The Care and Feeding of High-Potential Talent

Posted on May 4, 2012 by John Whitaker

It certainly seems like a simple enough equation; hire and/or develop the best talent to produce the best business results. In theory and in practice, that is generally true, at least for the short-term; the challenge is, often-times the hidden risk involved is your company’s role as the developing ground from which OTHER companies harvest.

But, if A-lister’s are what you want, you need to be prepared to handle their ambition and talent accordingly. Whether it’s home-grown talent or external hires, there are specific areas of focus that can help you retain your key employees.

1. Move the bar often ~ People are able to move “up” the promotional chain quickly in part because they are exceedingly adept at mastering the tasks in their current role. When promotional opportunities are scarce, your key employees need to be engaged outside of the normal job requirements. Shadow assignments and project work are two effective methods of keeping a key employee engaged.

2. Engaged management ~ When you have a high performing employee, your natural inclination is to focus on other employees. DON’T.  Some studies show retention rates increase by as much as 91% when a manager effectively coaches, mentors, challenges, and develops his/her employees. Don’t micro-manage, add value to your time spent.

3. Compensation ~ If ever there were a need for “SPOT” awards, special incentive funds, or performance bonuses (even for those not bonus-eligible), this is it. Discretionary income is not only a huge incentive, it is easily linked to recognition AND retention. Make performance-based income a part of your management philosophy.

4. Development Planning ~ Meaningful opportunities for self-improvement and collaborative planning for short & long-term advancement. This is important for all your employees, but for fast-risers it’s especially critical to have a plan. Make it a shared effort, give them partial ownership, and then be consistent when re-visiting the plan on a periodic basis.

There’s another less tactical method of retaining employees – fairness. Nothing is more frustrating to a hi-performer than a “peanut-butter” approach to management, compensation, merit ratings, and expectations. Make meaningful differentiation in raises, in ratings, and in recognition. Deliver reviews in person, avoid a cut & paste exercise when providing feedback, and build a persona based on “honest” assessor. You may not control the corporate purse-strings, but you can certainly be fair and direct with your employees. You will be amazed at the positive reaction you receive, even from those receiving the tough love.

A common theme is easily visible – the manager bears a great deal of the responsibility for retaining key employees. It’s imperative that you get out of the weeds and actively engage these employees; believe me, that’s not an Exit Interview you want to host. The positive flip-side of this equation is the obvious influence you can have as the manager of top talent, no matter the level.

There’s no fool-proof way to retain talent, and you may be facing an uphill battle if there are cultural or organizational factors outside of your scope of influence. Don’t focus on what you can’t change, but don’t let that distract you from doing what you do best – keep the “keepers!”

John Whitaker is a partner at PeopleResults. Follow him on Twitter @JWPeopleResults.

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What Does Being a “Strategic Leader” Really Mean?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Sheri Browning

Facebook’s recent purchase of Instagram has made headlines recently when they purchased the popular photo-sharing site for a cool $2 Billion Dollars. Did you know that for the 2 Billion Facebook paid for Instagram (which is less than 2 years old), they could have bought out recently bankrupt Kodak 10 times over?

Wow.

The lesson, one we all know, is that we ignore change at our own peril. While many leaders understand this, there are still some who lack the foresight and peripheral vision to see the forces that will shape the future. I love this article in Inc. Magazine about the 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers, including Anticipate, Think Critically, Interpret, Decide, Align and Learn. I found myself wondering about the investment and commitment Kodak (and many other companies like them) made in developing their leaders and helping all employees be more “strategic”.

So often, we see being “strategic” as the opposite of “practical” or “realistic”. The ability to be strategic is valued very differently in different companies. Many companies and organizations value operational excellence more than they value their strategy – and that can be the right thing to do. However, all companies need true strategic leaders to navigate the future, and too often successful “operational leader” types get promoted to senior positions and can’t navigate their way out of a paper bag.

