The Hurricane Hypothesis Holds
By Michelle Malay Carter on September 7, 2008
My Mom’s hurricane hypothesis holds.? Hanna remained a tropical storm because my Mom’s pampas grass is not yet blooming.? They got a few inches of rain and a 2-3 foot small storm surge on their tidal creek.? The photographs “shows” my Dad’s dock which is under a few inches of water.
More evidence?? Hurricane Ike is heading into the Gulf of Mexico.
Filed Under Personal Observation | 2 Comments
Friday Forecast
By Michelle Malay Carter on September 5, 2008
Located in North Carolina, we’re preparing for a potential visit from Tropical Storm Hanna, possibly followed by Hurricane?Ike.
The Beginnings of a Pampas Folktale
Although I’m inland, my parents live at the coast.? My Mom’s pampas grass is always the last to bloom in her area.? After 15 years of living at the coast, she has noticed that hurricanes do not hit the NC coastal area until after her pampas grass blooms.? While visiting last week, I took note of the fact that the pampas grass in her area was blooming, although the pampas grass in her yard was not.
Breaking News – A Report from 115 Apollo Drive
I checked with her this morning and she said the tube that produces the bloom is present, but not a bloom.? Therefore, her prediction is that Hanna will retain its tropical storm status as the ocean is not yet warm enough to sustain a hurricane.
The Street Report
Additionally, my Mom said that every time a hurricane hits her area, there is a section of pavement in her street that ripples.? The city engineers then take about four years to dig it out and replace it.? She said she prefers they not do that because each time they do, they get hit with a hurricane shortly thereafter.? The NC coast has been spared a hurricane hit for several years now.? While we were there this weekend, I noticed her rippling street was under repair!
Prognostication
My Mom has some Irish in her so superstitions run deep.? But her methodology is probably as good as any meteorologist – just like monkeys can do as well in the stock market as the professionals.
Filed Under Personal Observation | 1 Comment
Why Organizations Fail – By Work Level
By Michelle Malay Carter on September 4, 2008
Work Level 7 – Failure to identify or respond to global trends
Work Level 6 – Failure to align divisional performance with the mission
Work Level 5 – Failure to react to changes in objectives and targets
Work Level 4 – Miscalculation of constraints across organizational units
Work Level 3 – Misallocation of tools and resources
Work Level 2 – Missed quality and/or quantity target
Wo
rk Level 1 – Mistakes in procedure
Credit for this requisite, work levels list goes to my?colleague, Stan Smith, founder and owner of Human Patterns.??
Stan is?a psychometrician who developed the Human Patterns Assessment, a preference and interest inventory.? For those interested in the values/temperament/personality area, his instrument is the most comprehensive I’ve found, as it integrates 14 other models.? I’m a trained administrator of the tool.? If you care to take it, drop me a line.
Filed Under Accountability, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Work Levels | 2 Comments
Are Ad Hoc Organizational Structures Trustworthy?
By Michelle Malay Carter on September 2, 2008
As a follow up to my Boundaries are Liberating train of thought, I’d like to do some more stumping for the necessity for more thoughtful, intentional, requisite organizational structure.?
I live in the US and we are fortunate to have a fairly sophisticated, safe road system.? As I drive around each day, I am not gripped by fear and paranoia.? Why??
Because I trust the system.? Why??
- Because drivers have to prove their competence and knowledge before being licensed.?
- Because it’s consistent.
- Because all drivers, aside from public safety officials,?are treated equally.
- Because the?accountabilities and authorities of drivers?are clear.? (We know who has the right of way under all circumstances.)
- Because there are rapid feedback loops.
- Because there are fully sanctioned auditors of the system armed with accountability and authority.
- Because there are consequences for noncompliance to include death!
- Because compliance is extremely high.
Every Man for Himself?
So how do you suppose I’d feel if every 1,000th person decided s/he would no longer stop at red lights?? How do you think I’d feel if every time I approached a stop sign, I had to negotiate with the other drivers to determine who had the right of way??
Set aside feelings, what about productivity?? How do you think this would influence my ability to get from point A to point B?
But yet, within organizations, we do not clarify accountabilities and authorities.? We expect people to “be adults” and to work it out.?
