Executive Coaching Success: Pressing the Right Keys
Companies and employees are relying less on skills-based training and trainers for career development and more on formal or informal coaching relationships. But the growth of executive coaching has generated some tough questions about its effectiveness and applicability and the ethics around the approach. Who can best benefit from a coach? When should a coach be used or avoided? What should a company look for in a coach? What should the coach-client relationship look like? Properly designed and implemented coaching can have a significant positive impact on an organization' s leadership capability. However, as with any developmental tool, there are keys to assuring a return on the time and money invested.
Five Keys to Effective Coaching
1. Coaching is focused on the right players:The best opportunity to achieve payback on a coaching investment lies with high-potential or high-professional employees, managers and executives. Helping these "game changers" at critical junctures in their careers usually has a quick and sustained payoff. Coaching challenges - whether tweaking an employee who's already a top performer or assuring that a high-potential employee achieves his or her potential - are different based on the employee's career level, but the objectives are similar.
2. Coaching is applied in the right situations:Coaching is not a panacea for all development needs. There are a limited number of opportunities where experience has shown that coaching can make the biggest difference. They tend to be areas where specific improvement goals and clear benefits can be identified and are not broad finishing-school kinds of challenges.
a) Transitions:Starting a new position with a company, moving to a new role or taking on new responsibilities are critical junctures in a career. Providing a coach to design and facilitate a transaction process can have substantial benefits. These are stressful times, when previous weaknesses become highlighted or overused strengths come to bear. An effective coach can help ensure a smooth transition for the employee and his or her new stakeholders, create confidence by building quick wins and create effective feedback so learning gets locked in.
b)Preventing derailment:Even high-potential employees fail, most often due to overuse or overdependence on one strength. Coaching can help prevent derailment by helping employees identify potential failure modes and by developing specific preventive and contingent action plans.
c)Address a specific problem:This is the more typical coaching situation. We've all seen it - an otherwise promising employee lacks a specific skill or exhibits behaviors that impact his or her relationships with others. These can be derailers, but they are more often opportunities to coach good performers with a blind spot into well-rounded, great performers.
There are specific situations where coaching should not be used.
a) Unethical or illegal behavior is the issue, and the coach is really meant to be a detective or a buffer between the employee and others.
b) When the target employee is not a high potential or a seasoned pro. Instead, there's a long-term performance problem that should be immediately confronted by the employee's manager.
c) When HR has decided the employee needs a coach, without the buy-in of the employee and the employee's manager.
d) When the coach is expected to create a case to terminate the employee.
e) When the employee has psychological problems that should be addressed by a medical professional, or at least a coach with clinical experience. A good coach should be able to quickly identify warning signs and make a referral. Coaching is not therapy and should not be an intervention to go after deep psychological issues.
3. The right coach is used:
Not every consultant or HR professional is cut out to be a coach. An effective coach doesn't need to be a board certified psychologist, but the skill set is unique. Here's a short list of critical coaching competencies.
a) Business acumen:Coaches need to be good businesspeople first. They must be able to understand the market challenges and business priorities their clients face. They need to be able to understand and use executive language.
b) Expert facilitation:Effective coaches are often top-notch facilitators. They understand group processes and process consulting and can guide individuals and teams through effective questioning, analysis, planning and decision-making processes. They can read individual and group dynamics quickly and respond appropriately.
c)Credibility:The best coaches have had business or other experience that can allow them to maintain a perspective. They build credibility quickly by showing that they have "been there, done that." Credibility does not come from a bag of tricks. Beware of a coach with a one-size-fits- all technique or instrument he or she applies in any situation.
d)Interpersonal savvy:Being able to relate to all kinds of people, build rapport and relationships easily, listen, use tact and diplomacy, and diffuse high-tension situations are all hallmarks of an effective coach.
4.Coaching is integrated:Coaching should not be designed and implemented outside of the company's strategy, culture and existing business processes.
The business case for coaching should develop from the company's strategy. The need is best identified from a review of talent, driven by the strategic needs of the business. Coaching should not be a one-off tool. It should be applied where it can best improve a strategic capability of the organization. For example, if business growth depends on developing new products for new markets, look for coaching opportunities with high-potential leaders and their backups in mission-critical new product development, business development or marketing roles.
5.The proper coaching relationship is established:
The coach's client is the employee being coached and not their manager or a human resources executive who may be paying the coach's tab. This is not the typical consultant-client relationship with the economic buyer, so it needs to be managed differently. Once the coaching relationship is established, all feedback and communication should go to the coached employee. Any communication with the manager should come from the client after discussion and agreement with the coach. To do otherwise would breech this special agreement and would jeopardize the coach-client relationship.
