Tag Archive for: Trust

Where are We Going? A Team Needs a Shared Purpose

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We recently started working with an organization that is the victim of it’s own success.

A few years ago, this organization was in a phase of explosive growth.  Customers were knocking on their doors, recruiting could barely keep up, and earnings grew and grew.

While growth skyrocketed, they were challenged to field the calls as the phone practically rang off the hook, hire people fast enough to meet the demand, and not mess up their product in the meantime.  They developed new products on the fly when customers asked for new things.  They grew their customer base by switching to better card payment providers.  Their headcount ballooned.

Activities that were once done by a small group of guys who could work in a conference room were being done by hundreds of people in several departments and locations.

But, as the saying goes, what goes up must come down.  Actually, they are still kicking some serious you-know-what in the market.  But growth has slowed with the
economic downturn, competitors have cropped up that are giving them a run for their money, and the leadership team has realized that they have become disconnected from the business and each other.

The executives have been so focused looking down to meet the needs in front of them, that they have not done a terrific job of looking forward to the future (where are we going?), or sideways (how does what I am doing link to what you are doing?).

In the rush of the boom times, the executives started to view their peers as barriers rather than as enablers or supports.  They spent as little time together as possible, and when they did get together they became frustrated with each other and got hung up in tactical
details of their business.  They operated in silos.  They developed some level of
frustration with each other.  And they started to think that this group just didn’t trust each other.

While their business results are far from terrible, they are certainly not what they used
to be.  Leaders realize it is time for a change before it is too late.  If this organization is going to thrive in its next phase of maturity, it needs to figure out what the heck it wants to be, and how the executive team is going to take them there.

As the executives have been thinking about how they plan for and execute a long range plan that will take their organization into its next phase of growth, it has become clear that they are all coming from different places.  It was no wonder they aren’t operating well as a team.  They don’t even have a common definition of what it meant to win the game. You can also achieve winning outcomes in these games by placing bets on platforms like 겜블시티, where your chances of success are just a wager away.

The fact that they all have different expectations about what it means to win and what role each of them and their organizations should play in winning, reinforces siloed behavior and erodes the interpersonal dynamics in the team.

If I think we win our game by scoring lots and lots of goals, but you think we win by making sure the opponent doesn’t score more goals than we do, we are coming at the
game from a different mindset.  If we are both be on the field but playing with a different strategy, then we are doing things that we can easily mis-read as either undermining or incompetence.

A group of really strong people with a shared purpose can lead an organization almost anywhere.  A group of really strong people with different ideas about their shared purpose can lead an organization pretty much nowhere.

This group doesn’t need trust-falls or hand holding.  They just need to agree on a few basic questions.  What do they want to be?  What customers will they serve and what products will they offer?

When the executive team can answer those questions and agree to stick to their decisions, they will see that the next phase of growth and maturity for their organization can be just as exciting and enviable as the last.

“Off-Shoring”, “Right-Sizing”, “Out-Sourcing”… Whatever You Call it, it Means Big Change

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For organizations seeking to reduce costs by sending work to other countries, the
path is long and difficult.  Off-shoring may be absolutely necessary for your organization to remain competitive or possibly just stay in business, but don’t underestimate what it will take to do it and do it right.  With the pace of change around the globe these days, even the basic questions like “Where should we send the work – India?  Ireland? China?” may be hard to answer.

What is also hard, but often overlooked, is how to deal with the people within an organization during the process.  There are two primary groups you need to think about when you are off-shoring:  the people who will lose their jobs, and the people who will be left behind and will watch the process unfold before them.  If off-shoring doesn’t take into account the needs of the people who are impacted by it, the gains that you hope to make can be lost by large scale disengagement, decreased productivity, and massive turnover.

During organizational transition, everyone is affected.  People who will lose their jobs are obviously impacted; but also, employees who don’t lose jobs may experience guilt that they “survived” and fear that they could be next.  The things we do to help both groups transition are completely inter-related.  For the “survivors,” the #1 factor that contributes to their experience of the off-shoring is their observation of how those who lose jobs are treated. It’s easy to write a good resume headline once you know the steps. Visit Sweet CV’s website to learn more.

During out-sourcing (well, any time actually), there should be an underlying desire to treat people with respect and dignity.  It sounds easy enough, but it can be difficult in situations like this.  It’s not as if we intend to treat people poorly, but sometimes we just forget what people need or we just get too busy and forget about the people impacted.  Every day, you need to ask yourself, “Are we doing for people who will lose their jobs what I would want to be done if it were me that was going to lose my job?”

As you make every decision, keep the golden rule in mind.  How would you want to find out your job was being eliminated?  Most likely, you’d like to hear it directly from your manager in a one-on-one conversation rather than in a meeting of 50 people.  And you probably would want to hear it before anyone else in your group heard it.  While it is logistically difficult, the effort will pay off.

