Unaverage Leadership

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

2009 has been little rocky for most companies.  Now is the time to over communicate to your employees.

Why?  If you do not not fill in the true story, your employees will fill it in with their own story.  When it is their own story, it is filled with false data, gossip and hearsay.  The story will continue to build until the facts are presented.  Until this happens, your organization is wasting time and resources on not solving issues.  The scenario is worse when there is a sense of crisis, as we are facing today in our economy.   

A typical response from owners, leaders and management is that they do not have time for more meetings during tough times.  The lost time you spend in meetings communicating the issues your company faces, pales to the amount of lost productivity that occurs when your employees are left in the dark.

There is not a person on earth that likes to be surprised with bad news.  We may not like bad news, but I believe that people want to know what is coming.  This allows them to prepare emotionally, financially and physically for any crisis that me be headed their way.

Slow down, gather your information, prepare for the questions you will receive and start communicating the facts of the companies situation today.  If you are worried about how to do this, follow the link for communicating bad news for some good tips.  Start today and let your people hear the true story, not the rumor mill story.

                       

You Are Your Own Bailout

Welcome to the new U.S. economy of bailouts.  Companies can plan horribly, not understand there financial situation, not understand the economy and the markets there in, and loose money like water out of a tap - no worry, they can get a bailout.

As the leaders of these companies, you can make poor decisions, lay people off, ruin peoples 401(k) accounts and share values, spend as you please - no worry you can get a bailout, and if you really screw it up you will still get a bonus.

The truly sad story is that there are far too many employees, retirees and college students that will not get a bailout - you are your own bailout.  I hate saying this, but we must take care of ourselves.  Counting on any company or any level of government appears to be a pretty risky venture.

I know that there are great companies out there, but the true test of great is when tough times hit.  What sacrifices are the owners, leaders, board of directors and managers willing to make to honor their commitments to employees?

I think this correction in our economy is a wake up call to everyone.  Make sure that you have your own bailout in order.  Here is a short list for creating your own bailout plan:

• Do not spend more than you make
• Do not try to "keep up with the Jones"
• Make sure you can handle your debt even with loosing your key career or job
• Save enough to cash flow your lifestyle for a year
• Take a hard look at how you want to live once you retire - then make sure you stick to a plan. The minimum is on your own dime, above that can come from a company or the government.
• Keep educating and training yourself - diversification is good for business and for individuals
• Keep laughing and having some fun

Bailout - Start your own today!

Success Tips for Organizational Change

Change is an important part of successful organizations (check out the stories at fast company).  One issue that occurs within organizations is how much change can be implemented before it begins to be counter productive.  The timing of new change initiatives is critical to their success.

I have always held the view that there are four groups that are key to organizational change. By dealing with these groups effectively, change can happen quickly and it becomes part of the culture sooner.

The first group is the naysayers.  The people in your organization that always see the glass half empty and nothing is ever good enough.  The best solution is to not allocate any resources in dealing with this group.  Let them be.  They will either get on board or leave the organization.  This may sound harsh, but many organizations see change initiatives die because they put to much energy in trying to get this group on board.

The second group is the thoroughbreds.  No matter what the change, they embrace it and are advocates for the change.  They lead the charge.  The challenge with this group is that they need to see the change quickly or they will shift their energy elsewhere.  Give this group projects and tasks that support the change, but in the context of allowing time for the other groups to buy into the change.  If the thoroughbreds are to far out in front, the other groups look at them as privileged or aloof, and the change initiative will hit a brick wall. 

The third group is the steady eddys.  This group expects change, and as long as they are given education, training and the purpose of the change, they get on the change wagon in short order.  This is the biggest group and the foundation of a company's culture.

The fourth and final group is the fence sitters.  They need extensive training, ample time for questions and an extended period to incorporate the change into their day to day activities.  This is the group that you must watch closely before you add new changes into the organization.  If they are still coping with an existing change, they will not handle more change and you will have organizational chaos if you move to quickly.  By focusing on this group, you can accelerate change and its acceptance.

Balancing change within these groups falls on the shoulders of owners, CEOs and senior management.  Be sure you take the time to plan change with these groups in mind.  Failure to do so will guarantee the change initiatives are a waste of time.