Pat Farnack, longtime radio host on WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City, recently interviewed me about the trend toward “brutal honesty” in the workplace and its unintended consequences. 

While honesty is a good thing, brutal honesty often becomes an excuse for those with power to verbally abuse others. It creates a culture of control and fear rather than a culture of connection. Instead of brutal honesty, encourage honesty combined with respect. This approach increases the likelihood of critical information making its way up the chain to decision makers.

Listen to the full interview for more on this topic, what to do if you find yourself in a brutal workplace, and thoughts on what’s driving the Great Resignation.

The post Conversation with Pat Farnack on Why “Brutal” Honesty Isn’t Ideal in the Workplace appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

September has arrived and if you’re with an organization that plans by the calendar year, you’re less than a month away from the start of the final quarter. I’ve always felt September is the ideal time to gather the team together and check our alignment. By that I mean, are we focused on what needs to be completed before year-end? Are we set as a team, and individually, to finish strong? Are there things, like a car wheel out of alignment, that are pulling us off course, causing unnecessary wear and tear, making us function less efficiently?

I really enjoy the process of realignment. I welcome talking through and getting clear about what our team needs to focus on and what my personal part is in accomplishing the plan. I’ve found that with greater clarity comes reduced stress and more energy to put into those actions that will make a difference so that once the year ends, I can look back with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that progress has been made toward achieving our mission. Without these times, it can be all too easy to keep our eyes down on the tasks at-hand and not notice that we may have drifted off course.

The process I like to use begins with going out to the team to collectively review the top 3-5 priorities for the year and celebrate what’s been accomplished year-to-date under each of the priorities. This is a time to be positive and forward-focused, not a session to dwell on what hasn’t worked. As an example, this year we developed and began the beta test of our new Connection Culture e-course that we will be making available to the public later this fall. We also completed both the Connection Culture Inventory (CCI) that assesses subcultures in organizations and the Connection Culture Pulse (CCP) that can be taken throughout the year so that managers receive ongoing feedback about organizational health and employee engagement. Another encouraging development is that Jon Rugg, a Ph.D. student advised by our Chief Scientist, Dr. Todd Hall, completed an impressive study which found empirical evidence that Connection Culture as a general theory of leadership and organization culture and a practical model for leaders to develop culture, provides a competitive advantage to organizations. These items are among the great things that have happened this year that energize me and our team about the progress we’re making to help leaders and organizations create cultures that connect.

After reviewing what’s been accomplished year-to-date versus our 2018 top 3-5 priorities, I like to zero in on what we would like to complete before year-end; provide my perspective on some of the challenges; and ask colleagues to share their thoughts about what’s right, what’s wrong, and/or what’s missing from my thinking, and how we can overcome any obstacles to finish 2018 strong. Tapping into the ideas and opinions of the team produces the best thinking that we can factor into our plan for the fourth quarter. If you’re familiar with our work, you will have picked up on the similarities in this step of the realignment process and a “knowledge flow” session.

After conversations with the team, I commit the fourth quarter plan to writing and develop detailed W4s for each action. W4 stands for what has to be done, when it has to be completed by, who is responsible for overseeing completion and who needs to know about it. W4s bring clarity to implementation that converts the plan to reality. I recommend that you make the W4s available to the team as a natural follow-up, even if a particular W4 doesn’t pertain to each individual.

Taking time to check alignment and identify changes to make is an opportunity to further the connection on your team. It reminds you of the vision and mission in front of you, it calls upon the unique contributions that each person brings, and it invites everyone to contribute to the discussion (to hear and to be heard).

Going into the fall, my hope for each of you is that you and your team go through the September realignment process, come out of it feeling good about what you’ve accomplished thus far in 2018 and energized in your commitment to keep moving forward together, with greater clarity to finish the year strong and go into 2019 with a sense of accomplishment and enthusiasm for the year ahead.

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Photo by Steven Lelham on Unsplash.

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In June of 2000, the combative Durk Jager resigned as CEO of Procter & Gamble after a tenure that had lasted only seventeen months. When he left P&G, its stock had declined 50 percent, it had lost $320 million in the most recent quarter, half of its brands were losing market share, and the firm was struggling with morale problems.

