Entries Tagged 'Leadership' ↓

So what are you doing to turn the crisis into an opportunity?

By Ralph A. Dise, Jr.

The bad news just keeps coming.

While there is still a lot of uncertainty about the near future, and the economy is shedding jobs at a rate of half a million per month, it’s hard to remember that recessions are survivable. 

For those of us not eligible for a federal bail out, it’s survival of the fittest. Companies and the people running them have to make very tough decisions.  Those who survive will do so by being disciplined about managing cash and creative in their business development efforts.

What will the competitive landscape look like when there is a rebound? Your guess is as good as mine. Every time there’s a recession though, someone brings up the story about the two men hiking in the woods. So please forgive me if you’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating…

The two men hiking in the woods
There are two men hiking in the woods who see a bear not too far ahead running straight at them. One man turns to run away while the other man quickly puts down his pack, pulls out a pair of sneakers, sits on the ground, removes his hiking boots, and starts putting the sneakers on his feet.

 The first man cannot believe his eyes and says, “Those sneakers aren’t going to help you outrun a bear.” The second man replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you.”

The bear is the economy. You are the guy with the sneakers. The other guy is your competition. All we need to do is make sure that we help you outrun the other guy.

What are you doing to manage the downturn?
Every two months, our firm hosts the Senior HR Thought Leaders Forum at the Union Club in down town Cleveland, Ohio.  At the January forum, we asked the question: “What are you doing to manage the downturn?”  What ensued was a lively discussion with many ideas for you to consider. Here are several of those ideas.

Managing cash flows and conserving cash
Conserving cash does not mean spending as little as possible. What it does mean is that every single penny is spent as effectively as possible, with the smallest level of risk to return.  Managing cash flow requires minimizing debt and doing everything possible to keep the cash flow positive.

It seems most companies have stopped their 401k matching programs, frozen salaries, laid off workers, and cut salaries. They’re doing everything they can to conserve cash. Others are investing in their future leaders by nurturing the talent they have. While merit increases may be frozen, they are offering their “keepers” new responsibilities and interesting assignments, and giving them challenging opportunities earlier than they might otherwise have done. 

Reorganization and restructuring
Public companies have to answer to shareholders, so when there’s a recession like this, leaders must realign their cost structure to weather the downturn and do it with certainty. It’s not personal.  It’s just business. One of our Forum participants told how his CEO could see the downturn coming, and wanted to take radical steps to restructure and re-organize. The Human Resource leader recommended that a significantly large number of employees be laid off, and that others be offered early retirement. The Chief HR Officer’s objective was to restructure one time and only one time.  In this way he hoped to mitigate the long, morale destroying death march he had observed at other companies in the past.

Executive leadership and visibility
Strong executive leadership is needed now more than ever. Leaders should be highly visible and actively communicating about the business environment. They should regularly articulate the plans the company has for managing the downturn. Leaders should constantly remind employees that it is everyone’s job to figure out where to reduce expenses— on everything from copy paper to corporate travel and lodging to raw materials. Especially even factory workers should be asked what could be done to drive down costs. They know where the savings are. They’re just waiting to be asked.

Turning a crisis into an opportunity
The main thing is that you can’t take this downturn lying down.  How are you going to turn this crisis into an opportunity?

Hard times means there are lot of talented people out there. And right now their skills are going to waste. It’s a great time to look for smart people who can get things done.  Are you spending time looking for the star performers that will help you through? You’d better be doing something about this or your competitor might.

As Wendy Edgar, Area Human Resources Director, America’s People Team at Ernst & Young said at the conclusion of our meeting, which summed everything up and brought our time together to a close: “a financial crisis is a horrible opportunity to waste.”

Remember the story of the two men hiking in the woods? What are you doing to “outrun” your competition? What are you doing to turn the crisis into an opportunity?

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Presiding Director of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

How to cope with the pressures caused by the downturn

By Bill Marshall

If you are in Finance or Accounting, or you’re an Executive charged with managing the P&L of an organization, you are probably undergoing a rather large increase in stress as you come to terms with financial conditions you may not have experienced before. 

What many people don’t understand is that when you are charged with ensuring the management of the day-to-day and at the same time safeguarding the health of the organization for the future, you are expected to maintain a certain image, and sometimes you can’t let your guard down.

And this is increasingly hard to do, especially if you’re moving into uncharted territory.

That is precisely what we’ve launched Project CFO:  a confidential consultation that is designed to evaluate the difficulties you may be facing to (1) identify staffing needs before they become insurmountable problems, and then (2) recruit the talent that will help you overcome the challenges that are keeping you wake at night.

