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.
Tag Archives: teams
Summer: A Season to Connect
Summer is an excellent time to be intentional about strengthening the relationships in your life, including your relationships at work. Think about the people you need to have good relationships with to perform your job well (I call these “Critical Connections”) then consider the present state of each relationship. If some of these Critical Connection relationships are not strong, you need to take action to strengthen them.
Once you’ve identified your Critical Connection priorities, spend time with these individuals over meals or coffee. Ask them questions unrelated to work so that you get to know them as human beings. Asking questions of another human being, then listening carefully to their reply so that you can understand and empathize with them, demonstrates that you value them as human beings. Understanding and empathy reflect the essence of connection.
Here are are a few questions to consider asking when you meet with your Critical Connections:
Where did you grow up?
What are your interests outside of work?
What are your favorite movies and television shows?
What are you favorite books?
Who are your favorite musicians?
Who are your heroes?
Where did you go to college and what did you study?
What events in your life shaped you as a person?
Who has had the greatest impact on your life and why?
What is the best advice you received?
These questions should give you plenty to talk about and help you strengthen your connection with the people you rely on at work.
SkillSoft to Film Videos on Employee Engagement, Strategic Alignment
This summer I will be filming training videos on employee engagement, strategic alignment, productivity and innovation for SkillSoft, the largest public company in the world that is solely focused on e-learning. Skillsoft has 10 million licensed users that represent 55 percent of the Fortune 500 and 24 percent of the Global 2000 organizations in business, government, and education. Jason Pankau and I are excited about this opportunity to work with yet another world-class partner to take our work and ideas on The Connection Culture from our book Fired Up or Burned Out to a new audience.
Organizations today are in desperate need of improving employee engagement and strategic alignment. The Conference Board released a report in January 2010 saying its research showed employee engagement is at its lowest point since the organization began surveying. Another well-repected organization, The Corporate Executive Board, released research last year that showed 90 percent of employees are either not engaged and giving their best efforts or they are not aligned with organizational goals.
What Are “Sustainable Values”?
In my last post, I wrote about “sustainable values,” i.e. the beliefs and behaviors that produce an inspiring identity, human value and knowledge flow in groups that help people thrive individually and collectively. In other words, when a group embraces and behaves in ways that are consistent with sustainable values, it leads to sustainable superior performance.
In our work, we recommend that leaders of organizations promote the universal character values celebrated by religious thinkers and moral philosophers throughout history. Cultures that have these values exhibit superior strategic alignment, employee engagement, productivity, innovation and overall performance. Researchers that are part of the American Psychological Association’s positive psychology research effort identified these values as helping people flourish and a body of large body research is developing in support of that view. Here’s a list of the values and their definitions:
Webinar: Jobs, Catmull, Lafley Have the “Connection Edge”
Jason Pankau and I are presenting a 60 minute webinar for Communitelligence about the “Connection Edge” that leaders such as Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and A.G. Lafley employ to boost strategic alignment and employee engagement. The webinar will be held on June 9 at 2:00 PM Eastern. You can sign up at this link.
What Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and A.G. Lafley have in common
Jobs, Catmull and Lafley connect with employees of their respective organizations, although they do so in distinctly unique ways. This is the topic of a webinar Jason Pankau and I will be doing for Communitelligence. You can learn more about it at this link. This topic is relevant today because Corporate Executive Board research shows that 90 percent of employees are either not engaged and giving their best efforts or they are not aligned with their organization’s goals. Research by both The Conference Board and the Corporate Executive Board shows that the solution to this problem to develop the emotional and rational connections that employee have with their organization’s mission and values, supervisor, colleagues and day-to-day work tasks. In the webinar, Michael and Jason show how great leaders do this.
Relationship Excellence: Chick-fil-A’s Competitive Edge
I just met and heard Chick-fil-A’s President Dan Cathy speak to a group at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast about values, faith, serving others and the competitive advantage of relationships. It was an inspiring message and he is genuine and clearly passionate about the organization, its people, customers and what it represents. Dan told the audience that he recently committed to his father, Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, to keep the company private which will help preserve the values of this great organization.
Observing Dan speak, it’s clear that he connects with the employees of Chick-fil-A. He spends more than half of his time on the road visiting stores and connecting with employees and customers. He tells stories that move him and in so doing move the hearts of others. He often uses objects that help people remember his points. A large pepper grinder represents adding pepper to the customer’s experience by going the second mile to be friendly. Chick-fil-A has won numerous awards for its exceptionally high level of customer service.
Sometimes when I hear corporate leaders talk I wonder if they walk the talk. I’ve done some due diligence and feel highly confident that Chick-fil-A is the real deal. Even my own mother who lives in Bristol, Virginia sings the praises of the local Chick-fil-A for their good people and positive influence on the local community.
In the coming weeks I’ll be interviewing Dan Cathy to learn more about his journey as a leader and his work at Chick-fil-A so stay tuned.
Leaders Shape Stories
Mark Sanborn just said people should slow down, reflect and be shapers of stories. How true! It made me think of a scene in the movie Apollo 13 when Mission Director Gene Kranz changed the story of the Apollo 13 mission failure from being about a potential disaster to being one of NASA’s greatest moments by bringing the astronauts safely home despite the odds against them. For those who don’t know, NASA performed heroically and saved the three astronauts lives.
Last week I spoke to a leader at NASA’s Johnson Space Center who told me that Gene Kranz’s famous line “failure is not an option” that he stated in the movie still influences NASA’s culture today. On June 17, Jason Pankau and I will be speaking to leaders at the NASA Johnson Space Center where Gene Kranz uttered those famous words that reshaped NASA’s story. We feel a sense of awe and humilty to have an opportunity to speak at NASA. We hope to inspire NASA’s leaders about how important it is to create a Connection Culture so that they will thrive, individually and collectively.
Employee Engagement: Small Business Advantage
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.