Improved leadership results start with changing culture

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I recently wrote an article on achieving better strategic planning results. It was a look at how Toyota became number one in the auto industry through effective long term strategic thinking and execution. It touched on the subject of culture but didn’t go into any real detail.

Just this week I asked a group of people why they thought Toyota had enjoyed so much success and growth. The answer was of course their Toyota Production System (TPS), lean manufacturing and attention to detail. That is exactly what General Motors came away from the Toyota / GM joint venture at NUMMI. Learn the TPS and we’ve solved our problems. And it’s exactly what most U.S. companies feel, that lean manufacturing, or Six Sigma or some other program will make them world class.

They are all missing the point.

Toyota recognizes that the TPS is an excellent tool but is not a silver bullet. Real excellence comes from developing a culture that engages and empowers employees.

This was further emphasized by conversations with a friend that works for a large Fortune 1000 company. He told me about the repercussions he got from escalating a problem with a major account. The company actually put him on a communications improvement plan to work better with his peers, even after the major account told his VP that the performance of one of his peers was preventing them from doing more business together. The old “shoot the messenger” adage is alive and well.

Toyota has a carefully cultivated culture of employees being expected to report problems. Development of that culture begins with the hiring process and continues through training and constant reinforcement. In Japan it is actually considered shameful not to report a problem when it’s noticed.  However saying you want to have employees report problems and actually being receptive and following up on problem resolution is where most managers and executives fall short.

Toyota’s culture employs a term called “Genchi Genbutsu”, translated as go and see for yourself. Employees are expected and required to report problems and managers and executives are expected to go to the source and see for themselves. They are taught not to rely on hearsay.

That’s as far from “shoot the messenger” as you can get.

If you truly want high quality products, excellent customer service, engaged and empowered employees, leadership has to “walk the talk” every day.

The overall culture of the organization has to clearly and visibly support open communications, and a blameless approach to problem solving.

In my book, “Bottom Line Focus” I talk about my own experience with continuous improvement training and implementation. I worked for a then Fortune 500 computer manufacture and was sent to an expensive training session on Total Quality Improvement. The very first time I tried to implement it back at the plant I was told “ship it, it’s month end and we need the sales”. That attitude prevails in the majority of companies I’ve been associated with.

If you really want to see improved leadership results, be a better leader. Don’t just say something live it. 

How do you improve leadership results?

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In our book Bottom Line Focus,  we talk about effective leadership being scarce. There are literally hundreds of books written on the subject, with no shortage of ideas and programs. Why then is effective leadership so hard to find?

I think first you have to clarify exactly what does effective leadership mean to you and your organization? In order to improve anything you have to have a clear understanding of three things.

• What does it look like when it’s better?
• Where is it now?
•  How do you measure progress?

So what constitutes and effective leader? 

First and foremost a leader gets results. If he or she doesn’t they may be popular but they won’t be a leader long. The difference between a leader and an effective leader is how those results are attained.

In todays highly complex, highly technical, and global environment effective leaders must learn to make use of all resources around them. This is a change from the days when the top person was expected to know everything and touch everything.

To do that you need to attract and retain excellent people, you need to create an environment that is open to communication and innovation, and you must allow them to fail. Innovation with penalties for failure creates a “don’t rock the boat” mentality.

So an effective leader gets results, develops great people and is an active listener and communicator. They are open minded, non –threatening and just as important non-threatened.

So the next step is where is your organization now? One way to tell other than simply results is to look for warning signs:

Take an honest look inside your organization. How many of these issues are present?

·     Excessive meetings with no agenda and no results

·     Consensus-driven decision making (CYA for all us older folks)

·     Lack of personal accountability

·     Poor communication between entities

·     Reluctance to terminate poor performers

·     Misaligned and uncoordinated efforts (silo effect)

·     Personality conflicts and power struggles

·     Apathetic and unmotivated employees

·     Inconsistent results

·     Poor time management

·     Reactive rather than proactive effort

·     Micro-management

·     Declining sales and / or market share

·     Lack of teamwork

·     Duplication of effort

·     High employee turnover

·     Substandard quality

·     Numerous unresolved issues and postponed decisions

All of these are symptoms of leadership issues.

