The Heart of Engagement : Leadership Development, Management Education, Retreat Facilitation & Executive Coaching : Mike Cook : AMJ Group

The President is going to give his jobs speech next week. I know we are all hopeful that his words will mark a return to the good times. Just look at what I read this afternoon, another gloomy projection.

“As I write this the morning newspaper has yet another story of new “job losses” ---- several stories actually. We are told that the recession has been over for quite a while but the percentage of the workforce that is “jobless” has not fallen the way it has at the end of previous recessions.”   William Bridges

Gosh, I am tired of hearing this, it reads like so many lead stories I may have seen on CNN Headline News in the past three years, but that reference to “newspaper” is odd. I wonder?...

Let’s take a little trip in the WABAC Machine; you all remember Mr. Peabody and Sherman don’t you? Maybe that will clear up my confusion…maybe!

The most striking aspect of my first views of the city of Pittsburgh were the silhouettes of the steel mills that lined the Monongahela River as I drove in along highway 376 from the east. I arrived around mid-afternoon that February day in 1981, the sun was already sinking behind the hills. I did not notice at the time that there was no smoke coming from any of the chimney stacks in those mills. They had all been closed in the previous three years.

It didn’t take long after my arrival to begin to pick up from the locals the regular references to “when the mills open again and the good jobs come back” Pittsburgh had been a steel town since 1875, an industrial center since well before that and after all the mills were still there so there was always hope.

For several years after my arrival the conversation about the good jobs in the mills returning continued and then in early 1986 the mills themselves started being torn down and by late 1987 the riverfront was a clear and open space for the first time in over a century. There was finally room for something new to emerge, for another conversation to take the place of the hope filled refrains about steel and all the good times from the past.

Within 24 months new structures began to fill the space along the riverfront; long and low these new buildings would become home to technology, medical equipment and financial services companies which now form the backbone of the local economy. The old jobs never came back; they were replaced by new opportunities. Some of the new positions were filled by re-trained steel workers, many, perhaps most were not. Nothing new had any chance of happening until the mills were torn down. Until then those artifacts of the past served to anchor in a conversation that was more comforting than facing the anxiety of needing to create something to take their place. This conversation about jobs coming and going has a long history

I opened this piece with a quote from William Bridges. Very likely it sounded current, like news we continue to hear at least weekly as the economy has struggled to recover from the collapse of 2008. However, what I showed you there is not the entire quote. Here is the rest of what Bridges had to say, back in 1994!

“As I write this the morning newspaper has yet another story of new “job losses” ---- several stories actually. We are told that the recession has been over for quite a while but the percentage of the workforce that is “jobless” has not fallen the way it has at the end of previous recessions. The Clinton administration is trying to “create jobs” although its critics claim that some of the current taxes and regulations will destroy jobs.”

                                                             William Bridges, Mill Valley California

These words are taken from the Preface to Bridges book titled ‘Job Shift: How to Prosper in an Economy without Jobs.’ The first 55 pages of this book should be required reading for every elected official in this country who prays on the fears of the unemployed and the employed by perpetuating the mythology of jobs and more importantly any reference to government’s ability to create jobs like they were butter or cheese and could simply be handed out.

To be sure there is work to do, there will continue to be but it will not look so much like the jobs our politicians refer to, it will look more like “the work that needs to be done.” Our employees need to show up ready to engage with the “work that needs to be done.” The unemployed need to learn what elements of the “work that needs to be done” match their interests and prepare themselves so that rather than looking for a job they can look for places where the “work that needs to be done” is a match for their skills and interest.

What are the metaphorical steel mills that need to be torn down in your organization?

How about you consider these suggestions?

• job descriptions
• performance reviews
• job clusters
• pay systems based on jobs

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Last week my oldest son sent me an intriguing article from USA Today that got me very excited as it seemed to be part of a much larger pattern I have seen developing slowly for the past twenty years and more rapidly in the past five;mainstream interest in the science behind the "soft stuff." The article,‘Brain- training games are new exercise craze’ provides a very high level teaser about a field of software development, mind fitness games, that is not very far from its infancy but is projected to be a $1.5 Billion industry by 2015. That’s just around the corner!

While the title of the article is pretty self explanatory the notion of equating mind fitness with physical fitness may seem radical to many people. However, the implications of the growing market for home based brain-exercise equipment (“Own a Bowflex for your brain!) for anyone involved in workforce development should be fairly evident.

