In some organizations, silence on the issues impacting the world today is deafening. Organizations and communities are more connected than some may want to believe, and I don’t mean six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. Minor changes in organizations can lead to significant differences in our communities. Experienced leaders understand that what happens at work does not stay at work, and what happens at home does not remain at home. Society is looking for modern leaders and organizations to be positive sources of influence on global issues. This article reveals the unfortunate truth about how poverty is connected to racism and how an emerging 21st Century leadership approach can be a catalyst for solving racism and poverty. Poverty & Racism Poverty is a little understood issue that creates real disadvantages to achieving the American Dream of upward socio-economic mobility. While most Americans (88.2%) do not live in poverty, as of 2018, African Americans were 2.5 times more likely to be in poverty than whites. The median white family had 10 times as much wealth as the median African American family. Escaping poverty in the U.S. is difficult, and racial difficulties mean that movement out of poverty for African Americans is much more challenging than it is for whites. Over the past century, the issues of poverty and racism are not new and have remained real issues, and earlier attempts to resolve the associated issues have been inadequate. The following figure is from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2007–2011 American Community Survey , and reflects the percentage of the black alone population in poverty in the United States. Servant Leadership Theoretical leadership development has historically been used to explain observations, make sense or bring order to complexity, and solve problems people are facing. In 2006 researchers conducted a review of over 160 articles and books identifying 91 distinct attributes within the literature for defining leadership and there would likely be more today. “probably more has been written and less is known about leadership than about any other topic in the behavioral sciences” (Bennis). The world needs a different leadership approach and Servant Leadership is an emerging 21st Century model that holds potential answers for poverty and racism. This leadership theory promotes attributes of altruistic and compassionate love for others. Compassionate love is “doing the right thing at the right time and for the right reason"(Winston). When organizations adopt a servant leadership approach they measure effectiveness based on the growth of employees, customers, and the community. Servant leaders lead organizations to impact society positively. For example, a servant leader philosophy in an organization will focus attention on leader-follower relationships. This focus on people then leads to growing employees and, in return, growing the company. Pioneering research in 2013 lead by Shruti Gupta found the organizational commitment to the poor and customer growth, has both a positive impact on organizational performance and poverty mitigation. When leaders get involved it makes a difference both in their organization and society. Do you agree or disagree, and why? References Barbuto, J. E., & Wheeler, D. W. (2006). Scale development and construct clarification of servant leadership. Group & Organization Management, 31 (3), 300-326. doi:10.1177/1059601106287091 Bennis, W. G. (1959). Leadership theory and administrative behavior: The problem of authority. Administrative Science Quarterly, 4 (3), 259-301. doi:10.2307/2390911 Gupta, S. (2013). Serving the "bottom of pyramid" - A servant leadership perspective. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 10 (3), 98-106. Jerneck, A. (2015). Understanding poverty. SAGE Open, 5 (4) doi:10.1177/2158244015614875 Kuhn, T. S., & Hacking, I. (2012). The structure of scientific revolutions . McCann, J. & Holt, R. (2010). Servant and sustainable leadership: An analysis in the manufacturing environment. Int. J. of Management Practice. 4. 134 - 148. doi:10.1504/IJMP.2010.033691. Wagmiller, R., & Adelman, R. (2009). Childhood and intergenerational poverty : The long-term consequences of growing up poor. National Center for Children in Poverty . Winston, B. E., & Patterson, K. (2006). An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 1 (2), 6-66. Servant Leadership Development Learn how you can bring a virtual or in-person Servant Leadership Program to your organization : Based on the best ideas from the leadership gurus of today, leaders learn how to apply a head, heart, and hands approach to ancient principles that reinforce selfless service. This one-year program for leadership teams includes a pre/post servant leadership 360, pre/post leadership style inventory, quarterly development workshops, and much more. "The signature of the greatest executives we studied is their humility" Jim Collins

Are you looking to level up innovation and creativity in your business to produce a competitive advantage? Maybe you're skeptical of whether it is possible to develop your team and believe you should hire for it. It's the debate of nature versus nurture. A common argument presented in support of team development is that if people were born with creativity, we would observe more consistency in creativity among team members. Evidence suggests an individual's behavioral drives and abilities activate creativity within a positive company culture. Cognitive skills, personality traits, work habits, and social and environmental variables affect innovation and creativity. Here are five low-cost and high-impact steps leaders can take to improve their team's innovation and creativity. Why talent development matters As the world changes, people and businesses must change too. Your team's development needs to keep pace with workplace changes, or you risk falling behind. Evidence from a large-scale study revealed that training and development positively affected innovative performance by building employee competence and organizational commitment. Leaders need to consider the employee's desired knowledge, skills, and abilities, the desired organizational culture, and the workplace climate. However, evidence has also revealed that the training program does not produce the desired competitive advantage if employee capability development becomes the goal. Leaders seeking to develop innovative and creative teams should take a results-based focus versus an activity-based approach. What are the right innovation behaviors to hire for and develop? Enhancing an employee's self-leadership capability improves self-awareness, inspiring experimentation with new ways to solve existing challenges. The following behaviors are linked to activating workplace creativity and innovation and are ideal to look for when hiring and reinforcing in training programs: Idea generation: The desire to try new things, a preference for original thinking, and finding solutions for existing problems. Idea search: Collaborating with others for new ideas and an interest in how things are done in other organizations. Idea communication: Persuading others toward new ideas and showing others the positive sides of new thinking. Implementation starting activities: Developing project plans to launch new ideas, secure funding for innovation, and search for new technologies to support implementation. Involving others: Seeking others to find solutions to problems and involve decision-makers. Overcoming obstacles: Not giving up on new ways of doing things and persistence. Innovation outputs: Being successful with implementing new ideas and improving processes valuable to the organization What are low-cost and high-impact steps leaders can take to foster innovation and creativity? Organizations searching for efficiency tend to hire and promote employees who conform to group norms and encourage unity. According to US Department of Labor statistics from 2017, 47% of the workforce in the United States is women. Yet, only 22% are in c-suite positions. Companies have historically viewed differences as detrimental. But, the benefits of leveraging diversity within organizations include more viewpoints, new ideas, and reimagined solutions. “A homogenous workforce limits the range of a company's innovation capabilities." Gary Oster Organizational culture consists of artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions: Artifacts: These are the things you can see, feel, or hear in the workplace. Examples include what is displayed, office layouts, uniforms, identification badges, and what is discussed and not discussed. Espoused Values: What you are told and beliefs that you can use to make decisions. Examples include a company's vision and values or mission statement. They are explicitly stated official philosophies about the company. Basic Assumptions: These things go without saying or are taken for granted. Examples could include speaking up in meetings, holding a door for someone, smiling, or greeting someone by name when walking down the hall. High Impact Step #1: Recruit and Retain Who gets hired, promoted , and fired, and for what, creates and reinforces your organization's culture. Talent management decisions can be viewed as a more subtle nuance to culture change because they are influenced by explicitly stated criteria and unstated value priorities. A job candidate is more than just a list of experiences, education, and references presented on paper. To better understand their suitability for a position, it's essential to evaluate their behavioral drives and cognitive abilities (the head), as well as their values and interests (the heart), alongside their knowledge, skills, and experience (the briefcase). We typically examine a resume to determine a person's knowledge, skills, and experience. The information you can gain from the Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment provides the rest of the picture. Care to see how this might work in your context with a 5-minute assessment? We can unpack the results together, and I’ll show you how it reduces unwanted attrition and mis-hires and helps leadership. Worse case, you learn something about yourself. High Impact Step #2: Leadership Style Several well-researched employee and company benefits, such as creativity, are associated with  servant leadership . Evidence suggests that a servant leadership style improves employee productivity and creativity. Employees are more likely to provide constructive criticism and engage in productive conflict without fear of exclusion or retaliation, which is an environment in which employees can be creative. High Impact Step #3: Define Desired Results This is one of the most potent mechanisms leaders have available. What leaders choose to systematically measure, reward, and control matters, and the opposite is also true. Define desired results in terms of explicit business goals and innovative behaviors. High Impact Step #4: Leverage Data Leverage data analytics and empirical testing to discover and communicate what works quickly. Rewards and recognition come in many different forms. Also, what is considered a reward varies from person to person. Both what gets rewarded and how it gets rewarded and what does not get rewarded reinforces organizational culture. There are tangible rewards and social rewards. Simply saying thank you for presenting a decision using data analytics is a social reward. High Impact Step #5: Embrace Interesting Failure Much can be revealed when a business or a leader faces a significant challenge. These crucible moments are like a refining fire. It is the heightened emotional intensity that increases individual and organizational learning. Innovation and creativity will challenge the status quo, which is risky in most organizations. How a leader responds to interesting failure will reinforce if the team will take risks in the future. References: Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45 (2), 357-376. DeWolf, M. (2017). 12 Stats about working women. U.S. Department of Labor. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose . Organizational Talent Consulting. Ghosh, K. (2015). Developing organizational creativity and innovation: Toward a model of self-leadership, employee creativity, creativity climate, and workplace innovative orientation. Management Research Review, 38 (11), 1126-1148. Lukes, M., & Stephan, U. (2017). Measuring employee innovation: A review of existing scales and the development of the innovative behavior and innovation support inventories across cultures. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 23 (1), 136-158. Oster, G. W. (2011). The light prize: Perspectives on Christian innovation . Positive Signs Media. Schaffer, R. H., & Thomson, H. A. (1992). Successful change programs begin with results. Harvard Business Review, 70 (1), 80-89.

