Forward Momentum: Delivering Results

by Rob Zell

When teaching leadership and management skills I refer to maintaining and/or enhancing self-esteem as a foundational practice for all leaders. When I do, I typically get a few participants who give a very subtle eye-roll or smirk. I can understand why: as leaders in a fast-paced, bottom-line focused organization, who has time to manage the self-esteem of others? Aren’t we all big boys and girls? We all come to work and have a job to do, so let’s just set aside all the personal feelings and get the job done.

While it’s certainly true that we owe it to the organization to be a little thick-skinned about feedback and look at criticism as a means to improve, a little praise and recognition goes a long way. It also has a measureable impact on the organization and profitability. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a couple of examples.

I recently found this post about a server who comped a dessert for a family because the kids were well-behaved in the restaurant. As a parent, I try to influence my kids to behave in restaurants out of respect for other patrons and the staff. To be recognized for your efforts as a parent by complete strangers makes you feel pretty good. The value of the recognition in this example was four dollars. But what’s the return?

• Net profit* from family that returns to dine there one extra time (on a ticket of $60) = $3.00
• Net profit from 10 extra guests from the family sharing the story (Average check of $20) = $10.00
• Net profit from 10 extra guests who see the story on crowd sourcing review site  = $10.00
• So the ROI is (($23 – $4)/$4) *100 = 475%   

*figures based on average net profit of 5% of guest check

Not too shabby. And I think my estimates are on the low end. A small amount of recognition, for something we hope all parents teach their kids (it’s what they are supposed to be doing – teaching manners, etc.), leads to a HUGE return on investment.

Of course most of the people I teach aren’t facing the guest. But they do manage or work with many people across the organization. How important is maintaining/enhancing self-esteem for those people? Let’s dig into that idea.

In a study by the Corporate Executive Board, discretionary effort is defined as,
“Employee willingness to go ‘above and beyond’ the call of duty, such as helping others with heavy workloads, volunteering for additional duties and looking for ways to perform the job more effectively.”

Discretionary effort and “Intent to Stay” make up employee engagement. Engaged employees are more committed both rationally and emotionally (read that as engaged heart and mind) than non-engaged employees. So how engaged do you think employees are? In the same study, researchers found that engagement rates had dropped by almost 4% in Q4 of 2012. The level of discretionary effort hovers in the 25-26% range for most industries.  The Intent to Stay metric hovers around 36%; the converse is that about 60% of the workforce is thinking about leaving their company in the next year.

So what’s the value of making an impact on these metrics? Let’s say we take an organization of 2,600 people. Using these figures, almost 2,000 are just “putting in their time” and about 60% (about 1,500 employees) are thinking about leaving, even going so far as to send resumes and make calls. Providing just a small amount of recognition, in order to engage 10% of the 2,000, could increase productivity and commitment. If just half of those were part of the 1,500 considering leaving, a mere 100 people, and they stay, we save approximately $1.1 million in turnover costs.

The point is that maintaining/enhancing self-esteem is easy, cheap and provides big return. It doesn’t take much time or effort to write a note, say “thank you” for quality effort or provide specific motivational feedback. Even providing developmental feedback with the attitude of “do no harm” can go a long way to engage and retain employees. We all like to feel that the work we do is valued and appreciated.

How often you provide recognition is up to you. The argument that we shouldn’t recognize people for doing their job doesn’t really hold up in the face of these figures. We hired people to perform a specific job for us. If we want them to continue to do those tasks with us and contribute discretionary effort, we owe it to them to provide recognition to keep them engaged.

What do you do to recognize your employees? Have you noticed a return on that effort?

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

Often in project management classes we teach the concept of situational leadership, which suggests that you should adjust your leadership style based on the readiness level of the person or group you are leading. That is a good theory, but on top of that you should also consider other factors, leading to a management style that adapts not only to the ability and willingness of the person or group involved but also to the intended outcome. Let me explain.

With situational leadership, your approach as a manager will vary depending on the readiness level of the person you are managing at the moment. For example, if the person or group you are managing is new to the type of work you need them to do, you will take a more direct style and explain to them what needs to be done and how to do it. This allows them to fully understand what needs to be done and to deliver that work with success, theoretically moving them up the readiness scale and ensuring they are able and willing to do this work the next time it is needed. If the person you are managing is already an expert at the work to be done and willing to do the work, you can delegate the task to them, being available if and as they need support.

On top of that, you need to take into account other constraints and the intended outcome. For example, if you need something done right away because you are on a tight deadline, a direct style, or push approach, works. This allows the person or team to complete the work quickly without having to spend time determining how to approach the work. This also works when the job to be done is smaller or more trivial, avoiding unnecessary discussion and debate.

If, however, you need the person or team to be more engaged or fully vested in the work, a pull approach is more appropriate, even if (and I would especially if) time is short. This approach allows people to participate in “how” the work will be done, allowing for multiple viewpoints to be considered. Doing this will not only increase engagement, involvement and buy-in, but can also (hopefully) lead to a more efficient approach or better solution. This is appropriate for work that requires more buy-in, is more complex or risky, or that which has a higher profile or visibility.

