Leading Change, When Is Enough, Enough?

Leading Change, When Is Enough, Enough?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Leaders drive change in their businesses for a variety of reasons; the two primary reasons are:

  • When the leader sees opportunities the current structure does not support
  • When industry changes threaten the current business model

Both of these scenarios create a sense of urgency on the part of most leaders and much has been written about how to lead change. Pundits will say, it is important to have confidence in yourself and stay the course. Moreover, it is important for the leader to overcome objections as it is human nature to resist change.

We are living in a world of constant change – and the pace continues to increase. We tell ourselves and our teams that we must adjust to this pace or we will be left behind.

And, how do you know when enough is enough? How do you know when your team truly can’t keep up?

If you are driving change in your organization and  have been at it for awhile, here are some questions for you:

  • Are you seeing signs of change fatigue?
  • Are you noticing some people who are “off their game”?
  • Are others becoming ill?
  • Are the people you counted on in the past to lead with a positive and supportive attitude no longer playing that role?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, is it time to check in with your team and perhaps re-calibrate the pace?

Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Vs. Management – Does It Matter?

by Elisa Spain5 Comments

Recently, one of my Vistage members asked the group this question: “What is the difference between leadership and management?”

He heard a lot of responses and the one that said it best was this one…

“Leadership is doing the right things, management is doing things right.”  from management guru Warren Bennis

What does it mean to do things right? Here are my top 5:

  • Leadership is setting the direction
  • Leadership is inspiring when there are tailwinds and when there are headwinds
  • Leadership is being intentional about your culture
  • Leadership is  accountability
  • Leadership is  making tough choices

And here are my questions for you:

  • What else would you add to this list?
  • If you and your leadership team did your job well as leaders and managed the agreements you have with your team, how might the role of management evolve?

 

Elisa K. Spain

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

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

 

 

 

 

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 Test Of Time, Continuous Improvement

The Test Of Time, Continuous Improvement

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

All of us who have been in business awhile have either led or experienced the “methodology dejour”. We get all excited about something new we learn about and suddenly it is time to reinvent our companies around this new idea. And, then a week, or a month, or even a few days later, we are on to the next new thing.

Sometimes though, something new comes along that is able to withstand the test of time. One such model is TQM, Total Quality Management. In the early 90’s Deming introduced the TQM model to U.S. manufacturing. This model included, among other things, the Japanese concept of Kaizen (continuous improvement) and what became a popular mantra called “business process redesign”. Today, there is a lot of talk  about the failures of business process redesign. Too much change introduced at one  time, simply doesn’t work –  upwards of 75% of business process redesign projects fail.

On the other hand,  Kaizen, or simply, continuous improvement has withstood the test of time in manufacturing and across all industries.

It’s a simple concept that  goes like this, intentionally and continuously look for ways to innovate and improve your business processes. As leaders, ask your people to join in and look for ways to improve the business. Success will follow.

In Vistage we call the idea dujour risk,  “DAV” (“Day after Vistage”) and remind our members to take only “one thing” away from each meeting and focus on incremental change, i.e. continuous improvement. The result… Vistage members outperform their industry peers.

What are you doing today, to foster a company culture of continuous improvement?

What financial benefits have come from your continuous improvement efforts?

What metrics do you have in place to measure the results of continuous improvement efforts in your business?

Elisa K. Spain

Laws Of Success: The Answers May Surprise You

Laws Of Success: The Answers May Surprise You

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

I just finished reading Jim Collins’ new book, Great by Choice and as he says, the results may surprise you; they did me.

Here’s the good news, if you, as CEO,  have ambition, creativity, vision, insight, a good strategy, are innovative, possess a willingness to take risk; in short, all the typical characteristics we attribute to leaders, you can become a standout success.

However, and it’s a big however, one that certainly caused me as a leadership coach to pause. All the companies Jim Collins and his partner Morten Hansen researched, were led by CEO’s with these characteristics – the ones that thrived AND the ones that did not.

Here’s what he did find that was different about these leaders.  The companies that thrive possess three common characteristics:

  • fanatic discipline
  • empirical creativity
  • productive paranoia

As I reflect on the great leaders I have known in my career as a leadership coach,  my surprise at the results fades. The great leaders I know all share these characteristics.

Jim drives this point home in chapter 2 as he tells the story of Roald Amundsen’s and Robert Falcon Scott’s quest for the South Pole.  When you understand what Amundsen did to prepare and Scott did not do, it becomes crystal clear why Amundsen was successful and Scott was not. Just as it will become clear why each of the high-performers Collins and Hansen study achieved their results.

I encourage you to read the book, and ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do I possess these high-performer characteristics?
  • What am I doing today to focus on them each day?
  • How might I integrate my genius and my talents to maximize my results?

 

Elisa K. Spain