“The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.” Taken from lessons in history and life experiences, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote these words in The Prince, published over 550 years ago. The message is clear: the end justifies the means. These words might seem harsh, but they are not surprising. They reveal the tension that can exist in business between profit and people. Is cheating to achieve favorable results part of doing business? Should managers exploit others to achieve goals? These are not uncommon leadership dilemmas. And are situations that your company or you might be navigating. The way forward is obvious for some leaders. However, the best way forward is more complex for those with Machiavellian personality tendencies. The best place to start is by weighing the good and bad of Machiavellianism in the workplace. The good and bad of Machiavellianism in the workplace “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps and a lion to frighten wolves.” Machiavelli Machiavellianism refers to a manipulative personality trait. The personality is cunning and calculating, believing that the end justifies the means, regardless of how ruthless or moral. Psychologists Christie and Geis studied the thought processes and actions behind individuals who manipulated others and were the first to define this personality trait as Machiavellianism. Their construct was based on personality traits displayed in the characters of Machiavelli’s literary work The Prince. In this book, Niccolò Machiavelli described how leaders must manipulate and use power through any means necessary to achieve their goals. He presented that people cannot be trusted to do what is needed because they typically lack the experience and motivation or have biases and prejudice toward doing what is needed. Here is a short video about What “Machiavellian” really means. Despite the negative connotations of Machiavellian leadership, sometimes its admired, and the presence of this personality trait is found in all kinds of businesses and at all levels. Interestingly, research into Machiavellianism leadership suggests both highly damaging implications along with some surprisingly positive outcomes for individuals and entire organizations: The Good: Able to retain social control during difficult and chaotic situations, strategic foresight and planning, lower operating costs, high task orientation, not impulsive, gets work done by others, able to be competitive and cooperative. The Bad: Unethical behavior, moral ambiguity, lying, revenge, threats, fraud, cheating, emotional abuse, lack of trust in others, excessive politics, theft, and paying for kickbacks. Although research reveals some good business outcomes of Machiavellian leadership, an overwhelming number of studies demonstrate this kind of manipulative leadership hurts leadership performance. The impacts of lower-quality leader-follower relationships negatively influence performance, company culture, and results. Do you have Machiavellian tendencies? Fortunately, extreme levels of Machiavellianism are rare in the workplace. However, we all likely have some degree of Machiavellianism in our personalities. The Mach-IV is a 20-question inventory that assesses your Machiavellianism tendencies. This site provides your Machiavellian score and a graph showing how you compare to others taking the assessment. The higher your score on the Mach-IV, the more Machiavellianism. If you score 60 out of 100 or higher on the MACH-IV, you are considered a “high-Mach.” If you score below 60 out of 100, you are considered a “low-mach.” High Mach tendencies: Business goal-oriented and calculated when interacting with others. Taken to the extreme, they are highly focused on winning and willing to use any and all means possible. Low Mach tendencies: Believe everyone has a good and bad side. They tend to be more people-oriented and empathic in their interaction with others. Taken to the extreme, "low-Machs" can be passive, highly agreeable, and socially inept. What do you do when you find Machiavellianism in the workplace? “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you” Machiavelli, The Prince Can you change your personality? Or is it true that Yoda told Luke that if you start down the dark path, it will forever dominate your destiny? Luckily, there is hope. The Big Five personality traits serve as the building blocks of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Research into these personality traits suggests it is possible to change them through persistent interventions. There is no single right way to change personality. Behaviors constantly evolve from situation to situation and moment to moment. The following are six proven countermeasures for Machiavellian behaviors in the workplace. Machiavellian Countermeasure #1: Executive Assessments The higher you move within an organization, the less objective the feedback you tend to receive; however, it becomes more critical personally and professionally. Executive assessments can provide deep insights into areas that, with attention, lead to enhanced potential. When selecting an assessment, using a qualified executive coach to help interpret and apply the learnings is crucial. Machiavellian Countermeasure #2: Executive Coaching There are many benefits of executive coaching . 80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence. Over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. 86% of companies report recouping their investment in coaching and more. Machiavellian Countermeasure #3: Leadership Style Research in organizational behavior has illuminated the importance of ethical leadership in addressing and mitigating undesirable behaviors often associated with Machiavellianism. Ethical leadership, as a concept, encompasses a wide array of principles and values that guide individuals in making decisions that are not only morally sound but also beneficial for the greater good. It involves considerations of right and wrong and a sense of moral duty and obligation towards others. One particular leadership style that has gained attention for its ethical underpinnings is Servant Leadership. This approach emphasizes influence over positional power, focusing on the well-being and growth of others rather than asserting authority through hierarchy. By prioritizing the needs of their followers and empowering them to reach their full potential, servant leaders create a positive and nurturing work environment that fosters trust, collaboration, and innovation. Organizations that embrace a servant leadership style stand to reap numerous benefits. Leaders can inspire greater employee engagement, loyalty, and productivity by cultivating a culture of empathy, humility, and service. Furthermore, emphasizing ethical decision-making and social responsibility can enhance the organization's reputation, increasing stakeholder trust and support. Machiavellian Countermeasure #4: Reward and Recognition Systems Tightly aligning your company's reward and recognition systems with desired behaviors is crucial in fostering a positive work environment. When incentives are directly linked to the behaviors and values the organization wishes to promote, employees are more likely to be motivated to align their actions with these expectations. This enhances individual performance and cultivates a sense of unity and collaboration within the team, as everyone works towards common goals and shared rewards. Machiavellian Countermeasure #5: Training and Development Training and development play a crucial role in honing the skills and abilities of individuals across various personality types. Research indicates that providing targeted development opportunities during significant career transitions can significantly impact individuals with Machiavellian personality traits. By investing in tailored programs that focus on shaping work expectations and behaviors, organizations can effectively steer these individuals toward more constructive and beneficial outcomes. Such initiatives not only enhance individual performance but also contribute to a positive organizational culture, ultimately leading to reduced risks of potential errors and financial losses. Machiavellian Countermeasure #6: Therapy A "high-Mach" personality can present unique challenges in various aspects of life, including relationships, work environments, and personal well-being. Individuals with Machiavellian traits often exhibit manipulation, deceit, and a lack of empathy. These behaviors can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining healthy relationships and challenges in navigating social interactions effectively. Seeking support from a mental health professional can be instrumental in developing coping mechanisms to manage these traits and their impact on daily life. Therapy can provide individuals with the tools and strategies needed to address underlying issues, improve self-awareness, and cultivate healthier ways of relating to others. Some therapeutic approaches that may benefit individuals with Machiavellian personality traits include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which can help identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors. Additionally, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may be useful in developing skills for emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. By working with a mental health professional, individuals with high-Mach personalities can gain insight into their behaviors, learn how to navigate social situations more effectively and cultivate healthier relationships based on trust, honesty, and empathy. Seeking help is a proactive step towards personal growth and well-being for those grappling with the challenges associated with Machiavellian traits. So, what is your real leadership challenge? References: Christie, R., & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. Academic Press. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-Changing Leadership Habits: 10 Proven Principles That Will Elevate People, Profit, and Purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Kumar, D. (2019). Good, bad, ugly: Exploring the Machiavellian power dynamics of leadership in medical education. Journal of advances in medical education & professionalism, 7(1), 42–46. Page, N., Bergner, S., & Wills, S. (2017). Who empathizes with Machiavellian or Narcissistic leaders? Harvard Business Review. Rehman, U., & Shahnawaz, M. (2021). Machiavellianism and task-orientated leadership: the moderating effect of job autonomy. Leadersh Educ Personal Interdiscip J 3, 79–85. Van Dierendonck, D., & Patterson, K. (2015). Compassionate love as a cornerstone of servant leadership: An integration of previous theorizing and research. Journal of Business Ethics, 128 (1), 119-131.