Key Attributes of a Project CFO Consultation:

• Inherent understanding of key leadership skills necessary to get the job done in any environment
• Mature approach to understanding your corporate culture and what the ramifications are for finding the right candidates that fit your needs and your culture
• Ability to craft a compelling story about why a highly desirable candidate should want to join your organization

If you’d like to take a short time out of your day—a confidential breakfast or lunch—where you can escape from the pressures of managing the day to day– with an experienced human resources professional who will listen to your story, then let me know by contacting me confidentially through our website (see link below).

Bill Marshall is the Vice President of Executive Search for Dise & Company. You can contact Bill directly at the People Page on Diseco.com.

You must take action 

By Ralph A. Dise Jr.

When I was growing up, my Dad worked for US Steel, where safety was always a key issue. In fact, my Dad’s annual bonus was conditioned on the annual safety record of the plant he managed.

On occasion, I’d visit Dad at his office. There, I saw yellow signs and stickers all over the place that read: “Knowing’s not enough.”

As a kid I used to wonder, what the heck does that mean…“Knowing’s not enough?”

Steel mills evoke images of strenuous, hot, and dangerous work. But, it’s not enough to know that a work place is dangerous. Your every day behavior must reflect your awareness of that deadly danger too. 

Mammoth machinery and molten metal can be hazardous, unless safety procedures are rigidly observed. Hard hats, safety shoes, protective eyeglasses, earplugs, and fire retardant clothing are a requirement in steel mill production areas.

So knowing is absolutely not enough. It’s the “doing” that counts. To keep accidents to a minimum everyone must wear safety equipment and follow safety rules, every minute of every day. Getting the entire team to behave in a way that keeps it productive, and safe from harm, so each member can return home to his or her family is an important job of plant leadership.

It occurred to me quite recently that this idea of “Knowing’s not enough” is a universal truth in business. For instance, executing strategy is the doing all the things that you must do to make your company succeed.

Here’s a critical question: Do your people, from your top management to your working-level people, know how to execute your strategy? It’s easy for everyone working in a steel mill to understand the need for safety, even so, accidents happen. Your senior staff may be able to recite your strategy, but do they know what to do, how to do it…and are they taking the actions necessary to do it? Do they enlist their people in the strategy every day?

What if you’re trying a new strategy? What if you’re trying to launch a new product Line and cross-sell into existing accounts? Or trying to identify your greatest supply chain risks to avoid predictable loss? Are your people doing what they need to do?

Time and time again, strategic implementations fail.  And when they do, it’s because somewhere in the organization, people aren’t delivering on crucial tasks. They may “know” what is to be done, but they’re not doing it. Someone may have told them. There may have been a lot of heads nodding up and down. But deep down inside, they really don’t know how or why their job supports the strategy and they’re not motivated to take action.

The tactics they’ve been called on to execute don’t compute, and don’t translate into what they’re supposed to do between 8 and 5 (or burn the midnight oil to get the job done).  So everyone proceeds full speed ahead with business as usual –whatever that means to him or her. And the strategy sputters out and dies.

Implementing a strategy, whatever strategy you choose, requires the right culture, the right structures, the right systems, and the right processes. But most of all leadership focused at every level of the organization, committed to the daily work it takes to make the strategy happen.

It’s not about having the best ideas. It’s about executing ideas—even mundane ideas—like hardhats, safety shoes, protective glasses, earplugs, and protective clothing…but making sure they get executed without fail.   

At the end of the day, it’s not about what you know; it’s about what you do and how you behave on a daily basis.  

Don’t tell me you know – show me you know.  Because “knowing is not enough.”

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Presiding Director of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

How to build lasting results through proactive management of key positions

By Bill Marshall

Many companies are plagued by what I call the ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome.’

It is usually caused by, more than anything, having way too much on your plate. A very common condition in today’s business environment.

We see companies with operations that were at one time highly profitable slip slowly into marginal profitability.

Recently, one of our clients discovered that morale at one of their most important factories was at an all time low.

After investigating the reasons for the low morale, it became clear that the plant manager was treating employees unprofessionally, and that he operated the plant not as a leader should, by setting the standard of behavior, but by creating a culture of fear and intimidation. This plant manager’s abuse of power created palpable dissension, and virtually destroyed any semblance of team spirit. It became increasingly difficult to hire workers near the plant because this manager’s reputation was so bad.

After the plant manager’s termination, we conducted a dedicated, focused search to find a manager to replace him. However, not all the candidates who applied for the position, after learning of the situation there, wanted to work in an environment that was so hostile and emotionally charged. Many of the candidates eliminated themselves from the running. 