Jager was replaced by a quiet and thoughtful P&G veteran named A.G. Lafley. Although Jager had questioned the competence of many P&G employees, Lafley immediately assured them that he knew they were capable of restoring the marketing powerhouse to its former greatness. Lafley’s long career in marketing had taught him how to glean insights by listening to P&G’s customers. Now he sought to do the same by listening to P&G’s employees. Lafley turned to Jim Stengel, heir apparent to the chief marketing officer, and asked him to conduct a survey to find out what employees thought should be done.

Although senior managers were considering several new business initiatives at the time, P&G’s employees felt something different was needed. They wanted a renewed commitment to marketing, more time to listen to customers, the results of programs to determine rewards rather than the quantity of programs launched and more disciplined market planning.

After P&G implemented employee suggestions, the number of employees who strongly agreed with the statement “We’re on the right rack to deliver business results” soared from 18 percent to 49 percent in just twelve months. And in a little more than two years after taking over from Jager, Lafley restored P&G to profitability.

Lafley turned P&G around in part because he increased the cultural element I describe as voice. The expanded term for this element is knowledge flow. Since leaders who increase knowledge flow within their organizations benefit from it and those who don’t risk failure, you might ask what you can do to ensure that knowledge flow is maximized in your company. The following are three steps I recommend.

KNOWLEDGE-FLOW SESSIONS

Hold ongoing knowledge-flow sessions. Leaders stimulate knowledge flow by regularly holding sessions with employees in which they share information about important issues facing the organization and near-term action plans they are considering. The leader encourages employees to share what they believe is right, what’s wrong and what’s missing from his or her thinking. The frequency, length and size of these sessions can be tailored to particular segments of employees. Sessions are conducted at all levels of the organization.

Unlike the typical staged town hall meeting in many organizations, the knowledge-flow session is characterized by honest dialogue. Key to its success is an environment in which participants feel safe to share their ideas and opinions.

Results from knowledge flow sessions are shared with all participants, and valuable ideas arising from the sessions are executed. Employees feel more connected and become more fired up as they are informed and heard. Because few leaders do this well, it is wise for most to get outside assistance to design and implement the knowledge-flow session process as well as see it modeled.

INQUISITIVE ATTITUDE

Ask people to be inquisitive. Better-informed employees are more likely to identify critical pieces of information to solve business problems and spot opportunities. I like the term Peter Drucker once gave the contributions of educated employees who shared an opposing point of view. He called it “informed dissent.” Leaders should ask employees to seek to understand their business, client attitudes and competitors’ actions so that they can bring informed dissent to the organization’s decision-making process.

General Electric does this by thinking of and describing itself as a “learning company.” Among other things, GE encourages employees to recognize best practices outside the company and in other business units across GE, all for the purpose of continually strengthening their businesses.

RELATIONAL CONNECTIONS

Safeguard relational connections. It is important in all communications to be sensitive to the feelings of other people. Politely asking someone to do something is preferable to giving orders. Using a respectful tone is better than talking down to someone. Insensitive communication styles impede knowledge flow because people will naturally react in a defensive manner.

Individuals who regularly show insensitivity should be made aware of it and coached to change their behavior. People who are insensitive in communicating with others may be unaware of it. Although they may not like hearing it, once they see proof of the reactions on the part of their colleagues, they will begin to appreciate the need to change.

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The post 3 Ways to Encourage Knowledge Flow appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

Most organization and team cultures today focus on racing to identify actionable solutions. The most effective leaders, however, take time to ask questions that get people to share their thoughts and feelings en route to identifying actionable solutions.

Over the years I’ve come to believe that rushing to a solution is often unwise and that the journey is as valuable as the destination. Here are four reasons why.

1. Conversation builds trust

Research by psychologist James Pennebaker has shown that when you get people to talk, they feel more connected to you, they like you more and feel they learn more from you. In other words, by getting people to talk and carefully listening to them you build trust.