Managers with more experience know they need to vary their approach and they know how to do this effectively. We all have a preferred style but we know, or need to learn, to develop and use various approaches where applicable to be a good leader.

You can read another view on push vs. pull leadership in an article by Denise Brouillette at w2wlink here.

Are you properly varying your approach based on what’s best for that situation?

By Karen B. Smith, MBA, PMP

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a spa in Arizona – which at one point was one of Oprah Winfrey’s top spas to visit around the world. I signed up for the “Equine Experience,” thinking that I would be “playing” around with horses. When I arrived with a few fellow spa-goers, the ranch hand told us that he’d teach us how to clean the horse’s hoof. My first thought was, “Really?”

But sure enough, the ranch hand began showing us how to do this. He said that you’d have to put your hand on the horse to make sure he knows you’re there and will, therefore, not crush you against the fence to which he was posted. You are then supposed to go up to his side and, naturally, bend his leg to scrape his hoof clean. The ranch hand made this task look effortless. I thought to myself … looks simple enough.

I confidently walked up to the horse, placed my hand on his hind side, and then attempted to get him to bend his leg for some good ol’ fashioned cleaning. After a minute or two, the ranch hand told me to step away from the horse, and asked me what I was doing. I proudly said that I was showing the horse that I was confidently going to clean his hoof. {Note: My heart was racing. Besides not wanting to be crushed, I didn’t want to be the only one who couldn’t easily do this task! Where is that “easy” button when you need one?!?}

The ranch hand asked if I had ever done this before, to show such a display of confidence. I, of course, said that this was new to me, but the good news was that the horse did not know that (yes, sigh – my exact words). He adeptly replied that a horse is one of the most empathetic animals on earth, and he could see right through my “air of confidence.”

The ranch hand requested that I rethink my strategy, from one of “confidence” to one of “intent,” e.g., my purpose and intent is to get the horse to give me his hoof for cleaning.

I got my wits about me, walked back up to the horse with intent and, amazingly, he gave me his hoof!

What does this experience about a horse and a hoof have to do with communication? It articulates the difference between “confidence” and “intent.”

Confidence is defined as the “quality or state of being certain.” Intent is defined as “an aim or purpose” or “having the mind and will focused on a specific purpose.” When trying or learning something new, I learned that you should have the intent to complete that task – whether that’s learning a new skill, taking on a new area of responsibility, or just noticing others’ body language.

By intending to complete a task – say noticing what you may be “presenting” to others via your own choice of words – you are making a conscious effort to say that while you’ve not done this before, the task will be completed. It’s all about mindset versus trying to look as though you are experienced.

Think how you might apply this “intent” mindset in your job. While underlying project management skills are learned and practiced, by definition, projects are unique. Your areas of responsibility are expanding. Technology is changing. Market needs are diverse and ever-changing. While showing your confident self – even if you are not—may help you to be more confident than if you did not put on this act, intent may be the stronger motivator of the two. You can have intent often in unfamiliar situations, but yet there’s typically no misinterpretation as there may be with confidence, e.g., she was pretentious.

The purpose of sharing my story is to instill in you the desire to have intent versus confidence. Confidence will come with practice and experience. Intend to understand and communicate with others effectively. Intend to learn a new skill. Intend to understand what’s important to your executive team. Intent will help you come closer to achieving your desired outcome – whether that’s to ensure your team works collaboratively towards a mutual goal delivered at a certain time, that you were able to successfully use your new-found skill during a key project, or that you achieved management’s expectations.

Intent is the foundation to confidence. Try this mindset and see what {hoof} pops up!

Where have you “Got Intent?”

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

I was recently talking to a teaming agreement partner and they said to me, “You’re a project manager. To you, everything’s a project.” Interesting. I’m also a business owner. The combination of business owner and project manager means I look for opportunities and processes everywhere.

There are advantages and disadvantages to the meaning behind his comment. The advantages are that because of the structured approach and tools I have been taught and have successfully used, I have a formality and a structure in which to approach initiatives, both new and familiar. I have or create a logical structure and process for almost everything I undertake.

This was echoed to me by a different teaming agreement partner who commented that since he earned his PMP, he has noticed he is able to apply project management to so many aspects of life. These include operational improvements, new initiatives, business trips, long drives, vacations, home and garden projects, etc.

I agree. To me, sound project management principles represent sound business practices, including good communication, solid planning, reporting and controls, milestone checks, expectation management, accountability, etc. I also see how structured approaches apply at the macro level as well as in managing the details.

It is interesting how universally applicable project management can be. Of course, that’s my opinion. When I talk to engineers, it’s funny how they can relate the very same things we are talking about to a concept in engineering. Once they explain it to me, I see it both from their viewpoint and my own. Both work. That’s the benefit of having a frame of reference.

That said, there are some disadvantages behind seeing everything as a project. One is trying to make everything fit into the project management mold even if it doesn’t necessarily belong. Another is that the structure or formality can lack flexibility if applied incorrectly. It can introduce unnecessary constraints or limit spontaneity. We all know managers and project managers who have done that!

So the good news is that I can create processes and/or intelligently select the pieces of best practices to apply to positively influence any particular effort I am undertaking. I simply have to remember to apply the framework and still remain flexible.

What is your frame of reference?