Archive for category Commitment
Do our nation’s leaders need more leadership training?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Commitment, Communication, Employee Passion, Engagement, Federal Agency, Government, Ken Blanchard, Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation, Relationships, Supervisor, Teams, Training on May 16, 2012
I work for a leadership and training development company. I am constantly surrounded by best practices on leading a team, leading in a situation, and even leading myself. I am continuously exposed to the skills required to develop an individual into a great leader, motivate a team member, and generate empowerment in a direct report. So when I read reports like The Federal Leadership Challenge from the Partnership for Public Service (PPS), I have to remember that not everyone has the same daily experience that I have. PPS conducted an analysis using the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and uncovered that leadership is the lowest ranking category in the Federal Government. The report states that out of 10 workplace categories, leadership has the lowest ranking, scoring only 54.9 out of 100.
More about the report
The leadership category of the analysis was broken down into perceptions of empowerment, fairness, and senior leaders and supervisors. Out of these sub-categories, empowerment and senior leaders reflected the lowest ratings with government employees.
- 46.3% of respondents felt personal empowerment
- 42.6% feel their senior leaders instill motivation and commitment
- 48.1% are satisfied with the information they receive from management about the state of the agency
- 50.7% feel they are involved in decisions that affect their work
- 52.9% believe senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity
- 54.3% trust there is fairness within their organization
Making improvements
A particular agency that has made a concerted effort in improving these numbers has experienced a positive increase in their employee’s perceptions of leadership within the organization. The U.S. Mint, an agency that is part of the Department of the Treasury, made some necessary changes on how they communicate and empower employees and it’s reflected in their scores. The agency had a 21.2% increase on the Best Places to Work Index from 2010, empowerment was ranked 34.5% higher than last year and senior leaders received a 41.5% spike from the same time frame. The report states that this positive increase came about from strides taken in increasing communication with employees, working more cooperatively with unions and by fully explaining the challenges faced by the organization and the reasons why decisions were being made. In addition, the Mint has been having regular town hall meetings, giving employees the opportunity to voice their concerns, and responding to those issues.
Researchers at The Ken Blanchard Companies uncovered that strategic leadership directly influenced operational leadership, which in turn directly influenced employee work passion and customer devotion. Strategic leadership indirectly influences organizational vitality. In addition, they found that employee work passion and customer devotion influenced one another and that when employees were passionate about their job and their organization, they tended to interact with the customer in a more positive manner.
Want to learn more on empowering and motivating employees? Register for an upcoming webinar that will show you 3 ways you can create a culture where everyone feels a sense of ownership, empowerment, and ability to make a difference. You’ll learn:
- The importance of sharing information freely throughout your organization. People without information—or incomplete information—make poor business decisions. People with access to complete information make better decisions and feel more committed to them. Ongoing communication is imperative.
- How to create alignment and get everyone moving forward in the same direction. Recent research shows that only 14% of people are truly aligned with their organization’s key goals.
- The role empowerment plays. Drive empowerment as close to the customer as possible. Make sure that reward and recognition practices encourage people to take action. Instill a sense of meaningful work in every employee.
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A Resolution Worth Making…and Keeping
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Change, Commitment, Federal Agency, Government, Ken Blanchard, Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation, Performance, Productivity, Training on January 4, 2012
When the New Year rolls around, most people have good intentions and make resolutions to kick-off the year; unfortunately, most people break their resolutions less than a month into the year. However, some don’t wait until the clock strikes midnight to make a positive change and continue working on and improving those changes well into the New Year. The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the government agencies that set a resolution to retain their employees. The government agency has helped many of its employees improve their skills and has provided them opportunities to grow within the agency. Despite budget cuts and pay freezes, the agency created the VA Learning University (VALU) to offer employees an outlet to improve development, leadership skills, and personal growth while aligning to the agency’s mission and goals. This initiative has helped the VA save $200 million in turnover expenses in 2011. For 2012, the agency has made a goal to support the Obama administration’s drive to add more veterans into the civilian federal workforce. They plan on increasing the amounts of veterans they have on staff to 40 percent in 2012, up from 32 percent currently.
Perhaps the VA is on to something. A survey recently conducted by Federal News Radio to 49 chief human capital officers (CHCO) showed that most CHCOs are concerned with recruiting and retaining employees due to tight budgets and limited resources. VALU is proof that not all incentives to recruit and retain are monetary. The ability to grow professionally and personally is a coveted benefit at any agency. The Ken Blanchard Companies believes that individual learning is a key element to a high performing agency and is essential to self-leadership. Agencies that do not encourage people to learn are less likely to be high performing, because the skills of an agency are no greater than the skills of its people. When individuals learn, the agency learns. High performing agencies use formal training, mentoring, and on-the-job support to develop the skills and competencies of their people.