So how do you build or develop the right strategic leadership skills within your organization? I think it comes down to:

  • Encouraging and rewarding risk, even when the result is failure.
  • Utilizing tools to encourage collaboration and develop new ideas. Tools like Yammer which enable collaboration, idea generation and building are critical if you want experts to talk to other experts to come up with the next big thing.
  • Having a stellar method to identify and reward key talent, even when those individuals seem out of the “box” and don’t fit the job description or criteria laid out on the performance review.
  • Cross-training across key functions, to encourage innovation and get people to see things in a different way.
  • Operating outside of the organizational structure by pulling together cross-functional teams, with participants across all levels in the organization.

While these are just some examples, I think it’s critical that we reassess the value we place on strategy and the impact that the lack of strategic thinking can have.

Sheri Browning is a Partner at PeopleResults. You can reach her at sbrowning@people-results.com or on Twitter @sbPResults

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Out of Control Meetings: 5 Facilitation Techniques to Balance the Discussion

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Marta Steele

Sometimes I hear a song from the past … American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Senses Working Overtime (XTC), Circle Game (Joni Mitchell) and think, “Wow. That song really stands the test of time. X number of years later it still sounds great.”

That’s kind of how I feel about a workshop I taught back in my Arthur Andersen/Accenture days. The beloved Spirit of Facilitation, aka How to Run a Meeting. Over 15 years later I still use the same template to plan my agendas – whether I’m leading a 30 minute conference call with one person, or a 2 day leadership session with 20 people.

I also find myself referring back to the workshop’s practical techniques around keeping a discussion focused and managing difficult participants with tact. Who hasn’t sat through or led a meeting with Doris the Dominator or Wayne the Withdrawer?

Here are my favorite techniques for managing a discussion when some people do all the talking, and others don’t utter a peep.

Tried-and-True Meeting Facilitation Techniques that Balance Participation

  •  Silent Idea Generation and Round Robin. First give people a minute to independently write down their ideas or comments. Many people, especially those with introverted preferences appreciate some time to organize their thoughts. Go around the table (or to participants on a conference call) and ask each person to say one (just one, not ALL) of her/his ideas, suggestions or comments. This ensures one or two people don’t dominate the discussion. I’ve found two or three cycles does the trick and once people start “passing”, then you can have participants call out ideas in any order.
  • The Speaking Prop. Take an object like a gavel or koosh ball and use it to signal who can speak. When the person holding the prop is finished, hand the prop to the next person who has a comment.
  • The Stopping Prop. This is the opposite of the speaking prop – it discourages a participant from talking. First the group agrees to a ground rule: Don’t keep talking about something once you have made your point. Then select an item to represent the rule – it can be any object in the room. Whenever someone dominates the conversation, a group member gently slides the object towards the talkative person. (This technique works best with groups that know each other.)
  • One Point At A Time. Sometimes dominant participants will control a discussion by listing many points at once – every challenge, condition, issue, recommendation, etc. Other members may want to bring up the same point but the idea has already been mentioned. A simple request from the facilitator such as, “Excuse me Doris. It’s easier to focus on one idea at a time. Can you hold your other comments?” often does the trick.
  • Speaking Time Limits. If you are facilitating a meeting where all participants need to report or present, give each person an equal, measured time to speak. You can even use a timer or stopwatch to control the length. 

Unlike Owner of a Broken Heart (Yes) and Electric Avenue (Eddie Grant), conducting great meetings will never go out of style.

Marta Steele is a Partner at PeopleResults. Catch her on Twitter @MartaSteele.

Story Image via photo-dictionary.com

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It’s Personal, Social and Customized – The 2020 Workplace

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Kristi Erickson

The 2020 Workplace, written by Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd, was published in 2010 but only recently hit my radar. The book is targeted to top organizational leaders, those who manage teams and the HR business partners who support them. At the heart of the book is the idea that to attract, develop and engage employees, the 2020 workplace will need to provide an intensely personalized, social experience.

