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Setting and Communicating Expectations
The setting of clear expectations by leaders is essential to focusing behaviors and actions. When I became the senior executive leader for one of my former employer's most important business functions, the first thing I did was determine what was most important for our success moving forward. I identified eight expectations I believed would contribute most to the changed perception we were trying to create.
I then took the time to discuss these expectations with my new staff. I provided my team with written copies of these eight expectations, and I requested that this list be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure we were living our commitments on a daily basis.
While leaders may view the circulation of a set of written expectations as going too far, or being too paternalistic, I can tell you that employees appreciate the clarity of knowing what is deemed important by their leaders. The alternative is to remain unsure of what really matters.
For years after sharing my expectations with my team, I would regularly see this original list of expectations posted on file cabinets or other visible places as I conducted my rounds throughout the department.
When it comes to sharing important information, particularly as it relates to how we want to show up or behave around our customers, there is no better substitute for confirming understanding than to write it down and give everyone a copy.
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Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results
It is not uncommon for newly-hired leaders to bring in other executives with whom they have worked in the past. This is quite natural, given the executive is familiar and comfortable with how these former colleagues worked alongside him or her in the past.
While one might expect these hiring decisions to be fairly straightforward, and to produce good results for the new organization, this is not always the case. Whenever organizations recruit from the outside, it is critical to exercise caution and careful due diligence.
As the title of this article suggests, past performance is no guarantee of future results. An executive may have performed exceptionally well in one organization, and find it a struggle to perform well in a new one.
What is often overlooked in tracking the performance of executives over time is how important tenure is in creating organizational acceptance of a leader and his or her vision. When someone leaves to join another organization, they lose this "part of the family" reputation and familiarization. These executives find they have to "prove themselves all over again".
Sometimes, just because of their newness, newly hired executives will find hurdles placed in their path. Some of these hurdles may prove to be more challenging than the new recruits anticipated, leading to their eventual disillusionment. If this disillusionment turns to despair, or even worse to "disconnect", these new hires will not go on to make the contributions the hiring executive had hoped would be the case.
When bringing former colleagues into your new organization, be sure to ask the following questions:
How likely is it that this executive will succeed in the new environment?
What disruption will be generated by my bringing in someone from the outside?
What type of assimilation coaching will I provide to ease the transition for this executive? |
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Choose to Be "Curious, Not Furious"™
Watching my clients interact in team meetings provides me with numerous examples of how people tend to get "furious rather than curious" when they disagree with something someone else has said. Many of us jump too quickly to let a colleague "see" why they are wrong, and how their logic is faulty.
Perhaps we do this because we want to be viewed as being smart ourselves and on top of things. Perhaps we have just been waiting to catch this one person saying something that we can refute. Regardless of why we do it, whenever we choose to disagree first and ask questions later, the other person often feels attacked. In response, our colleague often becomes defensive and simply digs in his or her heels more deeply in support of their original position.
What is the alternative to this downward spiraling interaction?
I propose the better way to engage with colleagues is to be curious. That's right! If someone says something that you do not agree with, or even that you "know" is incorrect, begin with a question. And, not just any question. Ask an open-ended question, one that can't be answered with a "Yes" or "No".
Hint: Most good open-ended questions begin with a "What" or "How". For example, "What will the outcome of your suggested solution have on the underinsured population?" or "How do you see this new policy working on the weekends?".
When you look closely at these two questions, you can see that I am concerned with how the proposed solution might play out in certain circumstances. Rather than just coming out and saying why I don't think the solution is practical, however, I come at it from a place of curiosity, where I invite my colleague to think more deeply with me about the consequences or implications of his or her thinking.
When I follow this approach, I accomplish several outcomes. First, and foremost, I don't initiate the common defensive reaction that usually accompanies pushback that involves the suggestion that the other person is wrong and wasn't thinking clearly. Instead, I am simply engaging in conversation that is motivated by my interest in learning more about the other person's approach or thinking. Others are often more than willing to help educate us about their thinking.
The second outcome of this "asking questions" or "being curious" approach is that learning is advanced and encouraged. By asking clarifying questions, everyone is encouraged to take the proposed solution to a deeper level where we are able to test it and make sure it holds up under pressure. Often, the more robust ideas and most practical (read, implementable) solutions are those that include the ideas of multiple team members.
A third positive outcome of this approach is that team members begin to see and appreciate the value and importance placed on their individual ideas. When individuals repeatedly are beaten down when they offer up their ideas, they quickly learn to keep their ideas to themselves.
In an environment where others are quick to disagree and shoot down perspectives of others, the flow of ideas quickly comes to an end. This unfortunately prevents the best ideas and solutions from being developed as everyone advocates for their own point of view by trying to weaken the strength of others' contributions.
When team members instead choose to be curious, they invite others to continue sharing their ideas willingly and to keep their contributions at a high level. As a result, the conversations around the table change dramatically for the better, and the number of good workable solutions begins to increase. Everyone wins when we choose to be curious, not furious.
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One More Thing
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SOMXTIMXS IT SXXMS LIKX A COMMITTXX IS SOMXWHAT LIKX MY TYPXWRITXR: NOT ALL THX KXY PXOPLX ARX WORKING.
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SO THX NXXT TIMX YOU THINK YOUR XFFORTS WILL NOT BX MISSXD, RXMXMBXR MY TYPXWRITXR. |
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Each month, we review a book from The Leadership Collection™ selected to both engage and challenge leaders as they seek to make a difference in their organizations.
Our pick this month is Why Smart Executives Fail And What You Can Learn From Their Mistakes by Sydney Finkelstein. This highly researched study of corporate failures provides the reader with
valuable insights into the traps leaders fall prey to.
After debunking the commonly cited reasons for leadership failures (including stupidity, being caught off guard, failure to execute, laziness and lack of resources), Finkelstein meticulously details fallacies and delusions that, time and time again, explain how once successful companies and leaders stumble.
The book is full of examples of corporate missteps, including how the Quaker Oats Company failed to integrate Snapple even though it had previously absorbed Gatorade, and how Johnson & Johnson failed to develop a second-generation stent, thus losing market share to Guidant.
One of the most valuable sections of the book comes at the very end when the author focuses on what we can learn from the patterns and causes of corporate failures. He points to several warning signs every organization can be on the lookout for, including an overly complicated organizational structure, a distracted CEO, excessive hype and a one-track mindset.
To purchase this book, simply click on its picture above.
Next month, we will review:
Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top by Quint Studer.
For our current reading list, please click here..
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David Chinsky & Associates is pleased to be launching its Institute for Leadership Fitness™ starting in September 2008. The Institute is a twelve-month program for leaders seeking the clarity, confidence, effectiveness and vitality necessary for achieving their highest levels of professional effectiveness and leadership fitness™.
This innovative leadership development program is based on our philosophy of leadership fitness™ developed after working with hundreds of organizational leaders during the last seven years.
Those enrolled in the Institute will attend four full-day learning sessions during a twelve-month period, once every 90 days. Participants also will be assigned an executive coach with whom they will interact in between sessions to create and execute a focused development plan.
For more information: |
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Assessment Center
David Chinsky & Associates offers a comprehensive set of tools that assess leadership styles and behaviors; communication preferences; conflict handling modes; organizational values and culture; and other important aspects of leadership success.
Let our licensed and certified facilitators administer and interpret the assessment tools that best fit your leadership development and coaching objectives.
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Forward to a Colleague
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