What Makes For A "Best Place To Work"?

What Makes For A "Best Place To Work"?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Last week,  Crain’s Chicago Business published their annual list of “Chicago’s Best Places To Work”. As I read through the  list, I was struck by the differences in the companies that made it to the top ten. The list included Fortune 500 companies, companies with less than 100 employees, technology companies, financial services companies, manufacturers, etc. etc.

In short, the list was very diverse.  The diversity of the list is what caused me, as a leadership coach to pause and ask “What is the leadership lesson?”

My sense is the answer lies in the wisdom we gained from Edgar Papke, a Vistage Speaker who spoke to several of my groups in the last month on the topic of Alignment: How to Build and Lead High Performing Teams and Organizations. We learned from Edgar that it isn’t about one culture being “better” than another. Rather, the goal is to align your customer needs and your unique selling proposition with your culture. Companies that achieve this alignment, according to Edgar, consistently outperform their competitors.

Extrapolating from Edgar, what makes companies “winners” as best places to work, are those that achieve this alignment.

So, before you start adopting the practices of the companies you read about in the list, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself:

  • What is the culture of my company?
  • Is our culture in alignment with our customer needs?
  • What gaps in alignment can we address that will make this a “best place to work”?

To read the Crain’s article click here.

For more on Edgar Papke and Alignment including measurement tools, click here.

Elisa K. Spain

What Leadership Lessons Can We Learn As Undercover Bosses?

What Leadership Lessons Can We Learn As Undercover Bosses?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

The popular TV series “Undercover Boss” has ignited conversation about the value of walking in our employees’ shoes – or perhaps they in ours.  It’s a rare company where you can accomplish this “undercover” and yet the opportunity is still there to learn from our employees who are on the line.

In family-owned businesses it is common for the children of the owner to do every job in the company before taking on a leadership role. Similarly, this happens naturally in entrepreneurial businesses because everyone has to be able to do every job in the early days.

Then companies grow, employees move from generalists to specialists, we hire leaders because of what they know and can add, the demands are high and we “don’t have time”  for anything more than what we do every day. And yet, Vistage members know the importance of taking a day away to work on their business by attending their Vistage meetings. What if we took this day away to another level?

As a leadership coach, I wonder about the following:

  • What inspiration and strategic insight every CEO and their leadership team might gain from a day, or more, away from the leadership job?
  • What if instead of your job, you did one of the customer facing or customer impact jobs in your company? What leadership lessons might you learn and what results might you achieve?
  • What would happen if you gave your employees a forum to be boss for a day and share what they would do if they were walking in your shoes?

Here is a WSJ article to get you started thinking about the potential results: How to Be a Better Boss? Spend Time on the Front Lines.

Elisa K. Spain

Vistage Confidence Index: What Do Vistage CEOs Have To Say About The Economy?

Vistage Confidence Index: What Do Vistage CEOs Have To Say About The Economy?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

The quarterly Vistage CEO Confidence Index is now available  Here are some highlights:

The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 105.1 in the 1st quarter 2012 survey, up from 98.8 in Q4 and 83.5 in Q3 of last year.

  • 75% of CEOs say their sales revenue will increase in the next 12 months.
  • 60% of CEOs expect their firm’s profitability to improve during the next 12 months.
  • 59% of CEOs believe recent data showing economic improvement signals a longer-term trend toward economic growth.
  • 60% of CEOs believe that overall economic conditions in the U.S. have improved compared to a year ago.
  • 84% of CEOs have learned to make their business more productive with fewer employees.
  • 57% of CEOs expect their total number of employees will increase in the next 12 months.
  • 30% of CEOs said that if they could start their business over again, they would chose to open it in another state.

Click here for the full report.

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: Those Who Failed To Oppose Me…

Leadership Quote: Those Who Failed To Oppose Me…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:  “Those who failed to oppose me… who readily agreed with me and accepted all my views…were those who did me the most injury.”  -Napoleon Bonaparte

As leaders,  how do we avoid the trap of responding only to those who agree with us?

  • What do we do each day to encourage our employees to  tell us what they really think?
  • Are we able to hear feedback from those who disagree and not brand it as “not being a team player”?
  • What forums do we have to solicit input from our employees who are “on the line”?
  • What actions have we taken lately that demonstrate we heard and listened to opposing views?

Elisa K. Spain

The Introvert's Guide To Leadership (& The Extrovert's Guide To Leading Introverts)

The Introvert's Guide To Leadership (& The Extrovert's Guide To Leading Introverts)

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

Some say 40% -50% of the top large company CEO’s are introverts, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Charles Schwab and Steve Spielberg. Amongst entrepreneurs, the numbers are higher. Why? Because entrepreneurs frequently are the expert at their chosen business and experts most often are introverts.

So what does this mean for those of us who are introverted leaders and for extroverts with introverted leaders on your team?

As with all style differences, first start by celebrating and leveraging the differences in style. While other factors come into play in style differences, the key difference between introverts and extroverts is where they draw their energy. Both introverts and extroverts seek input. Introverts tend to seek the input and then  “go within” to think things over and make a decision. Extroverts tend to think out loud, drawing their energy from the interaction with others. One thing to keep in mind about introverts – they aren’t necessarily shy, frequently just quiet – taking it all in.

Introverted leaders are frequently your “back of the room” leaders – they are calm, unemotional and perceived as wise. They are the ones that speak infrequently, but when they do, everyone listens.

Extroverted leaders are typically the “charismatic leader” – they are engaging, inspiring and people are naturally drawn to them.