The one exception to this would be a case where the coach uncovers unethical or illegal behavior on the part of the employee. The coach is obligated in these situations to terminate the relationship and inform the manager.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
5 ways to Tap into the Power of Skills and Competency Management
Its up to HR to not only devise the systems but also educate employees about the benefits of using them for self-appraisal, career development, and other processes.
How to get a handle on the knowledge and skills of your employees ?
a.)Identify key skills and competencies through surveys, interviews, focus groups and analysis. Every organization has unique needs and identifying the skills and competencies that drive success can boost performance and profits. The process of identifying the traits that lead to success falls somewhere between art and science. However, certain methods, such as interviews, surveys and focus groups can help turn attention in the right direction.
b.)Build a Management System that can track employee performance. Using a checklist, spreadsheet or specialized software application, an organization can track where employees are and where they ought to be. It’s also possible to share this information with employees, so that they can prepare for new assignments or better positions within the organization.
c.)Integrate skills and competency inventories with other HR systems, including recruiting, training and succession planning. A list of key skills can define the questions that a recruiter asks an applicant in a job interview or the types of courses an organization introduces through its training and development program. A desktop portal can provide an employee with a list of skills needed for a particular position, note the skills that he or she currently possesses, and serve as an easy way to sign up for a course.
d.)Keep in mind that skills or competency tracking isn’t a one-time solution; it’s an outgoing process. It’s essential to tweak systems and update the list of required skills periodically. This can also lead to changes in the types of courses an organization offers and the kinds of individuals an enterprise recruits.
e.)Don’t expect immediate miracles. Filling skill and competence gaps takes time, effort, and cultural adjustment. It’s up to HR to not only devise the systems but also educate employees about the benefits of using them for self-appraisal, career development and other processes.
How to get a handle on the knowledge and skills of your employees ?
a.)Identify key skills and competencies through surveys, interviews, focus groups and analysis. Every organization has unique needs and identifying the skills and competencies that drive success can boost performance and profits. The process of identifying the traits that lead to success falls somewhere between art and science. However, certain methods, such as interviews, surveys and focus groups can help turn attention in the right direction.
b.)Build a Management System that can track employee performance. Using a checklist, spreadsheet or specialized software application, an organization can track where employees are and where they ought to be. It’s also possible to share this information with employees, so that they can prepare for new assignments or better positions within the organization.
c.)Integrate skills and competency inventories with other HR systems, including recruiting, training and succession planning. A list of key skills can define the questions that a recruiter asks an applicant in a job interview or the types of courses an organization introduces through its training and development program. A desktop portal can provide an employee with a list of skills needed for a particular position, note the skills that he or she currently possesses, and serve as an easy way to sign up for a course.
d.)Keep in mind that skills or competency tracking isn’t a one-time solution; it’s an outgoing process. It’s essential to tweak systems and update the list of required skills periodically. This can also lead to changes in the types of courses an organization offers and the kinds of individuals an enterprise recruits.
e.)Don’t expect immediate miracles. Filling skill and competence gaps takes time, effort, and cultural adjustment. It’s up to HR to not only devise the systems but also educate employees about the benefits of using them for self-appraisal, career development and other processes.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Checklist for Modern Enterprise Learning
Today's corporate learning organizations are facing a barrage of challenges from every direction. On the one hand, the current business climate is forcing budget reductions, organizational consolidations and shifting program priorities. On the other, social and informal learning technologies are causing us to rethink investments and program deliveries.
If 2009 has a silver lining, it is that training executives in companies of all shapes and sizes are being forced to re-examine priorities, reduce waste and inefficiencies, capitalize on cost-efficient learning approaches and reorganize for greater business alignment.
In recent research around modern corporate learning, we found distinct commonalities among training organizations that achieve significant business impact. These characteristics are compiled into the short list below, called the Modern Enterprise Learning Index. Use this informal checklist to determine if your training organization is still operating in the past - or if it is ready to meet modern challenges and requirements:
a) Business and needs analysis.
b) Content development efficiency.
c) Scalable capacity.
d) Adaptability to multiple audiences.
e) Versatility with tools and technologies.
f) Business alignment and measurement.
g) Integration with talent management.
h) Timeliness and speed.
i) Focus on specific performance targets.
j) Globalization and localization.
k) Knowledge sharing.
l) Fostering of a learning culture.
Periodically benchmark your organization with others in your industry segment, as well as with organizations at large. Only with such comparisons can you determine how your organization really stacks up. Our research found that companies with rapidly changing products and services are more "modernized, " likely because they have had experience in building adaptable training programs over many years. The most successful training organizations operate as if their businesses are changing all the time, even if they are not. These organizations constantly re-evaluate and recalibrate their practices and programs.
