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Organization or corporate culture

Get Traction on Your Desired Culture

April 22, 2013 — 1 Comment

iStock_000005596895XSmallSpring storms are a “feature” of mountain living, especially here in the Front Range of Colorado. This year is no exception. The state needs the moisture but local residents (including me) are “done” with the snow here in late April.

I’ve enjoyed a couple of harrowing rides down our steep paved driveway these past few weeks. My 4WD truck handles ice and packed snow well, but it really struggles with wet, soft snow.

There is nothing like the adrenalin rush of having no traction, sliding 200 yards out of control towards an 8′ drop off.

With the last storm, I simply gave up. I parked my truck overnight at the top of our driveway next to my delightful neighbor’s shed (who was happy to give me permission for the spot).

Three “what’s” can shed light on this situation. What I want is my tires to firmly grip the road in all conditions. What I’m experiencing is a lack of desired traction. What I’m doing is living with the gap, short of the traction I covet.

The solution to this slick issue is entirely within my control. My truck’s tires don’t have the grip they had when new, so I could buy a new set of tires. Short of that, I could actually take out the z-chains I bought two years ago and learn how to put them on my tires.

Is your company getting traction on the high performance, values-aligned culture it desires?

Leaders can use my three “what’s” to examine the effectiveness of their organization’s culture and move it slowly but surely towards the desired state.

First, define what you want. Describe your organization’s purpose, it’s reason for being. Then refine performance expectations to ensure goals align to the purpose. Next outline what a “great corporate citizen” looks, acts, and sounds like by defining values in behavioral terms. Next describe the strategy that will best serve both employees and customers.

Second, examine what you’re experiencing. To what extent do leaders and staff align plans, decisions, and actions to your newly defined (or refined) purpose, strategy, goals, and values? It is likely you have some leaders, players, or departments who behave exactly as you desire. And it is likely that most leaders, players, or departments don’t consistently demonstrate desired behaviors. This “what” outlines the gaps you face.

Third, decide what you will do to close gaps. There will be a number of different avenues available. Find proven paths and follow those. Blaze a trail or two if something different is required. Map out your plan to address gaps.

Fourth, do it. Deciding and doing are two very different things. Deciding is passive. Doing is active. Do the doing!

For my part, I’ve just found a video online that shows me how to install the z-chains on my truck. I’ve also priced new tires and found a local installer who has them in stock. One way or another, tire traction will no longer be an issue for me.

Contribute your thoughts about this post/podcast in the comments section below. How well do you, personally, address the gaps you face in life and work? How well does your organization address it’s gaps?

What is it like to live in your organization’s culture? Share your experiences in my fast & free Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are described on my blog site’s research page.

This research can help you refine your organization’s corporate culture. Contact me to discuss conducting the Performance-Values Assessment in your company.

Photo © istockphoto.com/photawa. All rights reserved.

Subscribe!Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of Chris’ songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). Chris plays all instruments on these recordings.

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Facades Inhibit Your Best Self

April 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

Multiracial Hands Making a CircleWho are you being today? Are you your core true, best self, or are you presenting a facade or persona of what you think you must be to others?

In many organizations around the globe, expectations and culture demand that players fit a particular mold. That mold may, for example, require one to demonstrate aggressive tactics with internal or external customers.

Or, that mold may require one to demonstrate cooperative interaction with team mates to deliver exceptional service to internal and external customers.

Or, that mold may require anything in between these extremes.

Must you concede to the expectations that your workplace culture demands? It is difficult not to – organizational culture is immensely powerful. Your organizational culture reinforces the expected mold overtly and implicitly, every minute.

You may choose to demonstrate a persona which enables you to fit in and contribute in your organization. That persona may not be your core true self. If you are unable to act upon your personal life purpose and values, you are hiding your true self – your #BestSelf – under a bushel. That depletes your energy (you’re exhausted by propping up the required facade) and it doesn’t recharge your energy (which living your best self would accomplish).

You may not have a choice. You may not have the opportunity to allow your true self to be acted upon consistently at work.

The best scenario is to find a work culture that enables your best self, which allows you to demonstrate your personal purpose & values daily, in service to the organization’s purpose, values, strategy, and goals.

Your family, friends, community, and YOU gain the most by this aligned scenario.

Understand, Respect, and Trust Your Best Self

Where should one start? It makes sense to clarify your personal purpose, values, and behaviors that you demonstrate when you’re modeling your values. Formalize them by writing them down. It may take a few weeks of writing, re-writing, and testing this “personal constitution” with those you trust.

Once that statement is in place, keep it top of mind. Note when your plans, decisions, and actions are in alignment with your best self – and when they are not in alignment.