While there is no single definition of leadership, every organization, and senior leader is looking for ways to increase revenue and avoid costly mistakes to stay competitive. There are two very costly mistakes that leaders frequently commit. Unfortunately, it is the unintended consequences of these mistakes that are so costly. What makes these mistakes so challenging is that they are rooted in the leader's culture. These cultural "blind-spots" influence leaders to feel that they are forced to make unavoidable choices between opposite ends on a continuum. One mistake is the view of having to choose between leading and serving , and the other is the view of having to choose between rules and exceptions. When leaders decide between leading and serving, it is a failure to recognize that the leader becomes stronger when empowering and providing space for others to grow. The mistake of choosing between rules and exceptions is a failure to realize that good rules allow for exceptions, and both work together toward the organization's continuous improvement. Solving for these dilemmas requires the leader to make a fundamental shift in thinking. What is at risk? One-dimensional and linear thinking within organizations increases costs. Most leaders recognize and will openly espouse that employees are the organization's greatest assets. However, these same leaders also know that employees are a significant hard cost to the business . Labor accounts for up to 50% of budgets within some retail organizations. Failing to empower and grow employees and failing to improve an organization continuously is proven to result in the lack of employee loyalty, increased turnover, increased absenteeism, and ultimately an organization becoming obsolete. One IBM study found that employees were 12 times more likely to leave a company when they feel they cannot grow their careers. "If you believe that training is expensive, it is because you do not know what ignorance costs." (Leboeuf, 1985) Turnover costs for hourly employees are, on average, $1500 and up to two times of annual salary for senior-level employees. Absenteeism-related direct costs, such as paid days off, accounted for 8.1% of payroll costs in 2013 ( SHRM ), not including indirect costs associated with unpaid days off, such as the Family Medical Leave Act. Then there are the unintended opportunity costs when leaders inappropriately choose to use power in relationships to solve for these perceived opposing points of view. Inappropriately using power in the leader-follower relationship decreases intrinsic motivation and discretionary effort. Discretionary effort is the level of performance employees could give if they wanted to above and beyond the formal job requirements. Consider two employees are walking down a hall, both seeing a piece of paper on the floor. Only one employee stops to pick it up even though it is neither employees' job responsibility. Intrinsic motivation and discretionary effort involve unlocking the full human potential of an organization's employees. Cyclical and holistic thinking increases intrinsic motivation and discretionary effort. Case Study: A leader in an international company responsible for a corporate and companywide functional department faced a decision involving selecting a new information management system that would require organization-wide alignment of process. The influences of the different cultures, historical company decisions, regulations, and the use of a standard system amplified the rules versus exceptions dilemma. Unfortunately, the lack of alignment created a conflict that was eventually resolved by a costly mistake of using power (linear and one-dimensional thinking rather than cyclical and holistic thinking). The decision, while resolving the system issue, furthered the competition between parts of the same organization . Also, it contributed to feelings of unfairness and inequality and not being valued because it was turned into a win or lose situation. What can leaders do? Adopting and applying a servant leadership approach facilitates the necessary shift in thinking to solve common organizational dilemmas. Research has identified seven everyday leadership dilemmas that are amplified in a culturally diverse workforce: (1) leading-serving, (2) rules-expectations, (3) parts-the whole, (4) control-passion, (5) specific-diffuse, (6) short term-long term, and (7) push-pull. Table 1 reflects the foundational thinking shifts leaders make when adopting a servant leadership approach. Servant leadership involves: (1) listening to self and others, (2) empathy, (3) healing self and others, (4) awareness, (5) persuasion, (6) conceptual thinking, (7) foresight, (8) stewardship of other’s needs, (9) commitment to people development, and (10) building community. Servant leadership is proven to minimize the leader’s "cultural blind-spots" by shifting the thinking and focus on serving others, listening to employee’s needs, and developing strategies that consider cultural differences. It is through serving, the servant leader obtains a greater authority with followers. To learn more about servant leadership and three other emerging 21st-century leadership styles check out 4 Emerging Leadership Styles and Why You Should Care. References : Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Paulist Press. Leboeuf, M. (1985). The greatest management principle in the world. Putnam Pub Group. Spears, L. C. (1998). Servant-leadership. Executive Excellence, 15 (7), 11. Trompenaars, A., & Voerman, E. (2010). Servant-leadership across cultures: Harnessing the strength of the world's most powerful management philosophy . McGraw-Hill. Are you interested in better understanding your own leadership style? Contact Organizational Talent Consulting to learn more about a leadership style inventory assessment you can use to measure your preferred leadership style and receive individualized executive coaching. Register for an upcoming FREE webinar on servant leadership. Here is what you can expect: • What is servant leadership ? • Contemporary Leadership Theory Comparisons • Servant Leadership Value • The 5 Best Resources on Servant Leadership Use this site to find registration links for upcoming leadership development webinars

Results-driven leaders have a bad habit of working harder and longer hours. Hard work isn't bad, but isolation is hazardous. If achievement-oriented leaders are not careful, their drive can limit career opportunities, professional success, and the joy of living. In an increasingly uncertain world, executives need high-quality relationships with followers, but also peers, and others outside the workplace. Relationships impact the leader's effectiveness and ability to get help and information necessary to innovate and solve complex issues. Here is what the evidence suggests about networking and whether it is a distraction or an essential leadership capability. Why Networking Matters Networking is a life skill, and it involves building personal and professional contacts and relationships with others inside and outside of the workplace. Networking relationships can span the continuum of collaboration from cooperation to integrated relationships. Shared identity theory suggests that leaders share identity with individuals with whom they associate. And as a result, leaders are more likely to trust and influence those individuals than individuals and groups with whom they do not associate. The documented workplace benefits of networking include: Increased job opportunities Increased knowledge opportunities Enhanced innovation capacity Career growth Enhanced executive presence Increased influence In one study, high-performing leaders were found to establish high-quality networks and use those connections to establish better priorities and obtain necessary resources, support, and approvals for their team. The study also revealed that leader networking effectiveness of low-performing leaders was attributed to a lack of awareness associated with a lack of relationships. However, not all studies reveal a consistent positive association between networking and effective leadership. A recent study found the relationship between networking, business results, and leadership effectiveness more involved. The impact of networking appears to be moderated by the leader's ability to apply two different leadership behaviors: Representing - the ability to promote the group's interests and coordinate activities. Monitoring – scanning the environment for information and locating other people or groups that can help or potentially hinder team goals. In other words, if the networking is primarily self-oriented toward building friendships or advancing your career, the benefits on leadership effectiveness are less likely. How to Grow Your Professional Network A good starting point is to look internally at your organization. As you advance your career, your external network will become increasingly important, and you will want to make the most of your professional associations and conferences. Examples of potential network contacts include: Peers and co-workers from prior employers Past vendors, suppliers, and clients Professional connections from conferences Alumni from universities you attended Friends, neighbors, spiritual community members Professional organization members Professional service providers such as your accountant or insurance provider Using LinkedIn is a great networking hack for finding new connections and staying connected as time passes and people change jobs. Next, you need to get organized. You will be most effective with networking when you are prepared. I suggest you follow these steps to get started and remember that networking is a skill to be developed. Step1: Check your Motivation Evidence suggests that you will achieve more success if your focus is on growth and advancement instead of avoiding the negative consequences of not networking. Create a positive vision in your mind that will result from your networking. You are ready to start when your motivation and vision are primarily positive, and your paradigm is that networking is a critical leadership skill. Step 2: Be deliberate Remember, networking is more than exchanging business cards. You want to be interesting and interested in the other person. Think through the aspects of your current position and where you could use some support. Then create three questions in advance of your meetings based on your needs. Step 3: Schedule a networking meeting Using a short 20-minute meeting is a great way to be respectful of your contact's time. Keep your conversations focused. Spend the first couple of minutes connecting over a high-level topic. Shift and provide a short one-minute update on what you are doing now. Then use the bulk of your time to discuss your three prepared in advance questions. You may want to ask if they know anyone else you should connect with to help you learn more about your questions. End with asking if there is anything you could discuss that would help support them and wrap up your meeting. Step 4: Follow-up After the meeting, following up with a short thank you note for their time and help never hurts. Also, you will want to stay connected since you have invested in this relationship. Setting reminders at a frequency that makes sense can help you not lose track of this network relationship. Conclusion: Is Networking a Distraction or Important Leadership Skill? Growing and cultivating high-quality networks takes an investment of time and energy. Effective leaders understand the value of their network relationships. Being curious and deliberate is the best way to prevent your networking investment from being a distraction and maximize the return on your investment. Who do you need to get in your network? What information or experiences do you need to leverage? References Ballinger, M., & Perez, N. (2012). The 20-minute networking meeting - Executive edition: Learn to get a job. Career Innovations Press. Druskat, V.U. and Wheeler, J.V. (2003). Managing from the boundary: The effective leadership of self-managing work-teams. Academy of Management Journal. 46 (4), pp. 435-457. Hassan, S., Prussia, G., Mahsud, R., & Yukl, G. (2018). How leader networking, external monitoring, and representing are relevant for effective leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal . Johansen, M. and LeRoux, K. (2013). Managerial networking in nonprofit organizations: The impact of networking on organizational and advocacy effectiveness. Public Administration Review . 73 (2). pp. 355-363. O'Leary, R., & Bingham, L. (2009) The collaborative public manager . Georgetown University Press. Pollack, J., Forster, W., Johnson, P., Coy, A., & Molden, D. (2015). Promotion and prevention-focused networking and its consequences for entrepreneurial success. Social and Psychological Personality Science. 6(1) pp. 3-12.

