What's Your Role?

If you've been in one of my Leading Change workshops you know that I believe that business change environments dictate the style of leadership you should adopt. Business As Usual is best served by 'Champion' leaders, while Intense Change responds well to a 'Coach approach'. When groups are in Crisis people need a more directive 'Captain' in charge and Business Chaos responds well to the gentle influence of a 'Catalyst' leader.

Traditional leadership models often fall short during intense organizational change. The notion of all the really big decisions being made by the guy or gal at the top, seldom works during business as usual, and research suggests that a clearly articulated 'leader role', shared by people at all levels, seems to work best when the work is intense.

Some interesting ideas about crisis leadership have come from researchers at the US Army Research Institute who wanted to find out which leadership strategies fared best for teams working in "highly dynamic and stressful situations". For ten months they observed the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore Maryland, a world-renowned urban facility that treats more than 7,000 patients each year with severe, often life-threatening injuries.

The center's trauma teams are made up of three key leadership roles: the top-ranked position, held by the 'Attending' surgeon; the second-ranked 'Fellow' position, followed by the third-ranked 'Admitting' resident, with the players changing from day to day, week to week and month to month. A trauma team's lifetime is short - about 15 to 60 minutes - with individual leaders coming and going while the leadership positions remain rigid, but flexible.

Researchers observed that the team's active leadership role shifted frequently and fluidly among the three individuals. The researchers described what they saw as a, "paradoxical leadership system characterized both by rigid hierarchy and dynamic fluidity." They watched junior members of the triad defer in times of their own uncertainty, and more senior leaders step up, only to step back again when the junior leader could handle the situation. This dance of leadership allowed for minimal errors, shared accountability and critical on-the-spot learning and mentoring.

Could this model work in your company? Could it be that, as companies increasingly rely on interdisciplinary teams, work becomes more dynamic and issues gain complexity, that this decidedly hierarchical yet fluid and flexible model works best? Perhaps this 'tag-team', 'relay-race' approach to leadership is a best practice in the making.

What do you think? I'd love to hear about your leadership roles and how they actually get played out in a crisis.

Back to Work!

As I walked through the woods today, and noticed the trees taking on some color, I felt a bit like the woman in the commercial who see's the first fallen leaf of the season and runs screaming from the sidewalk; you know the one, she just can't cope with the notion that summer is actually coming to an end. Huh...neither can I.

This has been a banner summer for Ontario with temperatures that take you back in time to the beach, or the cottage or wherever you spent your lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. We've had the kind of weather you drift back to as you're standing in a three-foot high snow bank on a downtown Toronto street in January... scraping your windows.

So, as we collectively buy school supplies, put away our shorts and close up the cottage, and prepare to return our noses to the grindstone of real life, I can't help but wonder how the world of business will fare in this 'not quite a recovery' economic climate. How will business owners and their employees walk the line between being both courageous and cautious? How will teams innovate when their instincts may still be telling them to reign in, be careful and keep scanning the skies for signs of, well anything, that might point the way back to business as usual?

In this atmosphere of ambiguity, there is still one thing I know for sure. I know that as employees listen to the 'Big Plans' or 'New Directions' their leaders roll out for their adoption, they will be deciding whether to throw their lot in with the change; they'll be looking for:

Common Ground: People want to know if their leaders really understand them. They want to feel that you appreciate their challenges; and can relate to their situation.
Authenticity: They want to know if you're real; followers want transparency; the stakes are too high today to be kept in the dark. Feeling manipulated by your leader is intolerable when people are being asked to step up or take one for the team.
Love: Yep, love. If people are going to follow you into an uncertain future they want to know you care about them. Employees aren't as impressed with degrees and 'know how' as much as they are with your genuine interest in them and empathy towards them.

Remember, 'If you don't engage people's heads and hearts, you'll loose their hands.'

Need to review your preparedness for leading the changes that this new season of business will bring? Call us. We have assessment change tools and programs designed to help you be the Change Champion that people want to follow.

Are You the Most Likely to Succeed?

When I was in High School, every year the senior class chose a boy and girl who we thought would be the, 'Most Likely to Succeed'. We cast our votes for who we saw as having the magic combination of characteristics that would ensure career and life success. We were teenagers then and the science behind the voting was imperfect, of course. We selected candidates who were good looking and popular, more often than academically sound or ambitious. I never made the list.... ah, the tragedy!

So, what are the characteristics that make a change effort, Most Likely to Succeed?

