Elisa Spain – Page 19 – Elisa K. Spain

Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

September 3, 2017August 31, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

When the first nationally recognized Labor Day was celebrated in 1894, the day consisted of a street parade sending up a message of “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” (in the words of the AFL).

We have come a long way since then. Today most employers focus on offering opportunities and benefits to attract and retain talent; as a result, the need for unions has diminished and few remain.

Yet we still celebrate the day as a national holiday. Perhaps it is simply tradition, or the acknowledgment of the end of summer. Or a reminder to celebrate how far we have come as a nation of leaders and followers, where two-way communication has become much more the norm than work place “negotiations”.

So, as you enjoy your family barbecues, or however you celebrate the day, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself:

As a leader, what can I do tomorrow to let each member of my team know they are valued and are essential to our success?
As a follower, what I can do tomorrow to let my boss know what else I can do to add value to the success of our company?

Leadership Quote: You Never See A Conductor…

August 27, 2017August 24, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

This month’s leadership quote:

“You never see a conductor play an instrument.”

—Larry Steinhauer

The intended leadership lesson here is leaders need to do less and lead more. And, like everything else, it depends.

Sometimes the exact right thing to do is back off and let other folks lead. And sometimes, the right thing to do is get in the trenches and work side by side with your team, letting them know you get it, you care and you aren’t hanging out in your ivory tower. The conductor, after all, is right there in the pit with the orchestra.

I heard two stories recently that support each option. One of my Vistage CEO members shared a story of offering to brainstorm with a key executive; the executive politely replied, “I’ve got it”.

On the other hand, another member after sharing a story of frustration on the part of the team, due to staff shortages, heard fellow members suggest, “you are spending too much time in your office, get out there, participate, show them you know you get it and that you care.”

The secret is in knowing when to pick up an instrument, even if ever so briefly, and when not to.

With Diversity, Comes Diversity

August 20, 2017August 18, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

What does this statement even mean?

Diverse leadership teams are hard…they are harder to build, are unlikely to come to consensus and are more likely to have conflict.

So, why bother? Because… they are harder to build, are unlikely to come to consensus and are more likely to have conflict, they make better decisions. Research studies prove this out.

Before we go any further, let’s start with some definitions; here’s mine:

Homogeneous groups have similar backgrounds, preferences and personality styles
Diverse groups contain individuals with a variety of backgrounds, preferences and styles

Notice, I didn’t mention gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preference. Why? Because categorizing frequently leads to stereotyping and while stereotyping might be a shortcut to achieving diversity, it may not. In fact, it may instead simply lead to stereotyping or…

In some cases, visible diversity as in gender and race, doesn’t create a diverse team. Where backgrounds are similar, even with visible diversity, a team is likely to behave as a homogeneous group.

What to do?

As with any critical decision, start by asking yourself the #1 leadership question: What outcome do I want?

Diversity is not always the best approach. Homogeneous groups are easier. Because of their similar backgrounds, preferences and styles they are likely to agree and move forward quickly.

If the goal is getting more of what you already have, then a homogeneous group may be the way to go.
If the goal is innovation and critical thinking, you are more likely to get there with a diverse group.

If you decide you want to build a diverse team, ask yourself the following questions to get started:

Do I know the backgrounds, preferences, and styles of current team members?
What actions do I need to take to learn this information about my current team?
What are the gaps in the current team?
Who in my organization could I add to the current team to increase the diversity?
If I am hiring team members, what qualities would add to the diversity?

If you would like to read more on the results of diverse groups, here is an article by two Kellogg professors to get you started: Better Decisions Through Diversity.

Q2 2017 Vistage CEO Confidence Index Results

August 13, 2017August 11, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

Q2 Confidence Index

The Vistage Confidence Index was 103.1 in the second quarter, down from 106.9 in the 1st quarter but still well above last year’s 88.0.

Q2 2017 Vistage CEO Confidence Index highlights include:

55% of CEOs reported that economy had recently improved, slightly below last quarter’s 59% but more than twice last year’s 21%.
Only 38% expected continued improvement, down from 57% last quarter and 58% in Q4 2016, but higher than 20% in Q2 2016.
60% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the year ahead. The majority 62% indicate that they were having trouble finding and hiring workers.
48% of CEOs are planning for increased investments in plant and equipment.
73% of expect increased revenue, down from 77% in Q1 and 78% in Q4 2016.

Chicago Area Survey Highlights:

28% of CEOs expect the economy to improve in the year ahead (vs. 38% nationally)
44% of CEOs expect to increase investments in the year ahead (vs. 48% nationally)
63% of CEOs expect to increase revenue in the year ahead (vs. 73% nationally)
57% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the next year (vs. 61% nationally)
51% of CEOs thought the national economy had improved in the past year (vs. 55% nationally)
57% of CEOs expect rising proﬁts in the year ahead (vs. 60% nationally)

What If We Meet Them Where They Are?