1. Build learning environments, not learning programs:High-performing training organizations create end-to-end learning environments, not just training programs. For example, consider IT major solution provider sales leadership program. The initiative includes managerial coaching, a sales and product training portal and a series of formal training programs. The results have been stellar: The company increased sales productivity by more than 100 percent and reduced turnover by a significant margin.
2. "Formalize" informal learning:Three types of informal learning are now being adopted: social learning, which refers to all collaborative experiences including social networking, communities of practice and blogs; on-demand learning, which consists of learner-led activities such as e-learning and self-study using books, reference materials, videos and podcasts; and embedded learning, which refers to the use of content and systems such as job aids, which help employees solve problems and learn on the job. Organizations told us they were struggling with the idea of building informal strategies into program design, but we now know it's critical for success.
3. Rethink instructional design processes:While the concepts and principles of instructional design remain the same, the skills need to be put to new use - such as the building of information architectures, audience analysis, social learning and on-demand learning. Most designers are eager to take advantage of the new world of learning. You can leverage these skills at little to no additional cost.
4. Adopt new, cost-efficient technologies: With the proliferation of new tools for online collaboration - including messaging, mobile phones, Web portals and Twitter - it is easier than ever for employees to engage with each other. We found organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the U.S. Army, British Telecom, Symantec, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and many others are opening up their training content in a knowledge-sharing format. We call this "we-learning" - enabling employees to publish what they know and understand for the benefit of peers and co-workers. This kind of learning can be extremely effective and capitalizes on the knowledge assets you already have. Furthermore, information can be disseminated rapidly, far faster than developing traditional designed courses.
Don't miss out on the opportunity offered by the current financial situation. By modernizing your organization, you can increase the power and the impact of learning within your company.
If 2009 has a silver lining, it is that training executives in companies of all shapes and sizes are being forced to re-examine priorities, reduce waste and inefficiencies, capitalize on cost-efficient learning approaches and reorganize for greater business alignment.
In recent research around modern corporate learning, we found distinct commonalities among training organizations that achieve significant business impact. These characteristics are compiled into the short list below, called the Modern Enterprise Learning Index. Use this informal checklist to determine if your training organization is still operating in the past - or if it is ready to meet modern challenges and requirements:
a) Business and needs analysis.
b) Content development efficiency.
c) Scalable capacity.
d) Adaptability to multiple audiences.
e) Versatility with tools and technologies.
f) Business alignment and measurement.
g) Integration with talent management.
h) Timeliness and speed.
i) Focus on specific performance targets.
j) Globalization and localization.
k) Knowledge sharing.
l) Fostering of a learning culture.
Periodically benchmark your organization with others in your industry segment, as well as with organizations at large. Only with such comparisons can you determine how your organization really stacks up. Our research found that companies with rapidly changing products and services are more "modernized, " likely because they have had experience in building adaptable training programs over many years. The most successful training organizations operate as if their businesses are changing all the time, even if they are not. These organizations constantly re-evaluate and recalibrate their practices and programs.
1. Build learning environments, not learning programs:High-performing training organizations create end-to-end learning environments, not just training programs. For example, consider IT major solution provider sales leadership program. The initiative includes managerial coaching, a sales and product training portal and a series of formal training programs. The results have been stellar: The company increased sales productivity by more than 100 percent and reduced turnover by a significant margin.
2. "Formalize" informal learning:Three types of informal learning are now being adopted: social learning, which refers to all collaborative experiences including social networking, communities of practice and blogs; on-demand learning, which consists of learner-led activities such as e-learning and self-study using books, reference materials, videos and podcasts; and embedded learning, which refers to the use of content and systems such as job aids, which help employees solve problems and learn on the job. Organizations told us they were struggling with the idea of building informal strategies into program design, but we now know it's critical for success.
3. Rethink instructional design processes:While the concepts and principles of instructional design remain the same, the skills need to be put to new use - such as the building of information architectures, audience analysis, social learning and on-demand learning. Most designers are eager to take advantage of the new world of learning. You can leverage these skills at little to no additional cost.
4. Adopt new, cost-efficient technologies: With the proliferation of new tools for online collaboration - including messaging, mobile phones, Web portals and Twitter - it is easier than ever for employees to engage with each other. We found organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the U.S. Army, British Telecom, Symantec, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and many others are opening up their training content in a knowledge-sharing format. We call this "we-learning" - enabling employees to publish what they know and understand for the benefit of peers and co-workers. This kind of learning can be extremely effective and capitalizes on the knowledge assets you already have. Furthermore, information can be disseminated rapidly, far faster than developing traditional designed courses.