When you're working on a project, solving a problem or loosing weight, there's nothing quite like the Big break-through. We're all looking for those dramatic surges of progress, those quantum leaps. We love the energy that comes with a major find, a timely innovation or the discovery of a brand new way of tackling an issue. Yeah...that's the key ingredient - right? Well, not exactly.

Oh, those mammoth advances happen sometimes, and we need to be looking for them and ready when they materialize. But the kind of change that lasts, is mostly the incremental kind. It comes by taking one well-considered step after another, again and again. This is especially true when you're introducing anything completely new to internal or external customers.

Here are some characteristics of innovative ideas most likely to succeed.

Stepped: These are ideas or processes that can be adopted in segments or phases. Users can ease into them, a step at a time. Even better adoption comes when customers or staff can use the new idea, product or process in parallel with what they are already doing.

Trial-able: This is when the idea, process or product can be test-driven on a pilot basis. Customers can see it in action first and incorporate it on a small scale before committing to full enchilada.

Minimal Risk: If it doesn't work, people can return to pre-innovation status. Eventually, of course, you want people to feel like they can't live without it, but in the beginning -at least in theory - it's possible to go back to zero.

Familiar: It looks and feels like things that people already understand and use, so it is not jarring to their systems. It's consistent with other experiences, especially successful ones.

Congruent: It's in line with the future direction of the team or company; it 'fits' with where other efforts are heading anyway. It doesn't require people to rethink their priorities or pathways, even though, of course, it changes things.

Ego Building; Simply put...it makes everyone look good. Enough said.

These key qualifiers leave plenty of room to promote revolutionary ideas under cover of evolutionary change. Remember, to find and grow a market for anything means tucking ideas in close to what users can adopt easily and then leading them to the next phase.

We work on crafting this type of approach in the Leaders Summit If you want to explore just how likely to succeed your change ideas are, give me a call. Maybe I can help you get voted in this year!

Coaching and Workplace Violence - A Critical Tool in Prevention, and Recovery - By: Mark Joyella, Coaching Commons

What leads workers to resolve conflict on the job with violence?

And where does coaching fit in—in the aftermath of a violent incident—and, perhaps more importantly, months or years beforehand.

“People need help in knowing what to say—when my co-worker says this to me, or acts in that way—what can I do,” says Peggy Grall, a former psychotherapist who now does conflict coaching from her offices in Ontario, Canada.

“I think we can’t overstate the value of being in a relationship with someone like a coach…where we can have the opportunity to reflect on our own behavior, and our responses to other people’s behavior in the workplace,” said Grall.

“My guess is, a lot of the violence in the workplace that you see started off as frustration.”


Click here to read the entire article

How to Properly Sack Someone - By Rasha Mourtada, The Globe & Mail

Ms. Grall agrees that reputation is something to consider. If you fire without due diligence, “you’ve just sent people out to the marketplace with a really bad feeling about your company.”

Like it or not, in situations where an employee isn’t performing up to par, the onus is on the employer to try to make the situation right – and to make a record of those efforts.

“You need to be able to demonstrate that you have made every effort to get training for that person,” says Ms. Grall.

Clearly documenting attempts to correct poor performance is a non-negotiable step of the process. “I’ve seen situations where the poor performance has gone on and on and then the employer is in a tough situation,” she says. “Everyone may agree this person needs to be let go, but if you haven’t documented then you could be looking at a lawsuit.”


Click here to read the entire article.

What Did He Say?

I have a confession. I'm a quotation junkie. It's true and I'm proud of it!. I'm always in search of the perfect quote.

I love precise language; I admire people who can say volumes in a few words. It's an art to laser in on the heart of an issue, cast aside the fluff and lay bare the essence of the matter, in brief.

So, in honor those who use brief snippets of the English language to spread their brilliance, I give you just a few of my favorite quotations. I hope you find them as interesting, funny or inspiring as I have. And if you have any great quotes - send them along.

'If you are going through hell, keep going.'
Sir Winston Churchill

'It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.'
James Gordon, M.D.


'What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are small matters compared to what lies within us.'
Ralph Waldo Emmerson

'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'
The Bible

'The price of self- destiny is never cheap, and in certain situations it is unthinkable. But to achieve the marvellous it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.'
Tom Robbins

'It is most important to run out of scapegoats.'
Unknown

'You can't do right in one area while doing wrong in another - life is an indivisible whole.'
Ghandi

'If you argue for your limitations - you get to keep them.'
Unknown

'Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference.'
Nolan Bushnell

'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'
Norman MacFinan

'There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.'
Nelson Mandela

Now, wasn't that nice!