Structure is So Yesterday
Worse yet, some people are calling for the eradication of clear organizational structures.? Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Do we really want to have to re-negotiate our working relationships every time we enter into a task that involves others?? When there is conflict, who decides?? The person with the strongest personality, the person with the most connected network?
Introducing Paranoia into the System
Another problem is we tend to tolerate work-arounds rather than question and fix the system that necessitates them.? Once we begin to accommodate work-arounds, we’ve introduced paranoia into the system.? It’s no longer trustworthy.
A Linkback to Engagement
Trust is a precursor to engagement.
Systems Drive Behavior – Are you Driving Paranoia or Trust?
Most organizations ignore the impact of their paranoia-inducing systems, while offering free dry cleaning as a means to engagement.
I’m OK. You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.? Have you ever worked within a paranoia-inducing system?
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A Friday Celebration
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 29, 2008
Today’s my birthday, and I’m off to the beach with my husband and kids?to visit my parents.? I plan to do some swimming, fishing, and boating.? The tidal creek in my parent’s backyard often offers up a unique experience from snapping turtles, to crabs, to eels, to owls, to Kingfishers, to gar and we even found a mysterious spotted egg floating down the creek one time. It offered up some vulgar smelling green goo – a turtle? an alligator?
In addition to this being my birthday, Monday is Labor Day in the US so I’ll be back blogging next week.
?
Filed Under Personal Observation | 2 Comments
Boundaries are Liberating – Micromanagement is Not
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 27, 2008
In my last post, we discussed the requisite components of an effective task assignment.? Anyone who has lived under the opression of micromanagment might look at the?level of detail in?the task assignment format I shared and conclude that it would squelch creativity rather than facilitate it.
Waste not Want Not
When ambiguous assignments are given, one of two things happens.? Either the employee has no idea what to do or where to start, so s/he does nothing.? Or, the employee does something that is not in line with the manager’s (unspoken/unwritten)?thinking,?resulting in wasted time?and deflated morale.
Define the WHAT but Delegate the HOW
Effective task assignments do a thorough job of defining the WHAT to include boundaries.? The boundaries liberate the employee to move freely and confidently about the space as defined without second guessing, or fear, or excessive “check backs”.
However, the work, i,e, the creative part which all humans savor, is for the employee to decide the HOW.?
Micromanagement versus Engagement
When a manager meddles in the HOW part, you’ve got micromanagement.? This steals?the psychological “kick” we all get from being?creative.? Micromanagers steal the joy part of work from their employees.? (Unwittingly, I believe, but that’s another post.)?
When a manager explicitly defines the reason for the task, its quality specifications, resources and boundaries, you’ve got engagement.? And never the twain shall meet.
See the difference?? Employees appreciate and need explicit task assignments, but they resent having their joy stolen.? Have you every had a boss steal your joy?
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management | 6 Comments
The Lowest Hanging Fruit in Managerial Leadership – Effective Task Assignment
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 25, 2008
With all the curriculum out there -?from supervisory training to MBAs to leadership courses, you would think that?effective task assignment?techniques would be at the top of the list.? My experience is that it is not.?
Managers I’ve met have usually had?more Myers Briggs training than they have effective task assignment training.
What does an effective task assignment look like?
Why:? provides context, allows for decisions to be made relative to it
What:? fairly self-explanatory
When:? a task without a timeframe?attached to it, is just an ask
Quantity:? how many?
Quality:? what criteria will you be using to judge whether a satisfactory job was done.
Resources:? what resources will be provided to the employee (training, staff, budget, consultants, materials, software)
Integration:? where does this work overlap other work.?
Reporting:? how and how often should status reports be provided
We use this format in our leadership training, and we encourage our clients to build the use of the format into their performance management system.
Improved Effeciency and Effectiveness
Although it is often met with initial skepticism, because of the “up front” work it requires, those who commit to using the format, in written form, find that it saves incredible amounts of time.??
Many managers admit to half-assigning work before they have really thought it through, and they end up wasting their direct reports’ time.? Written, full-format?task assignments put an end to that, as it forces the manager to be “serious” about the work before assigning it.?
Furthermore, it forces managers to provide the necessary resources to get the job done.? How often have you been given an assignment without the appropriate resources?