2. Conversation defangs destructive emotions

Asking questions and listening helps quiet destructive emotions. One reason hostage negotiators are 95 percent successful is that they ask hostage takers questions that engage the cortex of the brain, where we make rational decisions, and disengage the amygdala, an emotional region of the brain, thus overcoming the amygdala hijack

3. Conversation facilitates alignment

Asking questions and carefully listening to responses helps people learn and grow. Lawyers who specialize in contract law talk about “meeting of the minds.” I like this phrase because it correctly identifies that minds can meet, partially meet or utterly fail to meet. The process of asking questions, carefully listening to responses and asking additional questions helps facilitate a meeting of the minds that promotes alignment of actions so that the team is all moving in the same direction.

4. Conversation Improves Engagement

Over my career I’ve witnessed time and again how people who are ordered to implement a set of actions do so with little commitment and effort. Leaders who involve people in the conversation to identify and finalize actions are rewarded when people implement the actions with greater engagement.

What Questions Should You Ask?

Several resources are available to help those who want to lead with questions. Michael Bungay Stanier’s new book, The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever is a good place to begin. It recommends questions to use in the context of coaching and mentoring including:

What’s on your mind?

And what else?

What’s the real challenge here for you?

What do you want?

How can I help?

Another worthwhile resource is Peter Drucker’s 5 Most Important Questions by Peter Drucker, Frances Hesselbein and Joan Snyder Kuhl. Drucker’s questions are as follows:

What is our mission?

Who is our customer?

What does the customer value?

What are our results?

What is our plan?

Finally, StoryCorps, the nonprofit organization that has recorded more than 60,000 interviews with more than 100,000 participants, has learned a thing our two about effective questions. Check out Great Questions from StoryCorps and consider using some of them with your team, friends and family.

If you doubt the power of leading with questions and the importance of sociality, check out the 36 questions that lead to love and this article on Google’s Project Aristotle.

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The post 4 Reasons to Lead with Questions appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

TCU is on a roll! The university of 8,900 undergraduate students in Fort Worth, Texas is all over the national sports pages these days. 

The TCU Horned Frog football team keeps winning games and remains near the top of the college football rankings. Josh Doctson and Aaron Green are frequently mentioned as likely NFL draft picks, along with quarterback Trevone Boykin whose remarkable performances have the press buzzing that he is a frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy. A photo of Boykin kneeling down to talk with 7-year old Abby Faber, Iowa State’s “Kid Captain” of the day who suffers from spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, recently went viral.

In the NFL, former TCU quarterback Andy Dalton is leading the Cincinnati Bengals football team to what looks like another playoff-bound year as the Bengals remain one of a handful of undefeated teams.

Jake Arrieta, the Chicago Cubs ace pitcher and contender for the Cy Young Award, helped his team defeat his former Horned Frog teammate and star second baseman Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals to advance to Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series.  TCU baseball has become a national powerhouse, making its second straight appearance earlier this year in the College World Series.

With TCU’s athletic success, one might expect hubris to surface. In my four years of involvement at TCU, even as national athletics successes mounted, I have been intrigued to observe quite the opposite.  The small school with big spirit — and unusual mascot — is anything but resting on its laurels.

Recently I participated in a meeting of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council (CAC) to provide feedback on how TCU might further strengthen its athletic program to prepare student-athletes to be successful in the classroom, in competition and in life beyond college. The CAC consists of approximately 60 individuals with diverse backgrounds from across the U.S. who come together on campus twice each year. Members tapped for a three-year term are either alumni, current or past parents, or community friends. (I have one daughter who graduated from TCU and another who is a senior). Each season the CAC focuses on a specific program or aspect of university life and provides candid feedback. Past topics have included discussions on the role of graduate education, the best ways for students to live lives that matter, the importance of freshman retention, and the advantages of a connection culture.

The CAC is one forum in which TCU has effectively operationalized humility in a way that contributes to the university’s success. TCU’s process can be summarized in three steps that every leader can implement with members of his or her organization.

1. Put your cards on the table

High quality feedback requires knowledge. Operationalizing humility begins by informing others in a way that reflects transparency and openness. At TCU’s CAC meetings, two half-day sessions are designed to equip CAC members with relevant facts, data and knowledge so they can ask pertinent questions and provide informed opinions. This includes interaction with students and relevant staff and faculty members.