Getting leadership transitions right is rare. Alarming evidence shows that more than half of executives fail within eighteen months of starting a new position. Organizations operate more like organisms than machines, and leadership changes increase workplace anxiety. When a leader struggles, the entire business underperforms. A recent pulse survey by PwC reveals that a staggering 65% of employees are considering a new career opportunity. In the new normal, leadership transitions are more common and more important than ever to get right. Investing in leadership and career development are great ways to drive business growth. So, how do you know which is a better investment for you to make, executive coaching or mentoring? Why You Need to Invest in Leadership Transitions Leadership transitions, whether successful or not, are costly. On average direct reports spend 10-20% of their time helping a new leader transition. Also, a study revealed that two-thirds of leaders in transition report they do not receive the support they need from their team. Evidence suggests that successful leadership transitions increase company revenue, have 13% lower attrition rates, and are 90% more likely to achieve long-term performance goals. Unsuccessful leadership transitions lead to 20% less employee engagement and 15% lower performance. Direct expenses for recruiting and hiring senior leadership positions are estimated at two times the job's annual salary. Also, businesses experience increased hidden costs from the loss of potential gains associated with not having the leader in place. Leadership transitions increase anxiety and stress in the workplace . Most leaders in transition wonder if they will get along with their new direct reports. And team members wonder how the change will impact their performance and future with the company. According to DDI, 35% of all executives promoted internally, and 47% of hired externally are considered failures. Leaders need feedback and support to make a successful transition. "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Derek Bok What Is The Difference Between Executive Coaching and Mentoring? Executive coaching and mentoring are excellent strategies to support leadership and career development. Both approaches have been growing in popularity in successful organizations. However, as a certified executive coach and organizational consultant with over 25 years of talent management experience, I have seen firsthand how they are distinctly different and often confused. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching "as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential." Executive coaching focuses on moving toward the leader's future, assessing where they are currently, their goals for the future, and exploring and discovering the steps to get to their desired future. The ultimate goal is a change (e.g., behavioral, attitudinal, or motivational). Executive coaching is a purposeful process that helps executives develop and experience a positive transformation in life and leadership. The executive coach-client relationship is grounded in trust, transparency, and confidentiality. While the coach and client are the primary stakeholders, the executive's sponsoring organization is often an additional formal or informal stakeholder. Current evidence-based research supports various psychological approaches to executive coaching, such as cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused, strength-based, and GROW. While each approach is similar, the GROW model is a popular executive coaching approach. Mentoring, like coaching, can be approached in vastly different ways from business to business. The most effective mentoring is mentee-driven and mentor-guided. Mentoring is a dynamically reciprocal, active learning process. A mentor asks questions and shares personal past successes and failures. A coach uses questions but focuses on the leader, not the coach's experience. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) defines mentoring as "an informal association focused on building a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship for long-term career movement." Although many people believe that a mentor needs to be senior to the mentee, it is not critical to success. Like executive coaching, mentoring is a trust-based partnership. It is most effective with clearly defined roles, driven by the mentee, voluntary, and confidential. When Executive Coaching is Your Best Choice Executive coaching , instead of mentoring, can be the best choice for leaders preparing to make a leadership transition, are just getting started with a new career opportunity, or have hit a wall in their development. Many companies use executive coaching as a leadership transition acceleration tool. Executive coaching helps leaders who need a plan get focused. An executive coach increases blind spot awareness. Also, the coach keeps the leader feeling challenged versus being worried about what is next. Living life to the fullest can be at risk during a leadership transition. A coach can help the leader see different interrelated factors that impact them and be a true champion in a supportive way. Executive coaching encourages experimentation and self-discovery through the application of what is discussed. A skillful coach helps the leader dance in the present moment and take the necessary actions for their future. During leadership transitions, leaders need to shift their mindset to allow for new perspectives and take advantage of new opportunities. An executive coach challenges assumptions and encourages and stretches the leader to reach new heights in life and work. The benefits of investing in executive coaching are many; 80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence. Over 70% benefit from improved work performance , relationships, and more effective communication skills. 86% of companies report that they recouped their investment in coaching and more. A limitation of executive coaching is that it focuses on the future and doesn't deal with the past. Executive Coaching Transition Example: A leader from one part of the world was assigned to take on operations in another in one organization. They hired an executive coach as part of the leadership transition support and cultural agility development. The virtual executive coaching relationship had three specific goals: improve the cultural awareness and agility of the leader in a new culture, keep the executive focused on their 90-day plan, and creative thought partner about decisions in a new culture. It is crucial to find a skilled and qualified executive coach. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is a globally recognized association with evidence-based competency and code of ethics certification requirements. Look for a coach that: Demonstrates Ethical Practice Embodies a Coaching Mindset Establishes and Maintains Agreements Cultivates Trust and Safety Maintains Presence Listens Actively Evokes Awareness Facilitates Client Growth I challenge you to invest in an executive coach for your leadership transition and see your business results improve. When Mentoring is Your Best Choice Mentoring can be the best choice for an organization looking to increase talent mobility and internal visibility to talent across the organization. Mentoring creates purposeful relationships providing access and mutually beneficial interactions between employees that may not typically connect. Mentoring provides leaders with a development-oriented relationship and can expose leaders to different business areas and encourage new careers. Both the mentee and the mentor benefit from increased exposure in the business. Mentoring is effective for encouraging ethical behavior and virtues. Where past experiences can help leaders understand decisions between right and right. The benefits of mentoring include increased job satisfaction , expanded perspectives, strengthened technical, interpersonal, and leadership skills. A limitation of mentoring is that the learning is grounded in the past experiences of the mentor. While that approach can be helpful, we are all created with different strengths and backgrounds. Also, contemporary leadership challenges can be vastly different. Mentoring Transition Example: In one successful mentoring relationship, the mentee was the VP of HR for a nonprofit. The mentor was the managing director of finance. The leaders from different parts of the organization arranged in-person and virtual face-to-face meetings once a month. The mentee described that the relationship helped them grow as a leader. Specific technical advice was provided on the use of financial dashboards. The connection enabled the mentee to approach the challenge from a big picture business finance lens. The mentor described that the relationship improved their awareness of the role of organizational talent and how to navigate difficult conversations with senior leaders. The right mentor is critical to the outcomes of the relationship. To find the right mentor: Get clear about what you want to accomplish personally and professionally. Know yourself and the characteristics you admire in others. Consider what career opportunity you would like to have Know the difference between a sponsor and a mentor Develop a pitch and a few questions to use with a potential mentor. Include your goals, how often you want to meet, agendas, and clarify it is OK to say no. Conclusion: Getting Leadership Transitions Right Leadership and career development are two of the best and most important steps companies can take to drive lasting success in the new normal. Supporting and investing in leadership transitions unlocks tremendous business value. Both executive coaching and mentoring provide massive leader and company benefits. However, this does not mean there isn't a best choice to make for you, given your situation and unique context. Let's talk about how we can help you achieve your goals with transformational executive coaching and organizational solutions that work. References Bharucha, K. (2013). Corporate finance: The cost of poor leadership transitions. Corporate Executive Board. Boushey, H., & Glynn, J. (2012). There are significant business costs to replacing employees , Center for American Progress. Eskandanian-Yee, C. (2020). A mentor versus an executive coach: Which one is best for your business? Forbes. Ettore, M. (2020). Why most executives fail: And four things companies can do about it. Forbes. Keller, S. (2018). Successfully transitioning to new leadership roles. Mckinsey & Company. Krbechek, A., & Tagle, A. (2020). The right mentor can change your career. Here's how to find one. NPR. Next in Work. (2021). PwC pulse survey: Next in work. PwC. Pease, M. (2021). Private struggle: Why executive transitions continue to fail. DDI. Syed, A., Miller, S., Safferstone, T., Selinger, R., Schmidt, C., & Freire, P. (2005). Succeeding with your new manager: Strategies for getting your relationship right. Corporate Executive Board. Tyler, K. (2014). Executive coaches ease leadership transitions. SHRM.

