Category Archives: culture

Five Tactics to Jumpstart Innovative Ideas

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Last month, I was struck by a comment I heard from a senior leader, who noted that in many cases, your effectiveness is tied to the way you ask questions.  She also said that in many cases, you have to practice “muzzle spasm”, that is, ask your question, then be quiet and listen for the answers, rather than answering your own question or issuing your opinion before getting the ideas from your team. Later, I found this article online at Chief Executive magazine.    The authors (Gregersen, Dyer, & Christensen) assert that the way you ask questions of your team can have a big influence on your team’s performance and innovative solutions.   Here are five tactics for disruptive innovative ideas they suggest can help your team’s performance:

  1. Ask “what is” questions: What are we trying to achieve? Where is the real problem? What’s most important?, and What is the real pain point here?
  2. Ask “what caused” questions: This question helps you gain insight into the way things are.  “What caused you to develop this scenario?”, What was the underlying assumptions you used to develop this course of action?,
  3. Ask “Why?” and “Why Not? “ questions:  These types of questions help you discover “what might be”.  “Why don’t they do it this other way? Why aren’t XXX taking advantage of YYY?
  4. Ask  “What if” questions
  5. Track your question to statement ration (Q/A ratio). The authors found that innovative leaders ask far more questions than issue statements.

What kinds of questions do you ask to jumpstart innovative ideas or to promote critical thinking and problem solving?

 

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 3 of 3)

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My previous two posts have focused on trust as a leader.  I’ve focused on one of NC State’s Poole College of Management professors, Dr. Roger Mayer. Dr. Mayer’s research on trust focuses on three elements: ability, benevolence, and integrity. I have linked the previous posts on ability and benevolence.

The final leg of trust from Dr. Mayer’s research is integrity.  Integrity focuses upon dependability and consistency with values and principles that others find important.   Dependability and consistency is basically doing what you say you are going to do over a prolonged period of time.  Yet if you act dependably in ways that your team does not value, you lose integrity. For example, you lack dependability and consistency if you are flitting from one initiative to another to a third based on the latest book, article, or management fad you’ve read about.  At the same time, if you act consistently in a way that is contrary to what your team values, then you have little to no integrity in their eyes. This is a critical part of culture.

In future posts, we’ll share some specific examples from GEN Shelton and senior leaders from a variety of backgrounds (public service, private and corporate practice, collegiate, and youth).  I’m interested in your examples as well.

What was a situation where you saw a leader demonstrate one or more of the three legs of trust (ability, benevolence, and integrity)?

 

 

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 1 of 3)

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As a leader in today’s widely dispersed work around the globe and around the clock, you must align people, processes, and projects to help achieve your organization’s goals and objectives.  Yet, simply announcing the financial and operational targets is insufficient.  Do you find yourself asking a question like:

  • How can I gain greater commitment from my team members?

Earning your team’s trust is one critical factor to aligning your team and driving for results. One of my colleagues, Dr. Roger Mayer, at North Carolina State University‘s Poole College of Management, has focused his research on growing trust within organizations.  He’s found three key trust factors (ability, benevolence, and integrity) that can increase your organizational velocity and improve bottom-line results.  I’ll outline these three factors in this and the following two posts.

Factor 1: Ability: Ability focuses on one’s critical job-related skills.  As you start your career, these are your technical skills (degrees, patents, articles, or industry certifications). Yet, if you focus solely upon growing and maintaining your technical skills as you lead others, you will derail.

You’ve seen technically brilliant individuals derail when they have to lead others on a team to achieve an objective. One of the reasons they don’t engender trust is that they view each interchange or discussion as a contest to show others that their idea is technically superior to anybody else’s. By focusing on “winning” each interchange, the leader gets the well-deserved reputation as one who cannot be trusted. You must shift from purely technical to a blend of technical and interpersonal abilities.

The higher you go in the organization, you must develop other skills as well. This is difficult for many of us. We were promoted because of our technical skills. One fundamental lesson to remember is that we need to shift more from the answer provider to the questioner.  You have a perspective and a point of view. You may want to consider a previous post on the kinds of questions you might want to ask.

How Leaders Use Culture in their Organizations to Reinforce Areas of Emphasis

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Last week, I was talking to a local senior executive who was discussing the importance of culture in his organization. He mentioned how important it was for leaders at all levels to understand the key elements of culture when one rolls out a new initiative, reinforcing certain behaviors to accelerate momentum, and to grow one’s team.

He noted, “Nobody is going to change anything simply because you think it is a good idea.  You have to set up and find ways to embed elements of your current culture into your daily work and into the work of your team.  Find ways that your current culture supports what you are looking to do and build on your current strengths.”

How do you do that? One of the leading researchers on culture, Ed Schein, outlines some primary elements and mechanisms that leaders use culture to embed and reinforce areas of emphasis:

  • What leaders pay attention to, measure, and control regularly
  • How leaders react to critical incidents and organizational crises
  • How leaders allocate scarce resources
  • Deliberate role modeling, teaching, and coaching
  • How leaders allocate rewards and status
  • How leaders recruit, select, promote, retire, and excommunicate organizational members

Secondary reinforcement mechanisms include:

  • Organizational design, structure, systems, procedures, rites, rituals.
  • Stories, legends and myths about people and events
  • Physical space, buildings, and facades
  • Formal statements of organizational philosophy, values, and creeds
    (Source: The Corporate Culture Survival Guide, p. 98, Schein, 2009)

How have you seen leaders in organizations use culture to embed culture to reinforce areas of emphasis?

How Great Leaders Inspire Action: Simon Sinek on TED

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I saw this  18 minute TED talk by Simon Sinek on  how great leaders inspire action.  When I listen (and listen again), I am inspired on how this three circle concept that he articulates helps shape and guide decisions on a daily basis.

When you are either leading or a key contributor to any improvement effort, you want to maintain your core values in your daily decisions.  What I see as important is that the three circles help you  frame and guide decisions you make on a daily basis.  Whether you are working in a non-profit or commercial organization, this model can help serve as a filter for the decisions you make, especially when you are trying to improve in certain areas of your work or personal life.

Which key point from Mr. Sinek’s talk do you find most powerful?

How have you seen this work (or not work) in your work?