This is a pretty standard USA Today piece, “Hey, here’s something interesting you might want to look into!” Not exactly hard hitting reporting but definitely what you expect from a publication that is intended to promote popular mainstream news. I’ll bet that if you read the article and you are anything like me you’ll dig through the references and begin looking for ways that software applications like those described in the article can be worked into regular ubiquitous opportunities for employees in your place of work to keep their minds fit. Right after you have this inspiration your spark will start to fizzle as you realize that the toughest task you’ll have in front of you is convincing your management that if employees can have tools like these available it will likely have a positive effect on both the quality and quantity of work, especially in situations where the nature of work still tends to be mind deadening to a large degree.

But take heart workplace warrior! News like this in USA Today is one more piece of the growing evidence that companies are beginning to take seriously the science that strongly suggests that the demands of work today require that we take into account the needs of our brains.

Remember Margaret Wheatley’s Breakthrough work, ‘Leadership and the New Science?’ Doesn’t its first appearance in 1992 seem like a long time ago? Actually, given the progress of technology in the meantime it was. This book was among the very first to introduce us to the notion of a connection between hard science and management science. At its publication the book became an instant sensation. Business thinking was apparently open to entirely new possibilities, perhaps finally ready to depart from the basic notions of Frederick Taylor that had served us well in the industrial economy.

Since that time we have gone from the initial work of Daniel Goleman popularizing Emotional Intelligence  in the mid-1990’s into the fascinating work of Malcolm Gladwell,‘Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking’, Daniel Pink’s , ‘A Whole New Mind’ and then more recently ‘Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’ and then on to works like ‘Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard’ by Dan and Chip Heath  and ‘Your Brain at Work’ by David Rock. With each step along this new pathway we are laying down the first foundational elements of an entirely new way of looking at ourselves at work; and we are doing it fairly rapidly helped along no doubt by technology advancements that are demanding that we change.

And not all this new science is about mental acuity. “Mindfulness” , a term long associated with eastern religion has gone from the mystical to the very practical as evidenced in this terrific piece by Louise Altman, The Neurobiology of Mindfulness- Reshaping Your Brain. Sometimes our very fit minds need to rest as part of the fitness practice.

From all this new research and integration of knowledge more than one thing is becoming clear:

1) We have entered an entirely new era in our thinking about what it takes to develop and manage a workforce

2) A lot of the work in this arena is being done by individuals taking the initiative on their own behalf to insure that they stay competitive

3) If learning has now become a lifetime activity then brain maintenance, fitness or whatever you may call it becomes a critical practice.

4) And companies that recognize the value of mental fitness and partner with their employees to provide resources for this purpose are going to be more attractive places to work and likely more highly engaged workplaces. 

• Where would you say your own company is when it comes to being mindful of the need for greater mind-fitness?

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“The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.” 

                  Rensis Likert, American Educator and Organizational Psychologist 

• Sometimes we forget that what used to work still works, is available in real time and offers a low tech yet powerful approach to promoting engagement

What could be a more practical approach to building trust than the words expressed in this quote from one of America’s pioneers in the field of organizational behavior? There is nothing normative or judgmental in the way Rensis Likert expresses the power of loyalty here. This is pure pragmatism and group dynamics and like it or not for the most part our business is a social system with an economic purpose, a community intentionally developed for a purpose, pragmatism in action. We are loyal to our company and to each other because it works towards producing the results we are seeking.

“Showing Loyalty” as a practice is one key to the kind of power to produce results we are seeking as managers. It is built just as intentionally as the community that supports the business purpose and is a function of integrity, loyalty, recognition and gratitude. Each piece of this practice, integrity, loyalty, recognition and gratitude is intended to reinforce and acknowledge the interdependence that underlies the success of the larger enterprise.

Consciously recognizing that whatever success the business has experienced is the product of the actions of many, not just a few employees is the foundation for this practice. When we can stay present to this “fact” it is easy to realize that giving credit to the contribution of others both personally and publically is a reinforcing act and power building practice in itself. Who doesn’t want to be around people who readily recognize our contribution and thank us for what we have provided?

The integrity aspect of “Showing Loyalty” is tested when those we may be speaking of or about are not present.

• Can we discipline ourselves to always speak of someone else as if they were with us? Wow!

Wouldn’t it change how we felt about each other if we knew that no one would ever say anything about us that they would not say in our presence? Would we not also be quick to want to return that loyalty in kind?

Questions for Reflection:

 1) Can you commit yourself to never speaking of or about co-workers in any way other than how you would in their presence?

2) Scan your work group for opportunities that have been missed to recognize someone’s contribution. Take action if you do see the opportunity. 

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 Long ago, (1976), and far away, (central New Jersey!), Josephine had finally had it with what was going on around her. Normally she was far from demonstrative, took most things in stride, and did her level best to put forward an image of herself as calm and pleasant. Not this afternoon.

For several months we had been in the process of moving the HR department from one end of the very large building to another. Right now I can’t exactly recall why and the process of moving was not particularly painful. I had been charged with shepherding the construction and logistics of moving to the new space, all of which went very smoothly. At least that’s what I thought until that afternoon.