As a leader, why not help your direct reports make the most out of their learning experience. Learn the six keys on how to ENGAGE your staff so they can apply what the learned in real-life work scenarios.
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Struggling To Keep Your High-Performing Employees? Try Teleworking.
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Commitment, Employee Engagement, Employee Passion, Government, Innovation, Leadership, Motivation, Performance, Productivity, Telework, The Ken Blanchard Companies on November 16, 2011
87% of employees reported that telework has a positive impact on their work/life balance.
Budget cuts government-wide have forced leaders to “do more with less” and focus on innovation within their agency. As a result of this, many senior executives are struggling to provide a work environment that incorporates high-performing teams, a work/life balance, and employee interest to stay with and support the agency long-term. A new report to the President and Congress by the United States Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) may be just the answer agency leaders have been looking for to address these concerns.
Research on workplace flexibility has found that not only does teleworking benefit employees, it also benefits the organization. The snow storm that hit DC in 2009 left many federal employees unable to get to their place of employment. The result of the forced shutdown was estimated at costing the government $100 million per day in lost productivity and opportunity costs. If agencies had a telework policy in place, employees would have had the opportunity to work from home or another easily accessible location to get their work done, despite the snow storm. In addition, agencies that allow their workers the option to telework are more apt to recruit and secure high quality employees due to the attractiveness of the work/life balance mobile working offers.
Telework; Weighing the Information, Determining an Appropriate Approach, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, October 2011
If the government is requiring agencies to be innovative in light of the recent budget cuts, managers and supervisors need to provide incentives that will keep these high performing employees working for them. Teleworking is a benefit that would have a direct impact for employees by reducing commute times, freeing up more personal time after work, and empowering employees to work when they are at their most optimal. All of these factors have been found to empower and motivate employees and, in turn, increase performance and results.
Telework; Weighing the Information, Determining an Appropriate Approach, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, October 2011
The Ken Blanchard Companies along with Training magazine conducted a survey to further explore how to create employee work passion. One question asked what influenced employees to remain with their organization the most. The survey conveyed several factors that impacted employees differently based on their work experiences. The factors that were ranked include:
Job Factors – Autonomy, Meaningful Work, Feedback, Workload Balance, and Task Variety
Organizational Factors – Collaboration, Performance, Expectations, Growth, Procedural Justice (process fairness), and Distributive Justice (rewards, pay, and benefits)
Relationship Factors – Connectedness with Colleagues and Connectedness with Leader
The research that was conducted reveals that employees are constantly making appraisals of their work experiences and these appraisals result in intentions to stay, to use discretionary effort, to perform at a higher than average level, and to endorse the organization and its leadership.
Want to learn about more ways to create an environment where people want to come to work and give their best? Log on to the live webinar at 9:00am PST/12:00pm EST today about cultivating employee work passion.
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Three Cheers to the OPM!
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Coaching, Collaboration, Commitment, Communication, Employee Engagement, Goals, Performance, Productivity on June 22, 2011
Last week, the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Training and Development Wiki was presented with an Innovation Award by the Training Officers Consortium (TOC). The award is included in the TOC’s Annual Distinguished Service Awards Program which recognizes trainers and training programs that have made a valuable impact within the Federal Government. The Innovation award nominees include individuals, teams, or agencies that have implemented a new training strategy to achieve desired performance results.
An agency that is filled with self leaders is an agency with an empowered workforce.
”The Federal Training and Development Wiki is another example of how OPM employees are innovating every day,” said OPM Director John Berry. “The Wiki improves efficiency and best practices for agencies by providing a forum to share ideas and training tools. This will help agencies address their learning and development needs to best support the mission and career success of federal employees. I am proud of our program experts for developing this award-winning tool.”
The recognition was announced just as the OPM released the 2010 Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) report to Congress that found an increase in the number of women and minorities in senior-level positions in the federal government.
High performing organizations rely on new and existing leaders to utilize training programs and tools, like the Federal Training and Development Wiki, to support and encourage their direct reports and get them involved in building the agency’s vision. When leaders incorporate skills that blend goals with ongoing communication, they are actively engaging individuals and increasing their level of motivation and commitment to the organization.
What leadership programs have you encountered that have made an impact on your productivity and performance?
Did You Get Your One Minute Praise today?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Commitment, Employee Passion, Leadership, Morale, Motivation, Relationships on April 27, 2011
Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) kicks-off on May 1st. It’s a time for agencies to honor employees for their hard work and dedication. Agencies nationwide will be hosting events that include learning forums, award ceremonies, and town halls to celebrate government employees and raise awareness for the services they offer to the American people.
The official PSRW website offers several ways to honor and celebrate your local public servant.
- Send a message to public servants you know.