Don't miss out on the opportunity offered by the current financial situation. By modernizing your organization, you can increase the power and the impact of learning within your company.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Performance Management System
Managing Human Resource has been a challenge from the time immemorial as the legends and stories from our epics and literature tell us. We are presenting here a quaint tale from the stories of Akbar and Birbal to illustrate an ubiquitous HR concept.
Today all organizations big or small, new or seasoned are working rigorously on Performance Management System as the strong leverage tool for achieving the business results and in this regard every employees focus is going through a paradigm shift to Key Results Areas ( KRAs) and this is becoming an integral part of the performance evaluating process.
Today all organizations big or small, new or seasoned are working rigorously on Performance Management System as the strong leverage tool for achieving the business results and in this regard every employees focus is going through a paradigm shift to Key Results Areas ( KRAs) and this is becoming an integral part of the performance evaluating process.
However only a very few are aware that the Man who conceived this idea and brought lots of laurels to this concept to the larger world, is some one from India !
Akbar the Great, the well known Mughal Emperor needs no introduction to any student of history.
One fine day Akbar summoned all his ministers to his chambers for a crucial meeting.
“I would like each of you to spell out your Key Results Areas for the year with specific period objectives on how the results are going to be achieved, “ he declared to the august assembly.
That set the entire team of ministers who decorated his cabinet to think and ponder. They knew that when Akbar demands there is no option but to deliver. Soon each of them made out their KRAs spelling out elaborate plans of action.
The only soul just not showing any excitement was Birbal. He seemed the least interested in the exercise that had set the mid night lamps to burn all over the palace. Birbal was a special decoration to Akbars Court and it was well known how the entire kingdom had benefited out of his wit and wisdom. However Birbals lackadaisical attitude to the new plans of Akbar did not amuse the emperor.
The place was idyllic, the time the morning hours, when Akbar was on a lazy ride with his pride of possession ”the black horse” that he met Birbal and enquired about his KRAs. Birbal did not have even the faintest idea of what he was going to deliver but not to be out done in this new exercise and as if suddenly he declared “I have finalized my KRA for the year !” He looked at the black horse near him and said, “ I will make this horse fly.”
Akbar could not resist the temptation to laugh it off but knowing Birbal he controlled himself and said, “ If that’s what you intent to deliver it’s perfectly Ok with me.”
Days passed into weeks and weeks into months and much to the concern and worry of the other ministers there was no sign of the black horse flying. The ministers knew that Akbar was quite serious about the new system that he had introduced and that he would just not spare anyone for non-performance.
One fine day when it was almost the end of the year the ministers met Birbal and enquired, “ You seem to be blissfully unaware that the year is coming to close shortly and your promise of the making the emperors horse to fly just does not seem to take off.” The chorus of their common concern could not be missed out in their comments.
Birbal was his usual unperturbed self. “ Look my dear friends, between now and the year end quite a few things could happen which makes me feel least worried” he said with his usual gay abandon. He further went on to explain in his own style the secrets of his confidence “ As I see things , I am not too worried. You see there are quite a few probabilities in my favor. Well, to just spell it out: before the year ends I could die all too suddenly! Or may be the black horse could contact some disease and die ! Or our emperor who is not getting any younger by the day could pass off peacefully! And even if nothing like any of these happens there is another possibility. He stopped for a while and staring straight at the other ministers and came out with the punch line “ Who knows ! By the end of the year that black horse may actually fly !!!”
The ministers were shocked and frozen to silence. Knowing Birbal they did not venture into an argument with him and left him alone with his theorem of probabilities.
History is not clear which of the probability worked in favor of Birbal. Anyway that should hardly matter to us. The very thought of such risky probabilities immediately brings to light the need to look into our own lot and start thinking.
Can we be as lucky as Birbal to shoot off the cuff ‘ a phantom like promise’ and rest be assured that something from somewhere will somehow save us at the end of the day ? Have we made some commitments to deliver, which like the flying horse seem to be almost impossible to meet ? What will happen if we survive in the organization till the fateful day (appraisal meeting) and have to face the immediate superior to discuss results ? What will happen if our boss is not going to be leaving the organization as we suspected and is definitely going to confront us at the end of the day? Will some of our KRAs turn out to become so obsolete that it would make no business sense by the end of the year and our achieving or not achieving will go unnoticed? And finally can horses really fly at a future date ? A host of such thoughts crop up in our mind and cause that uncomfortable churns in our stomach.
The basic fear that grips us could be strong possibilities of some impossible promises which we would have made meant to impress and not implement. Some of us would almost feel like leaving the story here and rushing to our desk to quickly check and review in case we too have by the slip of our pen inked in the “ Birbal like KRAs”
A wise man said “ Honesty to admittance of mistakes pay rich dividends especially when we show this quality not when our chips are down but when there is scope to make amends.” How true! It will not be a bad idea at all to get across the table of our boss right away and admit to those Birbal Brand of bad promises and substitute it with those ‘ Smart ‘ Ones that can seldom fail as long we are willing to sweat it out to succeed !