While the final stages of the move were taking place, we were also managing a new hiring initiative for our plant. We were considered a premier employer in the area and our need for fifteen new people had drawn responses from over two thousand applicants! Without the aid of digitized applications and everything else we take for granted these days, we had a major task just keeping track of everything. We had applications stacked everywhere and Josephine was responsible for the safe keeping of all of them.

Shortly after lunch on this particular day I heard a scream coming from her new work area about thirty feet outside my office and then a muffled crash. I quickly headed for my doorway and as I poked my head into the hallway I could see the source of the crashing noise. Josephine was standing ankle deep in applications with her hands covering her face. She had reached the limit of her tranquil presentation. The move coupled with the confusion of the new surroundings and the added stress of keeping track of all the paper has pushed her right on through calm and pleasant and on into hysterical. Who knew that was hidden just on the other side of her permanently (formerly) placid exterior?

I was told later by her co-worker that Josephine was working with the applications and she began talking to herself out loud, suddenly screamed and then proceeded to sweep the several thousand applications from their neat stacks and into what were now haphazard piles on the floor.

That was it; it was over as quickly as it began. She was duly embarrassed by her outburst. She didn’t say much as we all pitched in and began helping pick up the mess of applications. We didn’t say much either. Back then nobody ever said much about anything that remotely smacked of the personal. Our Christmas lunches were brutal!

Josephine took the rest of the afternoon off and returned the next morning and we never talked about the incident again. I heard recently that she had died in her late forties from complications related to colon cancer.

I’d like to think that if I had another opportunity to revisit those circumstances I might have paid closer attention and noticed her stress level rising, maybe even have somehow saved Josephine from herself. At least I’d like to think so. I’d like to think that these days we are paying closer attention to each other in our places of work, especially now when stress levels are compounded by fear of job loss in so many places. I’d like to think so.

And then a friend sends me the picture you see here on the right. This is not a photo taken at  a meeting, this is a work space occupied by a group of people as you can see, for an extended period … months.

Here’s the note she sent with the picture, it is her workplace.

“You too can work 12-14 hours a day in these luxurious facilities. You just have to meet the following criteria:

• You have no personal space issues
• You have no issues of entitlement
• You have good hygiene”

From the outside this company seems fine; their investors think everything is rosy. My friend has been there for a while and is looking for other opportunities. She says that it’s not too bad, trying to work in these surroundings. I think she has been there too long!

Normally I would now provide you with links to articles that document that workplace violence is on the rise...again this year. But there is little point. The quick research I have done easily revealed several sources citing studies beginning as far back as 2005 reporting annually since then that violence is on the rise in many places of work. Mostly these stories are about vandalism or what one worker did to another, basically stories about what happened after it was too late to make a difference. I didn’t find any story about the violence we do to ourselves by insisting that we put up with unworkability far too long. But then that wouldn’t be sensational.

• Take a look around you. Do you see someone, anyone who looks like they might benefit from somebody asking how they are doing? Ask them how they are doing; you might save them from colon cancer.

I’d like to think that we would be willing to include the damage people do to themselves as a form of workplace violence.

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One of the most traumatic experiences of my life occurred around the time I was turning thirteen years old. That was a birthday more meaningful than many because I knew from conversations with my parents that they were going to increase my allowance. I was the oldest child and I’d be moving from the $.50/week my other siblings received to $.75/week. In my world, where baseball or football cards were $.05/pack w/ gum these were going to be high times!

Not wanting to get my hopes too far out of line with my understanding from past conversations I decided to check bets with my Mom before the big day. To my surprise and disappointment I was informed that yes, I would be getting the increase as previously discussed but with the stipulation that from the day of my birthday onward I needed to run each of my purchases by my mother in advance so she could insure I was making good choices. Yikes! This is now remembered as my "Bait and Switch" birthday. Up to that point, I had spent my weekly $.50 however I chose, mostly on the sports cards that I so dearly prized at the time. What would the future hold? Somehow this didn't feel at all like I had expected it would.

To say the least, I was crushed! What if she didn’t agree with my spending choices? Moms have different priorities than young boys; they are often looking for opportunities to teach them lessons about the value of money, saving for a rainy day, that kind of thing. Drat! My excitement was dashed in one short conversation. What was the point of having the extra money if I couldn’t decide how to spend it?

Fast forward to right now,... the event just described never took place! For the record, I never had a $.75/wk allowance, I topped out at $.50/wk. Sorry for the ruse; I was trying to imagine myself in the situation many managers have reported finding themselves in. A scene similar to the conversation I fabricated with my mother would come after several rounds of the annual budgeting process. Managers then receive their final numbers along with the admonition from the granting authority that they must submit a request for approval of any expenditure of either a certain type or size. Almost anything of consequence is covered by this caveat.

