Several writers at The New Yorker understand how important the force of human connection is to help people thrive.  I’ve previously written about Ken Auletta’s masterpiece “The Howell Doctrine,” and, of course, there’s Jim Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds.  Two other writers at The New Yorker have made significant contributions on this topic.

In Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto, we learn that disconnection (the failure to communicate and connect) is the primary cause of aircraft accidents and a major contributor to medical errors.  Gawande, a surgeon, prescribes checklists to help improve performance as the work we do becomes increasingly complex.  Here’s one example.  Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital learned that surgical teams performed better when, prior to surgery, each member of the team introduced him or herself and shared any foreseeable concerns.  When surgical teams did this, lower status members were more likely to speak up if they saw mistakes being made.  This became a step on Gawande’s checklist he and his team developed for the World Health Organization.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book, Outliers: The Story of Success, connection is a theme throughout.  In the introduction, we learn that several research studies found residents of the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania were healthier and lived longer solely because they were a more relationally connected community.  In the next chapter, we learn that 10,000 hours of intentional practice is required with coaching (i.e. connection) to achieve expert level performance.  Although Gladwell doesn’t explicitly make this point, the support of family and friends is necessary to persevere through the inevitable difficulties of  practicing for 10,000 hours, which is 10 years of practicing for 20 hours a week.

In a chapter on geniuses, Gladwell concludes they are often not very successful because they fail to connect with other human beings and it renders them less effective at getting things done.  Similar to Gawande’s book, we learn that the key to airline safety is to reduce human error by making sure pilots, co-pilots and air traffic controllers are connected in both a rational and emotional sense.  Gladwell describes how the crash of a Columbian Airlines flight a few years ago because it ran out of fuel was attributable to a failure of communication between the co-pilot, pilot and air traffic controller at JFK Airport in New York.  The problem was that the plane’s co-pilot used “mitigating speech” to be respectful to those he perceived as having great status and authority.  When he needed to communicate the urgency of the situation he should have been screaming like a New York cab driver to make his point clear.

Finally, we learn from Gladwell about the success of the KIPP charter schools in low income urban neighborhoods.  Eighty percent of KIPP students go on to attend college.  KIPP students learn a protocal called “SSLANT” which stands for smile, sit up, listen, ask questions, nod when being spoken to, and track with our eyes.”  All of these behaviors help kids connect with others.  Brilliant, isn’t it.  KIPP teaches its students academic competence and relationship competence.  It was so inspiring to read how KIPP was giving these kids hope for a bright future, I wanted to stand up and cheer.

I very highly recommend both of these books.  They are utterly fascinating and well written, so much so that I couldn’t put them down.

Let me tell you about a new book that I’m recommending to leaders. It makes a great book for your leaders to read together as part of a book group.

Human Value is one of the elements of a Connection Culture that I teach leaders to create if they want to engage the people they lead to give their best efforts.  The definition of Human Value is when everyone in the organization understands the needs of people, appreciates them for their positive, unique contributions and helps them achieve their potential.  As the definition states, appreciation is essential.

Gary Chapman and Paul White’s new book, The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, identifies the different types of appreciation that resonate with people and when and how to express them.  The five languages are acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, and physical touch.  People have primary, secondary and, in some cases, tertiary languages of appreciation. Chapman and White’s research indicates that physical touch is not a primary language in the workplace and recommend that leaders focus on the other four languages.

This book is relevant to your relationships outside of work too.  In fact, if you are interested in the five languages as they relate to marriage, parenting children or teenagers, I recommend that you check out Gary Chapman’s books on those specific topics.  I read Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages and the Five Love Languages of Teenagers years ago and it helped me connect better with my wife and daughters.  I’m a big fan of the five love languages and the languages of appreciation and hope you’ll check them out.

A leader I know and much admire is Howard Behar, the former president of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International. Howard tells about the time 14 years ago this month when he received a call in the middle of the night at his home in Seattle alerting him that three Starbucks employees at the Georgetown store in Washington, D.C. had been shot and killed, including an 18-year who had just recently begun at Starbucks, his first job.   Behar immediately called Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ CEO, who was in New York on vacation at the time.