After a thorough search, we identified two exceptionally qualified candidates, either one of whom would have been great for the job. Eventually, the company chose the candidate who lived the closest to the plant, and who had a proven record of accomplishment of improving morale in several factories he had managed previously.

Several months have passed, and after just a short period of time, this new plant manager has had an important impact on his new employer. Morale has improved. Productivity has improved. Turnover has been greatly reduced. And profitability has returned.

To many, this sounds like a management nightmare. But these are precisely the types business needs that we seek out. It’s not easy. Terminating a key manager never is. But sometimes it’s best for everyone involved.

In this instance, each of the stakeholders wins: (1) the employees are treated professionally and with courtesy and respect, (2) the new plant manager found a new position of responsibility and trust, (3), and the client company is charting a course to higher profits. 

It makes me glad to know that we, as executive search professionals, by helping companies proactively manage key positions, can make an essential contribution to the success and profitability of our clients.

Bill Marshall is the Vice President of Executive Search for Dise & Company. You can contact Bill directly at the People Page on Diseco.com.

Leadership takes practice—and here are 3 things you can do today to be a better leader

By Ralph A. Dise, Jr.

If you have ever needed to work with—and through—others to accomplish an important goal, then you know how important leadership skills are to your success.

Drawing from my own experience running a business for the last 18 years, and observations I have made throughout my career in human resources, it is my conclusion that while “natural-born leaders” do exist, they are few and far between. 

I also believe that leadership is a virtue.  Virtues are characteristics valued by our society because they promote both individual and collective well-being, and thus are “good” by definition.

My experience in Leadership Cleveland (Class of 2003) taught me that leaders are not somehow anointed by the “powers that be”, but rather, they are self-appointed. They stand up and take charge of a situation. Then they become acknowledged by others to be leaders.

 To be an effective leader you must display leadership qualities that other people want to emulate, and follow.

Getting the most out of your people requires thoughtfulness, an open-mind, and a willingness to approach challenges with a trial and error approach. Over time, every leader creates his or her special style that is reflected in the organization.

Yet there are three fundamental characteristics that all good leaders have in common:   

1. A good leader sets the example for behavior.
Your job is to establish the culture and the environment for your company (or business unit). You need to show by example the way that people (vendors, peers, associates, and customers alike) should be treated and the way objectives should be pursued. Your standard is the one your people follow. 

2. A good leader is attentive to the needs of his or her people.
Your people have needs, and you need to be on the lookout for what only you can provide them to improve their skills and their performance, whether it is in the form of:  compensation, recognition, appreciation, mentoring, and/or discipline.

3. A good leader is open to suggestions and ideas.
If you have employees who have ideas that you have tried once but failed, you can show how you trust them by listening and letting them make mistakes, too. We all make mistakes, and as long as we learn from them, we can only get better.

People need to know, most of all, that their leader trusts them. 

If you don’t show your trust, your best employees will leave you because they feel stifled, and they know they can do better elsewhere. This leaves you with the mediocre employees who will stay on because they are accustomed to being micromanaged anyway.

If leadership is a virtue, then ineffective leadership is a vice which is typified by micromanagement. 

Based on all my experience in business, and as an HR Professional for my entire career, the number one thing you should avoid at all costs is to be a micromanager because it is the antithesis of good leadership.

Being a micromanager means you are doing the work that you’ve hired your employees to do. It means you are doing their work for them (while neglecting your own), or supervising them to the extent that you might as well be doing it yourself.

No one likes to be second-guessed and no one likes to be shown how to do the job they were hired to do. It is unfortunate that many otherwise-savvy executives second-guess their people all the time, and they’re not even aware of this destructive behavior.

While unproductive leaders may achieve a modicum of job security, it comes at the price of an unhealthy, unhappy organization.

If you are in a leadership role right now, or you desire to excel in a leadership role, I hope that this provides an insight that will help you (1) set the tone for your organization (2) be attentive to the needs of your people, and (3) be open to ideas and suggestions, and thereby become a better leader.

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Presiding Director of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

But making mistakes does not mean you’re not an “A” player, on the contrary…

By Greg Reynolds

You’ve probably heard that saying: “A players hire A players, and B players hire C players”.

But does this mean you can’t hire someone who’s ever made a mistake? Absolutely not. Or that you have to have a perfect hiring record or else you are a failure? Emphatically not.

Great people hire great people. Mediocre people hire candidates who are even more mediocre than they are, so they can feel superior to them.

