This morning I was a guest on Jim Blasingame’s nationally syndicated “Small Business Advocate” radio program. We discussed several topics including employee engagement, incivility and Gen Y in the workplace.
Tag Archives: teambuilding
Darden’s Leadership Sage
Jason Pankau and I were at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business this week to speak about our work on Connection Cultures, leadership, productivity, innovation and employee engagement. We gave a three hour presentation to students in the MBA for Executives program and briefly visited friends such as professors Marian Moore and Alec Horniman.
Darden has so much going for it. World class professors and a great culture. No doubt the business school’s culture benefits from Alec Horniman’s wisdom as a thought leader in the fields of leadership, organizations, change and ethics. Take a look at the excellent video of Dr. Horniman discussing the importance of ethics in business and you’ll see what I mean.
Two Easy Ways to Boost Employee Engagement
Small things can make a big difference when it comes to employee engagement. Here’s a couple easy things you can do to help improve employee engagement. On a Friday at lunchtime, get employees together in a conference room for pizza and salad or go outside of work for an informal lunch and time to mingle. When you do this, take time to chat with your colleagues and ask them what their interests are outside of work. You’ll be amazed at the interesting activities your colleagues are involved in. Also, be sure to look for the loners and make a special effort to connect with them and help them connect with others. This time reduces stress and energizes most people.
Leadership Development Carnival
Check out this leadership development carnival i.e. a collection of blog posts about leadership issues. It’s hosted by Sharlyn Lauby of HR Bartender. While you are there be sure to explore Sharlyn’s blog. I discovered she created an HR Bartender iPhone App. How cool is that?
Duke Men’s Basketball’s Secret Weapon: The “Women K”
Duke men’s basketball team lead by Coach K are in The Final Four again. What’s their secret? According to Coach K, it’s what might be called the “Women K”: his wife Mickie and their three adult daughters. Read all about it in this fabulous article entitled “Follow Me” written by Michael Sokolove that appeared in the February 2006 edition of Play magazine, a supplement of The New York Times. If you read the article and Coach K’s books you’ll see that he clearly describes what we refer to as a Connection Culture, including its three elements: vision, value and voice.
Most leaders are intentional about developing task excellence but they are not intentional about developing relationship excellence. Not Coach K. Here are just a few of the quotes that appear in the article that show Coach K strives to develop relationship excellence via connection:
“Almost everything in leadership comes back to relationships”
“When he recruits a player, Krzyzewski tells him, ‘We’re developing a relationship here, and if you are not interested, tell me sooner rather than later.’ That word — relationship — os one he uses frequently. [He tells players] ‘If you come here, for however long, you’re going to unpack your suitcase. We’re going to form a bond, and you’re going to be part of this family.”
“Game day is not a day for long, drawn-out speeches. It is a time for interaction.”
“There’s an empathetic part of leadership, and this is what my wife and daughters have taught me.
Chain of Connection: Leaders -> Employees -> Customers
On Wednesday I’ll be leading a panel at The Conference Board’s Customer Experience Management Conference. One of my panel participants is Vince Burks, a Senior Vice President at Amica Mutual Insurance Company. With Vince’s permission, here is an piece he wrote about what I describe in my work as the “Chain of Connection” that runs from the CEO to Customers. It is necessary to maximize strategic alignment, employee engagement and achieve sustainable superior performance in every organization, especially now when according to Gallup Research only 18 percent of people trust business leaders.
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Lagniappe.
Its origin is Spanish. Its meaning is special. And for companies striving to make a difference – or merely to survive – its value is enormous. As Mark Twain explained during his travels to New Orleans, “It is the equivalent of the thirteenth roll in a ‘baker’s dozen’ … something thrown in, gratis, for good measure.”
In other words, lagniappe (pronounced “LAN– yap”) is about making an extra effort … about going the extra mile … about doing something extra special. It is a gift. It is a courtesy. It is a way to stand out in a positive way.
And for companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Zales, Starbucks and Sodexho … it is a way of life.
Successful companies know how to run successful businesses. They know how to win over and keep customers. They know how to hire and inspire their workforces. They know the importance of giving 110 percent. They know lagniappe.
For their clients, this means an added emphasis on customer service. Extra courteous. Extra responsive. Always available. They proactively reach out to our clients. They listen to them carefully, patiently, and thoroughly. They treat them well. They build trust.
Like all successful companies, they place a premium on customer relations and recognize that it is not just about the extra “roll” but also the extra call, the extra time, the extra attention.
But that’s not the full story.
At companies like the ones above – as well as my own, Amica Insurance – the concept of lagniappe is not just a part of our brand ethos; it is ingrained in everything we do. It therefore extends to our most valued resource – our employees. In fact, that is the secret to our success.
Post-Merger Traps Sabotage Performance
Over the course of my career I’ve had the good fortune to have been involved in several mergers. At first, I was fascinated by the process of identifying a compelling rationale for combining companies, negotiating the deal, planning the integration of people and systems and then executing the plan. The dizzying array of tasks that must be accomplished to complete a merger is challenging to say the least. In time, however, I learned that even greater challenges arose after the investment bankers and lawyers had packed up their briefcases and moved on to the next deal.