Effective leadership creates an environment where things get accomplished, employees feel valued and part of an overall team.

If you want to be successful, you must be supported by an energized and competent management team. If you're not, your flow of communications is hindered in two directions. Your instructions don't go down the chain of command the way they should, so things aren't done the way you want. And communications from below don't come up to you in an accurate and timely manner, so you find out about important matters too late or not at all.

In order to be an effective leader of others you must first learn to lead yourself.

Leadership is key for middle mangers job search.

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America is in the midst of a leadership crisis.

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The daily news bombards us with stories about major corporations failing, government spending spinning out of control, and political and corporate leaders marching off to jail.

Interestingly, this leadership vacuum exists only at the higher levels of government and industry. It doesn’t exist in small and mid-size businesses.

I know that’s a fact because the owners, CEOs, and senior executives of these businesses tell me so. For over forty years I’ve worked as a manager, coach, and consultant with hundreds of executives. Not one has ever said to me, “This company is not doing as well as it should because of my lack of leadership skills.”

Who’s to blame for their company’s problems? It’s they. Over and over again I’m told, “They don’t care; they didn’t do it right; they don’t get it.”

I’ve never understood why these executives don’t just fire “they” and hire somebody else. Come to think of it, I bet many of them have tried that, but somehow they keeps sneaking back on the payroll.

Take an objective look at your leadership skills.

Of course, the above paragraphs are meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor. It’s just my way of saying that our natural tendency is to blame others. But as a leader in business, you must objectively assess your own leadership skills.

All companies have problems. In order to solve your company’s problems, you’ll need to understand and change the leadership style that got you into trouble in the first place. Start by looking for areas where you personally can improve. Until you change, not much else will. Before you can lead others effectively, you must first be able to lead yourself.

Over the course of my career, I have known literally hundreds of executives. I can’t think of one of them, myself included, who could not benefit from some level of on-going leadership evaluation, coaching, and development.

Yet many executives, especially owners and CEOs of small businesses, find it hard to acknowledge that they have room for growth. They’re reluctant to ask a coach or someone else for help. And because they’re top dog in their company, they do only what they want to do rather than what they need to do.

Take an honest look inside your organization. How many of these issues are present?

• Excessive meetings with no agenda and no results
• Consensus-driven decision making (CYA for all us older folks)
• Lack of personal accountability
• Poor communication between entities
• Reluctance to terminate poor performers
• Misaligned and uncoordinated efforts (silo effect)
• Personality conflicts and power struggles
• Apathetic and unmotivated employees
• Inconsistent results
• Poor time management
• Reactive rather than proactive effort
• Micro-management
• Declining sales and / or market share
• Lack of teamwork
• Duplication of effort
• High employee turnover
• Substandard quality
• Numerous unresolved issues and postponed decisions

You may not want to acknowledge this, but to some degree all of these issues can be attributed to ineffective leadership.

Lead by example.

Your commitment to excellence, integrity, fairness, and open communication will be visible to people in your company. It will inspire them to rise to the performance level you exhibit.

Notice that I didn’t say “to the performance level you expect.” Expectations are mere words. When people respond to expectations, it’s often out of a sense of duty, a desire to please, or the fear of punishment.

Leadership, on the other hand, entails action. When you act as a leader, people will want to follow you to be where the action is. Your example will motivate them to grow and achieve.

Once you’ve developed your plan and communicated your vision, there will be a short honeymoon period. But soon people will be looking to you for results. Will there be real change, or will it be back to business as usual?

Simply wanting your vision to be realized doesn’t work. You need to take the lead and make it happen. When you walk the talk, people will follow. Develop a vision you believe in. Live it, breath it, take responsibility for it, and generate enthusiasm for it. People will respond.

Improved leadership processes required for strategy execution !

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As the owner, CEO or senior executive of a business, you share many things in common with the coaches of professional sports teams. Can you imagine the head coach of a team – say in the National Football League – going into a game without a game plan? Of course not! That coach would soon be out of work. Coaches literally spend hundreds hours preparing for a 60-minute event.