Ineffective people typically hire very, very ineffective people, because they are threatened by anyone who is anywhere near as good as they are.

When you’re looking for talent you have to be sure to keep this in mind. It requires self-confidence and self-awareness. Don’t be afraid to hire people who are better than you. Hiring “A” players is the only way to build a top-flight organization.

Don’t be afraid to hire someone who’s made mistakes either. There’s another saying: “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”

In fact, people who have made mistakes yet keep working in the same industry can be some of your best hires. “A” players who have been knocked down hard, and have gotten back up, will bolster your talent pool, help you compete more effectively, and will contribute in a big way to your be success.

Here are some key attributes to look for when searching for “A” players: 

Passion… Do the candidates show enthusiasm for your industry and the type of work you want to have done? This demonstrates that they’re in the right career.  If they’re happy and self-motivated, their enthusiasm will be contagious and will motivate other team members.

Practice over theory… Do the candidates demonstrate how to be practical and get things done? Past performance is the single best predictor of future achievement. It means they’ll be able to get more work done in less time, and that they’ll be thinking of tactics that can help them achieve their objectives. 

Emotional intelligence… Do the candidates demonstrate empathy and caring for others? The top candidates know how to motivate themselves and others, and are easy to work with.

So remember to look for “A” players, but don’t be afraid to hire people who’ve made a few mistakes along the way.

Greg Reynolds is the Director of Client Development for Dise & Company. You can contact Greg directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

 What’s the #1 thing holding you back? Could it be your leadership style?

By Mark Gonska

Any time I get the chance to sit down with an executive, I ask: “What’s the biggest obstacle to taking your business to the next level?”

Typically I’ll get a variety of very serious responses: “We’re not in alignment”. “We’re not hiring the right kinds of people.” “Turnover is really high.” 

And invariably, I respond: “Wow…, that sounds like a leadership issue.”  Because if you really take time to think about it, at every level, problems can be traced back to leadership, or rather, the lack of leadership.

In other words, if you’re like 99% of other business owners, vice-presidents, or group heads out there, you’re overworked, stretched too thin, and either unable or unwilling to take your business to the next level. 

And I’m sorry to say it, but most times the biggest obstacle to business growth is leadership itself. 

Here are the three of the most common, and most natural pitfalls of leadership, and what you can do to avoid them: 

Micromanagement— If you’re micromanaging every jot and title of your business, you’re the greatest contributor to your own mediocrity. Micromanagement is antithesis of leadership. Your best people will leave you, and you’ll be stuck with mediocre players, and a mediocre organization. 

The solution: BE A LEADER: Articulate your vision…. “A computer on every desktop”, and align your systems and your resources. Empower others, and celebrate their successes—and your people will help you fulfill your vision.

Poor delegation—you think you’ve delegated a task, but if the job you’ve delegated is not completed correctly, or in a timely fashion, it ends up coming back to you. That’s not delegating. That’s relegating yourself to quality supervisor, and backup quarterback.

The solution: LEARN TO DELEGATE—when you commit or trust a task to a subordinate, be specific about the outcome and the timeline, and let them know they’ll be held accountable. When the task is complete, give them feedback, and let them know if there’s room for improvement.

Shooting down ideas—if you become known as someone who is not open to new ideas, your people will stop offering them. This leads to the “I tried to tell him, but he didn’t listen, so he can go fly a kite” syndrome, where your people emulate your leadership style, and work to actively shoot down good ideas for you. 

The solution: SHOW YOU LISTEN—Learn the value of “appreciative inquiry.” For example, ask your shop foreman: “What was it like here when things were really running like a top?” Listen to the response, and say: “What would we need to do to make that happen again?” Implement a few of the ideas you hear, and it will have a ripple effect throughout your organization.

The average executive has 37 hours of work on his or her desk. So how would it ever be possible to go in on a weekend to “catch up”? “Catching up” is a fallacy. The truth is you need to learn to be choosy. Concentrate on what your job is… on leadership.

Steven Covey said: “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.”

Accordingly, you need to learn to recognize the things that are really important, work on your ability to prioritize, and steer your people so you’re moving in the right direction.

Finally, don’t take yourself too seriously. Many of the leaders I’ve met with are the most insecure people in their organization. And they compensate for it by being overly decisive or pushy (benevolent-dictator-style of leadership), or too out-of-touch and anesthetic (shut-door-policy-style of leadership).

Just be yourself, and get out of the way. You won’t be sorry—I promise.

Mark Gonska is Executive Vice President of Career Transition Services for Dise & Company. You can contact Mark directly at the People Page on Diseco.com