Are You Stuck?

I recently returned from the Women President's Organization's Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale where I heard some great speakers. As many of you know I'm the Chapter Chair for the WPO in Toronto, and in that capacity I'm privileged to hear the concerns of senior women entrepreneurs on a regular basis. One of the issues for all organizations is overload and burnout of key people.

Keynote speaker, Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson, spoke to us on the subject of organizations being stuck, and how they can get un-stuck. Let me explain. She reported on her research into how organization's chose, manage and succeed/or not, with projects.

She found that organizations, and in particular the senior managers, tend to overestimate their capacity for completing projects. She told of company after company where the list of active projects outnumbered people to lead them. She also commented on a universal phenomenon - that successful people routinely overestimate their capacity. She said that, in her experience, only the 'severely depressed' are accurate when estimating what they can realistically complete. This really rang so true to me.

One of the key elements in assuring success with a change project is to take a hard look at your list of competing projects. Dr. Henderson kept playfully referring to Project #26. Project #26, she said, is characterized by being that project that is:

A good project, worthy of completion
Everyone's favorite
Has been around for a while - keeps getting voted in - but not finished
And, here's the kicker - Project #26 will never get finished.

Why? Because there simply isn't the manpower to bring it home. In fact, if it did get the attention it deserves, it would become the 'overload tipping point' for the team or organization tasked with its completion.

What do you do with project #26? You kill it! That's right. Get everyone involved with it in a room- and come clean. Admit that it's not going to get done. Own up to the fact that it can't get done, and that to keep waving it in front of the poor saps responsible for it just demoralizes them. Just let it go. It'll hurt for a few minutes, and then everyone will release a collective sign of relief and turn their attention, and newfound time and resources, to the rest of the organization's key projects.

Managing capacity is a key ingredient in the success of an organization. When people tackle and finish projects and initiatives, they feel good about themselves; they feel energized and ready to tackle more difficult assignments.

Do your employees (and yourself?) a favor - take stock of the work before you. Be realistic about what will and won't get done this quarter, this year. And be brave enough to say NO to those efforts that will only drag your energy and enthusiasm down, no matter how exciting they may look to you. Sometimes it takes more courage to say no than to keep saying yes to every great idea that comes along. By being diligent about choosing among projects you'll ensure success and keep people engaged and on track.

So, what do you need to say no to?

Are You Stuck?

I recently returned from the Women President's Organization's Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale where I heard some great speakers. As many of you know I'm the Chapter Chair for the WPO in Toronto, and in that capacity I'm privileged to hear the concerns of senior women entrepreneurs on a regular basis. One of the issues for all organizations is overload and burnout of key people.

Keynote speaker, Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson, spoke to us on the subject of organizations being stuck, and how they can get un-stuck. Let me explain. She reported on her research into how organization's chose, manage and succeed/or not, with projects.

She found that organizations, and in particular the senior managers, tend to overestimate their capacity for completing projects. She told of company after company where the list of active projects outnumbered people to lead them. She also commented on a universal phenomenon - that successful people routinely overestimate their capacity. She said that, in her experience, only the 'severely depressed' are accurate when estimating what they can realistically complete. This really rang so true to me.

One of the key elements in assuring success with a change project is to take a hard look at your list of competing projects. Dr. Henderson kept playfully referring to Project #26. Project #26, she said, is characterized by being that project that is:

A good project, worthy of completion
Everyone's favorite
Has been around for a while - keeps getting voted in - but not finished
And, here's the kicker - Project #26 will never get finished.

Why? Because there simply isn't the manpower to bring it home. In fact, if it did get the attention it deserves, it would become the 'overload tipping point' for the team or organization tasked with its completion.

What do you do with project #26? You kill it! That's right. Get everyone involved with it in a room- and come clean. Admit that it's not going to get done. Own up to the fact that it can't get done, and that to keep waving it in front of the poor saps responsible for it just demoralizes them. Just let it go. It'll hurt for a few minutes, and then everyone will release a collective sign of relief and turn their attention, and newfound time and resources, to the rest of the organization's key projects.

Managing capacity is a key ingredient in the success of an organization. When people tackle and finish projects and initiatives, they feel good about themselves; they feel energized and ready to tackle more difficult assignments.