More than a few things have recently changed, and experts can agree that the world and workplace will remain turbulent into the future. We all likely need to make some changes now or will soon. Like rapids in a river, change is a natural and healthy part of growing your business. As the world changes, leaders and companies must change too. No CEO brags about the status quo. But, change imposed is often opposed. Making change work in a way that brings out the best in your organization is a leadership skill that is more important now than ever. Here is a simple four-step positive, strength-based framework to leading change that can breathe new life into your team. 70% of all organizational change initiatives fail. Really? A widely held perception is that most workplace changes fail. McKinsey and Company surveyed over 1,500 executives on their perceptions of change. They concluded that most changes fail because only a third of the executives in the study indicated that changes were entirely or, for the most part, successful. No matter your perception of change, the reality of a fast-moving economy and complex business environment makes the "change problem" increasingly difficult to execute well. Change is complex, whether broad or incremental. Like running a successful race, the work begins well before the first steps of the race and before the visible aspects of a change take place. In his book Leading Change, Kotter suggested that these initial steps are required to set the stage and loosen up the system. If organizations move too quickly or out of order, they get into trouble, leading to faulty decisions and wasted efforts. A positive strengths-based approach to change Too often, change processes begin with what is wrong. While it is imperative to fix problems, if you never spend time talking with others about what is possible, you miss the opportunity to engage in inspiring work that connects to purpose. A constant focus on what is wrong not only diverts attention from the best of what can be, but it's draining. Consider a scenario where one employee always asks what is wrong and complains about needed fixes. Another asks about the best of what is possible. Both conversations can lead to improvements, but focusing on what is wrong misses capturing the potential of what is possible. What if the leader reframes a need for change? From a negative to a positive? Instead of  reducing employee turnover, to  retaining your best employees Instead of  improving customer satisfaction, to  creating loyal brand advocates Instead of  improving quality, to  delivering exceptional customer experiences From problem to opportunity? Instead of  addressing a declining market share, to  identifying new growth opportunities and expanding into new markets Instead of  resolving conflicts within the team, to  building a cohesive and high-performing team culture Instead of  overcoming a skills gap, to  investing in employee development and upskilling From a challenge to a transformation? Instead of  dealing with a leadership crisis, to  embarking on a journey of organizational transformation Instead of  facing a major setback, to  learning from the experience and emerging stronger Instead of  dealing with resistance to change, to  engaging employees in the change process and building buy-in Appreciative Inquiry is an approach to change management that fosters positive transformation. It can be used in one-to-one coaching sessions, with teams to create strategic plans , or in companywide large-scale change initiatives. The fundamental assumptions of the Appreciate Inquiry process are that: People are more confident to make changes building on the best of the past Individuals, teams, and organizations move in the direction discussed In every person, team, or organization, something is good and works Questions create influence Words shape worlds Like other change management processes, this process starts with identifying the right team of core stakeholders to identify the focal point. The Appreciative Inquiry change management approach is a four "D" change management process. Use this link to download a one-page overview of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry Step # 1: Discovery Once the focal point for the change initiative is identified, it begins with finding the best of what is already within the business. Traditional change management processes often begin by asking people to think about and discuss gaps and weaknesses. While this approach has been used successfully, it is not without risks. Asking what is wrong can put people on the defensive, create resistance and a lack of buy-in, and sometimes hinder rather than encourage change. One of my favorite appreciative questions to use at this step is: What would you wish for if you had three wishes to improve your organization's health and vitality dramatically? (and no, you cannot wish for more wishes) Appreciative Inquiry Step # 2: Dream After interviews are conducted, and the feedback is analyzed from the discovery step, the team phrases the vision and images of the dream into aspiration statements. The dream (or vision) step is about collaborating on the best of what can be. The outcomes from the discovery step are shared, and members of the change team co-create aspirational statements about the ideal future. Note: Some organizations dislike the idea of dreaming. In these organizations, I will substitute the word vision, which conveys a similar meaning and keeps people from getting hung up on the word. Appreciative Inquiry Step # 3: Design The design step is about establishing creative strategies to move from what is to what can be. Actionable organizational design elements are identified, critical internal ad external relationships are identified, and action-oriented design statements are created. Design statement example: Our customers expect and deserve timely service and expertise. Our organization has a state-of-the-art, world-recognized knowledge management and customer care system to support our capability to make on-the-spot, informed decisions necessary to meet all of our customers' individual needs. Appreciative Inquiry Step # 4: Destiny The Destiny Phase is the final stage in Appreciative Inquiry, where the organization takes action to implement the vision and goals created in the previous phases. It's a time of execution, celebration, and ongoing learning. In this phase, organizations review their goals and action steps to ensure they remain aligned with the vision and values. They then execute the strategies and initiatives developed in the Design phase with a focus on excellence and continuous improvement. The Destiny Phase emphasizes adaptability and flexibility. Organizations should be open to revising strategies and plans as circumstances change or new opportunities arise. This phase aims to establish an appreciative culture that supports the ongoing implementation of the vision. The Destiny Phase is not merely the end of the Appreciative Inquiry process; it is the beginning of a new era for the organization, characterized by a positive and appreciative culture that drives continuous improvement and innovation. How is Appreciative Inquiry different from other popular change management approaches? Traditional organizational transformation or problem-solving techniques often ask people to consider and discuss gaps, weaknesses, and problems in the current system or organization. While these approaches have been used successfully in many settings, they are not without risks. Problem-solving techniques can put people on the defensive, create resistance and a lack of buy-in, and sometimes hinder rather than encourage change. In contrast, AI focuses on the positive and builds on strengths to shape the future. Like other organizational transformation approaches, AI begins by framing the issue(s) and collecting data. However, unlike most other methods, AI provides a mechanism for framing problems and collecting data in an appreciative rather than a critical manner. While it is helpful to learn from mistakes, it is equally beneficial to learn from and carry forward victories and best practices. References: Cooperrider, D. & Whitney, D. (1999). Appreciative inquiry: Collaborating for change . Berrett-Kohler Publishing. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Rosenzweig, J. & Van Tiem, D. (2007) An appreciative view of human performance technology. Performance Improvement . Tasler, N. (2017). Stop using the excuse “organizational change is hard” . Harvard Business Review .

Have you ever sat in a meeting and wondered where the discussion was going or what was happening? Maybe the point being made seemed questionable, or the actions of others were divisive. It's frustrating and confusing when values are just words for marketing campaigns and corporate communications. A recent study found that only one in four employees strongly agree that they can apply their company's values daily. You've probably experienced this to some extent before, and maybe now you're in a leadership position. I'll tell you a secret: company values don't have to feel aspirational. Thriving cultures where employees can live out the organization's values are possible. They require an actionable understanding of company culture and the ability of leaders to transform values into daily actions. Here is what you need to know and do to set your company up with a thriving culture. Why a positive company culture makes a big difference Your company culture is the one thing that influences every aspect of your business. It directly impacts the overall success of your organization, employees, customers, and communities where you do business. An organization's underlying values influence employees' behaviors and decisions. Company culture is a shared pattern or system of beliefs, values, and behavioral norms. Stated simply, it's how things get done when no one is watching. Much has been written on the competitive advantage of a positive company culture. Research has directly linked the effects on financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee teamwork, team cohesion, employee motivation, employee retention, and employee engagement. Your company culture creates an internal and external brand identity that influences people's thoughts about your organization. A recent human capital trends study by Deloitte suggested that 95% of candidates believe culture is more important than compensation—also, companies with a positive culture experience 8x higher profitability than S&P 400 firms. No company is looking to stay the same year. As the world changes, people and businesses must change. Organizational culture is critical to innovation . Just as some organizational culture characteristics can support innovation, others can also inhibit innovation. An actionable measure of company culture Organizational culture is complex. But, defining the culture in measurable and actionable terms is essential for a thriving company culture. The concept of culture is often considered too abstract to address and is not well understood. A recent study found that only 12% of companies claim to have a program in place to define and improve culture. The organizational culture assessment instrument ( OCAI ) based on the Competing Values Framework is an actionable measure of company culture. The survey was adapted from work by Dr. Kim Cameron and Dr. Robert Quinn as part of their Competing Values Framework research at the University of Michigan. The study empirically concluded that a company's focus and flexibility moderate effectiveness. The Competing Values Framework identifies four fundamentally different cultures. Clan Culture creates a collaborative atmosphere like a family. This culture emphasizes the value of teamwork, participation, and a consensus decision-making style. Adhocracy Culture creates an energetic and entrepreneurial atmosphere. This culture stresses the importance of research and continuous improvement. Market Culture creates a competitive, fast-paced, results-oriented environment. This culture highlights coming in first. Hierarchy Culture is a top-down, formal, rule-based atmosphere. This culture emphasizes efficient, reliable, and cost-effective performance. Note: Adapted from Cameron and Quinn (2011). The framework enhances cultural understanding by simplifying the cultural description to only two fundamental dimensions: flexibility or stability and internal or external focus. The OCAI survey measures six aspects of the current and preferred organizational culture: Dominant characteristics describe the overall organization. Leadership style and how leadership competencies align to culture. Management of employees and the work situation. Organizational glue that holds everything together. Strategic emphases are the aspects of culture that guide strategy. Criteria for success determine the outcomes of an organization's culture. Instead of requiring companies to choose one ideal culture type, the survey and framework enable leaders to identify a preferred culture that uniquely aligns with current market trends and company strategic objectives. The survey highlights cultural congruence across teams. Evidence suggests that while cultural congruence is not a determinant of company success, incongruent organizations are much less effective. Congruence is the degree of alignment between current and preferred cultures along the six aspects of culture assessed. How to transform company values into company culture Individual change leads to organizational culture change. Different cultures have different needs for leadership competencies. Leaders should reflect on their leadership style before looking for ways to change the company. Consider how leadership habits align with your company values and the preferred culture. If you are looking for actionable and individualized feedback to enhance self-awareness of cultural strengths and opportunities, you will love using a 360-degree assessment customized to your needs. "Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out." Robert Collier After leadership has increased self-awareness, apply the following six culture levers to change how employees behave and perceive the company culture. Cutlure Lever # 1: What leaders pay attention to regularly. One of the most potent tools for leaders to shape culture is what they pay attention to regularly. What leaders choose to measure, reward, and control matters, and the opposite is also true. For example, suppose an organization wants to build an analytical orientation within the culture. In that case, a great starting point is to ask leaders what data they use to make decisions. By asking the question, you reinforce the importance of data-driven decision-making. Culture Lever # 2: How leaders react to critical incidents. Much can be revealed when a business or a leader faces a significant challenge. Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the face." These crucible moments in business are like a refining fire. It is the heightened emotional intensity that increases individual and organizational learning. For example, the recent global pandemic revealed much more about an organization's values than any about page on a website or company orientation ever would. Sodexo is one positive example of an organization that has demonstrated its commitment to employees even during a pandemic . Culture Lever # 3: How leaders allocate resources and control costs. Budgets reveal a lot about the organization's assumptions and beliefs. Resources include physical assets such as equipment, tools, and human resources. What gets resourced gets reinforced. Going back to the example of creating an analytical orientation, leaders should consider what tools and resources employees have available for data analytics. Culture Lever # 4: Deliberate role modeling and training. How leaders act and behave outside of training is more significant than what is said or demonstrated within leadership development events . Leaders looking to build an analytical cultural orientation would benefit by explaining to and showing the organization how they use data to make decisions on a routine basis. Culture Lever # 5: How leaders allocate rewards. Rewards and recognition come in many different forms. Also, what is considered a reward varies from person to person. What gets rewarded, how it gets rewarded, and what does not reinforce organizational culture. There are tangible rewards and social rewards. Simply saying thank you for presenting a decision using data analytics is a social reward. Culture Lever # 6: How leaders recruit, promote, and excommunicate. Who gets hired, promoted, and fired , and for what creates and reinforces organizational culture. Talent management decisions can be viewed as a more subtle nuance to culture change because decisions are influenced by explicitly stated criteria and unstated value priorities. A leader looking to influence an analytical cultural orientation would benefit from assessing the skill sets needed within the organization and then hiring based on those skills. Architecting a thriving company culture is time-consuming, but there is too much riding on it not to do something about it. As you get started, remember that organizations are likely to deny the need for change and become defensive at the suggestion of change. Organizational change creates anxiety for valid reasons. To overcome the barriers to change, the change leader needs to create a desire to survive and reduce learning anxiety by creating psychological safety . Leaders build psychological safety by demonstrating humility, selfless love, performance-based accountability, and vulnerability and consistently helping followers comprehend and accept the challenge. A plan on the front end will ensure desired results during execution. Sell the change within the company with a few concrete short stories, representing the best of the new culture and the necessity for change. Ensure a quick win is visible across the company. Be the change and turn your company values into action: Act! What is the real challenge ahead of you for a thriving company culture? References Bersin, J. (2015). Culture: Why it's the hottest topic in business today. Forbes. Bremer, M. (2019). How culture boosts performance. OCAI online. Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing Cameron, K., Quinn, R., Degraff, J., & Thakor, A. (2006). Competing values leadership: Creating value in organizations. Clark. (2020). The 4 stages of psychological safety : defining the path to inclusion and innovation (First edition.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Dvorak, N., & Nelson, B. (2016). Few employees believe in their company's values. Gallup Business Journal. Flamholtz, E. (2001). Corporate culture and the bottom line. European Management Journal. Vol. 19 (3). 268-275. Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. (2016). Organizational culture and leadership, 5th edition (5th ed.)

We all have experienced a lack of motivation at work. It's not that something is too difficult, but we procrastinate. How do some employees seem to develop the motivation to change while others struggle to start or persevere? Intentions without actions are only aspirations. You can't be successful in life or work without motivation, yet finding it is a struggle in some situations. So, can you motivate yourself to do something you don't want to get a result you really do want? A significant amount of behavioral psychology evidence suggests that the Premack Principle provides the key to unlocking motivation. Psychology is the same whether starting a more challenging workout, an advanced leadership certificate, or an undesired task at home or work. Here are four steps you can take to develop more motivation when you find yourself or those you lead procrastinating. Why work motivation matters Developing motivation is crucial because it allows us to change, grow, innovate, achieve big goals, make plans, and enhance our engagement. As a leader, motivation is a catalyst for business growth and organizational effectiveness. "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." William James Procrastination comes at a cost, and in this short video by Tim Urban, he explains the mind of a master procrastinator. Work motivation is the force within (intrinsic) and beyond (extrinsic) an employee to initiate work-related behaviors. The degree of an employee's motivation influences the intensity and duration of work behaviors. Evidence from numerous studies suggests that increased work motivation leads to the following: Improved performance Increased productivity Enhanced innovation and creativity Decreased absenteeism Decreased employee turnover Understanding motivation One of the earliest and most discussed models of motivation is Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Maslow suggested that physiological needs motivate employees. The requirements for food and water are at the most basic level, and self-actualization is at the highest level. Another early model from Herzberg suggested that work motivation is mainly influenced by challenge and reward reinforcement. Motivators increase job satisfaction, such as performance achievement, recognition, job status, and development. Hygiene Factors decrease job dissatisfaction, such as salary, working conditions, physical workspace, and supervisor quality. More recent studies have led to the categorization of work motivation into four categories: Positive-Negative. Positive motives include things perceived as pleasurable. Negative motives are those things perceived as punishment or fear. Intrinsic-Extrinsic. Intrinsic is doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable, and extrinsic refers to doing something because it leads to a reward. Cognitive-Affective. Cognitive includes doing something for knowledge and mental or intellectual development, whereas affective is doing something for feelings or emotions. Economic-Moral. Economic motives are to achieve a goal associated with a fundamental need or support a desired standard of living. Moral motivation is to do something right or avoid doing something wrong. Evidence suggests that intrinsic motivation is more effective in the long term than extrinsic motivation. The Premack Principle is based on intrinsic motivation. What is the Premack Principle? The Premack Principle states that you will perform a less preferred (low probability) behavior to gain access to a more preferred (high probability) behavior. This might sound vaguely familiar if you are like me. I remember hearing my parents say that if you eat your vegetables, then you can have dessert. This principle explains how you can arrange contingencies to motivate yourself and others. However, the most significant leadership challenge often comes from accurately identifying the high-probability behavior. For example, you may enjoy reading versus watching a movie in your free time. But if you just finished reading a lengthy book, you may choose to go for a walk. Intrinsic motivation can change depending on the situation, how we feel, or what we have been doing. Here is a short video from leadership and behavior management expert Dr. Daniels on productivity and the Premack Principle. 4 Steps to develop more motivation at work Here are four steps to help you accurately implement the Premack Principle for yourself or others to develop more motivation in the workplace. Motivation Step 1: Make a list of what needs to get done. Start by creating a list of what needs to get done . Take about five minutes and write down everything you need to accomplish that is on your mind. When working with others, have them complete this task rather than attempting to guess. If implementing this principle with a new employee, it may help to have them use their job description. Motivation Step 2: Pinpoint the low-probability and high-probability behaviors. The more precisely you pinpoint a behavior leads to a more accurate and reliable behavior ranking. Rank the list from what you most like doing to what you least like doing. Get curious about what is motivating. When working with those you lead, you may find it helpful to create a structured reinforcement survey to learn about how employees spend their free time outside work. Although motivators are not always good reinforcers, they help enhance understanding. Motivation Step 3: Effectively communicate the contingency. Effective communication moderates implementation effectiveness and typically involves more than sending an email. The contingency refers to what follows a low-probability behavior to increase the probability of that behavior. Don't expect this to be obvious, and check for understanding. Motivation Step 4: Start at the bottom. Start with the item at the bottom of the list (low probability behavior) from step 2. When working up the list, each task becomes more desirable. Working down the list of tasks becomes more punishing. Studies have shown you will get two to three times more done by starting at the bottom of your list. One caveat is that if the bottom of your inventory is full of extreme drudgery, you will benefit by making the desired behavior the immediate following action for every third or fourth drudgery task. Motivation matters, especially for achieving big goals in life and work. As a leader, when you leverage the Premack Principle using the steps listed above, developing more motivation in others becomes easier. But let's be honest; we don't always get these steps right in the real world. It is essential to maintain a mindset of experimentation rather than simply success or failure. What is your real challenge with implementing the Premack Principle at work? References Daniels, A. C. (2000). Bringing out the best in people: How to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement (New & updated.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Dalphonse, A. (2022). Premack principle: A guide to using the first/then rule. Master ABA. Fishbach, A. (2018). How to keep working when you're not feeling it. Harvard Business Review. Klatt, K. & Morris, E. (2001). The Premack principle, response deprivation, and establishing operations. The Behavior Analyst, 24(2), 173-180. Reed, C. (2022). The truth about motivating employees to be more productive. National Business Research Institute. Vo, T., Tuliao, K., & Chen, C. (2022). Work Motivation: The Roles of Individual Needs and Social Conditions. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 12(2), 49.