Akbar the Great, the well known Mughal Emperor needs no introduction to any student of history.
One fine day Akbar summoned all his ministers to his chambers for a crucial meeting.
“I would like each of you to spell out your Key Results Areas for the year with specific period objectives on how the results are going to be achieved, “ he declared to the august assembly.
That set the entire team of ministers who decorated his cabinet to think and ponder. They knew that when Akbar demands there is no option but to deliver. Soon each of them made out their KRAs spelling out elaborate plans of action.
The only soul just not showing any excitement was Birbal. He seemed the least interested in the exercise that had set the mid night lamps to burn all over the palace. Birbal was a special decoration to Akbars Court and it was well known how the entire kingdom had benefited out of his wit and wisdom. However Birbals lackadaisical attitude to the new plans of Akbar did not amuse the emperor.
The place was idyllic, the time the morning hours, when Akbar was on a lazy ride with his pride of possession ”the black horse” that he met Birbal and enquired about his KRAs. Birbal did not have even the faintest idea of what he was going to deliver but not to be out done in this new exercise and as if suddenly he declared “I have finalized my KRA for the year !” He looked at the black horse near him and said, “ I will make this horse fly.”
Akbar could not resist the temptation to laugh it off but knowing Birbal he controlled himself and said, “ If that’s what you intent to deliver it’s perfectly Ok with me.”
Days passed into weeks and weeks into months and much to the concern and worry of the other ministers there was no sign of the black horse flying. The ministers knew that Akbar was quite serious about the new system that he had introduced and that he would just not spare anyone for non-performance.
One fine day when it was almost the end of the year the ministers met Birbal and enquired, “ You seem to be blissfully unaware that the year is coming to close shortly and your promise of the making the emperors horse to fly just does not seem to take off.” The chorus of their common concern could not be missed out in their comments.
Birbal was his usual unperturbed self. “ Look my dear friends, between now and the year end quite a few things could happen which makes me feel least worried” he said with his usual gay abandon. He further went on to explain in his own style the secrets of his confidence “ As I see things , I am not too worried. You see there are quite a few probabilities in my favor. Well, to just spell it out: before the year ends I could die all too suddenly! Or may be the black horse could contact some disease and die ! Or our emperor who is not getting any younger by the day could pass off peacefully! And even if nothing like any of these happens there is another possibility. He stopped for a while and staring straight at the other ministers and came out with the punch line “ Who knows ! By the end of the year that black horse may actually fly !!!”
The ministers were shocked and frozen to silence. Knowing Birbal they did not venture into an argument with him and left him alone with his theorem of probabilities.
History is not clear which of the probability worked in favor of Birbal. Anyway that should hardly matter to us. The very thought of such risky probabilities immediately brings to light the need to look into our own lot and start thinking.
Can we be as lucky as Birbal to shoot off the cuff ‘ a phantom like promise’ and rest be assured that something from somewhere will somehow save us at the end of the day ? Have we made some commitments to deliver, which like the flying horse seem to be almost impossible to meet ? What will happen if we survive in the organization till the fateful day (appraisal meeting) and have to face the immediate superior to discuss results ? What will happen if our boss is not going to be leaving the organization as we suspected and is definitely going to confront us at the end of the day? Will some of our KRAs turn out to become so obsolete that it would make no business sense by the end of the year and our achieving or not achieving will go unnoticed? And finally can horses really fly at a future date ? A host of such thoughts crop up in our mind and cause that uncomfortable churns in our stomach.
The basic fear that grips us could be strong possibilities of some impossible promises which we would have made meant to impress and not implement. Some of us would almost feel like leaving the story here and rushing to our desk to quickly check and review in case we too have by the slip of our pen inked in the “ Birbal like KRAs”
A wise man said “ Honesty to admittance of mistakes pay rich dividends especially when we show this quality not when our chips are down but when there is scope to make amends.” How true! It will not be a bad idea at all to get across the table of our boss right away and admit to those Birbal Brand of bad promises and substitute it with those ‘ Smart ‘ Ones that can seldom fail as long we are willing to sweat it out to succeed !
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Leader of Ethics: Set a High Example
One Executive recently asked me, “How can I worry about ethics when our company is fighting for its very existence in a hostile market ?”
I responded: “ You don’t have to put ethics on the shelf while doing battle.
Without ethics, even if you win you still lose.”
Every time we say or do something unethical, we chip away at the foundations of our moral character and reputation. To make a difference we must set examples of high ethics.