No Surprises
When managers are clear about what they want done, and they provide this clarity to their direct reports, the work gets done correctly the first time.? And, since the quality standards and deadlines are elucidated up front, there are no surprise on the back end.
The Holy Grail of Communication!
We talked last week about the holy grail – communication.?? One the best forms of communication a manager can offer an employee is clear task assignments.
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
What is the silliest task assignment you have ever received?
?
Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management | 2 Comments
Big Picture Thinker Miscommunication – A Friday Funny
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 22, 2008
We’ve been talking about how to “language” messages in order to make them satisfying to employees.? In my last post, I suggested that the language that individuals find satisfying and actionable might be tied to work levels and corresponding cognitive capacity.
As you move up the work levels hierarchy, the use of language moves from concrete to abstract, from highly detailed to bigger picture.? All levels?are necessary for the success of the organization, but different levels call for different language.
The following clip suggests that this might be a visual phenomenon as well.? This hairdresser is certainly a big-picture thinker!? Take 28 seconds for a laugh today.
?
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Work Levels | Comments Off on Big Picture Thinker Miscommunication – A Friday Funny
Improving Communication with a Work Levels, Attractive Leadership Framework
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 20, 2008
In my last post I talked about the elusive holy grail of leadership – effective communication.??I plan to throw a new iron into the fire on this one by discussing how an understanding of work levels can improve communication within organization.
Employee’s Want RELEVANT Communication
Since each work level of an organization contributes a specific kind of work product to the organization’s mission (see table below), it stands to reason that each level will be looking for managerial communication that facilitates their ability to meet the mission of their level.? Yes?
Attractive Leadership
Jack Fallow, former CEO?of?GasForce, Ltd,?does a fine job of succinctly capturing this idea in his Attractive Leadership model which is featured in the book, Organization Design, Levels of Work & Human Capability.
The Dale Carnegie Rule Revisited
Simply put, if you want employees to be interested in what you are saying, being interested in what they are doing!? And, what they are doing will be anchored in their role’s requisite level of work.? Understand the essence of the level of work, and you can engage people in meaningful conversation about their work.
| Work Level | Key Work Value |
Work Level Contribution to the Organization |
| 5 | Integrity | Optimizing a total system (business unit) to bring about 5-10 year objectives. |
| 4 | Progress | ?
Translating conceptual strategy into operations.?Recommend changes to current operations to support strategy to meet 2+ year targets.
|
| 3 | Excellence | ?
Making daily operations excellent, i.e. creating/refining best practices for use of current resources.? Implementation planning and execution.?Contingency planning.
|
| 2 | Consistency | ?
Daily production oversight for goods/services, i.e. getting staff hired, trained, scheduled and producing to spec.? Deal with exceptions.? Cumulative analysis.
|
| 1 | Accuracy | ?
Following procedures to create a product to specification or to deliver a service as trained.
|
Table adapted from Jack Fallow’s Attractive Leadership and PeopleFit’s Work Levels Table
Taking Communication to a New Level
Understanding work levels can help leaders “language” their messages in a a way that is attractive to their audience.? When you combine this with designing an organization with an eye toward the reality of work levels, and now you are creating an environment for engagement.? More on that later.
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Your thoughts?
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Work Levels | 3 Comments
I AM Communicating, Now What?
By Michelle Malay Carter on August 18, 2008
Blog after leadership blog.? Book after leadership book claims to have found the Holy Grail of Leadership and Followership (engagement).? In case you’ve missed it, I will reveal it here.
Are you ready? ?Communication!? My Invoice is in the mail.
Now, go ask 100 managers if they do a proper job of communicating at work.? I suspect 99 would say yes.? Ask 100 employees if their manager does a proper job of communicating at work, and I suspect about 20 would say yes, since one of the top contributors to employee engagement is an employee’s relationship with their manager and engagement sits at about 20%.
Now what??
Communication training?? More frequent communication?? More detailed communication?? Less detailed (micromanaging) communication?? More one-on-one communication?? More team communication?? More big picture communication?? More written communication?? More personal communication?? More situational communication?? Books have been written about each one.?
What if miscommunication were a symptom and not a cause?
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Your thoughts?
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Work Levels | 11 Comments
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