When it comes to what a comfortable indoor temperature is, I am frequently in a different hemisphere than my family. On visits, debates are almost guaranteed. The surprising thing is that although spirited and sometimes a little animated, they are actually civil. And we enjoy our time together even if it means sometimes, some of us are covered in blankets. Differences are increasingly common. Distrust breeds polarization. Evidence suggests that, on average, leaders  spend more than four hours a week dealing with conflict. But healthy, productive disagreement is rare. So, how can we learn to work with people with values or opinions different from ours? Here are four evidence-based strategies for staying civil on topics more sensitive and vital to your organization's success than the temperature. The cost of unproductive conflict The distinction between productive and unproductive conflict lies in the importance of the issue and the amount of energy you put into it. Productive conflict is the open exchange of conflicting or differing ideas. Both parties feel equally heard, respected, and unafraid to voice dissenting opinions to reach a mutually comfortable resolution. Even though conflict may be uncomfortable, it is productive to have ideas challenged so we can learn and grow. Non-productive conflict is an exchange of conflicting or differing ideas. People do not feel equally heard or respected and are afraid to voice dissenting opinions. It arises when the real issues are not discussed and attention is placed on trivial matters, resulting in the conflict escalating. According to a survey of 5,000 full-time employees in nine countries, 85% of employees deal with conflict regularly at work. The estimated impact of non-productive strife in America is well over $1.5 billion annually, not to mention the emotional and psychological costs on the workforce. Beyond employee productivity and well-being, a study of 2195 employees found that one in ten cases of conflict results in employee turnover. Of course, it is natural to want to minimize workplace conflict. 4 Strategies for staying civil Silence is expensive, and there is value in opposing opinions. Some of your best advice will likely come from those who see things differently. Don’t miss out on that because you must be correct or desire to avoid conflict. Here are four strategies for staying civil. Strategy #1: Listen and Suspend Judgement Becoming curious and listening without judgment allows you to discover mutual benefits. Listening leaves the other person feeling valued, affirmed, and emotionally connected to you. Being heard creates safety in the relationship and is foundational to trust. Listening eases tensions and makes productive conflict work where resentment exists. Although being listened to is not commonly experienced in the workforce, listening is a leadership habit that can be developed with practice. One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Bryant McGill Leaders are under pressure, and listening without judgment is not likely to happen in a rushed environment. The key is not to try and force a conversation into an arbitrarily scheduled time frame or the five minutes on your way to your next meeting. Allow the option to reschedule additional time as appropriate. It is easy to not be aware that you are sending unintended signals. Put your technology on mute. Get curious about what they are saying and their emotions. This is not the time to multitask. Be natural and use verbal and nonverbal cues, such as nodding your head or saying yes, to let them know you are engaged. Before sharing your thoughts and ideas, paraphrase critical points, like when playing catch with a ball. When the conversation is tossed to you, that is the time to put what you heard into your own words and use that to make sure you hear the key points correctly before taking the conversation in a different direction. Just toss the ball back. Strategy #2: Be Authentic and Vulnerable Being open and candid demonstrates caring and respect, creating safety within the relationship for uncomfortable conversations. Regardless of leadership level or amount of experience, all leaders struggle with the tension of being vulnerable or not. Others want to know you care in difficult conversations. However, concerns about managing perceptions often derail leaders from  showing vulnerability in the workplace . Guarding in difficult conversations promotes distrust. “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care” Theodore Roosevelt Although leaders are expected to convey an image of competence, confidence, and power, followers already know you are not perfect. Being vulnerable as a leader under challenging conversations requires courage. Vulnerability involves the willingness to take risks that might end in failure or create the best of what might be in the organization. The following short video from Simon Sinek expands on the tension leaders face and how to show vulnerability in the workplace as a leader. Keep the conversation genuine, especially if it involves your mistakes. This does not mean sharing personal secrets. Being authentic pertains to both the logical rationale aspects of the conversation and your feelings about the other person and the conversation. This does not mean sharing deep personal secrets. It means metaphorically inviting the other person inside your house rather than making them stand outside talking from behind your screen door of image management. Strategy #3: Promote Trust-Based Relationships Trust unlocks the full potential of any relationship and business. When conflicts occur, it is essential to demonstrate a concern for integrating others' interests. Trust is built when everyone involved leaves a disagreement without negative feelings. Establishing trustworthiness in relationships requires demonstrating a high degree of credibility, reliability, intimacy, and humility. Credibility is the most frequently achieved attribute of trustworthiness. It has rational and emotional aspects related to an individual's expertise and personal presence. Reliability is based on the frequency of interactions with someone and the consistency of expected behavior. Intimacy requires a personal willingness to have a courageous conversation. This is one of the key differentiating attributes of trustworthiness. Humility relates to the amount of focus placed on oneself versus the emphasis placed on the other person. A high degree of self-orientation creates significant distrust from others. The following acrostic, created provides a helpful way to remember how to build and restore trust: T – Transparency R – Relationship U – Understanding S – Shared Success T – Testing Assumptions Strategy #4: Have a Plan Creating productive conflict requires psychological safety in the relationship and a healthy workplace culture dedicated to the workforce. Have a plan for how you will approach conflict in your workplace. Your plan should include answers to what, when, where, how, and why specific to the situation and those involved. Encourage everyone to take ownership in resolving non-productive workplace conflicts . Create a culture of accountability for productive conflict that starts with your leadership. As Gandhi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." Provide training for your leaders and employees on how to deal with workplace conflict. Training on creating productive conflict and communication should go beyond initial onboarding training for new employees. The next time you start feeling the temperature of the conversation rising, remember a voiding conflict takes time and energy. Avoiding conflict will only make matters worse for you, those involved, and the impact on your company. Commit and act on these four strategies. I might be wrong, but I think you will like the results. References: Behfar, K. J., Peterson, R. S., Mannix, E. A., & Trochim, W. M. K. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: A close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93 (1), 170-188. Cabrera, A., & Unruh, G. (2012). Being global: How to think, act, and lead in a transformed world. H arvard Business Review Press. Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. (2015). Getting under the skin of workplace conflict: Tracing the experiences of employees. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits:10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity. Free Press. Glaser, J. (2014). Conversational Intelligence: How great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results . New York: Bibliomotion, Inc. Hayes, J. (2008). Workplace conflict and how businesses can harness it to thrive. CPP Global Human Capital Report. ICF. (2020). 2020 ICF global coaching study: Executive summary. International Coaching Federation. Maister, D. H., Green, C. H., & Galford, R. M. (2000). The trusted advisor . New York: Free Press. SHRM. (2021). Managing workplace conflict. Toolkits. The Myers-Briggs Company. (2022). Conflict at work: A research report.

