Tag Archives: Employee engagement

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Roles, Structure and Instinct…Be Like a Bee

In my front garden is a small bush. As we enter the early stages of Spring, it has come into full bloom. The plant is covered in bunches of small, white, delicate flowers. I can see the bush from my office and often enjoy the view of our garden. Under my office window is a bench seat that I made last year using the original wood from a patio that we pulled down in our backyard. It is one of my favourite places to sit.

One beautiful Spring day last week I was sitting on the bench watching the bees, literally hundreds of them, flitting from flower to flower. I watched them for 20 minutes or so working very studiously collecting nectar and doing what bees do….and it got me thinking. How different are our businesses and organisations, the expectations of tasks and designated roles to that required of bees?

I imagine if I followed the bees back to their hives and was able to peer into the inner workings that I would not see:

  • Ineffective meetings being held with members unsure why they were in the meeting in the first-place.
  • Bee committees discussing outcomes like seasonal adjustments related to the weather, honey production rates and similar bee-like measurements.
  • Projects being constructed taking into account the Six-Sigma effectiveness of nectar collection and discussion about how this could be improved…and, so on.

Then how do the bees work so efficiently? How do they instinctively know their roles, understand the structure and are so effective at what they do?

Although I respect and appreciate nature, often reflecting on the miracles that occur around us every day, I am not an expert in this field. I also wonder what external influences have the most impact on the bee colonies? At another level it is also fascinating that there are so many different types of bees collecting nectar from the same bush. In fact there are over 1500 native varieties in Australia, along with the common introduced varieties. They have all learned to co-exist and in fact play a vital role in the balance of nature, especially the pollination of agricultural crops, horticultural crops and the household garden.

CoachStation: Knowing Your Role, Business Structure and Purpose

The different bees do not appear to get in each others way, are able to amicably work together, efficiently moving from flower to flower, pollinating and collecting as they go. There are significant size differences between varieties – but this does not seem to make any difference. There is no apparent political maneuvering, bullying, struggle for alignment or loss of effectiveness through too many bees congregating around a single flower. Bees know their roles and do it well  – how did they learn all of this?

Is there an instinctive drive to play their role or is there a learned behaviour such as replication or demonstration via senior roles or leadership within the colony?

My point is not to make light of the efficiency of nature nor that of businesses and organisations, but to delve into why we do what we do in the workplace. Understanding our roles, the structure and influences on choices we make is often taken for granted. Is this consistent with your workplace? There is value in stopping to think about your own role, that of your team and the structure we work within. This is important at any stage but no more so than with our present economic situation.

The general feel in the population is one where we are ‘holding our breath’. In Australia there are boom regions and sectors and industries and cities that are doing it tough. A high level of conservatism is prevalent – it is like businesses are on pause, waiting for a change and stimulus to occur – without knowing when or where this might come from. Retail spending and other financial measures are also reflecting this conservatism. As a result employees remain hesitant also. Possibly not feeling comfortable to look for alternatives if dissatisfied or worse, disengaged in their current role.

People are stretched in their roles, covering more work that previously may have been completed by others who have been made redundant and/or have never been replaced.

Employees are being asked to do more with less and ‘collect more nectar’, at ever-increasing rates with targets and expectations growing year-on-year. Structure, knowing your role and what is expected of you are crucial in times such as these, however these tasks and associated roles have probably changed significantly over recent years. The role of leadership, engagement and direction remains critical to team and individual success

Good leaders ensure that they:

  1. Focus on the tasks that matter most – they may not be the tasks you are currently doing.
  2. Communicate clearly to all members of their team what is required of them, what support will be provided and how and when the objectives will be measured.
  3. Provide opportunity for their employees to have input into their roles, tasks assigned and offer solutions to existing problems.
  4. Meaningfully engage their team, as a team and as individuals, providing context and opportunity to be involved in the direction of the team and business.
  5. Revisit development plans – their own and that of their team on a regular basis – quarterly is generally a good time-frame.
  6. Challenge themselves to learn something new and substantial during the remainder of 2012.
  7. Review team structure, capability and diversity to meet current and importantly, future objectives. What can be done now to fill any gaps or remedy a potential future issue?

It is not enough to rely on history, your gut or instinct and assume that what is currently being completed is the ‘right’ piece of work. This must be clear to all involved. For  bees, their role is vital, yet simple in practice – pollinate and collect nectar. Your team member’s may not see it so clearly. They each have different expectations, beliefs, values and willingness to apply discretionary effort. Now is the time to stop, recheck what is most important to you, your family and employer. It is a great time to assume nothing!

Set yourself up to maximise the opportunities when the economic situation improves. Start to think about your goals for next year. What does success look like by December 2013?

If working on the same things day-to-day meets your needs, that is fine. But if it does not, or is inconsistent with business expectation, issues may arise. Knowing your role and how it fits into the bigger picture is important. Without making appropriate choices, taking action and setting goals, little will change. You will simply be just another bee doing the same thing and you may not reap the future rewards (honey!) if you do not choose how growth / change will occur and take appropriate steps…today.

