Study Shows CEOs Prefer Team Model

A working paper that came out this month from the Harvard Business School on "Span of Control and Span of Activity" sheds some light on how today's CEOs engage with their senior executives. 

Interactions between top executives are central to the top management team (TMT) literature in management. According to this area of study, senior senior management acts as a team, not as a group of executives operating independently.  The CEO interacts with senior managers and senior managers interact with each other to share information and collectively make decisions.  

In contrast, models in economics propose the classic inverted tree model of organizational structure.  The CEO and each subordinate has a pairwise nature (one-to-one) and there is no multilateral interaction involving more than one subordinate, or with a subordinate and other managers (one-to-many).

According to the time use data from this study, when the CEO sits down for an internal meeting, there is representation at the table from across the organization.  In fact, "almost a half of CEO interactions with insiders are in fact cross-functional, which provides some initial supportive evidence for the team model of managerial interactions", and this lends itself to collective thinking and decision-making. 

One of the findings reported in the report's summary is that "CEOs interact with their subordinates in a team-like fashion and less as a group of independent executives. This is generally supportive of the central implicit assumption of the TMT literature that senior managers interact like teams, and in contrast with the simple inverted-tree model prevalent in the organizational economics literature."

There's more to learn from this study about CEO interactions with subordinates, yet the confirmation that the cross-functional senior team is going strong seems to mirror the increased focus on team dynamics within the industries of leadership training and development, management consulting, and executive coaching. 

"Individuals don't win in business, teams do."  Sam Walton

Answers To Your Questions About What Coaching Can Do For Your Organization

In celebration of International Coaching Week, I share with you today a link to the Library of Professional Coaching.  As noted on their home page, "Our library includes a growing collection of articles, research briefs, and white papers which will serve as the ultimate free Internet-based source of information about professional coaching.  It's an easily searchable database of trusted, high-caliber, peer-reviewed content." 

This site is a valuable resource to those looking for answers to questions like these about coaching:

•      Why does an organization hire a coach?
•      How long is a typical coaching engagement?
•      How does coaching work for groups and teams?
•      What is the Return On Investment (ROI) for coaching?
•      How is coaching applied in different industries?

Additionally, you will find a wealth of articles on leadership topics such as :

•      Managing Change
•      Applying Emotional Intelligence in the workplace
•      Ethics and Values
•      Breaking Down Organizational Silos
•      Employee Engagement

Sponsors for this site include the International Coach Federation, and you can find more articles, research, and case studies about coaching on their Research Portal.

If you are interested in coaching for your organization,

•      send me an email at april@charltonconsultingservices.com
•      call me at 518-557-2864
•      visit my website at TeamsInTransition

 

  

Living In Your Calendar

I just read an article today on Harvard Business Review, thinking I might learn about a new productivity tool.  The article is called To-Do Lists Don't Work by Daniel Markovitz.

Turns out I was already following his suggested alternative, I just hadn't thought to give it a name.  I like the one he's come up with, Living In Your Calendar.  Having used this method for a few years now, I share it for your consideration. 

Here's Daniel's advice:  "The alternative to the feckless to-do list is what I call "living in your calendar." That means taking your tasks off the to-do list, estimating how much time each of them will consume, and transferring them to your calendar."  "In essence, you're making a production plan for your work."

For me, what that means is that my day, while still full, is realistic.  If the task doesn't fit, I move it to a day and time where it does.  And if something of higher priority comes up (for example, a client meeting), I move the task to a future day/time on the calendar to make room. 

Advantages

• Sanity  As I said, it makes for a realistic day.  Things don't so much move off the list as they just get done.  And I don't lose track of the rest of the work because it's already been scheduled somewhere else on the calendar.    
• No Guilt  The to-do list always made me feel like I was starting my day with a backlog of things I "should" have bene able to cross off yesterday.  The calendar method instead follows the philosophy that there's a time and place for everything.
• Prioritization  Since I'm scheduling, not just making a running list, I put things on the calendar in a manner that corresponds to due dates, appointments, and even best time of day for my work style. 
• Running Time Tracker  When I look back on my week or my month, it's easy to see where I've spent my time and then I can adjust on the go-forward if I think it's not in balance with my business goals.  It can also be an easy way to keep track of accomplishments.