The prime purpose of businesses is to make profit. But when profits become the only measure of success, we lose sight of our shared values. When unethical business practices create unfair situations that go beyond a healthy competitive environment, we are in deep trouble. In a competitive market, doing business often involves beating out the other guy, getting the best of the deal, turning $1 million into $5 million. In this adversarial climate, clear definitions of ethics can be difficult. How do you know when an action is a brilliant tactic or unscrupulous double-dealing? One way is to ask yourself if this action might harm an individual or business.
No one ever said that being ethical is easy. We live in a world with more ethical gray areas. Circumstances pull at us every day, urging us to take the easy way out, to twist something just a little, or to close our eyes for a second. Acts of omission can be just as unethical as acts of commission. Saying and doing nothing can be just as unethical as the committed act. The distinction between what is legal and what is unethical has become blurred.
Human Values: Business problems are ultimately human problems and so human values must be applied to their solutions. These human values and solutions come from you and me.
The Good news is that profit motive and social responsibility can coexist and prosper when we operate with high ethical standards and compassion. The stronger our ethical behavior, the better leaders we become.
Harry J.Gray, former Chairman of United Technologies, said, “ How we perform as individuals determines how we perform as nation.”
Situational Ethics: Each of us makes daily decisions about our ethical behavior in various situations; thus we live with situational ethics. Since we are not perfect, we rarely operate consistently at the highest ethical level. Instead, the best we can do is to try to develop the wisdom and judgment to get as close to perfection as possible. For example, absolute honesty means never lie. That sounds like a good idea. But all of us have told “white lies” to keep from hurting someone’s feelings. We use our experience (wisdom and judgment) and our conscience (moral character and integrity) to tell us how far we stray from absolute honesty. If something is ethically or morally repugnant on a personal scale, it is equally repugnant in our jobs and professions. In both areas, the leader sets the standards, tries to live by them, and communicates the same expectation to others.
Shared Values: We need to work together for our common interests, hopes, and values, more than ever before. We must examine our personal standard of conduct – our ethics- and have the courage to turn the spotlight on our actions, habits and examples. Our differences are part of our great strength, but out of this diverse mixture must come a shared system of ethical values. You make a difference as a leader when you set an example of high ethics.
I responded: “ You don’t have to put ethics on the shelf while doing battle.
Without ethics, even if you win you still lose.”
Every time we say or do something unethical, we chip away at the foundations of our moral character and reputation. To make a difference we must set examples of high ethics.
The prime purpose of businesses is to make profit. But when profits become the only measure of success, we lose sight of our shared values. When unethical business practices create unfair situations that go beyond a healthy competitive environment, we are in deep trouble. In a competitive market, doing business often involves beating out the other guy, getting the best of the deal, turning $1 million into $5 million. In this adversarial climate, clear definitions of ethics can be difficult. How do you know when an action is a brilliant tactic or unscrupulous double-dealing? One way is to ask yourself if this action might harm an individual or business.
No one ever said that being ethical is easy. We live in a world with more ethical gray areas. Circumstances pull at us every day, urging us to take the easy way out, to twist something just a little, or to close our eyes for a second. Acts of omission can be just as unethical as acts of commission. Saying and doing nothing can be just as unethical as the committed act. The distinction between what is legal and what is unethical has become blurred.
Human Values: Business problems are ultimately human problems and so human values must be applied to their solutions. These human values and solutions come from you and me.
The Good news is that profit motive and social responsibility can coexist and prosper when we operate with high ethical standards and compassion. The stronger our ethical behavior, the better leaders we become.
Harry J.Gray, former Chairman of United Technologies, said, “ How we perform as individuals determines how we perform as nation.”
Situational Ethics: Each of us makes daily decisions about our ethical behavior in various situations; thus we live with situational ethics. Since we are not perfect, we rarely operate consistently at the highest ethical level. Instead, the best we can do is to try to develop the wisdom and judgment to get as close to perfection as possible. For example, absolute honesty means never lie. That sounds like a good idea. But all of us have told “white lies” to keep from hurting someone’s feelings. We use our experience (wisdom and judgment) and our conscience (moral character and integrity) to tell us how far we stray from absolute honesty. If something is ethically or morally repugnant on a personal scale, it is equally repugnant in our jobs and professions. In both areas, the leader sets the standards, tries to live by them, and communicates the same expectation to others.
Shared Values: We need to work together for our common interests, hopes, and values, more than ever before. We must examine our personal standard of conduct – our ethics- and have the courage to turn the spotlight on our actions, habits and examples. Our differences are part of our great strength, but out of this diverse mixture must come a shared system of ethical values. You make a difference as a leader when you set an example of high ethics.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Big Vision
To create a BIG-VISION team or enterprise, apply the below mentioned four Keys.