The increased focus on talent means that those in talent-related functions, particularly recruiting, HR and learning, become more integral to an organization’s success. This shift creates a rich opportunity for HR leaders to increase their value to the organization and gain that oft touted “seat at the table.”

This book is packed full of information including key findings from two global surveys, predictions for the 2020 workplace and practical tips on how to prepare for 2020 both organizationally and personally. There are many interesting trends and ideas presented, and I’ve pulled out a few to share that I found particularly insightful:

  • Adopting a global mindset will be critical as employees, customers, partners and suppliers become increasingly geographically dispersed.
  • Older workers will delay leaving the workforce, and for the first time ever, there will be members of five generations working together side by side. As a result, HR professionals must be trained to manage extreme age diversity, which has not historically been an area of focus.
  • Millennials will likely be moved into leadership roles as much as a decade earlier than previous generations because there aren’t enough Gen Xers to fill the vacancies that will result as Boomers leave the workplace, resulting in a need for accelerated leadership development.
  • Social, social, social!  Social media will permeate every aspect of the workplace from recruitment through to learning, development and performance management.
  • Democratization of information changes everything as structures of management are no longer necessary to control and pass information from level to level – resulting in flatter organizational structures.
  • Lines between work and leisure are blurred into “weisure time” with a focus on work-life integration as opposed to work-life balance.
  • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and what a company stands for will matter as people seek out employers whose social responsibility values reflect their own.
  • Learning must become agile. The need for on-demand (wherever, whenever) learning will become a prevalent expectation as the line between working and learning becomes increasingly permeable (remember weisure).
  • With information about leaders freely shared through Twitter, Facebook and hundreds of sites where employees can publicly rate their bossed, consistency and authenticity across what is said and done becomes even more important.

And that list is just a taste of the type of information this book contains. I’d say this book is a must-read for anyone connected with talent in an organization. The authors themselves admit with such far-reaching content, they can only scratch the surface.  But its deep enough to get you thinking, provide some interesting concepts and point you to other resources.

One thing is for certain, all of these changes mean that the rules of the employee-employer contract of today will have to be rewritten in order to both attract and retain the best talent. Organizations must find a way to create more flexibility and customization in the way they recruit, train, develop, assess and reward their talent to be a winner in the 2020 workplace.

Kristi Erickson is a partner at PeopleResults. Follow her on Twitter @KMErickson or connect via email at kerickson@people-results.com.

 

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How To Create a “Talking Email” in 5 Minutes or Less

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Martha Duesterhoft

Are you tired of sending the same old, hum-drum type of email? Want to “liven” up those email messages? There is an easy solution at your fingertips. Thanks to my collegue, Patti Johnson (@PattiBJohnson), I now know the perfect solution and it’s so easy!

I’m an iPhone user so I’ll outline the steps below, but I think most smart phones have this capability or have a free application to do the same thing. (I did the legwork for you for the Android and Windows Phone).  For the iPhone, simply:

  1. Go to Voice Memo – its a standard functionality, no app required
  2. Hit the red button to record on the left and speak
  3. Hit the stop button on the right
  4. Listen to your recording…re-record if necessary
  5. Press the Share button
  6. Email it to yourself  – you can also email to others if you don’t want to send along any written intro or commentary to the voice memo.  You can also send it via text message by using the Message button.

For those you send it to, it will show up as an attachment.  The reader/listener simply clicks on it and “hears” what you have to say. Works great on their phone or on their laptop!

Here are the ideal situations for using this “talking email”:

  • Grabbing the audiences’ attention for a big announcement…you can even have music or sound effects in the background as you record your message.
  • Providing an update or explaining a situation when writing it out would be more time consuming than just saying what you want to convey.
  • Offering a personal congratulations for a job well done.

Hearing the human voice offers a deeper connection and it’s such a nice change of pace after paging though all those written emails.  Give it a go and see what reaction you get from your audience!

Martha Duesterhoft is a Partner with PeopleResults.  Follow her on Twitter @Mduesterhoft or send her a talking email at mduesterhoft@people-results.com.