Disadvantages

• Tough Fit For The Corporate Environment  If your typical day is back-to-back meetings with other people, you'll spend too much time moving your to-do appointments around.  At best, you might be able to work them into early or late day, but even then, only if you have little to no meetings with people in other time zones.
• Public Viewing  If others (like your team) have access to the contents on your calendar, they will also see these appointments, along with the details.  Unless the whole team has adopted this method, these appointments with yourself to do work may look to others more like free time such that they can insert themselves by calling/stopping by.  It can take a lot of discipline for you to protect these to-do appointments.
• Harder To Delegate  If you set up to-do's as tasks (Outlook), you can delegate them.  If you set them up as appointments, you can't.  The calendar approach assumes you are the only one who can do the task, or at least that you need to be involved while it's been accomplished.

So depending on your work situation, Living Your Calendar is an approach to consider.  The small business leader, solopreneur, or senior leader with a manageable meeting schedule (perhaps, 4 hours or less per day spent in meetings) would seem like a good fit.  Corporate leaders who are already double and triple booked in meetings from morning til night, not so much.

Owning Your Team's Destructive Behaviors Is Step One

My HR BFF sent me the link for a recent article on teams from TLNT, an HR blog.  It's called 10 Destructive Behaviors That Can Bring Down a Team’s Success by Deb Spicer. 
Here is the list (further descriptions can be found within the article):

1. Power Coalitions (cliques)
2. Piranha Factor (saboteurs)  
3. Complacency/Status Quo
4. Lip Service
5. Competing Factions Within a Team
6. ‘Round Here Thinking
7. Strong Silos
8. Passive-Aggressive Behaviors
9. Blindness to Customers
10. Engrained “Old Culture”

Chances are you recognize these from your own experience, and could even add on a few of your own.

And while I agree that this is a good short list on destructive team behaviors, I worry that compiling it in this manner sends an unintended negative message that the team members are the the source of all problems.  In other words, "Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a leader and all the nonsense one has to deal with."  In my experience, the behavior described in that list is a direct result of past and present management capabilities, policies, and culture.

• Was a team member rewarded by their last manager for delivering on their goals even though the manner in which they achieved it meant that another team was unable to deliver on their goals (e.g., resource hogging, refusing to collaborate)?  Knowing how a new team member was incentivized/rewarded by prior management is just as important as it is to communicate your own expectations going forward.  If it's different than they've experienced before, call attention to the difference, monitor, correct as needed, and reward when the new desired behaviors are demonstrated.    
• Is the culture you've established for the team one of competition or collaboration?  If it's competition, expect to continue with about half of that list (cliques, silos, saboteurs, lip service, passive-aggressive, competing factions). 
• Did the recent reorganization merge teams that had previously not worked well together with the expectation that common leadership (aka, sharing the same boss) would "fix" it?  Don't count on it.  Merging silos on an org chart does not make them go away.  It takes sustained effort with consistent messaging by the new leader to break down silos.
• Does your team have both individual and team accountability well defined?  And if so, do you really deliver on that?  Organizations that move "problem" employees around rather than address poor performance do not uphold individual accountability.  Teams that set only individual performance goals do not have team accountability.  This is where complacency/status quo, 'round here thinking, and ingrained old culture come in.

So yes, recognize the destructive behaviors.  Then get busy understanding where they come from and determining how you're going to address them.  Whether you created or inherited the problems, you own them now.  And that's good news because these are just behaviors, and behaviors can be changed.  Own it and then change it.

Although targeted for those in HR, this website is full of great articles and webinars for leaders in any part of the organization.  Check it out at www.TLNT.com.

Hire A Coach And Reach Your New Year's Goals

It's a new year.  Know how I can tell?  No, not the calendar, not the fanfare in Times Square, and not the long lines at the mall to redeem the holiday gift cards. 

I can tell it's a new year because during every commercial break on TV and radio, in every form of print advertisement, and on every banner ad, there's a message informing me that now is the time to lose weight, start a new exercise routine, join a gym, and begin that diet.  New Year's Day is the official start to the "Get Healthy" season.