1. Define Growth in Qualitative, not just Quantitative Terms:-
The focus of many leaders is to grow big, fast, by expanding revenue, offices, and headcount. These “growth companies” don’t have to be sustainable, viable, or ethical. But qualitative growth is about leveraging strengths to achieve an edge.
2. To Live large, you have to have a Big Vision:-
When the numbers fail, the economy tanks, or you have a losing season, your big vision inspires you to persevere. It’s your guiding light. The lack of guiding vision is why many companies experience high turnover, and why others sputter and fail at the first setback. The vision makes enduring challenges worthwhile. It distinguishes you, providing you connect vision with action.
3. Right relationship is a big-vision craft:-
Beyond “delighting your customers”, “ retaining human capital” or “winning the war for talent”, right relationship stems from wisdom or mastery practices, and becomes a pathway for qualitative growth, competitive distinction, employee morale, and customer loyalty. You seek to improve relationships with key constituencies, and create a sense of greater meaning that helps retain and motivate people.
4. If you want to live from the source, you can’t let the well run dry:-
Inspiration is fuel; burnout is the depletion of fuel. Many people are dissatisfied with their work, distrustful of rhetoric, and looking for greater purpose, meaning, and contribution. Meaning can’t be bestowed upon you- you have to create it. Big –Vision leader’s help their people see that the way they do their work, and the actual work they do, can be done masterfully.
1. Define Growth in Qualitative, not just Quantitative Terms:-
The focus of many leaders is to grow big, fast, by expanding revenue, offices, and headcount. These “growth companies” don’t have to be sustainable, viable, or ethical. But qualitative growth is about leveraging strengths to achieve an edge.
2. To Live large, you have to have a Big Vision:-
When the numbers fail, the economy tanks, or you have a losing season, your big vision inspires you to persevere. It’s your guiding light. The lack of guiding vision is why many companies experience high turnover, and why others sputter and fail at the first setback. The vision makes enduring challenges worthwhile. It distinguishes you, providing you connect vision with action.
3. Right relationship is a big-vision craft:-
Beyond “delighting your customers”, “ retaining human capital” or “winning the war for talent”, right relationship stems from wisdom or mastery practices, and becomes a pathway for qualitative growth, competitive distinction, employee morale, and customer loyalty. You seek to improve relationships with key constituencies, and create a sense of greater meaning that helps retain and motivate people.
4. If you want to live from the source, you can’t let the well run dry:-
Inspiration is fuel; burnout is the depletion of fuel. Many people are dissatisfied with their work, distrustful of rhetoric, and looking for greater purpose, meaning, and contribution. Meaning can’t be bestowed upon you- you have to create it. Big –Vision leader’s help their people see that the way they do their work, and the actual work they do, can be done masterfully.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
'WOW ‘- WELCOME TO OUR WORLD
Induction Programme plays a very important role in the successful absorption of individual in any organization. This is perhaps the reason why many organizations invest significant time and energy in this process.
And a wholesome induction in my view and from my experience of having Designed, Planned and Implemented 11 Induction Programmes for 367 New Inductees from various centers at C-DAC, Pune, would consist of the following essential elements.
This is what I call a WOW EFFECT- Welcome to our World
Induction Programme
Now you have the employee you wanted. He has come and joined you. This is the time for you to consummate the alliance, to build the real relationship. Induction is the time to set out expectations and to capture critical potential indicators.
Good Induction Programme
A good induction programme is about communication. Treat the new recruit with respect and as a mature and responsible individual. Welcome him and make sure that he is comfortable. Introduce him to all relevant people individually.
Undersell the Organization
During the induction programme, its imperative to manage the inductees expectations. Undersell the organization and the presentations as professional and business like as possible. The expectations you set here will come back to haunt you later.
Lay down Organizations Expectations
Time for you to lay down organizations expectations in terms of performance, professionalism and other values you want to espouse.
Clarity on Organizations Values and Policies
Walk the inductee through every policy and rules manual, this will help him know the organization better and will not feel lost once he goes to work.
Lay down the Performance Management System
Clearly enunciate your Performance Management System. It is very critical for an employee to know what is expected out of him and what the performance parameters are.
Overall Development
Also invest in Soft Skill programmes ( preferably in-house). It gives an inductee the focus on organization’s way of doing things i.e Communication and Team Building.
Buddy Programme
Design a Buddy or Mentoring Programme ( both are different approaches) to help assimilate the new inductee into your organization smoothly.
Strategic Approach
If we look at Induction Programme from a Strategic Perspective as opposed to a Procedural Objective, we would agree on the following:
· It is the first impression that the EMPLOYEE will get of the organization.
· It is the first opportunity for the ORGANIZATION to make a clear undiluted Communication.
