-cutting's-sake. Aggressively attack vanity tasks. Better processes and leaner methods will last even when tough times subside.
6. Manage both sides of the income statement. The approach of looking only at the expense side is short-sighted. Look also at options in enhancing revenue. Is there income or income potential being ignored?
7. Use issue as a rally point. A challenge can be a great organizational rally point. When times are tough, use it as a single focus charge cry for all team members.
8. Refer to history. History (and old age) tells us that all downturns are cyclical. They come, they cause pain, and they go. Tough times don't last. Tough people do.
9. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Unfortunately, tough times often bring out the worst in people. Some will become territorial. Some will throw others under the bus. Some will paint unclear pictures about their value. The only way to debunk these is to keep them close.
10. Return to basics and core values. Slow downs and down turns are great times to return to core organizational values and the basics of service delivery. Remember the reason that you are there.
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