Sandy Schwan at Evolving Strategies, LLC

Step Out of the Shade and Into Your Talents

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

Benjamin Franklin

I drive my sister crazy with all of the questions I ask people that I meet. But, if one of my life's missions to to help people understand what they are good at, then my questions must remain. [Note to sis: Coleen, I love you, but I've got to keep on keeping on with my questions!]

By paying attention and asking the right questions, you will likely discover many hidden talents among your leaders, peer, team members, family members, friends, volunteers, yourself. 

Many leaders are in a situation know where they cannot hire more talent. Why not ask the following four questions of the talent you currently have to determine how to maximize your resources? 

1. 

Turn a compliment into an interview.

• Congratulate an employee on a job well done; then, ask exactly what helped her succeed. By better understanding her process, you may uncover an unseen strength.

2. Ask why employees prefer certain tasks or projects.

• Preferences can provide insight into someone's talents. An employee might enjoy a project because it involves a product he cares about or because it gave him a chance to interact with customers directly or because... Knowing which will possibly uncover talents.

3. Inquire about dreams.

• Ask your employee what she would do if she had her career to do over again. Dreams often include an aspect of someone that she doesn't regularly share.

 4. Analyze how people think, not just what they do.

• This one is my favorite. What is behind accomplishments is a way of thinking, particular to an individual, that made success possible. Ask your team member to walk you through his thought process on how he arrived at a solution. Articulating this dimension of how his mind works will help you -- and your team member-- identify the other projects that require his inductive talents. It will l also show him that you truly understand the value of his contributions.

I will also suggest that you consider asking these questions of yourself. I know a number of people in the midst of a job search, and they feel at wit's end with what to do next. I am hopeful that these questions may be a source of freeing your thoughts to find what it is that truly inspires you.

Adapted from Steven DeMaio's How to Identify Your Employees' Hidden Talents. 24 June 2009

Get and Make a Living: [Insert Reward]. Give and Make a Life: Priceless

 "We Make a Living By What We Get, We Make a Life By What We Give."

The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)

I am looking forward to my first foray this evening with the Northwestern University Alumni Association Council of One Hundred, a women's mentoring organization whose members are willing to share their knowledge and experience to enrich the lives of Northwestern's undergraduate and graduate women students, and young alumnae.

Funny thing is...I always find that I walk away from such events (group or one-on-one coaching) having received MUCH more than I perceive I have given. If you have the chance to connect with someone - young or old - as s/he wanders along a professional or personal shift, I highly recommend it. Everyone wins, really.

ACTION

Prerequisite: Do the 'What to Ask the Person in the Mirror' exercise that I noted on Monday :)

1. Reflect for one minute on someone* in your life that may need mentoring, which John C. Crosby so eloquently describes as "...a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." Create an opportunity to be that brain, ear, push.  

2. If you would prefer a more formal, structured approach, many businesses, associations, faith-based organizations, universities, governments, websites, etc. have mentoring programs or materials already. Check out these resources and see what works best for you.

3. You can always contact me if you are stuck. Mentoring is a significant part of my vocation and avocation, and I couldn't feel more fortunate.

* Caveat and lesson learned: you will need to determine if this person wants to be - or is capable of being - mentored. Otherwise, your wonderful energy, ideas and time will be underutilized. More on the 'capable' topic in an upcoming post. I will offer ways to spot the uncoachables.

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror

"...the best way to figure out how you’re doing is to step back and ask yourself a few questions." *

Today, I was just chatting with one of my mentors, John Fowler, a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company, about if and how senior leaders really assess their skills, ethics, etc. Here's why:

1. All leaders get off track on occasion.
2. The higher the rank in the company (large or small), the fewer opportunities exist for honest and direct feedback.
3. If feedback is given, it is often filtered because no one wants to anger the boss. Or, the feedback is completed rejected by the boss.
4. The performance management process does provide the opportunity for feedback, but this feedback often seems more rote than useful.