If you are an introverted leader, leverage your natural strengths:

  • allow yourself to pause and reflect before making a decision and let others know that this is your style
  • leverage your ability to build relationships with small groups inside and outside your company
  • And, take note when it is time to access your extroversion to rally the troops inside your company or externally show up as an ambassador

If you are an extrovert leading introverted leaders, you can help by…

  • giving the introvert time to think
  • asking them what they think rather than assuming by being quiet they are not in agreement
  • inspiring the introvert to step out of their comfort zone when it it time for them to be inspiring to the team

Lisa Petrilli, a fellow leadership coach, has a great series of posts on this topic starting with The Five Myths about Extroversion from the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

 

 

Newspapers Are America's Fastest-Shrinking Industry

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

LinkedIn and the Council of Economic Advisors mapped the fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking industries since 2007, the year the Great Recession started. Renewables are at the top and newspapers are at the bottom.

Here’s the story from Atlantic Magazine.

The biggest losers are a combination of recession-bit industries — retail is down 15.5% and building materials is down 14.2% — and sectors that were already going through their own recessions before the housing bubble blew up. The collapse of print advertising, for example, is decades in the making.
The most important story in this graph isn’t the trajectory of the bubbles, but their relative size, which represents the number of jobs in each industry. The industries that added the most jobs, according to the analysis, were “internet, hospitals & healthcare, health, wellness & fitness, and oil & energy.” The housing bubble industries — notably, banking and construction — and demand-sensitive sectors like retail, warehousing, and restaurants, had the worst losses.

Elisa K. Spain

Innovation Vs. Discipline Part 2: Kodak Vs. Fujifilm

Innovation Vs. Discipline Part 2: Kodak Vs. Fujifilm

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Lots of press swirling around the impending bankruptcy of Kodak. While Kodak suffers, its long-time rival Fujifilm is doing rather well. Why? Is it innovation or is it discipline? (See March 4, 2011 Blog, post Which is the Winning Strategy? Innovation or Discipline for Part I)

At one time, Kodak was one of the most innovative and disciplined companies in the world, with a rigorous approach to manufacturing. And, discipline is more than discipline in production; discipline also is a disciplined approach to the market – recognizing AND acting on changes in market dynamics.

Kodak and Fuji both saw digital coming. Fuji acted, Kodak was complacent. (Success breeds arrogance?)

Fuji continued their film business while diversifying into other business lines.  They were consistent and disciplined in their approach to new markets. They identified market opportunities, invested in exploring the new markets and when satisfied the opportunity was there, had the vision and leadership to move forward with the investment and organizational changes required to reconstruct their business model.

Kodak on the other hand, dabbled in opportunities while never making the  investment and organizational changes required to adapt to the new world. They became a victim instead.

For me, as a leadership coach, this story of Kodak and Fuji, raises the following questions for CEO’s and leaders of successful businesses:

  • What is the equivalent of the digital camera for us?
  • Are we noticing when we are becoming complacent?
  • Are we in tune with market changes and prepared to act in a disciplined manner?
  • Do we have the cash or sources of capital to make the investment in diversification?
  • Are we willing to make the uncomfortable organizational changes necessary to diversify into new markets?

The Economist details the story of both companies in this article, “The last Kodak moment?”

Elisa K. Spain

 

Which Is The Winning Strategy? Innovation Or Discipline.

Which Is The Winning Strategy? Innovation Or Discipline.

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Lately it seems there is an abundance of books and articles advocating for one or the other.  Jeffrey A. Harris, in his new book Transformative Entrepreneurs,  advocates for innovation. He cites examples of Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and his findings are summarized in this recent Forbes article.  Jim Collins on the other hand, in his latest book, Great by Choice,  finds otherwise.  In my January 22nd post “Laws of Success: The Answers May Surprise You”, I discuss Jim Collins’ findings, one of which is the companies in his most recent research are no more innovative than the comparison company. In fact, the companies he calls 10X take less risk than the comparison companies and Jim’s findings tell us is that first and foremost, the 10x companies are more disciplined.

So, as a leadership coach, I am wondering which is it, innovation or discipline? Perhaps it is both.  To thrive, all companies must innovate; the challenge is what you do next. Here are some questions to consider:

  • Do you have a culture that inspires and reinforces innovation?
  • Do you have a process for capturing new ideas and turning them into concepts that are then carried forward through a product development stage gate process, i.e. is there discipline around the innovation?
  • How are innovations funded, are there dollars available to try out new ideas and allow for failure?

 Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: The Way You Do Anything…

Leadership Quote: The Way You Do Anything…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:  “The way you do anything, is the way you do everything.”

Boaz Rauchwerger, Vistage speaker, attributes this quote to his Mom in his December 5, 2011 newsletter.  The point, she says, is to be excellent at everything.

For me, as a leadership coach, this quote raises broader leadership questions:

  • Is the way I do everything, the same regardless of who I am doing it for or with?
  • Is the way I do everything, the same when I am doing it alone or when someone is watching?
  • Does “doing” include how I treat people along the way to achieving excellence; the old question, is the outcome what counts or is it the process?
  • Is the way I am perceived as doing everything as a leader, the way I want to be perceived?
  • As the leader, how does the way I do anything impact the culture of my business?

Elisa K. Spain

The Leadership Value Of An Apology

The Leadership Value Of An Apology

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Tom Searcy is a Vistage speaker who also writes for CBS MoneyWatch.  His recent blog titled “7 Tips on How to Apologize in the Business World” resonated for me, so I thought I would share them. Here are the tips:

1- Separate the apology and the explanation

2-Ask for the discussion, but don’t insist upon it

3- One-up the connection – face to face is best – try Skype or GoToMeeting and then phone

4-Don’t assume you know what will make it right, but be prepared with options

5-Own more than your portion

6-Focus on what happens next

7-Move on

Seems to me we can all benefit from applying these in our personal as well as professional lives.  To read Tom’s  full blog, click here.

Elisa K. Spain