Building trust, cooperation and esprit de corps among the members of the newly combined organization is far and away the most underestimated challenge of mergers. The failure to plan and address cultural differences is why most mergers fail to meet the expectations of the parties going in. Unless leaders learn how to avoid the inevitable post-merger traps their efforts will be too late to repair the damage that has already been done.
Post-merger traps emerge when behaviors thwart the meeting of universal human needs for people to thrive, individually and collectively. These needs are respect, recognition, belonging, autonomy, personal growth and meaning. When these needs are not met in legitimate ways, people have a tendency to seek illegitimate ways to meet them. As individuals focus more on self-interest, they lose sight of the organization’s interest. In time, the downward performance spiral accelerates as individual performance declines, communication is stunted, decisions are made based on incorrect assumptions, financial performance suffers, and so on until survival is threatened.
The good news is that post-merger traps are largely predictable. Here are a few to be on the lookout for and what leaders can do to avoid them.
When Truth is Victim of “Nice”
Take a look at this article about Ursula Burns, the new CEO of Xerox, and her efforts to alter Xerox’s culture. Anne Mulachy, the former CEO did a remarkable job pulling the Xerox family together to save the company when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Mulcahy is a tough act to follow but I’m pulling for Ms. Burns to take Xerox to the next level. One way to look at Ms. Burns challenge is that she needs to frame Xerox’s success as being rooted in achieving both task excellence and relationship excellence. When a culture sacrifices truth to being nice (or more accurately to avoiding conflict) a company’s performance eventually suffer. Ms. Burns is performing a delicate dance. If she comes off too strong, people wil ear to spaek he truth. If she does nothing, it seems that the desire to avoid constructive conflict may eventually sabotage the companies performance.
If I were advising Ms. Burns, I would say “make it clear to your Xerox colleagues that we must be intentional about achieving BOTH task excellence AND relationship excellence in order to thrive. Sacrifice either and we will risk managerial failure for reasons I’ve written about in Fired Up or Burned Out.
Is Your Corporate Identity Inspiring?
Jason Pankau and I recently spoke at Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care group. J&J has an inspiring identity that is expressed in its Credo. Our definition of an inspiring identity is that it exists when everyone in the organization is motivated by the mission, united by the values and proud of the reputation.
Take a look at the J&J Credo by clicking here. As you study the J&J Credo ask yourself if its mission and values are inspiring. After you study the J&J Credo, turn your attention to your organization’s mission and values and ask the following questions:
- Are your mission and values clearly expressed and widely communicated?
- Do you have a portfolio of stories that help people understand your organization’s mission and values?
- Do people in your organization periodically take time to consider their decisions and practices in light of consistency with your organization’s values?
- Does your organization’s reputation reflect it’s values?
- Does your organization’s employer brand benefit from its inspiring identity?
J&J does a marvelous job on the Credo section of its website. Take a look at it by clicking here. In preparation for a book I’m writing, I’ll be interviewing Kathleen Fitzpatrick, J&J’s Director of Credo and Workplace Engagement, and posting portions of the interview on this blog.
Have you seen expressions of corporate identities (mission, values, supporting stories or practices) that have inspired you? If so, please post them here or email me at mstallard [at] epluribuspartners [dot] com.
Having Lost Connection to Work, Nick Sarillo Found Purpose in Pizza
Nick Sarillo lost the feeling of connection to his work when the home construction employer he worked for over 12 years shifted focus from quality and craftsmanship to speed and mediocrity. So Nick did what every self-respecting man of action does. He quit and started his own business where every employee would feel connected to his or her work. Today, Nick’s Pizza & Pub is the 4th busiest independent pizza company in America and it’s the cover story in this month’s Inc magazine. The story is entitled “Lessons from A Blue-Collar Millionaire,” written by Bo Burlingham, one of my favorite writers.
Nick’s Pizza & Pub is a prime example of a business that thrives because its leader is focused on achieving both task excellence and relationship excellence. Just read its purpose and values below:
Nick’s Pizza & Pub
“Pizza on Purpose”®
Our Purpose: “The Nicks Experience”
Our dedicated family provides this community an unforgettable place; to connect with your family and friends, to have fun and to feel at home!
Nick’s Pizza and Pub Values
- We treat everyone with dignity and respect.
- We are dedicated to the learning, teaching and ongoing development of each other.
- We have fun while at work!
- We provide a clean and safe environment for our guests and team.
- We honor individual passions and creativity at work and at home.
- We communicate openly, clearly and honestly.
- We honor the relationships that connect our team, our guests and community.
- We take pride in our commitment to provide a quality service and a quality product.
- We celebrate and reward accomplishments and “A+” players.
- We support balance between home and work.
- Health: We are a profitable and fiscally responsible company. We support the physical and emotional well-being of our guests and team members.
- Our team works through support and cooperation.
I met Nick and his business partner Chris Adams at The Great Game of Business Conference and Nick attended a presentation Jason Pankau and I gave last Fall at Northwestern University’s Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.