Cognitive Development Study Exploring Complex Reasoning

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 14, 2008

A colleague of mine Richard McElroy, a doctoral student in the Fielding Graduate University?s Human and Organization Development program, under the guidance of Dr. Michael Commons, Harvard Medical School?s Department of Psychiatry, is conducting a cognitive development study to explore levels of complex reasoning in the executives and managers. One of my favorite topics!

He is asking for anonymous participation to complete his Internet-based research survey instrument (link listed below). He requests that all levels of executives and managers in the organization participate.

Will you help him out by?completing this anonymous?survey, which should take about 15 minutes? Click here?to complete the survey.

Rick believes his research will contribute much to our understanding of the developmental needs of future organizational leaders – a cause we can all get behind.

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

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A Can Do Attitude – A Friday Funny

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 11, 2008

Sometimes some managers take advantage of the line item on their direct report’s?job descripition that reads:

Any other duty as deemed necessary by your manager.

Take two minutes to see what a can do attitude can get you.

What is the strangest thing you have been asked to do?? I was asked to help my boss clean up a a crime scene within a home, after the police left but before the homeowner, her friend and our colleague, returned from out of town.

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Driving Ineffective Productivity

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 9, 2008

The problem with blind ambition toward measuring performance is that systems drive behavior.? When cold calculations take the place of managerial judgments, the system is sending a message.?

“We don’t have time to look at the prevailing circumstances surrounding your work situation to judge whether your problem solving and decision making was effective, just make your numbers.”

I’ve seen very productive assembly line workers send shoddy product along because all that mattered was the number, and the probability that the shoddy product would ever get traced back to them was low.

I’ve watched the sales group offer outrageous discounts to drive sales and meet their numbers, when they knew operations couldn’t handle the volume.

Chris Young has seen recruiters fill slots with unqualified candidates to meet their recruiting goals.

You can be highly productive and ineffective.?? What have you seen?

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

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Models Drive Diagnosis and Cure – Are You Committing Organizational Malpractice?

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 7, 2008

Last week, I listed ten requisite managerial leadership behaviors (below)?from the Requisite Organization model.?

-Two way managerial teamworking
-Context setting
-Planning
-Task assignment
-Personal effectiveness appraisal of direct reports
-Merit review
-Coaching
-Selection and induction
-Deselection and dismissal
-Continuous improvement

Systems Drive Behavior – Check Here First
Assuming your leadership system is designed to elucidate, authorize, reinforce, control and audit these leadership expectations, what are your options when a manager is not leading?

Prevailing wisdom, in order of escalation,?is to coach them, send them to training, threaten them, then give the a pejorative label and fire them.

A Diagnostic Model
If we really understood work and human capability to perform work, we would have a much better diagnostic model to use.? At PeopleFit, we have a three point model we use after verifying that the greater system is not driving unintended behaviors.

Using the model, the questioning process becomes:??

Can s/he do them??
Could s/he do them??
Will s/he do them?

If s/he can’t (due to lack of skill or knowledge), training is in order.

If s/he couldn’t (due to insufficient cognitive capacity relative to direct reports), reassignment to a different level of work?is in order.

If s/he won’t (due to disinterest in managerial work), reassignment to a non-managerial role is in order.

Models Drive Diagnosis and Cure
Your model for what “causes” capability and effectiveness will influence your diagnostic?process and your recommended “cure”.?

Bloodletting?was driven by the theory of the four humours, which espoused that a mystical equilibrium between several bodily fluids maintains human life.? Given this theory, bloodletting made sense, pass the knife.

Organizational Malpractice
Noble intentions aside, when was the last time you questioned your model?? What values and beliefs is it built upon?? Is there any science behind it?

If you trace them backwards to their roots, most current models imply that inherent?personal flaws drive ineffectiveness.? These models, in turn, drive all forms of organizational malpractice which are?imposed upon employees.??Nearly all of the?time, inherent personal flaws are not the cause of disengagement or ineffectiveness.

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

Have you ever been misdiagnosed?
?

Filed Under Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels | 2 Comments

July 4th Friday Freetime

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 4, 2008

Today is Independence Day in the US.?

Went to the beach yesterday.? Fishing and fireworks today.?

I’ll catch back up with you next week.

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What Does Managerial Leadership Look Like? A Requisite Approach

By Michelle Malay Carter on July 2, 2008

Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization model does a great job of defining a set managerial leadership behaviors which, within a Requisite Organization leadership framework,?would become explicit accountabilities of all managers.?

Two way managerial teamworking
Context setting
Planning
Task assignment
Personal effectiveness appraisal of direct reports
Merit review
Coaching
Selection and induction
Deselection and dismissal
Continuous improvement

Simple?? Yes.? Practiced?? Maybe
These practices are simple on their face, but remember, systems drive behavior.? Therefore, an organization’s leadership system (or lack thereof) has a huge influence upon whether these behaviors can occur and do occur.

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

Does your manager carry out these practices?? Do you?? Does your leadership system specify and reinforce these behaviors?

Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Talent Management | 2 Comments

Why Perfect Candidates Still Fail on the Job

By Michelle Malay Carter on June 29, 2008

Recruiting Effectiveness Metrics
I recently read?a blogger proposing that recruiters should be measured not only by how many slots are filled or how quickly the slots are filled, but also by the first year’s performance of the candidates they place.? I agree that how many and how quickly will not tell the whole story, but neither will candidate performance in the role.

An Inadequate and Unfair Measure
Candidate performance would not be a fair measure for recruiter effectiveness because once the candidate is placed, the candidate’s performance will be highly contingent upon their manager’s effectiveness and their manager’s cognitive capability.

A person can be perfectly suited for a role as it is defined and still not be effective or productive on the job.?

The Manager’s Role in Employee Effectiveness
The manager defines and assigns the work.? The manager provides the context.? The manager allocates the resources.? The manager judges the performance.? The manager gives feedback.? The manager coordinates the work of his direct report team.

When?a manager cannot or will not do all of these managerial leadership accountabilities, the performance and effectiveness of the employee will suffer.? More on the cannot and will not in my next post.

We Employee People To Make Judgments, not Calculations
Try as we might, we?will never be able to measure effectiveness via metrics.? Effectiveness must be judged.? Metrics calculate; leaders make judgments.

I’m OK.? You’re OK. Let’s fix the system.

I am Not My Metrics
Have you ever had your “metrics” imply you were ineffective?

Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels | 4 Comments