Slowly reduce the areas of your work & life where you are mis-aligned. Increase the frequency of alignment, as much as you can.

If your current work responsibilities are not in complete alignment with your best self, keep an eye out for opportunities (inside or outside your current workplace) where job responsibilities are in alignment.

If it takes you a year to find that opportunity, that’s fine, isn’t it? Just don’t settle for your own mis-aligned facades.

Join in the conversation about this post/podcast in the comments section below. In what work and life roles are you most aligned, your best self, consistently? How do you know you’re out of alignment – what are the indicators for you?

What is it like to live in your organization’s culture? Share your experiences in my fast & free Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are described on my blog site’s research page.

This research can help you refine your organization’s corporate culture. Contact me to discuss conducting the Performance-Values Assessment in your company.

Photo © istockphoto.com/AlexMax. All rights reserved.

Subscribe!Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of Chris’ songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). Chris plays all instruments on these recordings.

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WOW Your Customers, Grow Your Business

March 25, 2013

iStock_000018595234XSmallCustomers drive your business. If customers feel trusted, honored, and respected in discussions and transactions with your business, they typically come back a lot and are positive word-of-mouth advertisers for your business.

Employees are the primary face of your business. If you have employees that love their customers, service rankings go up and customers keep coming. Those customers create a positive buzz about your business in your community. That positive buzz typically has a logical consequence on your business revenues – they go up.

If you have employees who do not love their customers, they leave a lasting impression. Customers often choose to go elsewhere – and create a negative buzz about your business in your community. That negative buzz typically has a logical consequence on your business revenues – they go down.

Recent conversations about service experiences prove this point. In one case, a client had been receiving a quarterly report and payment for years. When this quarter’s payment date went past with no communication, she reached out to this provider. The person in charge said that the amount was too low to send a check so they decided to roll over that amount to the next quarter. This client was fine with that – but was frustrated that the decision was made without any attempt to communicate the circumstances to her.

In another case, a client had a charge appear on his bill that he questioned. He reached out to the provider and spoke to a live service agent on the phone. The agent explained the charge which was for a feature the client didn’t need or want. The agent cancelled the feature and refunded the fee – all in less than five minutes. The client could not have been happier with the experience.

How do you know how customers are being treated? How do you know what customers think about your business and about your employees? The best ways to understand customer perceptions is to ASK – regularly. Observe and/or listen in to customer interactions with employees, especially during hectic times. Create a quick survey channel – five questions on a postcard or online survey.

Embrace the information you receive. Review it with employees. Refine policies and procures if they stand in the way of trusting customers. Coach employees on appropriate ways to interact with customers. Then, ask customers again. Observe interactions again. Gather data. Celebrate progress and address gaps. Repeat.

The economy in your community (no matter what country you work in) has growth potential. If you have strong products & services that are priced right, customers will be drawn to your business. If employees treat those customers as valued partners, your business will grow.

That’s something we all need in our communities: strong businesses that provide fine products, good jobs and great service to customers. Every community needs more businesses like this.

Join in the conversation about this post/podcast in the comments section below. How do your customers feel about the way your business and employees treat them? How do you stay “in touch” with customer perceptions?

What is it like to live in your organization’s culture? Share your experiences in my fast & free Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are described on my blog site’s research page.

This research can help you refine your organization’s corporate culture. Contact me to discuss conducting the Performance-Values Assessment in your company.

Photo © istockphoto.com/yuri_arcurs. All rights reserved.

Subscribe!Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of Chris’ songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). Chris plays all instruments on these recordings.

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Get Your Reality Checked

March 18, 2013

iStock_000012990747XSmallI had the pleasure recently to speak at a leadership roundtable event with sixty business people who shared a common purpose – they want to be more effective leaders in their companies.

I was honored to help extend their understanding of how servant leaders create high performing, values-aligned organizations, every day.

These leaders meet twice a month to learn the elements of servant leadership and purposeful culture, and examine how to embrace those approaches in their own organizations, divisions, departments, or teams.

In talking with the consultants who created this successful program, the classic “knowing-doing” gap came up. Learning all the elements of servant leadership and culture refinement is easier than implementing those elements!

Most of the program’s participants engage fully in the program sessions, madly taking notes. However, many have not yet had success embracing these new approaches.

What gets in the way? There are hundreds of variables that can inhibit embracing new behaviors and habits. Limited time. Limited opportunity to test something that may not work the first time (!). Organizational systems may not support the new behaviors. The organization’s values and norms may not support a shift from “command and control” influencing to servant leadership.