Leaders can follow TCU’s example by being intentional about keeping people in the loop. Share financial and operational data with the people you lead. Share the issues you’re considering and your thoughts about each so people know where you stand.  Some might argue that you should begin by asking others to share their thoughts.  I’ve found that people hold back until they know where the leader stands. If the leader shares openly, and genuinely believes that honest feedback is valuable (even if it’s not what he or she wants to hear), people will be more forthcoming and say what they believe. Even though it will take time for people to be candid because it requires building trust first, I’ve found this to be the most effective approach.

2. Ask participants to stress test your thinking

Tell the people you lead that you have been wrong before, that you know from experience you don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and the best ideas will surface when everyone is contributing their knowledge to the conversation. Ask them to share “what’s right?, what’s wrong?, and what’s missing?” from your thinking. Don’t be critical of the feedback you receive. Listen to what they say and thank each contributor for sharing.  Have a note taker write it all down. This approach effectively stress tests your thinking.

Near the end of the CAC meetings, Ann Louden, Chancellor’s Associate for Strategic Partnerships who organizes and leads the CAC, presents the key question that the Chancellor would like the group to weigh in on and provide recommendations on how TCU can improve. Participants are assigned to groups of approximately 10 individuals each and the teams get to work on brainstorming and evaluating options. Each group reports its recommendations back to the entire CAC with TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini in attendance to hear the feedback firsthand.

3. Consider then implement the best

Finally, leaders at TCU consider the CAC’s feedback and implement the best ideas.  This is especially important to maintain credibility. Leaders who don’t follow-up on feedback and implement the good ideas lose credibility. They’ll find that future requests for feedback will not be taken seriously.

Seeking the ideas and opinions of others reflects humility. It says that you don’t believe you have a monopoly on good ideas and you need to hear the perspectives of others in order to make the best decisions. The 3-step process is wisdom in action because it captures the thinking of individuals who have diverse experiences, thinking styles and ideas. Armed with this valuable feedback, leaders are more likely to make optimal decisions that contribute to and sustain their organization’s success.

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The post TCU’s Humility Improves Odds of Success appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

#86 Follow Up in Writing

After a Group or Individual Knowledge Flow Session, follow up in writing to summarize what you heard, what actions are necessary, who is responsible for each action and when each action should be completed. Great communication shows people you value them and also encourages further sharing of information and ideas.

This is the eighty-sixth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

The post After Knowledge Flow Sessions, Follow Up in Writing appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

#76 Keep Them “In the Loop”

Keep your team in the loop on issues they need to know about. Whenever possible, bring individuals into the loop who express an interest in an issue. Doing so helps people to feel prepared for what’s ahead, which reduces stress and increases engagement.

This is the seventy-sixth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

The post Connect With Your Team by Keeping Them “In the Loop” appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

#46 Hold Individual Knowledge Flow Sessions

Begin by making a list of the people you must interact with in order to perform your work well. Similar to Group Knowledge Flow Sessions, in meeting with individuals, share your Vision for what relevant actions need to be taken in your work with them, who you see as responsible for each action, and when it needs to be completed; ask them to tell you “what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s missing” from your thinking; and consider their ideas and opinions to learn from them and show you value them.

This is the forty-sixth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

The post Connect by Holding Individual Knowledge Flow Sessions appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

#45 Seek Ideas and Opinions in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

When leading Knowledge Flow Sessions, share with participants that “I don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and we will be our best only when we all share our opinions and ideas.” Encourage dialogue by asking participants to tell you “what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s missing” from your thinking.

Everyone’s opinions and ideas should be considered so ask people who are quiet to share what they think.  Listen and consider the ideas put forth.  Implement good ideas and give credit where it’s due.  This practice reflects the character strengths of integrity, humility, curiosity and open-mindedness.

This is the forty-fifth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

The post Seek Ideas and Opinions in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.

Photo Credit: StockImages

#44 Lead with Vision in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

A knowledge flow session is a meeting that allows leaders to both inform and listen to members of their teams. Begin by sharing your Vision, i.e. your thoughts about what actions need to be done, by whom, and when each action needs to be completed. We call this “putting your cards on the table.”

In the coming weeks, I will share more helpful tips for facilitating knowledge flow sessions.

This is the forty-fourth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

The post Lead with Vision in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions appeared first on Michael Lee Stallard.