A good coach not only develops and documents a strategy to win; he makes sure it’s understood by every player on the team. Every successful coach knows that a plan is essential for success.

But every successful coach also knows that a plan alone is not sufficient for success. The best plan in the world is useless if it’s not implemented. When the whistle blows to start the game, the players can’t simply stand on the sidelines and talk about what a great plan they have. They must take the field and play to win.

A coach that doesn’t learn from failures and make adjustments so that his team consistently wins soon finds out what the letters NFL really mean: Not For Long.
Why should you view your business as any different?

Your role as an executive is to execute!

It never ceases to amaze me – I’ll work with a company for weeks to develop a comprehensive strategic plan, and then nothing! Nada! It’s as if management says, “OK, now that we’ve finished the plan, we can check that off our list and get back to business as usual.”

They know they have issues that need to be changed. They pay good money to hire outside assistance to facilitate a planning process. They complete their plan. Then they proceed to ignore it!

Why? Is it fear of change? Fear of making a mistake? Fear of confronting people? A lack of confidence in themselves and/or their staff? Probably it’s a mixture of some or all of these.

For most executives, implementation is harder than planning. It takes determination and courage to actually do what you say you want to do. Implementation requires commitment, accountability, and change. That’s where the majority of companies fail.

Bold actions require bold leadership.

The absence of a decision is a de facto decision. That goes for all aspects of business planning and execution – from acknowledging problems to resolving them.

Tolerating poor personal performance from a staff member is choosing mediocrity. It lowers the bar for the entire staff.

Failing to take action about substandard quality is a decision about quality. It sends a message about core values to everyone in the organization.

It’s wise to gather the facts before making decisions. But postponing action “until there’s a better time” or “until there’s more data” is too often a cover-up for plain old fear to act.

Want to diminish focus and credibility in your organization? Here’s a sure-fire way: Develop a plan, communicate it to your people, and then fail to execute it.

When you fail to act on your plans, you undermine motivation, enthusiasm, pride, respect, commitment, and productivity. Yet 90 percent of American companies do just that, as shown by the chart below.

Paul R. Niven, The Balanced Scorecard (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2006).

Talk about an alarming statistic! If only 10 percent of American companies take the necessary actions to implement their plans, no wonder we’re losing our edge.

Many executives confuse busyness with effectiveness. They think they’re accomplishing a lot when people come to them all day long with questions and problems. It makes them feel important. They like being the center of the storm.

But executives who react instead of act accomplish little. They don’t produce progress because they’re concentrating on the minutia and ignoring the momentous. They’re playing around instead of playing to win.

But remember that your employees are watching your actions. They’ll respond to your leadership based on how you execute your plan.

To help you maintain your focus on decisive action, here are four principles for you to periodically review:

• If the status quo isn’t working, change it.
• If you don’t make a decision, you’re making a decision.
• If you don’t like making tough decisions, you’re not alone. But winners do it anyway.
• If you want to exercise real leadership, you must act.

You have to “walk the talk” every single day to attain excellence in any organization. You must take the field and play to win!

Action without vision is a nightmare. Vision without action is a daydream.

Japanese proverb

American’s job satisfaction falls to record low.

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According to an Associated Press article this morning only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. That’s the lowest level ever recorded and down from 49% in 2008.

The article said there were a variety of reasons:

• Fewer workers found their jobs interesting
• Incomes haven’t kept up with inflation
• Health care costs have eaten into take home pay.

This is obviously a huge problem since job dissatisfaction has direct implications on things such as:

• Productivity
• Innovation
• Product quality
• Customer satisfaction
• Costs in the form of scrap and rework.

I did some research after I read this article to see what the politicians and “experts” were saying as to the cause of this serious issue. There were few reasons cited except money, recognition, or advancement.

I think these things have always been an issue. Everyone wants more money, when they get it it’s a temporary fix. Recognition and advancement have always been in the forefront as well. The survey began in 1987 and at that time nearly 61% were happy with their jobs and I’d bet those three reasons were issues then also.