The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: Find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy, ambition and natural ability that you have.

(John D Rockefeller III)

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The Current Challenge Of Leadership

CoachStation: Building Leadership, Talent and EQ

People-oriented issues are the biggest factors impacting business success in 2012.

A recent report by the business group, SixSeconds, titled The 2012 Workplace Issues Report: Insights On The People Side of Performance seeks to identify the key challenges in the workplace today. The report details the results of a global survey which explores top issues as well as employee attitudes and the role of emotional intelligence in solving those key issues. The findings collate 775 responses from leaders and employees worldwide, representing various levels of employment, industries and sectors. There are many interesting results and data-sets stemming from the survey, all providing depth to the importance of people-related leadership activities.

58% of survey respondents list ‘Leadership’ as the biggest ‘people-side’ issue in their organisation.

Additionally, the survey highlights key words that identify fundamental areas of concern for business. The views of the respondents were summarised in the most frequently used words collated from the verbatim comments. In order, they were:

  1. Retention
  2. Talent
  3. Leadership
  4. Communication

Fascinating results, with these trends and themes entrenched even more soundly in a few of my most recent discussions. It seems that the ability for an organisation to join the dots for their employees to the broader vision; hold onto key staff; provide effective leadership; and supply opportunities for growth and a reason to stay are as important as ever.

I regularly attend the Leadership Effectiveness Group (LEG) organised by a peer, Sonia McDonald, which seeks to bring like-minded people together to share concepts and experiences about leadership. Last week I was invited to facilitate the session where the topic was: What are your challenges as a leader?

It was a great evening, where every attendee had the opportunity to participate and provide insights based on their own experiences and industry. The following points were raised during the LEG event and may be of value and assistance to others, as we found that the vast majority of issues and challenges were not industry-specific. Core themes included:

  • The high need for all employees to be self-aware and understand the impact they can and do have on other employees and clients.
  • The requirement to align personal needs with business needs – leaders must understand the link between the ‘work you’ and the ‘external you’, if it exists.
  • The benefits and additional challenges that derive from modern technology and the links to Social media – it is important to understand the risks and rewards of Social Media.
  • Flexibility is important, although there is an acknowledgment that measuring effectiveness and efficiency contribute to the ability to remain flexible.
  • Business is not only about the bottom-line.
  • A clear line must be drawn between friendship, leadership, standards and expectations. This is a challenge where friendship is often confused with connectedness.
  • Being able to differentiate between technical and adaptive challenges. Adaptive challenges are those where there is no known way or method to solve the issue – you are on the edge of competence. Technical challenges are those that can be solved through existing knowledge, skills, background etc.
  • The prominence of capable technical employees being promoted into leadership roles without the proper training, support and development – leadership competence is assumed.
  • Understanding individual personalities and work styles – related to the ability to effectively influence others.

…and the final word from the LEG discussion belongs to Bill, who left us with an excellent point regarding ‘soft-skills’.

He proposed that the name in itself is a bit misleading as the so called ‘soft-skills’ are actually ‘hard-skills’ in reality.

One of the more compelling results in the SixSeconds survey was seen in the accumulated responses to the question: Of the important issues your organization is facing, what percentage are tied to people / relationships and what percentage are tied to financial / technical issues?

66% of these important issues are ‘People / Relational based, with the remaining 34% being ‘Financial / Technical”

Interestingly, by the end of the LEG evening it was evident that a few core themes stood out which were very consistent with those expressed in the survey. Developing soft-skills (or ‘hard skills’) requires effort, focus and self-awareness amongst other elements. Is this why the leadership skills that fall under this category are often the ones that are least practiced and improved. Is it fear? If  a leader asks the question of his or her team, they may not like nor be willing to acknowledge the answer. So is there a view for some leaders, based on fear, that it is best to not ask in the first place?

The responses to these challenging questions are different for every one of us. The importance of understanding your own needs and motivations are key to understanding how you deliver as a leader. The evidence that this remains an issue can be seen in surveys and discussions such as those highlighted. The most important element is not the data itself. That is simply an outcome.

The willingness to acknowledge and take action to develop these skills and attributes, to become a more effective leader will drive improvement in leadership effectiveness and ensure that we are seeing different survey results in years to come.

What are your major leadership challenges for the remainder of 2012 and into 2013?

I would like to thank Sonia and the members of the Leadership Effectiveness Group for their input, insights and depth of discussion last week, which has contributed to much of the content for this blog.

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At Last We’re Engaged – Leading Your Team (Part 2)

Is employee engagement relevant in today‘s workforce?

Earlier this week I wrote the first part of this blog relating to Employee Engagement. In part two I examine some of the leadership themes, highlights and a few statistics supporting the relevance and importance of engaging employees.