So then what? How do you really know how are you doing as a leader; the ethics you are displaying; how your peers, subordinates perceive you, your leadership style, progress, capabilities and fit?

John shared with me one of his tactics for receiving regular, honest and direct feedback. He said he has never forgotten the message his dad shared with him years ago:

"Son, you better like who you see every morning while you are lookin' in the mirror and shaving. Because that is the person you have to answer to every day on how you are conducting business and treating people." 

And, as a strong believer in reflection being a key leadership trait, I love Fowler Sr.'s advice. And, I can vouch that this 'high-tech' method John employs on a daily basis works. His leadership and ethics bars are off the charts. Let's hear it for effective self-assessment in action!

In his spot-on article, "What to Ask the Person in the Mirror,*" Robert Kaplan suggests self-assessing your performance as a leader and manager periodically related to seven key leadership challenges. Here is a teaser:

To address this leadership challenge...Managing Time

Ask...Does the way I spend my time match my key priorities?

Because...Tracking your use of time can reveal startling - even horrifying - disconnects between your top priorities and your actions. Such disconnects send confusing messages to employees about your true priorities.

Follow the link to learn more. I think this is a fantastic 'ready reference' that any leader could post on his / her bathroom mirror for daily reflection while shaving or brushing your teeth.  I am sharing this article with the team of senior leaders I am working with now. I will let you know how it goes!

Donald Says Location. Sandy Says Communication.

"When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is hard to remember that your primary goal is to drain the swamp."

 I don't know who to attribute this quote to, but I'll guess it is from a wise person from the southern United  States :)

Wow. Who hasn't felt like this lately or while going through any organizational change? When you, your team, your peers, and your company's senior executives are working overtime to re-assess risk, re-scope expenditures, prepare for acquisitions, understand government actions, and anticipate market changes, it is hard to remember you are there to serve your customers.

Communicate Effectively During Organizational Change

Is there a relationship between frequency of contact and client satisfaction? According to the Corporate Executive Board, the answer is a resounding yes.

During an organizational change, when relationship boundaries are shifting, effective communications to customers and employees matters more than ever. If employees are not clear on the 'what' and 'why' of the change, how can they effectively communicate with customers? Often, when I work with clients who've asked for my assistance on an organizational change effort that has failed, what I uncover is that employees are distracted and poorly equipped to communicate. They have obsolete scripts, mixed messages, and uncertainty regarding their own careers and finances.

ACTION:

What can you do to help your stakeholders deal with organizational change effectively?

Prepare and support managers.

Employees will be looking to their managers for cues on how to interpret the change. Develop FAQs, talking points, host small group discussions and/or on-line discussions just for managers. Ask them what they need to perform their roles effectively.

Equip all employees emotionally.

Explain the 'what' and 'why' of the organizational change. Focus on the 'why'...that is really what most people care about. Help employees address uncertainty and negative emotions that may arise within themselves and their customers. Prepare them to exude confidence and competence when interacting with customers. Remind employees to focus on what they can control and to seek assistance or guidance otherwise.

Equip customer-facing employees to handle customers effectively.

Keep client communications materials current and readily available. Remind employees of the importance of frequent client contact, and to stay focused on servicing clients. Share and reward successful ideas and methods.

Ensure consistency across stakeholders.

Inconsistent messages to customers, employees, investors, or regulators can and will surface, causing undue pain. Establish a Communications Coalition across the company (with all geographies and business units) to ensure coherence of messages.

Foster two-way communication.

Listening is an important part of customer communications (any communications, really). The distance between inbound teams (e.g., sales, customer support) and outbound teams (e.g., corporate communications, marketing) makes it difficult to have "closed loop communications." Establish tighter collaboration between these teams. For example, look for new shortcuts you can create between customer-facing staff and communications executives.

These are just five of many communications tactics to consider when building your organizational change strategy. One of the opportunities organizational change presents is the ability to play with the elasticity of relationship boundaries. Don't be afraid to test some boundaries in the name of change. And remember, as the venerable former coach of the Chicago Bears football team, Mike Ditka, said: "Success isn't permanent, and failure isn't fatal." Now go test a boundary!