What Schultz didn’t do, says a lot about his character.  He didn’t call Starbucks’ public relations people or lawyers.  Instead, Schultz chartered a plane and headed straight to Washington, D.C.  When he arrived, he spoke with the police then proceeded to the store to get the addresses of the three murdered Starbucks employees. He went to each of their homes, told their families he was sorry and shared in their tears.

Howard Schultz’s heart was broken.   He showed courage by expressing the grief he felt. Doing so contributed to helping the victims’ families, friends and colleagues. As awful as grieving the loss of a loved one or friend is, it’s far worse to grieve alone.

Howard Schultz’s empathy and compassion spoke loudly to Howard Behar, a leader who has a huge heart.  Behar left his former employer and joined Starbucks in part because the previous CEO he worked for advised him he “shouldn’t wear his heart on his sleeve.”   Schultz was the type of leader Behar wanted to work for, a leader he could respect and admire because of his courageous and compassionate heart,  a leader he wanted to give his best efforts to serve.

Howard Behar became part of the group of three leaders at the top of Starbucks who were referred to as “H²0” (i.e. Howard Schultz, Howard Behar and Orin Smith).  Behar had an enormous impact on Starbucks North America as its president then went on to become the first president of Starbucks International where he led it to spectacular growth.  After Behar retired, he continued to serve on Starbucks’ board of directors.  Behar was loved and respected throughout Starbucks for his heart and passion as well as his work ethic, open-mindedness and judgment about the retail business.  He became a Starbucks employee for the rest of his career, in no small part because his boss, Howard Schultz, had a heart.

One of the great privileges of my work is that I get to meet, observe and know leaders at a wide variety of organizations including businesses, government organizations, churches, universities and hospitals.  I’ve met quite a few who exercise frequently to keep their hearts and bodies fit for the long hours and no small number of them are also motivated by the desire to impress others with their physical presence, energy and competitiveness.   Regular physical exercise is certainly of value.  What many leaders miss, however, is the need to develop their hearts in ways beyond exercise that are even more important:  ways that produce the character strengths of love, kindness, compassion, gentleness and empathy.  A leader whose character is missing these strengths may have power over others but will never lead from influence that moves people to give their best efforts and align their behavior with the leader’s goals.  This truth is expressed in sayings such as you have to “earn the right to be heard” and “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

Research has shown that 75 percent of employees in most American organizations today are not engaged at work.  They show up for the paycheck but don’t give their best efforts.  Part of this is because they don’t feel connected to their leaders. From where they sit, their leaders appear heartless and could care less about them.  That’s why developing the hearts of leaders is especially important to getting America back on the right track.

To develop heart, we must care about and serve others, including the people we lead: our colleagues at work; our spouses, children and parents; our friends; and the less fortunate in our midst who have nothing to give back to us.

As you serve, take the time to ask questions of others such as “where did you grow up?,” “how are you doing these days?,”  “what’s going on in your life?,” and “what do you enjoy in life?”  Slow down and listen closely.  Find out about the career aspirations of the people who report to you and help them learn and grow in ways that advance their careers. If you’re a leader, you can develop the heart of the people you lead by scheduling a teambuilding event where together you volunteer to serve at a local charitable organization and take time to connect with the people you meet.

Care about and serve the people in your life and in your community, and you will develop the strength of heart that helps you connect.

To learn more about leaders who have developed heart and who inspired the people they led, read the article we wrote for the Leader to Leader Journal entitled “To Boost Performance, Connect with the Core.”  It’s about Bono of the rock band U2 and Admiral Vern Clark, the second-longest serving chief of the United States Navy.    I also recommend Howard Behar’s book It’s Not About the Coffee and the book Carolyn Dewing-Hommes, Jason Pankau and I wrote on great leaders who connect entitled Fired Up or Burned Out.  In the coming months Jason Pankau and I will be speaking and teaching workshops on this topic at the the NASA Johnson Space Center, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Scotiabank, Texas Christian University, the Young Presidents Organization, and on September 13, I’ll be speaking with Admiral Vern Clark in Washington, D.C. at breakfast and lunch events sponsored by the Wharton Club of D.C.

