Talking Talent: A Promise Kept

Talking Talent: A Promise Kept

By writing this post, I am fulfilling a promise to myself this Sunday afternoon. Instead of doing ‘real stuff’ (like alphabetically arranging my recipes in food rainbow order - yikes, I need a life) that promise being that once I wrapped up my dissertation I would start ‘regular’ writing again.  It's going to be interesting to see how unique my thoughts and views are, since my gray matter has, admittedly, been batted around these past five years by tons of research. Having highlighted text in hundreds of studies, dissertations, articles and books, I swear I can still see all the pretty colors I used to highlight text even with my eyes closed - neon yellow  means 'pay attention'; neon green means 'use this quote somewhere'; neon pink is for 'Huh? What is this guy talking about?'

So my promise to do more 'regular' writing begins by reviving my blog, 'Talking Talent' which started in 2010 when tablets were made of stone and the stylus was a chisel - or at least it feels that long ago. 'Talking Talent' emanated from my mantra, "Without the people, it's an empty building.' But even with people in the building, there are forces and dynamics that keep us from doing something about the challenges face leading our talent or being led. Here is an excerpt of my dissertation that speaks to this.  

Caution: The following is not ‘regular’ writing. You have been warned!  

“The business world of the twenty-first century presents physiological, experiential, motivational, and cognitive aspects to modern work life that are rife with opportunities for conflict to emerge (Izard, 1991; Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, & Sitarenios, 2001).  Each of these aspects has the potential to exert significant influence on the quality of work and of life itself (Ashkanasy, 2004).  There are also some twenty-first century business realities never before experienced with the intensity and immediacy they present now.  These realities include constant and rapid change in work processes, greater employee diversity, flatter organizations requiring workers to “do more with less,” increased complexity from matrixed organizational structures with multiple and conflicting priorities, and an ongoing pressure to be cost conscious (Burke, 2006).  Such realities mandate that workers strategically administer and deploy the available resources (italics mine) in ways that quantifiably contribute to the organization’s overall performance by delivering better customer service (Ashkanasy, Hartel, & Daus, 2002) and increasing sales (Cherniss, 2009) even while in a highly competitive business environment.’ ©Patricia Baxter

Of course, those ‘available resources’ referred to is the talent that walked into your place of business today. They will walk right back out at the end of the day, with no guarantee that, with all due respect to former Governor Schwarzenegger, they’ll be back. So, how might we assure that our ‘available’ talent comes back to benefit our enterprises and customers?

In a workplace that is often imbalanced and in hyperdrive, nothing beneficial happens without talented people who not only do what they are paid to do but can add the extra effort that can jolt the bottom-line.  Talent management circles these days are paying greater attention to what drives the decision to apply discretionary effort - to go the proverbial ‘extra mile’. Over the years, I’ve reported to many (many) individuals and each one possessed unique gifts, points of view and styles. My two best managers understood that every night, their talent walked out  and, while it was likely they'd return, there was no guarantee they would return whole.

Even if they returned in body, the spirit may have been left elsewhere. Disengaged from the enterprise and, most especially from the manager who represents the business, workers return and do whatever they must to get through the day. You know them, you see them. You may have been in that robotic state yourself. The reason my two best managers were that - best, at least to me - was because they  understood their success lay in helping their talent come to work and come to life. They proactively and continually connected the dots between what we did in our individual jobs to the business, reminding us how our work served customers and helped the business prosper and grow. My colleagues and I really knew what it felt to be greater than the sum of its parts - to be whole and wholly committed.  (Thank you for that gift, Eleanor and Ron.)

‘Talking Talent’ is dedicated to underscoring the understanding that it is within every people manager to inspire, and get people to willingly come back in mind, body and spirit to achieve great things. Those people managers who truly ‘get it’ know what drives, engages and sometimes literally move people to action.

In the coming blogs, we’ll look at what some of those drivers might be. One powerful driver that I believe people managers don't apply enough is the conscious display of empathy. Have you ever considered how your ability to show empathy, a sincere expression of understanding and concern, can influence someone’s willingness to deliver results that matter? You want to engage and motivate people? Then it's time to 'Show and Tell' them you care. Yes, it's about emotions but don't be scared. Catch my next blog about how true empathy can drive people to do and be more.

 

Beep! Beep! The Art of Getting out of the Way

“Lead, follow or get out of the way.” It’s a terse, tense and true phrase. By the time we, as leaders, get to the level of self-awareness and discipline that this phrase requires, we may have already deflated the wheels of learning instead of keeping those wheels turning.