- Organize an event in your community.
- Encourage local radio stations to play Public Service Announcements to honor federal employees
In addition to the many events that are planned, individual agency managers can take on a significant role in recognizing the value of their employees by giving them a one minute praising. Praising is the most powerful activity a manager can do. It focuses on reinforcing behavior that increases an employee’s confidence and motivation and moves them closer to their goals. A one minute praising is so easy to do. Simply look around your agency and “catch people doing something right” and immediately give them a praising that is specific and that states your feelings.
How is your agency supporting Public Service Recognition Week?
Stand By Your Agency
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Commitment, Employee Passion, Leadership, Morale, Performance on December 8, 2010
I just read an interesting discussion string on GovLoop about government employees’ thoughts about what their agency can do to help offset the pay freeze. Last month, Obama announced a freeze on pay increases for the next two years. This pay freeze will apply to all civilian workers including Defense Department employees, excluding military personnel. The topic spurred some excellent responses about the pay freeze. A few suggestions that were made include telework, tuition reimbursement, flexible work schedules, and permitting federal employees to work a second job to bring in extra income.
Praising is the most powerful activity a manager can do.
An event such as this is never easy on employees whether it is in the public or private sector. However, after living through a pay cut and pay freeze at my own company, I now understand and appreciate why adjustments in pay must take place from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, I was not very understanding from the get-go. My thoughts and feelings solely revolved around myself and how I was going to cope with the looming pay cut. It was when executives in the company opened up and shared with us truly why the changes needed to take place that I had a change of heart and stood behind the decision. It didn’t come without some adjustments in my budget but I figured it out and made it work.
A decrease in morale usually comes along with a decrease in pay. Agencies can help maintain and boost morale by offering other incentives that don’t hit the budget. Alan Weiss, president of Summit Consulting Group, Inc., rewards his employees’ efforts as well as their successes. “Even if their ideas sometimes fail, you want employees to keep producing them,” says Weiss. “When I consulted with the CEO of Calgon, we created an annual award for ‘the best idea that didn’t work’ and presented a loving cup at the annual awards dinner. This stimulated innovation as positive behavior, not ‘winning.’”
Although compensation is very important to most people, surprisingly money is not always the biggest motivator. In fact, research from Daniel Pink as well as employee passion research from The Ken Blanchard Companies shows that intrinsic motivation is actually more important than compensation. Why people want to do a good job, why they chose their line of work, how they feel connected to a greater purpose – these are all part of what defines intrinsic motivation for people.
To help tap into the intrinsic motivation of people, stay connected and know what’s in their hearts and minds. Make sure they know that you see them doing a good job. That is the message in the book, The One Minute Manager, written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. Blanchard believes that if you catch people doing something right and immediately praise or reward them for it, they will feel good about themselves and they will do even more things right. This action will lead to people feeling good about the organization and the people they work with. They will want to company to succeed because they know in turn, they will succeed.
What thoughts or ideas do you have on how management can boost and maintain morale during a pay freeze?
How High Can Attrition Go?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Attrition, Commitment, Employee Passion, Leadership, Morale on November 17, 2010
A report published this month by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) highlights a significant concern about attrition in the federal government. Although attrition has decreased to 5.85 percent in fiscal year 2009 from 7.6 percent in fiscal year 2008, the report focuses on who is leaving and their significance to individual agencies. The study states that the three main groups that are walking away from their jobs include new hires, employees eligible for retirement, and those in mission-critical roles. The report also uncovered that from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2008, 24.2 percent of newly hired employees in the government left their jobs within two years.
Attrition in the Federal Government can have an increased negative effect on both the cost to the agency as well as the loss of knowledge that the individual takes with them when they leave. By 2015, over 48 percent of federal employees will be eligible to retire. This includes more than 67 percent of federal supervisors. When this group exits the workforce, they will be taking valuable and crucial knowledge along with them. Agencies must begin now to start recruiting top talent, training them, and allowing them to work side by side with those that can pass on important skills and know-how to the next leaders. In addition, agencies must ensure that new talent they are bringing on-board are satisfied with their work environment.
Authors and leadership experts, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles wrote the book, Gung Ho! to generate importance on how to create committed and motivated people. They found that there are three requirements for turning on the people in any organization. First, people need to have worthwhile work. People need a higher purpose and shared values that guide all plans, decision, and actions. Second, they need to be in control of achieving the goal. When people know why they are working and where they are going, they want to bring their brains to work. Being responsible demands people’s best! Finally, to continue to generate energy, people need to cheer each other on, catch each other doing things right, and accentuate the positive.
Learn 8 more ways you can create a positive and motivating work environment that can lead to long-term commitment and low turnover.
If you would like to read more on the study conducted by PPS, you can access the report here.
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