It is easy for a leader to kill motivation and respect within a team. A lack of attention or emotional connection and you are perceived as being aloof. Too much attention in the day-to-day, and the team feels a loss of autonomy and control. Research suggests that mismatched management reduces morale, trust, and productivity and increases employee turnover. Partnering for performance is one way to develop self-reliant achievers and avoid micro-managing your team. It is a high ROI investment into your success and business growth. Here are three keys to effectively partnering for performance. What is mismatched management? Mismatched management occurs when leaders micro-manage and take away decision-making from capable and committed followers or macro-manage and fail to provide enough direction. Micro-management is a hard habit to break. It is described as an overly hands-on approach when leaders don't delegate, overcommunicate, or manage with excessive control and attention to detail. This leadership style often stems from believing that the leader knows best and the stakes are high. Leaders who trust their follower's competence and commitment are less likely to micromanage. Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that intrinsic work motivation stems from the psychological needs of employees to possess autonomy, mastery, and purpose. When leaders micro-manage, it demotivates followers by increasing feelings of loss of control. Here is a humorous example of micro-management from the movie Office Space. Macro-management is a hands-off approach when leaders don't get involved and provide too little coaching and support for their team. This style of leadership is described as laissez-faire. Which loosely translated from French, means "let it be." Macro-management often stems from misreading the needs of followers and placing trust in followers based on assumptions rather than mutual understanding. When leaders abandon followers, team members experience feelings of confusion and frustration. What is partnering for performance? In today's complex and ambiguous workplace, leaders must excel in managing and leading to achieve success and significance. Excelling in management does not happen without intentional focus and striving for something greater. "Your role as a leader is even more important than you might imagine. You have the power to help people become winners." — Ken Blanchard⁠ A saying made famous by American football coach Vince Lombardi is that excellence is achieved in the pursuit of perfection. To excel at management requires a clear vision of the ideal and hard work toward performing at the highest level possible. Partnering is about agreeing on what you and your team need from each other as you work together toward shared goals. It focuses on doing things right and managing routine complexity in day-to-day activities. A leader's ability to engage and retain their team is essential for excelling in management. When leaders appropriately partner for performance, it leads to an improved discretionary effort, trust, and intent to stay outcomes. Key #1: High-Quality Relationships Partnering with followers begins with developing high-quality relationships. These relationships unlock the potential to understand better the stated and unstated needs of followers and the given situation. Leaders with high-quality relationships are more likely to match their management approach with the follower's needs and give their people the space they need to succeed and learn. A common theme in the research on building or restoring trust in a relationship is to be transparent in your discussions. Ironically, the most robust trust occurs when we can disagree and leave the conversation without negative feelings. The goal is to create safety by being open and candid to demonstrate caring and respect. This intimacy requires being personal and the willingness to have an uncomfortable conversation. Next, focus on building the relationship. As a leader, this requires you to step back and discuss what works for others and you. Creating a shared idea of success is the goal. The "your way or the highway" leadership style does not work to build or restore trust in relationships. It is essential to understand both the context and perspectives of others and emphasize the other person. Lastly, do not judge too quickly. Learn to test assumptions about a follower's commitment and capability and try to see the world from their point of view. Key #2: Diagnosis Figuring out the follower's task competence level and commitment requires communication and trust-based relationships. Without a complete picture of the needs of followers, it is difficult to get the correct level of attention, leading to followers' feelings of micro- or macro-management. High-quality trust-based relationships create the opportunity for feedback to understand if a leader's understanding is accurate and, as needed, how to align their leadership style. There are four attributes to diagnose competence and commitment. What is the specific goal or task in question? How strong are the follower's demonstrated or transferable task knowledge and skills? How motivated is the follower toward the task? How confident is the follower about the task? Key #3: Agility Once leaders appropriately understand the follower's needs, they must be agile with their approach to the proper level of support, motivation, and direction needed. Followers with less task maturity need guidance; followers with more significant experience and commitment need more supporting behaviors. A common fallacy is that followers need the level of direction and support the leader required when they were doing the task or that a one-size fits all approach works. The best practice is to apply the Platinum Rule. Do for others as they would want to have done for them. Partnering for performance is one way to get the performance you need. What is your real partnering for performance challenge? References: Blanchard, K. (2007). Heart of a Leader: Insights on the Art of Influence. David C. Cook Publishing Company. Glaser, J. (2014). Conversational Intelligence: How great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results. New York: Bibliomotion, Inc. Leavy, B. (2020). The dynamics of empowering leader/follower relationships. Strategy & Leadership, 48(6), 27-33. Zigarmi, D., & Roberts, T. P. (2017). A test of three basic assumptions of situational leadership® II model and their implications for HRD practitioners. European Journal of Training and Development, 41(3), 241-260.

What makes certain leaders excel in the workplace while others struggle? Have you ever wondered if you were capable of getting more out of life and work? In the Netflix series Medal of Honor, inspiring stories of impossible bravery are recreated from sworn accounts and battlefield forensics. You quickly learn combat is not something great, and recipients of the nation's highest recognition don't set it as a goal. But these heroic lessons from the worst day of life reveal an unexpected leadership lesson. It's a leadership mindset and skillset for how to become a better leader than you thought possible. Selfless love changes everyone and everything The contemporary workplace needs a different kind of leader. Rates of stress, anxiety, sadness, and anger are trending up. In a recent survey, Gallup found that 57% of US employees feel stressed daily. In speaking with frontline to c-suite leaders across various industries, one common theme is that the new normal is crisis-driven. In the series trailer, Medal of Honor recipient Army Capt. Florent Groberg says , "One thing you will learn a lot about in combat is love." The stories in the series remind us of what has been done for our country and what is possible when leaders embrace selfless love . Selflessness means being more concerned with the needs and desires of others than with your needs. And one of the best definitions I have come across for love in the workplace context comes from St. Thomas Aquinas. "To love is to will the good of the other." St. Thomas Aquinas Selfless love is a radically different paradigm from a transactional worldview of the workplace. Without selfless love in the workplace, the best of what might be is impossible Selfless love creates remarkable courage that overcomes the fear of failure. Selfless love unlocks the leader's and their team's potential to deliver amazing results. Overcoming the fear of failure No organization is looking to stay the same year over year. Fostering innovation within an organization is an increasingly important leadership behavior for every business. Innovation and failure are interconnected, where one produces the other. Failure is not always bad, but an unhealthy fear of failure puts results at risk. Fear minimizes experimentation and risk-taking, which impact innovation and change. The greater the fear of failure, the more likely an individual or organization will avoid taking necessary risks. "On his very worst day, he managed to summon his very best. That's the nature of courage — not being unafraid but confronting fear and danger and performing in a selfless fashion. He showed his guts, he showed his training; how he would put it all on the line for his teammates." President Obama speaking of Medal of Honor recipient Captain Groberg Selfless love creates remarkable courage that overcomes fear. When leaders practice selfless love, it creates safety where followers are more willing to take risks and be open to failures. Selfless love does not imply that leaders ignore the fear of failure. Instead, they recognize the negative influence of fear and use it as an advantage. Delivering Results and Maximizing Performance Potential Too often, employees are treated like light bulbs, considered disposable. When they aren't working well, leaders look to replace them. Disposable employees aren't committed to the business, and a failure to maximize employee performance is a costly mistake. Selfless love unlocks potential in the leader and their team, delivering amazing results and business growth. Selfless love makes a better workplace and improves outcomes. It increases leader and follower commitment, increasing intrinsic motivation that amplifies workforce alignment and business strategy benefits. Evidence suggests that increased employee intrinsic motivation causes people to achieve better business results. In addition to increased productivity of expected behavior, selfless love impacts an employee's discretionary effort , also known as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Discretionary effort is considered the penultimate type of performance in organizations. OCB is when employees contribute to an organization beyond their formal job requirements. There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. "— General James Doolittle, Medal of Honor Recipient An emerging leadership style for the new normal Evidence suggests that only 43% of employees indicate a positive team climate at work, only 30% see a reason to say something when they see something is wrong, and only 30% believe their opinion counts. This distrust breeds polarization in society and the workplace. There are many red flags that the workplace is in trouble. Gallups Global Workplace report found evidence suggesting that 2 in 10 employees consider their mental health fair or poor, 3 in 10 are engaged at work, and 5 in 10 are only doing the minimum required at work. Effective leadership makes a difference in the results you achieve and the life you live. The costs of poor leadership often show up in the workplace disguised as low employee engagement, a lack of team cohesion and collaboration, high employee turnover, and failed execution. Leaders must continually transform and adapt or fall behind. Striving for better habits is a competitive advantage available to any leader looking for a powerful point of differentiation. Servant Leadership is a distinctly different emerging leadership style described by the attribute of selfless love. A servant leader serves others first. The benefits of servant leadership extend beyond reducing costs and improving performance to include employee retention, intrinsic motivation, and discretionary effort. The following short video from leadership expert Ken Blanchard provides some thoughts on the power of servant leadership in today's workplace. Robert Greenleaf is attributed by most as the founder of servant leadership, described a servant leader as a servant first and used the following test to answer the question, what's servant leadership? The best test, and difficult to administer, is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, will they not be further deprived. ~Greenleaf & Spears Are you a Servant Leader? Take this free quiz to learn if your leadership style aligns with servant leadership. If you’re like most leaders, you’re running from meeting to meeting and working at a breakneck pace to manage your business and help those around you be successful. You’ve probably neglected to invest in your development more than once and wish you had a meaningful development plan to help you and your business grow and lead at a higher level. I invite you to check out our Servant Leadership Development Program . I challenge you to apply selfless love as a leader in the workplace and see your business results improve. W hat about your leadership style needs to change to get more out of life and work? Key Summary Points Selfless love changes everyone and everything Selfless love creates courage and overcomes the fear of failure Selfless love unlocks potential in the leader and the organization Selfless love delivers amazing business results The world needs a different kind of leader. Selfless love is rare. References Becchetti, L., Castriota, S., & Tortia, E. C. (2013). Productivity, wages, and intrinsic motivations. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose . Organizational Talent Consulting. Gallup Workplace. (2021). State of the global workforce. Gallup. Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Mulinge, P. (2018). ALTRUISM AND ALTRUISTIC LOVE: Intrinsic motivation for servant-leadership. The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 12(1), 337-370. Patterson, K. (2003, October 16). Servant leadership: A theoretical model [PDF]. Shu, C. (2015). The impact of intrinsic motivation on the effectiveness of leadership style towards work engagement.