What wisdom I have comes from 20/20 hindsight, stray fortune cookie slips at the bottom of my purse, and from those leaders who taught by getting out of the way. In one instance, having explained that while the proposal presented to an internal client had been passed on, I wanted the go-ahead and the latitude to reapproach the client with the same idea but in a completely different context from the one originally used. He could have said, “That’s nice but let me show you how it’s really done.” Instead, even though my “Plan B” had not worked, my leader had the courage to ask me what I learned from the experience and what I would do differently next time rather than pointing out what he would have done instead.

In a “Fast Company” article published earlier this year, Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, stated, “When it comes to leadership and working with people, you need to know when to get out of the way.” It takes courage to give someone an opportunity to succeed by failing, even though you might have seen it coming and it took all you had to keep from manipulating the outcome. That is part of the art of getting out of the way.

Getting out of the way gracefully is both a challenge and learning opportunity for leaders. Many factors, such as a leader’s experiences or an organization’s cultural norms, can influence what defines “grace” in such situations. To purposefully and intentionally insert oneself in a project, process, or situation is an irresistible temptation to show what you can do. It can also be a way for leaders to show consideration and thoughtfulness for others. “Grace” doesn’t mean displaying a halo over one’s head and hearing heavenly music. Rather, it means displaying pragmatic leadership by being present and patient with the situation; using keen, well honed observation and communication skills that help identify what is going on and why; applying good judgment and tact, even when the leader knows she/he could have done it better with eyes closed. Getting out of the way gracefully allows leaders to demonstrate behaviors that enable a process of professional growth and self-discovery that benefits the talent in your firm.

If you take the responsibility of developing your talent seriously, consider that getting out of the way:
• Goes beyond making the conscious decision not to be a micromanager, though that is a good start!
• Does not mean you keep your mouth shut. Instead, think of the famous three monkeys, “Hear no evil; see no evil; speak no evil.” Set out to enable instead of disabling through finding fault or disparaging new approaches.
• Means asking more and telling less. Use the 5Ws – who what, when, where, and why.
• Should not mean that a leader should “get lost” or lay low, interpreting that their mere presence will cause their staff to seek them out for guidance.
• Requires asking “How do I get out of their way and, by association, out of mine?”

So, maybe we should make an adjustment to the “lead, follow or get out of the way” paradigm. Maybe it should be “Lead, Follow and get out of the way.”

Wishing you success in all ways,
Pat

When Branson Talks Talent, We Should Stop and Listen

Melbourne, Australia is a long way from where I sit. However, last week technology enabled me and thousands of other card-carrying Branson groupies to get an hour’s worth of the Virgin Chairman’s hard-won wisdom and advice. I accidently came across the invitation to participate in a free, webstreamed event advertised as “Sir Richard Branson: Ten Questions for 2010” presented on www.passtheball.com. This happy accident offered the chance to see and hear him live and also the opportunity to participate by submitting a question that could be selected as one of the ten that a moderator would present to him. Figuring it would be the closest I’d ever get to interacting with a billionaire, how could I resist?

So, I registered and sent my question off into the ether. “At least I can say I tried”, I thought. On the day of the event, I clicked on the WebEx link, eager to hear Sir Richard but certain that he would answer every question but mine (sniff sniff). Then, 48 minutes 27 seconds into the session, I hear, “Sir Richard, Pat B. asks… (What? Who did she say??)…“Millions of dollars and much goodwill are lost because corporations fail to retain their talent. What are Virgin’s best practices for retaining its talent?”

What a brilliant and appropriate question to ask of a leader with over 60,000 people working in the 200+ branded Virgin companies! Whoever sent in that question to you, Sir Richard, should be signed up immediately!

Seriously, Sir Richard rightfully credits his people with being a team of smart, hardworking, committed, creative, and, to his delight, fun-loving people. Based on what I’ve studied about his approach to business and life in general, my guess was that his responses to questions would be based on what he has learned over his 45 year career (he started his first business when he was 15) and that he would send a clear message about how people make the difference in business and how leadership makes the difference in people. Here are some of his points:

• Business leaders must always remember that a company is made up of people,not things. Many know that this is my mantra: “Without the people, it’s an empty building.”

• People leave companies because of frustration with leaders who don’t listen or pay attention to what people are telling them. After multiple tries at getting their leader’s attention, according to Sir Richard, frustrated people say, “Let’s go somewhere else – it isn’t happening for us here.”
Yep, been there - done that.

• Successful companies have leaders who are good listeners and take suggestions seriously and act on them. Sir Richard says he always carries a pad in his back pocket so that when someone presents an idea or a suggestion to him, he can write it down and he follows up with next steps or a clear explanation about why their suggestion may not fit the business needs at that time. Follow up and follow through is key to keeping people engaged. How many of us have sent ideas to the organizational version of the Bermuda Triangle known as the executive floor, never to hear or know what happened to our brainchild?