Congratulations and happy birthday to my friend David Zinger, founder of the Employee Engagement Network. David’s book entitled Zengage is off to a great start and he’s already donating profits of $2,160 to flood relief and a women’s shelter.  Here’s what I wrote earlier about the book:

“From the heart, mind and soul of David Zinger, a man in the midst of the employee engagement movement, comes a set of reflections on the many facets of employee engagement.  With each page, David unwraps a single thought, a tile, if you will, and places it before us.  Taking time to reflect on each thought and how it applies to one’s life, produces a complex yet simple and elegant mosaic of greater insight, self awareness and balance.  By the end, Zengage prepares readers to move forward in a healthier, more centered and productive state.”

Check out Zengage at this link.

When individuals feel like valued members of a group, it boosts a host of positive outcomes including superior decision-making, employee engagement, employee motivation, strategic alignment, organizational learning, cooperation, productivity, innovation and overall performance. This applies to groups of all sizes including classrooms and schools, families, business and government organizations, hospitals, sports teams and the social sector.  Strong relationships are key for any group to achieve the benefits enumerated above.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the University of Chicago research on relational trust that I learned about from my friend Parker Palmer.  For those of you who are interested in relational trust and the wisdom of crowds, I encourage you to check out this fascinating interview my friend Robert Morris, the freelance writer, did with Alan Briskin, co-author of The Power of Collective Wisdom. In the interview, Briskin and Morris discuss relationship centered networks that tap into collective wisdom.

For those of you who read Robert Morris’ book review and interview, you will see why I believe he is among the very best at what he does.  In addition to being a well-organized, clear writer, Morris is a Renaissance man who always sprinkles his writings and interviews with thoughtful insights drawn from remarkably diverse fields of knowledge.  Check out his book reviews and interviews at this link and you’ll see what what I mean.

I’m a big fan of Joe Tye.  He understands the importance of culture and has tremendous wisdom about values-based leadership.  His new book entitled All Hands on Deck: 8 Essential Lessons for Building a Culture of Ownership sounds wonderful. Although I’ve not read it yet, I plan to.  Joe has a special offer if you purchase All Hands on Deck this week.  You can learn about it at this link and be sure to watch the video of Joe talking about his new book while you’re there.

On June 23, I’ll be filming a few video segments for the Leader to Leader Institute’s “Leaders of the New Century” project that includes Allan Mulally of Ford, Sir Richard Branson and Tony Hseih of Zappos. Next week the Summer edition of the Leader to Leader Journal comes out. It includes an article that Jason Pankau and I wrote entitled “To Boost Productivity and Innovation, Connect with the Core.” The article is about how great leaders don’t just focus on star performers, they are intentional about connecting with employees at large. Examples in the article include Ret. U.S. Chief of Navy Operations Admiral Vern Clark and Bono, the lead singer for the rock band U2.

Looks can be deceiving. At first glance, Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier looks like yet another small, simple, beautifully-designed book. Oftentimes, books of this sort lack anything new or insightful. A few pages in, however, I realized this book was an exception. Do More Great Work gets to the heart of the work each of us should aspire to do — work that makes us feel fully alive and brings us joy. The author, who was named Canadian Coach of the Year in 2006, walks the reader through a series of maps and questions that provide valuable career guidance. As a result of reading this book, I made a change to my business so that I would do more great work and devote less time to merely good work. That’s the measure of a valuable book: it changes the reader in a positive way. I’m happy to report that Do More Great Work met that standard for me and, as such, I highly recommend it.

Note: There is a bonus if you buy the book by this Tuesday, February 23. Michael has an eBook Be Courageous (regularly $25) which he’s giving away with proof of purchase. If you’re curious, you can check it out just by sending a blank email to:
becourageous@domoregreatwork.com. For additional information click on this link.

Andrés Tapia has a compelling vision. Tapia believes demographic changes and the complex set of problems facing humankind will force the integration of knowledge from the silos that much knowledge resides in today. As an example, Tapia points to the field of behavioral economics that integrates knowledge from the fields of psychology and economics. As part of this trend, Tapia argues that the physical and social separation of people based on their differences will also move toward integration. He describes this vision as Diversity 2.0.