It lasts about a month.

One of the ads I saw last week on TV was by Nutrisystem with Janet Jackson.  It struck me that their core message was as good as any you'll hear about what it takes to be successful in meeting your goals - weight loss or otherwise.

"You have to have a plan and then you have to get on it."

The plan tells you where you want to go, why you want to get there, how you'll get there, what the timeline is, who will be involved, what investments are needed, and how you'll measure success. 

And then you have to get going.  Or as Nike says, "Just Do It". 

A coach can help you make that plan, get moving, and reach those goals.  There are fitness coaches, career coaches, life coaches, nutrition coaches, speaking coaches, and yes, executive coaches like me who want to see you be successful. 

If you've struggled to meet your goals, you don't have to go it alone this year.  Reach out to a coach.  Even if what you're focusing on isn't their niche, coaches know other coaches, and we love to recommend and refer. 

Make your New Year's resolutions last longer than a month this year.  Add a coach to your team and see that transformation come to life.

Have Them Show Their Work

At some point in elementary school, we begin to hear from our teachers that it is not enough to simply fill in the blank with an answer, that we also need to "show our work".  Why is that?  Because it allows the teacher to review how we came to our answer.  Did we use the right formula, was our logic sound, did we understand the key concepts, etc.  In assessing our progress on the educational journey, teachers are evaluating both the quality of our decisions and the final outcomes.

I was reminded of this when I watched one of Dan Ariely's videos on BigThink called Promoted to the Level of Incompetence.  "One of the problems with promotions is that we promote people based on outcomes, not about the quality of their decisions," says Ariely, Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University.   

There is an element of this in annual performance evaluations.  In most programs, we ask the leader to document successful outcomes against their goals, which becomes the justification for the performance rating, the size of the annual raise, the bonus, and ultimately, consideration for the next big promotion. 

What's wrong with that?  Well, as Dan Ariely argues, the outcome is not the whole story.  Like the teacher, we need to evaluate both the final answer and process for how the leader got there.   

A well rounded performance evaluation includes a measurement of behaviors and competencies such as judgement, integrity, collaboration, and strategic thinking, and change management.

Ask your team to show their work, and include that in your evaluation of who is ready graduation and who needs more time with you at the chalkboard.

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift's Mom

We gave our 6th grade daughter an early birthday present this year - tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert at Madison Square Garden on the last night of her Speak Now tour. 

I love Taylor Swift for being a role model my daughter can look up to, for writing songs with clever lyrics that tell authentic stories, and for staying true to herself and her dreams.

But it was Taylor's mom who left me "Wonderstuck".

My daughter made three large posters to bring with her for the show with messages she hoped Taylor would see:  "I wrote lyrics for your next album", "Your lyrics mean the world to me", "We have the same birthday - December 13th".  The posters were colorful and a lot of thought and effort went into their creation.  When we arrived at MSG there were lots and lots of posters, most of which were lit up in some way so that they could be seen from anywhere in the arena.  Hers were not, and hopes of them ever being seen, much less read, were dashed.  Still, she  held them high, cheering and singing at the top of her lungs.

Halfway through the show, we noticed that people were being selected from the crowd and brought to an open area just to our right.  And, the person overseeing the selecting was none other than Taylor's mom. 

Taylor left the stage and started walking through the crowd hugging and waving to fans as she made her way to another small stage that rose from the floor - right next to us!  She then proceeded to sing three songs from that spot while her mom looked on, smiling at fans and singing along.

My daughter held up her posters with new determination, changing to a new message each time the small stage rotated around.  Maybe Taylor saw them, maybe not.  Her generous smiles and thank you's were delivered to one and all in attendance. 

It was Taylor's mom, just a few feet away, who noticed.  She pointed to the birthday poster and then made the heart symbol with her hands that Taylor and her fans have made famous.  My daughter turned to me, crying happy tears, and said that this was the best birthday present we ever gave her.

So it's a member of Taylor's incredible support team who was the highlight at the show for me - Mom.  Thank you.  We were Wonderstuck, all the way home.