•Spend more time with people. Sir Richard advocates kicking back and relaxing over a beer after hours with workmates. Earlier in my career, I thought this wasn’t a smart thing to do – after all, I had an image to protect, you know. Now, I think if I had done this more (hanging out, not the drinking!) and really talked with my workmates more, I might have been more in tune with what was really going on in my company and on my own team.

• People take pride in their work, so make sure your people have the tools they need to do a good job. He believes that everyone comes to work at Virgin wanting to do the best job they can. They want to be proud of their decision to join the company. Pride leaves if you know what you need to do but don’t have what you need to produce it like tools and a leader who listens.

• Companies should make every effort to promote from within. He advised leaders to look beyond an employee’s current title and look at their potential. He cited the switchboard operator who, through energy, quick learning, and quality work, was eventually promoted to run the division for which she once answered the phones. Sir Richard believes that people will always rise to the occasion when they are promoted to a level above what they ever expected. They appreciate the faith placed in them and they do their very best to meet expectations placed on them. Of course, if the talent doesn’t exist within, go and find the very best you can afford.

So, that’s what the Bronx girl heard the British billionaire say about how talented people make the difference. When Sir Richard talks talent,he puts all his money (literally) on his people to win.

I grow orchids. I am a transplanted New Yorker, now in Florida, whose previous attempts to grow these exquisite creations of nature were stymied by the cold weather, the dry, artificial heat generated to fend off the cold weather, and my great and much admitted ignorance. My past orchid encounters were limited to seeing Dad present my Mom with a white box that, when opened, revealed a flamboyant purple orchid corsage. Whenever I visited a florist searching for one, I could only describe it as the “Mother’s Day” flower. Now, I impress friend and stranger alike by calling them by their “real” names – cattleyas.

Coffee mug in hand, I step out onto my lanai (that’s a screened-in cement patio for y’all north of the Mason-Dixon) to greet my orchids. Like a brood of children, they are the same and yet each one is different. Some require lots of direct sun with equal amounts of fussing, while others are happiest left to themselves. Many orchids can’t be contained, spitting their roots through the slats of their soilless wooden baskets.

Some continually produce blooms, while others require we wait patiently for a bi-annual bloom knowing that is very much worth the wait. None of them wear a watch, yet their blooming is always perfectly coordinated. When the intoxicating fragrance of the cattleyas fades, tall dendrobiums unfurl. Then, multiple stems of iridescent phaeleanopsis burst open. Ah, the beauty of well-timed teamwork!

I envisioned this blog/column to be about what I’ve observed and learned about the “care and feeding” of talent but where to start was a bit of a challenge. One morning, while tending to my "brood", the Aha! of how growing orchids and growing talent align crystallized for me.

What helps talent to bloom in an organization?
In my view, both talent and orchids require awareness, education and a plan of care.

Awareness: To properly care for my orchids, I need to know the type or genus of an orchid, along with the special nutrients, light requirements and watering patterns needed for optimal growth. I must also understand the “individuality” of each plant, even if the genus happens to be the same. With all due respect to Gertrude Stein, a phalaenopsis is not a phalaenopsis is not a phalaenopsis.

Each needs to be placed in the right spot at the right time so they can gain the most from the warmth of the Florida sun and from the mists that come from the sudden showers so common here. Similarly, those unique, one-of-a-kind people who produce what your clients buy – also known as your talent - require individualized attention and customized developmental opportunities that can bring valuable professional and personal growth.

Education: Talent requires that firm’s leadership, the ultimate source of talent “nourishment”, be educated on what organizational conditions will fuel growth. I move my orchids as light patterns shift to assure that what is needed for their ongoing development is available to them. Similarly, leadership must watch shifts in the business and carefully match talent moves to allow for maximum benefit.

Plan for care: Growing talent requires vigilance. This means that leadership is involved by being informed. Do you know who is ready for some new challenges? Are there those who have been presumably “growing” but still in the same organizational pot? Do yourself a favor. Pour a cup of coffee and step out on to your organizational “lanai” and look around. Review your talent landscape regularly. Access to developmental plans and work results can inform leaders on what is required to maintain a healthy business and to grow (and keep) talent.

A Cautionary Tale
I’ve lost some expensive orchids because I was unaware about what was happening to them. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t grow – they couldn’t. They were constrained, contained and, in some cases, contaminated to the point where their growth potential was limited.

There is one significant way in which talent and orchids are not at all alike. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for orchids is to leave them alone, after assuring that they have the basics. Not so much when it comes to talented people. Without goals, guidance and advocates, your talent can stop growing or caring about growth, and become open to being “repotted” – sorry, but the analogy stands true in this regard.

Without vigilance and frequent check-ins, your talent may believe that a fresh start on another lanai may be their only option.

Keep talking talent!
All the best,
Pat