Yaaaaaagh! Hey, Senior Budgeting Authority, what’s the point of granting a budget if you aren’t going to grant full spending discretion along with it? Oh, yes, and by the way, how exactly is it that you hold someone to account or tie their compensation to a number you have final control over?

I am not going out of my way here to be a smarty pants and you are welcome to question the accuracy of the analogy I have created; but not much. Let it burn! I actually think practices like this are frequently and thoughtlessly held in place by habit. How are they tolerated? It is a tough economy where new opportunities are hard to come by.  Or maybe, the managers involved just don’t care enough to push back.

Practices like this one are often fiercely defended by their practitioners if questioned (I doubt that you need me to provide examples, I am sure you unfortunately have plenty of your own).

“Back in the day” , when command and control was the only management approach maybe no one thought a lot about practices such as this, it was just the way it was. These days when every organization is counting on discretionary effort, especially from managers we need to step back and ask, “What exactly is it that we are hoping to accomplish with this constraint on our managers? Maybe we could gain more by encouraging initiative, innovation and creativity?"

Here’s a thought, Senior Budgeting Authority, If you aren’t willing to question your restrictive practices, how about considering that the scores on your engagement surveys are really more of a measure of apathy in a tough job market?  

• Think about what you do as a manager that may be a) communicating to people that they are not trusted or b) constraining them from taking full accountability for what you have told them is expected?    

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 “All are needed by each one; nothing is fair or good alone."

                                                     “Make yourself necessary to somebody.”

                       Ralph Waldo Emerson: American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882

There is probably no aspect of the American mythology that has caused more mischief or been a greater source of misinformation than that of the self made man/woman. Between the fiction of Horatio Alger in his popular Ragged Dick: Or Street Life in New York to the fact (mostly) of Jack Welch Americans can easily recite a list of high profile names that have become part of our “household” vocabulary.

From Andrew Carnegie to Mark Zuckerberg Americans seemingly have an unlimited appetite for consuming tons of media related to the cult of the individual or great man/great woman theory. Yes, all of these people made an undeniable contribution to the economy and/or our society…and none of them truly did or do it alone.

Some prominent American thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson among them, as seen above, did not necessarily concur with the self made mindset. However, on balance I think the mythology of rugged individualism is somehow sexier, more glamorous than Emerson’s suggestions and so it holds sway and is the dominant cultural conversation. For the most part the mythology persists and presents a barrier to collaboration that is holding many companies back and definitely undermining the working satisfaction of many managers

Today in a world as highly connected as it is we do not seem to see that the pathway being built by technology is one that will best lead to a future where a talent for self generated collaboration, interdependence and community accomplishment will be the skills for success rather than the standard set of leadership competencies that are derivatives of the prevalent mythology.

As a manager what can you point to in your immediate working environment that encourages or pulls for collaboration?

• Performance appraisals…not so much.
• Compensation structures…rarely.
• Mentoring...most often focused around managing your own career.
• Identification of high potential candidates for future assignments...look who is doing the evaluations, the kings or queens of the mythology of individualism.  

Is peer coaching, especially in a community context, a legitimate developmental and managerial alternative to historical practices?

The concept of peer coaching is of course not an unknown so there is some precedent but mainly it has been a one to one activity not one intended to represent an entirely new form of organic infrastructure.  

If you are a mid-level manager and not ruggedly individualistic by nature (Less than 20% of the managers in any workplace are highly competitive, many more enjoy the idea of being part of a winning team) and somewhat thwarted by the “go it alone” perspective fostered by many workforce practices you may be in a place where you are faced with doing something unnatural for you…getting radical!

By radical I mean initiating change from where you are in the organization, being the source of a change in approach; moving away from a focus solely on individual development to another form. How about moving coaching from the prevailing individual improvement context to a peer community context?

Honestly now…

Do you accomplish your results alone? No.

Do you deliver to the client or customer without support from other groups and their managers? Probably not!

Are you so focused on your own advancement that you don’t have time to devote to seeing what you can do to help a fellow manager resolve an issue? You are not that selfish!

Would you benefit by having several peers work with you on a regular schedule to share best practices, provide both advice and coaching, hold you to account for your own sake and be committed to your success? Please!

Oh you'd still be self reliant, for everything you have promised to deliver but, in a context where you are held accountable by people whose word, not just their bonus depends on your performance.

• Would you be willing to approach two other peer managers and engage them in this conversation about developing a peer community? If they say yes you've got a team. What game will you have in mind?

"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main..."

                                            John Donne 1572-1631

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