CoachStation: Leadership and Employee Engagement

A leader‘s ability to consistently demonstrate and apply relational skills has a direct correlation to the level of engagement an individual may feel. Providing genuine leadership is key. There appears to be a gap between what employees state is occurring and what leaders feel they are applying in reality.

Data and surveys continually reflect the discrepancy between what leaders believe is occurring and what their team members state.

This is often reflected in frequency and quality of the levels of engagement through formal and informal communication, coaching and development opportunities.

There are many leadership traits and skills identified in various books and literature. However, a handful of values-based attributes are identified consistently towards the top of the ‘criticality-list‘ i.e. they are identified as a deal-breaker for many employees. Over the past 5 years I have conducted values assessments with over 35 people and trust is identified more often in people‘s core values than any other value. (1)

In addition to my own research and observations, it is of interest to understand the core reasons a breakdown in relationships and engagement between an employee and manager occurs. Of relevance to this discussion is the recent study that showed organisations were falling short when it came to ‘preparing‘ employees for leadership. The question of sustainable leadership was raised – if we are not preparing our leaders to be good managers then we are not creating good role models for future leaders and so the cycle (of poor management) continues.

This research shows most people leave a job because of their relationship with their immediate manager.

Confronting a boss with feedback about their behaviour and its impact was one course of action to consider, although this can be a difficult conversation. A lack of ‘trust and integrity‘ was the main reason employees would ‘fire‘ a boss. A third of respondents nominated trust as their main issue and a further 24 per cent would leave a micro-manager. Other noted negative leadership traits were, not providing development opportunities (12 per cent); not providing open and honest feedback (12 per cent); stealing credit for ideas and work (10 per cent); and not providing coaching support when needed (8 per cent). (2)

Although not a definitive list, the following traits and attributes highlight poor leadership behaviour as identified through my experiences:

  • An unwillingness or inability to delegate effectively – be willing to take on tasks yourself otherwise don‘t delegate – you don‘t want to be seen as a ‘shirker‘.
  • Inconsistent language and messages – your team members will see and take note of some of what you say and all that you do!
  • Not leading by example.
  • A need to be liked rather than respected.
  • An inability to communicate effectively – this has an alignment to making too many assumptions without ‘checking in‘.
  • A lack of self-awareness which is also matched by an unwillingness to identify and take action for one‘s own development, which regularly leads to an inability to develop others through a lack of skill to do so and avoidance based on the thought-process that ‗I am not developing myself, so how can I hold other‘s accountable for developing themselves?‘

In this context, possibly the best way to summarise the importance of accountability in personal and professional development is to review the key Principles of Leadership as itemised by the US Army. The listed attributes and skills offer a worthy checklist of several core areas to focus on to become an effective leader, whilst highlighting the link to employee engagement:

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement – in order to know yourself, you have to understand your ‘be, know, and do’ attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
2. Be technically proficient – as a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees tasks.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions – search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
4. Make sound & timely decisions – use good problem solving, decision making and planning tools.
5. Set the example – be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see – Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being – know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your workers informed – know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers – help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished – communication is the key to this responsibility.
10. Train as a team – although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams…they are just a group of people doing their jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization – by developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities. (3)

An honest self-appraisal and dedicating time and effort to developing self-awareness traits can be one of the most challenging aspects of leading people. The alternative is to assume, act in denial of circumstance, work in isolation or not build a genuine connection with your team and the individuals who form this unit.

This style of leadership will not enhance employee engagement.

The highlighted principles of leadership are as relevant today as when first introduced decades ago. It is worth reflecting on the following questions:

  • If employee engagement is so closely linked to leadership and these principles are arguably not revolutionary concepts, why is there such disparity between what leaders and employees say is actually happening in the workplace?
  • Could it be that we overemphasise how well and often we apply these principles in reality and/or underemphasise their importance?

Leadership is not easy – and neither is dealing with the many people-related issues and challenges that arise. Through managing these issues and assessing your leadership strengths and development areas regularly and taking appropriate action, your team will see that you are committed to your role and to your people.

Although not the only aspect of effective leadership, a focus on your employees and understanding what motivates each person is a solid base to work from. When aligned with an attitude to grow as a leader (not simply being a ‘manager‘) the related success, joy and fulfillment that derive from this transformation can be one of the most rewarding aspects of your work-life.

Food for thought for those in charge, as effective leaders continually review their own situation and progress and take appropriate action to ensure the perceived or real gaps are reduced or removed. This is worth considering as an employee, as a leader or your role as both. What does this mean for you?

The six most important words: “I admit I made a mistake.”
The five most important words: “You did a good job.”
The four most important words: “What is your opinion?”
The three most important words: “If you please.”
The two most important words: “Thank you,”
The one most important word: “We”
The least important word: “I”

References
1. Personal Values – One View: CoachStation
2. How To Tell If Your Boss Is A Dud: CareerOne
3. Principles of Leadership: US Army, 1983

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