· Induction Programme is CRITICAL to an employee identifying with the organization.
· An effective induction will facilitate HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY.
· And Achievement of the above shall automatically ensure higher/ lower EMPLOYEE
RETENTION with the organization.
Elements for Designing a Wholesome Induction Programme
Profile of the Inductee
The typical profile of an inductee would be
And a wholesome induction in my view and from my experience of having Designed, Planned and Implemented 11 Induction Programmes for 367 New Inductees from various centers at C-DAC, Pune, would consist of the following essential elements.
This is what I call a WOW EFFECT- Welcome to our World
Induction Programme
Now you have the employee you wanted. He has come and joined you. This is the time for you to consummate the alliance, to build the real relationship. Induction is the time to set out expectations and to capture critical potential indicators.
Good Induction Programme
A good induction programme is about communication. Treat the new recruit with respect and as a mature and responsible individual. Welcome him and make sure that he is comfortable. Introduce him to all relevant people individually.
Undersell the Organization
During the induction programme, its imperative to manage the inductees expectations. Undersell the organization and the presentations as professional and business like as possible. The expectations you set here will come back to haunt you later.
Lay down Organizations Expectations
Time for you to lay down organizations expectations in terms of performance, professionalism and other values you want to espouse.
Clarity on Organizations Values and Policies
Walk the inductee through every policy and rules manual, this will help him know the organization better and will not feel lost once he goes to work.
Lay down the Performance Management System
Clearly enunciate your Performance Management System. It is very critical for an employee to know what is expected out of him and what the performance parameters are.
Overall Development
Also invest in Soft Skill programmes ( preferably in-house). It gives an inductee the focus on organization’s way of doing things i.e Communication and Team Building.
Buddy Programme
Design a Buddy or Mentoring Programme ( both are different approaches) to help assimilate the new inductee into your organization smoothly.
Strategic Approach
If we look at Induction Programme from a Strategic Perspective as opposed to a Procedural Objective, we would agree on the following:
· It is the first impression that the EMPLOYEE will get of the organization.
· It is the first opportunity for the ORGANIZATION to make a clear undiluted Communication.
· Induction Programme is CRITICAL to an employee identifying with the organization.
· An effective induction will facilitate HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY.
· And Achievement of the above shall automatically ensure higher/ lower EMPLOYEE
RETENTION with the organization.
Elements for Designing a Wholesome Induction Programme
Profile of the Inductee
The typical profile of an inductee would be
Comes from a different sized organization.
Orientation to a different culture.
Different Value System.
Different Quality Processes.
Concern if his experience and learning would be utilized.
Concern on his career progression.
Need for Information.
Objective of the Induction Programme
Familiarize the Inductee to the Organization, Team.
Educate the Inductee to Environment, Values, Vision, Mission, Quality Processes and Culture.
Integrate the inductee to the organization.
Provide comfort and manage his anxieties.
Provide information on all policies and procedures.
Provide information on performance culture and Expectation Management.
Strategic People Objectives of the Organization
Induction helps in the Retention Strategy (3 years or 30 years), manages anxiety, manages expectations, educates on processes, values and ethos, ensures seamless integration with the Organizations culture and environment.
Induction Module
Company Information- Corporate Presentation, Unit/ Branch Information.
Vision Statements- Our Commitment to Growth.
Mission Statements- How did we arrive at the Mission Statement, the reason behind it.
Exemplify and explain. Helps in IDENTIFYING with the same.
Values- what are our values and how do we fearlessly stand up for the same.
Policies and Procedures- HR Policies, Admin Policies etc have a presentation. Induction manual is generally not read nor understood by upto 70-80% of the Inductees.
Processes- What is quality to us ? what are basic quality concepts? What are he various project management tools inductees would require to use, work flow.
Performance Management System- How it works and what are the KPA’s, what is the career progression opportunities and what does it take to achieve.
Environment and Cultural Sensitization.
Team Introduction- Personal introduction to all relevant people in the team.
Sources of Information- Internet and Intranet, key people etc. Internet and e-mail policies.
Buddy Programme- Identify and Allocate a Buddy/Mentor to the inductee to facilitate smooth integration.
Soft Skills- Identify 2/3 soft skills critical to the business and do workshops to create experiential learning opportunity.
Feedback and Measure
We have through the Induction Programme laid down the organization’s expectations and the way of life to the Inductees, time to capture his assimilation ( through Quiz). To measure the efficacy of Induction, his feedback on how it could be better or what else he needed to know or be explained. This can be done through Quizzes, Structured Feedback forms, Informal Interviews, tracking him over a period of time.
Controlling and Improving
Inputs thus received should documented and used to make improvements in the programme, to the extent feasible.
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