Tapia is Hewitt Associates’ chief diversity officer and the author of The Inclusion Paradox: The Obama Era and the Transformation of Global Diversity. Tapia sees diversity as a broader term that includes such differences as ethnicity, male/female, religious background, sexual preference, temperament, thinking styles, etc. Tapia asserts that Diversity 1.0 has been about the mix of people. It’s defensive and programmatic in nature (e.g., affinity groups, diversity recruiting, diversity fairs, mentoring and diversity learning). Tapia believes as organizations evolve, they will develop an offensive mindset that embraces diversity and inclusion. Diversity 2.0 is about making the mix of people effectively work in a way that benefits the organization. By doing so, organizations will also better understand their diverse customers.

Diversity officers, whom Tapia views as cultural anthropologists, will guide the move to Diversity 2.0. Through training, co-learning, consulting and storytelling (e.g. how cross-cultural competency helped close deal X or improved organizational task Y), a chief diversity officer builds individual and organizational cross-cultural competency. At Hewitt, Tapia developed a course on diversity and inclusion that has been completed by 14,000 participants and another 100,000 of Hewitt’s clients will complete it over the next two years.

In support of his Diversity 2.0 vision, Tapia points to the election of President Obama and what he describes as the Obama Era. In his book, he explores eight cultural implications from Obama’s election: inclusion is a transformative force; whatever we do has global impact; diversity and inclusion requires intentionality; we’ll experience a renaissance of values-driven decision making; we must have a heightened focus on results; the bottom up is as important as the top down; both/and trumps either/or; and true diversity and inclusion requires calling out our differences, not minimizing them.

I believe Andrés Tapia is right. Obama is an excellent example of a leader whose election was possible because of greater inclusion in society. Obama is a leader who embraces diversity and inclusion. As I pointed out in earlier posts, Obama is an intentional connector, a bridge builder rather than a bridge burner. He values dialogue and is respectful, even with his political opponents and the leaders of all nations. He integrates knowledge from diverse domains and the ideas and opinions of diverse people. He is a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” thinker.

Learning about Andrés Tapia’s views reminded me of the “integrative thinker” that Roger Martin wrote about in The Opposable Mind. In the years ahead, there will be greater demand for organizational leaders who are integrative thinkers — open-minded, curious individuals who intentionally and continuously seek the ideas and opinions of diverse people then connect the dots to develop new and better approaches, processes and products. These integrative thinkers will no doubt embrace Diversity 2.0 and organizations will be better for it.

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Michael Lee Stallard (www.michaelleestallard.com) speaks and teaches about leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation. He is the primary author of the book Fired Up or Burned Out and has spoken at leading organizations including Google, NASA, and GE. This is his second career. In his first, he was chief marketing officer for the private wealth management businesses at Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab.

This is the mother ship, or at least that’s what I’ve always called  the world headquarters of Morgan Stanley located in New York City’s Times Square. It was here that a significant moment in Wall Street history occurred on June 30, 2005.  John Mack had been reinstated as Chairman and CEO by the firm’s board. On that day, when Mack and his wife Christy appeared at a meeting with hundreds of Morgan Stanley employees, they gave him a standing ovation. They knew this was an inflection point in the storied firm’s history.   The man standing before them embodied their collective hopes that the firm would return to its former self by restoring a culture that was its greatest asset and the primary source of its competitive advantage.

Mack’s departure  in early 2001 had come about as a result of Morgan Stanley’s merger with Dean Witter in 1997.  Phil Purcell, Dean Witter’s CEO, became CEO of the combined firm and eventually pushed Mack out. Morgan Stanley’s reputation and culture suffered as a result of Purcell’s leadership style.  I experienced the culture  change first-hand. The book Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley describes this period in great detail and Joe Nocera of The New York Times wrote an excellent article about it entitled “In Business, Tough Bosses Are the Ones Who Finish Last.”  Thanks to the vocal opposition to Purcell put up by former and current employees of Morgan Stanley, he was thrown out.

My introduction to Morgan Stanley came in 1996 when it purchased Van Kampen Investments where I worked reporting to the firm’s president and heading business and product development.  As part of the team to integrate Van Kampen into Morgan Stanley, I commuted weekly to New York for a period of time.   I was also part of a joint project to assess business opportunities in Japan.  In 1998, I accepted  an offer to become chief marketing officer for Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management Group.  I was slightly apprehensive about moving to New York and joining this firm whose employees were known for their blue blood pedigrees.  After all, I had grown up in the industrial town of Rockford, Illinois; my grandfathers had worked for a coal mine in the Appalachians; and I was the first in my family to go to college.  I was intolerant of any  hint of favoritism based on privilege rather than merit.  I would soon learn that my concerns were unfounded.