And, some of the program’s participants have asked for help. They’ve invited the consultants in to their company to examine how the leader is perceived and how the organization’s culture is operating. Just as I do with new culture clients, these consultants interview the leader’s direct reports and a variety of other players throughout the organization. They conduct a culture assessment. They provide the results in the form of an interview summary and the assessment profile.

These tools help shed light on good and great practices that the leader demonstrates – as well as the gaps between current behavior and desired behaviors. The gaps between how the culture currently operates and how high performing, values-aligned companies operate are immediately apparent. Opportunities for servant leadership behaviors are clearly outlined.

With this data in hand, the leaders are fully informed about their current reality. With that clarity, they see the benefits of changing their approach and of modifying their organizational culture. They also realize that they can’t make these changes on their own; they need the guidance of trusted partners (their consultants) to help them gain traction in the midst of the hectic pace of their work environment.

How well do you see your current reality? If you are like most of us, your perception is skewed. “Things are fine. We’re on the cusp of getting better – I can feel it.” That may be true. Wouldn’t you prefer to have real data in hand so you can understand any gaps that exist – and begin to address them?

Join in the conversation about this post/podcast in the comments section below. What effective ways to you have of keeping in touch with the perceptions of your internal customers – your employees? How well would you say your organization culture operates today – pretty good, not so good, or somewhere in between?

What is it like to live in your organization’s culture? Share your experiences in my fast & free Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are described on my blog site’s research page.

This research can help you refine your organization’s corporate culture. Contact me to discuss conducting the Performance-Values Assessment in your company.

Photo © istockphoto.com/yuri_arcurs. All rights reserved.

Subscribe!Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of Chris’ songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). Chris plays all instruments on these recordings.

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Redirect Unintended Consequences

March 4, 2013

Abandoned chemical factoryI arrived at my hotel in mid-afternoon. I quickly unpacked and drove through the downtown area to see where I’d be facilitating my class in the morning. I knew the closure of the client’s large plant had been a shock to this rural community, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw in the town square.

For three square blocks, all I saw were boarded up storefronts. There were three open businesses surrounded by dozens of closed shops.

The plant’s closure – driven by a number of economic variables – caused the town to slowly expire. The loss of plant jobs meant families could not support local businesses, and the domino effect led to the consequences I observed.

No one intended to cause the community to shut down. It was a ten-year long unintended consequence of the decision to close the plant.

Such unanticipated and undesirable outcomes of decisions happen every day in organizations around the globe. They may not be as devastating as this plant closure was, but they undermine performance, engagement, customer service, and profits just the same.

One client implemented a system to encourage managers to have weekly one-on-one meetings with each of their direct reports. At the end of the fiscal year, those managers who conducted 90% of these weekly meetings received a $400 bonus. This approach was completely well-intended, yet it had unintended consequences.

During that year, employees reported being forced to attend one-on-one meetings with their managers. Employees had no part in the meeting agenda nor was their active participation or dialog a part of the one-on-ones. This feedback enabled the client to redirect the system to address these unintended consequences.

Weekly one-on-ones were expected of both managers and their direct reports. Where employees reported that these meetings enabled effective partnering with their managers, both parties got “credit.” At the end of the year, if 90% of the meetings were rated effective, both parties earned a $100 bonus.

Where there is any perceived unfairness of plans, decisions, and actions, unintended consequences may be in play. Does your organization have special parking for some staff, or a separate lunchroom, or extravagant pay for certain parties? These strongly contribute to perceptions of unfairness.

Another client found that compensation and reward practices were perceived as unfair. For example, sales staff received high commissions for completing transactions, yet those who actually created or delivered products and services received no additional compensation for their efforts. Sales staff also enjoyed reward trips to luxurious resorts when they exceeded their quotas, yet those responsible for products and service delivery were excluded from those trips.

The client redirected those unintended consequences by eliminating sales commissions. They spread those funds across the entire organization so everyone responsible for the organization’s success benefitted from it.

If you tolerate unfair policies and practices, you will “enjoy” the consequences: reduced employee engagement, lousy customer treatment, and reduced profits across your business.

You can only redirect unintended consequences if you are aware of them. Observe. Listen. Ask – then redirect.

Join in the conversation about this post/podcast in the comments section below. What unintended consequences exist in your organization? How have you seen leaders effectively mitigate unintended consequences in your work environment?

What is it like to live in your organization’s culture? Share your experiences in my fast & free Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are described on my blog site’s research page.

This research can help you refine your organization’s corporate culture. Contact me to discuss conducting the Performance-Values Assessment in your company.

Photo © istockphoto.com/toxawww. All rights reserved.

Subscribe!Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of Chris’ songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). Chris plays all instruments on these recordings.

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