Category Archives: Culture

Aligning your Business to Customers: Pillar 4 – Leadership

Posted on 1 August 2011 by | 3 Comments

The fourth and final pillar that helps companies align to customers is leadership.  Leadership is the beginning or the end of customer service just as it is the beginning and end of all victories (or losses).

  • Culture – What are we and how do we behave when no one is watching over our backs?  Start-ups in particular have the ability to set a purposeful course with their companies.  Companies that value customers holistically (i.e. those that value long-term relationships over short-term financial transactions) set the tone.  They ensure that expectations can be met before a sale is made and they make the customer experience a journey that encompasses the entire brand.
  • Focus – Can our people depend on us to execute on a sharp vision of future, or are we tempted to try to do everything at once?  Organizational ADD benefits no one; not customers, not employees, and not shareholders.
  • Honesty/Integrity – Self-evident?  Hope so.  Fact is, words don’t carry same weight/impact that actions do.  Regardless of whether you think personal conduct is relevant to professional capabilities, our people look to leaders.  When leaders fail, organizations slide down the slippery slope to failure also.
  • Transparency – Transparency is a key element in trust.  The more we disclose to employees, the less we hide and the more authentic the conversations become.  For those uncomfortable with the process, read Jack Stack’s book, The Great Game of Business.
  • Outcome Orientation – Want people to give their best each day?  Ask them to deliver results and don’t dictate the method.  People bring different skills to work each day.  When we give them latitude to use those skills they feel better, are more willing to develop and contribute new skills, and add an element of innovation throughout each day.  Take the opposite tack and leave employees with little discretion and you should assume you’ll get little effort and commitment.

The pivot point is that employees (the same ones that interact with customers and deliver service each day) will observe and mimic the customer focus that the leadership team sets.

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Posted in Culture, Customer Service, Leadership

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Millennials – Don’t Believe the Hype

Posted on 27 December 2010 by | 2 Comments

Anecdotal evidence declares that Millennials, the so-called “Me Generation” born between 1982 and 1999, are interested in altruistic work that has meaning.  Other anecdotes tell us that Millennials want meaningful work.  Now, recent research published in the Journal of Management suggests otherwise.  Should managers adapt recruiting, hiring, training, and management styles to fit the “new” employee?

Millennials:

  • Valued extrinsic rewards more than Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) but less than GenX (born between 1965-1981) — Easy Street
  • Value intrinsic rewards less than other generations
  • No more (or less) altruistic than previous generations
  • Value social interactions at work less than other generations
  • Value leisure time more than previous generations — Lazy Way

Do these new conclusions imply that management techniques for Millennials must be different?

Millennials want more leisure time than their predecessors and they want to be paid handsomely for it too.  How does this expectation compare with reality?  In an increasingly global economy those with poorer standards of living may be expected to live by corollary rules – work more for less.   Just because Millennials want more for less, doesn’t mean they will get it.  Instead, history suggests that world events will change the generation more than the generation will change the world.  GenX’ers witnessed new lows in corporate ethics while Boomers survived Watergate.  Millennials are growing up in the midst of the Great Recession.

Recession or not, management techniques that focus on helping people achieve their personal goals while attaining business goals still suffice.  As I have posted previously, when managing people the most important keys are to unlock their sense of purpose, mastery, and autonomy.  There is no need to coddle this new generation, just as there was no need to coddle the Boomers.

For those trying to determine how (if?) they should change their management techniques to adapt to a new workforce, the pivot point (the answer) is a resounding “no”.  Andrew McAfee comes close to reality in his post Millennials Won’t Change Work; Work Will Change Millennials.

What do you think?

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Posted in Culture, Leadership

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It Isn’t the Economy Stupid

Posted on 25 October 2010 by | Leave a comment

(This is the second of three posts where I will focus on employee engagement.  Subscribe to be notified of new posts!)

In an earlier post we examined a study that looked at the relationship between employee engagement and profitability.  The conclusion was that engaged employees lead to better financial performance.

What kind of impact might the slow economy have on financial performance?  To answer that question answer how the down economy has impacted employee engagement. Which of Gallup’s Q12 have been impacted by corporate belt-tightening?

Direct Negative Impact

#2 – I have the materials and equipment to do my job.  Less money invested generally means fewer tools.  Belt-tightening leads to trade-offs that impact the business in a material way.

Indirect Impact

#3 – I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.  More work spread across fewer people invariably means that people are covering for their newly unemployed peers.  Those who remain are doing work that is unchallenging or unrewarding.

#9 – My fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.  Indirectly impacted through smaller workforce.  It’s not that people aren’t committed, more a question of “is the business committed to our success?”

#12 – This last year I have had opportunities to learn and grow.  Related to the others in this category.  When employees are focused exclusively on getting things done they have less freedom to pursue new opportunities.  Add to that management’s reluctance to take risks on people or projects.

No Impact – No Excuses. If your employees disagree with the below statements, management is to blame… get to work!

#1 – I know what is expected of me.

#4 – In the last seven days, I have received recognition for doing good work.

#5 – Someone cares about me as a person.

#6 – There is someone at work who encourages my development.

#7 – My opinions seem to count.

#8 – The purpose of my company make me feel my job is important.

#10 – I have a best friend at work.

#11 – In the last six months someone has talked to me about my progress.

If our employees are disengaged two likely outcomes occur.  First, employees give less than their level best.  Second, employees choose to leave.  In a weak economy the latter may not be as likely to occur so all that is left is for performance to drop off (which impacts your customers and ultimately your shareholders through weakened financial performance).

The pivot point is that focusing on the health and well-being of our employees leads to engagement and engagement leads to superior financial performance. Regardless of the economic environment, our role as leaders is to ensure that people know what is expected, know that we support them, and believe that we have their interests at heart.  We may not control the economy, but we can control how we treat people!

How have you stepped up to the challenge of treating people well to improve your company’s bottom line performance?

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Posted in Culture, Influential Factors - Helpful, Leadership

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