Morgan Stanley was born as a result of the Great Depression. In 1934 the federal government forced the separation of investment banking and commercial banking pursuant to the Glass-Steagall Act and J.P. Morgan became two separate firms: J.P. Morgan and Company retained the commercial bank business and Morgan Stanley was created for the investment banking business.  Both firms kept the values that J.P. Morgan himself summarized as doing first class business in a first class way.  From all I could see, this accurately described Morgan Stanley’s cultural DNA.  The firm prized its reputation as first class.  People at Morgan Stanley worked hard, were for the most part honest, and were typically engaged in philanthropic endeavors to help make the world a better place.  Those who didn’t share the firm’s values weren’t considered to be “one of us” and they were thrown out if they lied, cheated or stole, or respectfully guided out if they didn’t live up to the firm’s standards of excellence. For me, Morgan Stanley’s values reflected my own and I was thrilled to be there and work alongside such outstanding colleagues.

The values that Morgan Stanley’s culture embodied included excellence in its every endeavor; open and, for the most part, civil debate on issues; and meritocracy in pay and promotions.  It was a partnership culture in the very best sense and it had remained that way even after it converted from a legal partnership to become a publicly owned corporation in 1986.  The energy and enthusiasm at Morgan Stanley was off the charts.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven. My boss, John Straus, the head of Private Wealth Management, gave me the autonomy I needed to lead my department and get the job done. His door was always open when I needed his guidance or help navigating the politics that is part of every large firm.  No one worked harder than John.  My colleagues and I were inspired by his passion to create something great. I challenged the people I was responsible for leading to help Private Wealth Management  reach its first billion dollar revenue year in history, a goal that we achieved  two and a half years later.  It was one the the best experiences in my professional life. Working at Morgan Stanley during those years was for me an experience of a lifetime.  (I was surprised and delighted to see in the above picture I recently snapped the words “experience of a lifetime”  scrolling across the Morgan Stanley building’s ticker tape signage.)

Over time, as Phil Purcell and his loyalists exerted their control,  that highly engaging environment soured. Former Morgan Stanley employees left in droves.  John Straus left and, some months later, I did too.  The experience was so eye-opening and disappointing to me that it was one of the catalysts for me to write the book Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity and Productivity.

I’ve given a lot of thought to what made Morgan Stanley so successful.  I know it was the firm’s people and culture.   People were fired up because they worked in a Connection Culture.  Another way to describe Morgan Stanley’s culture is that it was, as I wrote earlier,  a partnership culture. David Sirota describes a partnership culture in his excellent book that I highly recommend entitled The Enthusiastic Employee and in this interview he did with Knowledge@Wharton.

How about you? Have you been a part of a Connection Culture or Partnership Culture where you felt connected to the firm’s mission, values, reputation, your colleagues and your day-to-day work? If so, what fired you up about it? I would like to hear about your work “experience of a lifetime.” Just post it in the comment section below.

(Note: on January 1st, 2010  James Gorman will succeed the retiring John Mack as Morgan Stanley’s CEO.  John Mack will continue to be the firm’s chairman.  To John Mack, I would like to say thank you for your leadership.  And to James Gorman, congratulations and best wishes.  Lead Morgan Stanley in a way that reflects the mindset of its founder who said  ”…at all times the idea of doing only first-class business, and that in a first class way, has been before our minds.”  MLS)

Michael Lee Stallard speaks, teaches and writes about leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at leading organizations including Google, GE, NASA, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.  Most recently, Michael and his colleague Jason Pankau filmed a 90-minute program for Linkage’s Thought Leaders Series that will be released in January of 2010.  Michael wrote the guest editorial for Talent Management magazine’s  January 2010 edition and last month his article on how the force of connection boosts productivity and innovation was featured as the lead article in the UK’s Developing HR Strategy Journal. Click on these links to learn more about Michael and Jason in the media and their speaking engagements.