August 6, 2017August 4, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

Most of the time, we have an agenda. Whether it is to close a deal, persuade our employees or our customers to “see the light” or simply to win.

What if instead, we simply let things unfold at their own pace?
What if instead, we seek to understand?
What if instead, we invested in understanding where they are, and meet them there?
What if instead, we recognized that our stakeholders are made up of individuals, for whom “there” may be a different place for each of them?

But wait you say, isn’t it all about having a plan? Isn’t the goal to win? Perhaps it is, and I wonder if our chances of winning go up when we stop trying to orchestrate the outcome.

Leadership Quote: Great Leaders…

July 30, 2017July 24, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

This month’s leadership quote:

“Great leaders delegate success, not tasks.”

—Anonymous

Frequently the leaders I work with tell me they are willing to delegate, as long as they trust the person to whom they are delegating. Makes sense. And yet, what happens when the person they delegate to doesn’t deliver?

For many leaders the answer is, I step in, because the risk of failure is too great.

In my experience, it’s when the leader won’t or can’t step in, that true delegation happens. The corollary to this quote is really, “great leaders delegate success and failure”. Hard to do, sometimes costly to do, and is there another way that will allow for scale?

Q2 2017 Vistage CEO Confidence Index Results: Strong and Steady

July 23, 2017July 21, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

Q2 Confidence Index

CEOs of small and mid-sized companies remain confident in the economy and their business prospects, according to the latest reading of the Vistage CEO Confidence Index. The index measured 106.9 in the first quarter of 2017, a slight increase from the 105.2 measured last quarter (Q4 2016) but well above the 91.4 reading from the previous quarter (Q3 2016).

Other highlights from the quarterly survey include the following:

CEOs predict continued economic growth

According to the majority of CEOs surveyed, the economy has started to rebound and shows signs of continued growth in the year ahead.

Q2 2017 Vistage CEO Confidence Index highlights include:

Fifty-nine percent of CEOs reported that the economy had recently improved, compared to 42% last quarter and 27% one year ago. The outlook for the economy was the same as last quarter, with 57% of CEOs stating that they expect the economy to continue to grow in the next 12 months.
Forty-seven percent of firms said they expected to increase their investment spending in the next year. “There is no clearer indication of an improved economic outlook than the fact that CEOs have become more willing to invest in new productive capacity in anticipation of greater future sales increases,” said Dr. Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan.
Sixty percent of CEOs said they planned to expand their total number of employees in the next 12 months. About 32% said they would increase their hiring steadily over the year. The survey respondents also expressed the most positive net-employment intentions in the past 10 years.
Similar to last quarter, 77% of CEOs say that they expect revenue gains this year. Coupled with last quarter’s 78%, this represents the most positive revenue expectation in the past 10 years.

Who are the UNSUNG heroes working for you?

July 16, 2017July 14, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

We worship winners—especially those who demonstrate leadership, confront a crisis and prevail. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as the hero did not create the crisis in the first place.

But what about those who keep crises from erupting at all?

Who are the UNSUNG heroes working for you (and helping you avoid the ditch)?

Are you only recognizing the “heroes” in your company, and ignoring those who help you avoid the storms altogether?

This article by John Kay in the Financial Times, “No One Remembers a Cautious Captain of Industry,” explores our sometimes foolish preference for the heroic over the prudent and for the bold over the wise.

What is Empathy Really?

July 9, 2017July 14, 2017 by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

The dictionary defines empathy quite simply:

“It’s the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”

And for most of us, this simple sentence describes one of life’s greatest challenges. We come at everything from our point of view. Our style combined with our backgrounds and experiences drive how we see things.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a retreat for Vistage chairs with 10+ years. We call it Keepers of the Flame. It’s a place for reflection, learning and sharing. The retreat began with a speaker from a local theatre group. His talk was about empathy. He gave us a peek into the life of an actor and drew a parallel between acting and leadership. From his perspective, what defines a successful actor is their ability to empathize with their character. To really get inside and understand their story.

Actors follow these 3 guides to becoming their character:

What if I were in their situation? What wants and fears drive who they are?
“What if” allows us to empathize even when we cannot sympathize.
And then to truly empathize, we must listen with charity.

With true empathy, our speaker said, while we may not sympathize with a murderer, we can empathize and then become the character. We begin to understand the character by asking ourselves, what wants, fears and experiences drove them to take the life of another person?

And then he challenged us, isn’t this the same with leadership? Or for that matter with all our interactions with others? If we can step outside ourselves if only for a moment, can we see the world as the person sitting across from us sees it?