Do your employees (and yourself?) a favor - take stock of the work before you. Be realistic about what will and won't get done this quarter, this year. And be brave enough to say NO to those efforts that will only drag your energy and enthusiasm down, no matter how exciting they may look to you. Sometimes it takes more courage to say no than to keep saying yes to every great idea that comes along. By being diligent about choosing among projects you'll ensure success and keep people engaged and on track.


So, what do you need to say no to?

Where's Your CEO Going Today?

I hate reality shows...well, maybe hate's a strong word, but the contrived scenarios, the melodramatic participants and artificial cliff - hangers leave me pining for a good PBS program. But there's a new series in town that I think is fascinating.

Have you seen "Undercover Boss" yet? It's the new CBS reality series where a CEO of a major corporation goes incognito, deep into his company to see what his employee's work lives are really like. The maiden show featured Larry O'Donnell, President and CEO of Waste Management. He pulled shifts on the garbage trucks and hung out with local supervisors, all without them knowing who he really is. The end result of his foray into the lives of the 'little people' left him feeling that, things have gotta change around here. After he reveals who he is, he sets about implementing the changes, he sees the need for, and the show ends with the locals grinning from ear to ear.

Watching the interactions between the CEO and their employees, should raise some interesting questions for the senior leaders among us. Do you know what life is like for your front line employees? When was the last time you spent time with them, or invited them to a planning session or gave them an invitation to give you anonymous feedback and critique? To put a fine point on it - how in touch are you with the day-to-day realities of the workers in your company? And, if it's been a while - or maybe never - that you've made a concerted effort to investigate your employee's working challenges, how can you possibly expect to get those same employees to implement the changes you want?

The key factor in an employee's decision as to whether they will cooperate with the company's change agenda is how attached, appreciated, valued, heard and understood they feel by their immediate supervisor, and how much the company is interested in their working realities associated with the changes. Too often, when there's a change announced, management talks only of the benefits to the company and fails to factor in the 'transition' the employees will have to make in order to accommodate the new routines and processes.

Now, maybe your CEO can't / won't consider going 'undercover' and finding out for him/her self what needs to happen...but could you? Would you be willing to do some version of this with your direct reports? Might you spend a day doing the jobs of your front line employee's? I just wonder how it would affect the way you view their participation, or lack of it, in your grand plans.

Here's a challenge for you leaders out there - close your Outlook, walk out of your office, walk down the corridor and/or drive to one of your company's operational sites and spend a day. Talk to the people, not with your 'title' front and center, but with humility and curiosity. It might just surprise you what you see and hear.

If the thought of this leaves you sweating about how you'd handle the questions and feedback you might get, let me help you. Come join me, and an eager group of managers from several industries, on April 27 & 28 for a two- day coaching immersion experience - the Coaching Clinic. Let me show you how to have powerful conversations that will begin the change within the conversation itself. One of the concepts we teach in the Coaching Clinic is - if in doubt...ask. Make a commitment to begin to ask more questions and see what happens!

Are You Ready for 2010?

You can feel the optimism in the air can't you? Everyone from Bay Street bankers to the Tim Horton's servers seem to feel that 2010 holds a promise for better times. Reading all the predictions for the coming year would be a full time occupation right now. And if you did take the time to listen to the Psychics and pundits, it's a sure bet that some of their ideas will be dead on and some will prove to be wild guesses at best.

One thing is for sure - radical change is in the air. Whole companies, and some industries have all but disappeared from the landscape. Those of us who are still standing are looking hard at doing business in fresh and innovative new ways.

As things get better, we will all need to be different to really capitalize on the momentum a rebounding economy generates. Doing business in a different way requires a fresh look at what your leadership is about and how you exert your influence.

One of my goals for 2010 is to be a richer source of support and information to my clients. Senior leaders tell me that they would love to read more, but aren't sure which books are worth their precious time. If that's how you feel, I've got good news for you!


I love to read and usually have a couple of books on the go all the time. So, I'm going to do the legwork for you (or is it eye work, or maybe brain work...whatever). Each month you will find a new link to my YouTube Channel - Book Bytes where you can view a brief (under two minutes) video of me, sharing with you, one or two key messages from a popular business book. I'll be highlighting the 'change' relevant information in each book so you can learn new ideas without the hassle of reading the whole book yourself. Just to clarify, I don't get any kickbacks from authors for this...it's simply my way of offering more value to you.

So, look to your right - see the button? Now click on it and take a look. Let me know what you think. And if you have suggestions for books that I should read (for you) just send your ideas to me at peggy@peggygrall.com

The world of research and books is fascinating and, along with you, I look forward to discovering new ways of leading change this year.