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Caterpillars Hate Behavior Change

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Kirsten Jordan

If you are going to ask someone to make a change, how are you going to start? How are you going to get them to change their behavior and do something different? Whether that is take on a new job responsibility, move to a new department, start using a new system to pull information they need for their job…

A key item that most people would probably bring up  – - “You need to have a communications plan.” But what does that really entail? How do you start?

I always like to start with the WIIFM – the What’s In It For Me? I’m not the “me” in that acronym of course. The “me” is for the group of people I’m trying to convince to change. You’ve got to put yourself in their shoes and think about what will motivate them to change.

Take these caterpillars. What’s their WIIFM to make a change? They get to be butterflies! If someone was communicating to them about making a change and only got to the point of explaining how they will be wrapped up in a chrysalis, that wouldn’t sound very good – would it?

As you communicate a change to any audience, make sure that you have spent the time to understand the impacts to them and are able to communicate that to them in their language.

Ok, so now you’ve thought about the WIIFM, what else? Here are some other tips you should be sure to consider when planning your change communications:

  • Incorporate examples and model the new behavior. Don’t only rely on “stripes” and job titles and executive sponsors telling people they need to change. Those are helpful in getting some things done, but if that is the only thing motivating people to make a change, you may not get the sustained change you want when the “boss” isn’t looking. Find those informal leaders, the “water cooler” influencers, and get them to talk up your program. Find peers that may already doing what you want the whole group to do and get them to “show and tell”, explain and model the behaviors you want to see from the whole group.
  • Tailor your messages to specific audiences. A “one size fits all” communication is almost certainly doomed to fail. What motivates one person to change their behavior, may not influence another person or group of people at all. Take the time to find out what motivates your group. Test your messages with small groups before you roll them out to the whole group to see reactions to your message. Use that information to continue to tailor your message.
  • Plan how frequently to communicate.  Timing and frequency should be monitored to avoid information overload with your audiences. Be aware of other initiatives that compete for attention.
  • Communicate early and honestly. In general, it is better to communicate some information than wait until all questions can be answered. Also, provide ALL the necessary information (not only positive). Hidden agendas and half-truths can create resentment and resistance.
  • Communicate repeatedly and consistently. A consistent message repeated through many different media is worth its weight in gold! People will interpret messages differently. Be sure to use multiple mediums for the most effective reach. Provide a consistent message, but be aware of any unique requirements of each audience and location (see tailoring of messages in above bullet).
  • Communicate clearly. Avoid overly technical or complicated language. Use language that can be easily understood by all. A picture can be even better! Also, use face-to-face communications as frequently as possible, especially for more difficult or important messages. Face-to-face can also help to minimize misunderstandings, especially for a sensitive topic.
  • Listen and respond. Make sure that you have a way to get feedback on your communications. This can be a survey, an informal poll of your audience group, etc. If your communications are only going one way, you could go off-track and never know it.

Use all these tips to evaluate your communications and you’ll be further down the road to getting the behavior changes you are looking for!

Until next time … wishing you business readiness success!

Kirsten Jordan is a Partner at PeopleResults. She can be reached on Twitter @Kirstenkbdb. Sign up to receive her and her colleagues’ blog at Current.

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7 Deadly Sins of Recognition

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Barbara Milhizer

Recognition programs are like the sensible shoes in the back of the closet — you know you should wear but you can’t quite bring yourself to put them on. Now that salary budgets are tight, stock options are underwater, and bonuses are MIA, leadership is looking for safe miracles. Enter recognition.

Ideally, these programs are forged in the fire of a carefully nurtured culture of recognition, well-coached managers who recognize and acknowledge desired behavior, and leadership in tune with employee motivators. But, assuming getting to all that is on the list right before apocalypse, here’s how not to screw it up.

1.  Ignore recognition

Assume your employees “just know” when they are doing a good job at your own peril.