So what’s different between 1987 and 2008 that would cause a 16% drop in job satisfaction? That’s really the question to be answered.

I think it ties directly to leadership. I said in the preface of my book a few months ago that I think the biggest crisis facing America is the lack of leadership at all levels.

You can take that specifically to the jobsite or factory and look how it ties to employee dissatisfaction. In my role as a business coach I’ve personally seen things such as:

• Employees feel helpless, many feel it doesn’t matter if they do a great job or a mediocre job, the pay / recognition is the same.
• They have no control over their destiny. The economy, cost pressures etc. all affect them directly but the lower they are in the food chain the less they can control it.
• Nobody listens to them, innovation and ideas are held back because nobody asks, or acts on them if they do get heard.
• Poor performers are often kept in place of good performers because of seniority or friendships lowering employee incentive.
• Management often gives conflicting direction with shifting priorities causing employees to be unclear of expectations.
• Managers often don’t take the time to provide meaningful feedback, especially positive feedback.

Leaders must understand that employee satisfaction ties directly to their bottom line and invest time and money in employee development. Lack of leadership weakens and organization in many ways, the most obvious being:

• Lack of innovation
• Poor teamwork
• Increased costs
• Employee turnover

One thing I’ve heard often in the past few years during the economic downturn is “there are no jobs, there is nowhere for employees to go”. That’s only partially true, there may not be a lot of options for average employees to go but there is always somewhere for top employees to go, if not immediately at some point in the future.

Poor leadership often causes an organization to be comprised of average or below average employees due to better employees having options and moving on.

Accountability is a function of leadership :

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I recently published a book entitled “Bottom Line Focus”. It’s subtitle is, “18 proven steps to take your company from surviving to thriving”. Wow, who wouldn’t want to do that right? I mean if you’re a business owner or CEO it’s a “no-brainer”. Heck if even half of the stuff in the book is of value it’s still a value.

What’s in it? Is it some type of new age magic formula?

The truth is the “gimmick” of my book is there is no gimmick. The things in the book work, but my 35 plus years of experience has proven that the majority of executives simply will not or cannot do the things that are necessary to succeed.

We are accustomed to having the “fast and easy” marketed to us, whether in the form of a pill, a new diet, or a new business concept.

I used to be amazed at the things I saw going on in companies, now I’ve come to expect it. Executives and managers are, all too frequently, waiting for something to happen to alleviate the necessity of taking action and being accountable for that action.

As I get more “mature”, meaning older, I am able to reflect on things based on experience and historical data. What works and what doesn’t. And what it comes down to is there is no silver bullet. Leaders must lead and be accountable if they expect those they are trying to lead to be accountable.

That brings us to the title, the A word, accountability.

I said in the preface of my book the real crisis in America today is a lack of leadership. Take that one step further and it’s also a lack of accountability. Not just in business but in all phases of life.

Depending on which poll you look at roughly 68% of Americans disapprove of the job congress is doing. Another poll states that 83% of Americans favor term limits for congress. I’d have to say these numbers represent a clear message, 1st we are unhappy with our congressional leaders, and 2nd we don’t want “career politicians”.

The accountability part comes in when we realize that only 35% of the adult population are regular voters and 20% are intermittent voters. If those numbers are correct 45% of us don’t bother at all.

If we really favor term limits we have the power to impose them at any time. We simply vote out any incumbent that is in his or her second term. No constitutional amendment, no legal battle, nothing we just use our power to vote our choice.

But we don’t. We will not accept the accountability for our dissatisfaction, we just complain about it.

The same is true in many of the businesses I am familiar with. The management team in many cases knows what to do, they just don’t do it. There are many reasons why they don’t execute, but the bottom line is they don’t. I can literally site hundreds of specific examples of this over nearly any industry.

Accountability starts and ends with senior management. If they hold themselves and others accountable and set the example it will not happen.

Until we accept the fact that everything in life is a decision, even the failure to make a decision, and we are accountable for our action, or inaction, we will not make significant progress in any aspect of our lives.

“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for injury.”?
John Stuart Mill

Better Strategic Planning Starts With Your Vision for Your Company.