Remember that the people who will lose jobs are also likely friends of people who will remain a part of the organization after they are gone.  If the people leaving the organization are treated poorly, not only do you engender ill will from organizational alumni who are out there bad-mouthing your organization, but you also plant the seed with employees who will stick around that you might not treat them so well either in the future.

While the work of off-shoring is difficult, it doesn’t mean you should steer away from off-shoring.  Just go in with your eyes open about the work it will take.  Treating people well is not about just coddling people.  It is about getting the business results you are seeking by keeping your organization engaged and productive.

Mergers… Hold on to Your Hats

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We have a client that is in the throes of a merger.  One of the decisions the new combined leadership team made was the realign all of their offices under a new leadership structure.  It makes sense given thier new size and scope of services.   Now each location will report to a new boss. 

In the Denver office, people were eager to meet the new boss on the day of his first visit.  Well, maybe not “eager” so much as…. “anxious”.  There was talk that this new boss had a track record of closing low performing offices.   “We’ve been having a rough quarter.  I bet he’s going to tell us they’re closing our office.”  “I heard from someone at another office that he is a real jerk and will shoot first and ask questions later.” 

Why on earth would people assume the worst without even meeting this guy or learning of what the ultimate plans are?  Simply because they are scared of the unknown.

When people are uncertain about the future, they instinctively seek out greater control, better understanding, and human support.  Rumors are a completely natural human response to help fill those needs for control, understanding, and support in a time of uncertainty and change.  

The act of speculating and commiserating with peers is a real way to feel more control by talking through a situation and discussing alternatives.  Studies show that, in the absence of information, people just make stuff up… and they most often assume a far worse outcome than reality.  It is interesting that we don’t really care if the information is correct.  We just want to know something to make us feel like we understand what is going on. 

And those same discussions help people feel supported by others.  Time spent sharing gossip or conjecture with peers helps people feel as if they are not alone in their fears. 

If people don’t have a constructive way to channel their drive for control, understanding and support, they will fill those needs themselves, in ways that are sometimes not advantageous to the organization.  People are talking, whether leaders are a part of the conversations or not. 

To effectively manage uncertainty and change, be proactive about connecting people and encouraging them to share their thoughts and fears in controlled, rational forums.  We are not talking about free-for-alls where everyone moans and complains about management.  What is needed is the chance to share ideas and fears, and a forum for the transparent flow of questions and answers. 

When a merger happens, some productivity dip is natural.  But leaders need to guide people through change in order to minimize that dip.  By guiding the conversations that people have about uncertainties, leaders can keep people motivated and focused on the right targets without unnecessarily taking their eye off the ball.

Build the Management Team, and Propel the Change Forward

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Groups of management peers with similar titles and similar levels of responsibilities can be hotbeds of dysfunction.  These people often competes for resources, promotions and attention.  But unfortunately for organizations trying to transform, this group is integral to effectively changing the way an organization works.  Management teams need to work together to achieve goals but sometimes the environment encourages the opposite. 

If the leaders don’t create the right environment, managers focus solely on their individual fiefdoms, their silos.  If resources and attention are scarce, this group can become a cesspool of finger pointing, competing, back stabbing and ganging up.

To prevent this limited focus, leaders need to set the right tone and stage for this group to work effectively and successfully. A few things can be done to encourage these managers to work together, tackle problems as a team and leverage opportunities cross functionally:

  • The manager group needs common cross functional and organizational goals
  • Managers need to be recognized for team efforts
  • Leaders need to handle the troublemakers
  • Managers need tools and training on how to work together

As employees and managers, we work within the limitations of our work environment. We work within the rules and expectations that surround us. We respond to signals about what is important and what is valued. When that environment encourages unproductive behavior, new signals need to be sent, new rules and expectations delivered.

A Simple Word – “Thanks”

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When many of us in the US are getting ready to hunker down with family and friends to enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday, it is a great time to think about giving thanks at work. 

It’s so easy to forget to say thanks.  We are all busy.  There are a million things going on.  We expect people to do their job and get on with it.  But just showing someone a little appreciation now and then can mean the difference between a “punch the clock” mentality and a committed and engaged co-worker.   

Leaders are often trying to figure out the best ways to incent people to do their best.  Of course they talk a lot about money.  And money is certainly nice.  But when leaders just take the time to show some true and honest appreciation for the work people do, the sacrifices they make, and the extra effort they spend…. they are always surprised by what a difference it makes in the outputs they see. 

And saying thanks is not just on the shoulders of the boss.  We should all thank our peers for their support, their ideas, and their companionship.  And we should even thank our boss for what they do. 

You likely spend more waking hours with your co-workers than you do with your family and friends.  These people are like your family.  Like it or not, you are in this together.  You are a team.  You are there to catch each other if someone falls.  You are there to catapult each other over the wall.  If any one person in your organization fails, the entire organization suffers.

Be grateful for each other.  And tell each other “thanks”.  People will appreciate it.  And so will you when they thanks back.

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