2. Cash-fatuation

Over-reliance on cash is expensive and ineffective. Yes, when surveyed, that’s what employees say they really want. Trust me, your idea of cash recognition is several zeroes short of theirs. If you are handing out checks of $161, they will pay their electric bill. And no one ever conflated the joys of incandescent lighting with your brand and generosity. Cash has no staying power, and is quickly forgotten unless it is in large amounts.

3.  Snuggies

No one wants lucite either, no matter into what clever shape you have formed it. The only possible application is as a weapon, in which case you might want to watch your back.

4. The Little Dutch Boy Syndrome

Recognition is NOT (repeat NOT) a fix for a poor total cash position.

5. Sorry is Not the Hardest Word

“Thank you” is. Lavish the most expensive watch on your star employee without the heartfelt thanks, and all you’ll have is a punctual competitor.

6. Cone of Silence

Take advantage of the echo effect. Public recognition doesn’t suit everyone, but when appropriate, the bang for your buck is amplified for the receiver and their peers, who now have a behavior to model.

7. Foul Weather Recognition

If you only trot out recognition programs in bad times, they will become harbingers of doom (low increases, no bonuses) and further deflate morale. Recognition, monetary or otherwise, should feature as a permanent part of your reward strategy.

Barbara Milhizer is a Partner with PeopleResults. You can reach her at  bmilhizer@people-results.com or on twitter @mother_zen. Sign up to receive her and her colleagues’ blog at Current.

Posted in Talent | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Is Your Change Project Sponsor Renting or Buying?

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Betsy Winkler

Think for a minute about the difference between how you treat property you OWN (such as a house) compared to property you RENT (such as an apartment or a condo).

  •  When you own the real estate, you gladly invest “sweat equity”. You plant landscaping, you install window treatments, you paint the walls – the list goes on (Some say it never ends, which keeps Home Depot and Lowe’s in business). Whether you realize it or not, the property becomes a subconscious extension of how you view yourself
  • When you rent the property, you might hang a few things on the walls, and move your furniture in and out, but you don’t generally view it as a long-term investment. In other words, it’s not an extension of yourself because it’s temporary

What’s the business application here, you might ask? When you have a change project underway, find out if your sponsor is renting or owning the project.

According to author Daryl Conner in his classic book Managing at the Speed of Change, a good sponsor, (which means one who OWNS the change initiative) must have:

  • Power
  • Pain (meaning discomfort with the status quo to make change attractive)
  • Vision
  • Resources
  • The Long View
  • Sensitivity
  • Scope
  • A Public Role
  • A Private Role
  • Consequence Management Techniques
  • Monitoring Plans
  • A Willingness to Sacrifice
  • Persistence

I once had a project team tell me they felt like their sponsor wasn’t renting or owning . . . they created a new category. They called their sponsor a “drive-by sponsor”! Everyone laughed nervously at the time. But sadly, their accurate assessment, coupled with unwillingness to confront the sponsorship issue, led to many more problems with the project.

Is the sponsor for your change initiative treating the project as an extension of herself/himself? The best sponsors I’ve witnessed in action do just that with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Their willingness to act, even under difficult circumstances, speak volumes for their credibility. You can’t put a price tag on that kind of authenticity and courageous leadership!

Please share your stories or questions about sponsors in the comments below.

Betsy Winkler is Partner at People Results and can be reached on Twitter @BetsyWinkler1.

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How to Be An (Internal) Consulting Super Hero

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Patti Johnson

Consultants are expected to bring new ideas, solve problems and provide needed expertise. Usually these experts are paid to come in from the outside, fix something and then move to their next client. But that trend is expanding to include internal consulting as organizations need these skills on an ongoing basis to stay competitive. As a result, many internal roles are expected to be consultants to the business too. Often while carrying other operational responsibilities. A true super hero!

If your internal clients have a problem or opportunity, here are steps to ensure you play a consultant role rather than just wear your delivery hat.