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What role does vision play in the development of your business plan? If you listen to Jack Welch it’s a big role.

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
Jack Welch

Many small business leaders are unfamiliar with the strategic planning process. Better strategic planning results start at the end. Where is it you want to go?

Step #1 in the planning process: Clarify and document your vision.

Where do you want to be in five years? What specifically will that look like? Write that down in as much detail as possible. If you are tempted to blow this off or think this is easy, you’ve probably never done it. It’s not as simple as it sounds.

Now ask yourself, what’s been holding you back? Why you aren’t already there? The answers to these questions can be enlightening. Maybe it’s because you’re confused or conflicted about what you really want. Or maybe something stands in your way that you haven’t had the awareness or courage to confront.

Don’t skimp on this phase of the planning process. If you’re unclear about your vision, your whole plan will be useless.

Taking time to understand your business, both as it is today and as you want it to be tomorrow, is not as simple as it sounds.

It helps to have a knowledgeable and objective outsider involved in the planning process. An outsider will challenge you to think creatively. You’ll be better able to see familiar situations in new ways. And it will be harder for people to get away with excuses and blame shifting.

Frankly, I think it’s a dangerous mistake for the CEO or some other senior executive from within the organization to try to facilitate this assessment exercise. All too often participating staff members try to say what they think that executive wants to hear. A “herd mentality” develops that stifles honesty and creativity.

But a competent facilitator won’t accept pat answers, clichés, and jargon. He or she will encourage innovative thinking and force participants to drill down to bedrock facts.

When I go into a company, I start by asking the key players to clearly describe in writing what they want their company to look like in five years. What businesses will they be in? What products and services will they be selling? How many employees and locations will they have?

Most business owners, CEOs, and other major stakeholders think they know the answers to these questions. That is, until they try to put them on paper. Typically they struggle for hours before they reach agreement on their direction and general goals.

This process almost always births useful insights and promising opportunities.

A strong vision is the foundation of any successful business.

Your vision gives you a point of reference for evaluating and planning all aspects of your business. You’ll make better and faster decisions when you evaluate every choice by asking, “Does this take me closer to or farther from the attainment of my vision?”

If you want your company to achieve maximum success, all business processes, management practices, and employee incentives should flow from and be in alignment with a clearly defined strategy. All employees should understand and be “on the same page” as your vision and strategy. Every employee should consider the vision when they encounter their individual “moments of truth”.

In the fast food industry, moments of truth occur at the counter when the orders are taken. In manufacturing companies, they happen when a sales professional interacts with a prospect or customer, a serviceman repairs a customer’s machine, a shipment goes out the door to a customer, a customer service representative answers the phone, and at numerous other points.

Where are the moments of truth in your business? What interactions are crucial for your success? Design and execute your strategy and all of your processes and practices to create positive moments of truth experiences for your external customers.

How do you create an environment that equips and motivates your internal customers to create positive moments of truth experiences for your external customers?

You start by clarifying your vision and communicating it consistently and constantly, so that every aspect of your company is built around it.

Your vision is your definition of success. Your strategy to achieve your vision is the foundation for your success. When you have a clear vision and a sound strategy – supported by good planning, communications, and metrics – your entire workforce will perform at a higher level. That means more profits and faster growth for your business, which is exactly what this book’s about.

These concepts always work. Why? Because clear expectations built on the foundation of a sound vision always increase commitment, motivation, teamwork, and productivity.
Shifting expectations, on the other hand, increase confusion, discomfort, apathy, and disharmony.

Bottom Line Book available on Amazon

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My first book, “Bottom Line Focus” has just been added to Amazon. It should be available from them in about a week. It took me well over a year to complete and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. I have experienced much over my career and I really feel strongly that many of today’s business issues are common among businesses and industries. I see the same things over and over, if I can help a company succeed and save jobs it really will have been all worth it.

My thoughts are we as a society are losing our leadership edge. There certainly aren’t many positive examples being shown us on a daily basis, but it doesn’t change the fact that leadership starts with each of us. Before you can lead others you must effectively lead yourself. Accountability and results start with each of us.