Adapted from the Corporate Executive Board, my former employer, 2008.

Surrounding Yourself With The Best - The Northern Trust Corporation

Kudos to one of my clients, The Northern Trust Corporation, for being named one of America's 500 best companies by Barron's. I am quite proud to serve and partner with such an esteemed organization!

http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1946660711156.html

Engage. Resonate. Apply. Change.

I am always grateful to learn when my presentations resonate with the audience. I'm hopeful that what the audience also takes away is the respect I have for their time. If you or your leadership team wants to discuss how to effectively lead change or manage change, let me know. Helping folks become better change leaders is tons of fun.

Here's an abbreviated version of feedback I received from a presentation I gave last week to a group of highly talented CIOs - all wanting to bolster their change leadership skills:

"Sandy,

I would like to thank you very much for all your time and efforts to prepare for and present your views on ...strategies CIOs can use to ... lead change. 

Your presentation was well organized and very informative. Once again, you did an excellent job of engaging the group and keeping the session interactive! The CIO members and guests in attendance offered high words of praise for your knowledge and experience on the subject and contributions to their learning on this very important topic area.

Our ‘feedback reviews’ reflected very positively on the insights and perspectives you shared....  A representative sample of what they liked best about the discussion and what they consider to be their key take-away include:

• There are many things to pay attention to when dealing with change
• The importance of change management to large projects
• Too much change can undermine projects
• Do not lose sight of the people aspect of change
• Good framework brought things to light
• Organizing the different aspects/ways of managing change
• Formally scheduling time with shareholders
• The idea/practice of shadowing
• Business skills to develop in direct reports
• The Five imperatives – I will pin this up!

The overall ranking from the group was excellent.

Sandy, excellent presentation! Very well received and very much appreciated!"

One of the Most Interesting Facets of Teaching is...

...realizing both how much you know and how much you don't know. With that ratio being 10% : 90%.

Currently, I have the privilege of teaching Masters level students on Wednesdays and third graders on Sundays. Different ends of the learning spectrum but with the same results. Lot of fun. Lots of questions and situations to consider. Some great moments of clarity confirming that I know what I'm doing; then, BAM! Right of out of left field comes a zinger to remind me to think and feel differently...and how little I really know.

Ah, the refreshing environment that academia brings. Here's to lifelong learning...

How Have I Failed Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

I was watching a 20/20 news story on the power of failure recently. It was really quite inspiring, with key lessons to walk away with.

Failure can:

• Keep you open to new ideas
• Be a key part of your recipe for success
• Just be life's way of nudging you and letting you know you're off course
• Help you know and learn who you are
• Work for you, not against you

Currently, I am leading a significant enterprise transformation effort at a global financial services company. What I know for sure is that there will be many 'failures' along the way. To help people feel more comfortable with the changes and 'failures' brought about by change, I am going to introduce this concept that 'failing is a good thing' in my meetings. I'm going to start my meetings with "What did you fail at today?" I'll be sure to mention my own failures, so that folks can see that we should expect to fail during this transformation. The key is to reflect upon and learn from these failures to help us continue to lead the organization through this multi-year transformation.

Stay tuned...I'll let you all know how this new approach to failure is working in a few months. In the meantime, now go do some failing on your own! Let me know how it is going....

A Little Dramatic, A Little Pragmatic

Marketing. Execution. You need both during an organizational change. Based on your audience / stakeholder, based on your objectives, figure out the dramatic / pragmatic recipe that works best. No question you'll need both - that is the art of successful organizational change.

Collaboration

"I not only use all of the brains I have, but all I can borrow."

Woodrow Wilson

Not meaning to overwhelm you all with quotes, but that is what seems to be resonating with me lately. When I saw this quote, I thought that it described how I enjoy leaders who do a lot of 'borrowing.' I am a big fan of tossing out a idea that has yet to be fully 'baked,' just to see what and how others will take that idea to a level and place I could not have dreamed of. Try it and see where it takes you....