  1. Exploration – Ask great questions and listen. Understand and identify a hypothesis on the general problem to solve. Scope it with your client – which means don’t focus on every problem you see, but rather target the general issue at hand. Continue to work on building trust and a positive relationship with your clients.
  2. Diagnose – Determine how to best gather information and data. Don’t limit yourself to reports and metrics ~ interview and hold informal conversations to get the facts.  What do they tell you? Adjust your hypothesis and present your findings on the root problem.  This doesn’t have to be a two month research project, but it’s critical to let the facts lead you to your diagnosis. Often your client may tell you there is one problem, but your analysis will tell you otherwise. Be open to that possibility.
  3. Develop solutions – This is plural intentionally. Some clients prefer options and most will want to participate in deciding the solution rather than being given the answer. In almost all cases, there is more than one way to solve a problem. To be a great consultant, you have to open your mind to possibilities that you haven’t used before. Take your blinders off and talk to external colleagues to mine new options. This is where the trust you have built will help your credibility in recommending solutions.
  4. Activate & deliver - Now it’s time to plan the execution of your recommendation. It’s important not to miss this planning step before you dive in. Plan for the change that will be introduced and who will be impacted. Remember to identify the communications needed to make the change successful. Finally, agree with your client how you will measure success. Use your project plan to set you on your way to successful delivery.

Each step is important to be a true internal consultant. Depending upon the situation, one step may be more complex on one project v. the next. Stay flexible – but remember that fast tracking can work against you. Put your consulting cape firmly in place and you can have a great impact on the business.

Patti Johnson is the CEO and founder of PeopleResults. Follow her @pattibjohnson or her company @People_Results on Twitter.

Posted in Talent | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

3 Tips for Powerful Influencing

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Joe Baker

For several years, I’ve asked senior executives, “what’s the one thing you can do that would make the biggest positive difference in your leadership effectiveness?”

Their most common response? “Get better at influencing.”

Here are a few overall influencing tips from Michael Zigarelli–author, professor, and consultant–along with my own 2 cents:

1.  Be a person others want to follow.

Yeah, yeah, yeah…we know this. Lead by example, character before competence, walk the talk, have integrity…The sayings and the concept are basic and ancient. But don’t blow by this too quickly.  You will have more influence – regardless of the techniques and the words you use – when people know you are the real deal.

If you think you have this covered, do a quick and honest gut-check:

  • Would your colleagues say you’re good at what you do?
  • Would the people who work with you say you genuinely care about them?
  • Can people count on you to follow through on your commitments?

And how are you doing in the following areas?

  • Do you say things about others that you would not say to them directly?
  • When was the last time you genuinely apologized for a mistake or offense?
  • Do you energize and inspire people or suck the life out of them?
  • Do people admire you, fear you, tolerate you, or dismiss you?

2.  Serve others’ needs.

Many of us have heard the saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” And few things say you care more than meeting a need they have.

Offer a ride to the airport. Ask if there’s anything you can do to help prepare for a presentation or meeting. Offer to make an important introduction. Volunteer a recommendation for a doctor or dry cleaner to someone new to town. People greatly appreciate these gestures, and they help build connections and influencing opportunities.

3.  Use a metaphor.

If a picture paints a thousand words, why not use a word picture or metaphor to help someone see an idea, perspective, or proposal in a new light?

In a coaching session recently with a senior leader, we were discussing how critical and helpful it is for this executive to stay focused on a few key interpersonal reminders in order to have the influence he wants to have. He wrote bullets on a post-it note that he reviews prior to each important meeting. And he came up with this helpful metaphor:

“It’s like driving on a race track. If I am not focused on where I want to go [i.e., relating and influencing more effectively], I will look at the wrecks around me and wind up getting off track.”

Is there a situation you currently face where you can demonstrate you are a person who is worth following? Is there an opportunity to meet a need or use a metaphor to strengthen your influence?

Joe Baker is a Partner with PeopleResults who spends a good chunk of time coaching leaders to improve their influence. You can reach him at jbaker@people-results.com or on Twitter @JoeBakerJr. 

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