Archive for category Motivation
Mobile Management – A Good Strategy or Just Disruptive?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Attitude, Change, Conflict, Federal Agency, Government, Management, Morale, Motivation, Productivity on February 8, 2012
Today’s post was written by guest blogger, Jim Atwood, Director of Government Solutions at The Ken Blanchard Companies. Jim also presented on last week’s webinar, A Situational Approach to Leadership.
Last week’s webinar on taking a situational approach to leadership created a lot of discussion around the concept of mobile management. Several participants related to the idea and shared their experiences with mobile management within their agencies. I am most familiar with this type of management as it relates to the military… where a leader is usually only in a particular position for 18 months to 3 years. However, following the webinar, I received several comments about how it also is a significant issue in other government agencies as well. It was particularly evident with leaders who are in direct political appointee positions or those who report to political appointees.
For me, mobile management is the planned periodic rotation of managers. I know there are a great number of positive elements that can result from a well executed mobile management plan…unfortunately I have seen very few that were either well planned or well executed. My experience has primarily been with individuals who, knowing that their position is short-term, have made immediate large-scale organizational changes to be able to “make their mark” on the organization. Unfortunately, it appears that often the change was only for the sake of change…to be able to say that things were different from the previous manager. The results of many of the changes I observed were rarely to enhance mission capability for the organization as a whole and often had a negative effect. I recall one such individual who believed in this kind of change and said, “I like to really shake things up when I arrive…change everything. I believe that dust settles at a higher level.” He definitely shook things up but had a negative effect on morale and commitment to the command and its mission.
I really am hoping that my experiences are not common…that I just had the bad luck of interacting with inefficient leaders initiating ineffective change. But are my experiences the anomaly?
What have been your experiences with mobile management? How big of an issue is mobile management within the government? What positive experiences have others had…and what were the resulting effects on the organization?
If you missed the webinar on taking a situational approach to leadership, you can still listen to the recording and hear more about how to lessen the negative impact of mobile management.
“My Performance Sucked”: Leadership at the NFL Playoffs
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Leadership, Trust, Performance, Teams, Motivation, Feedback on January 25, 2012
Empowerment is what leaders give to their people.
Today’s blog post was written by guest blogger, Doug Trainor, Consulting Associate with The Ken Blanchard Companies and Co-founder of Leadership Vanguard.
I know that many of you reading this might be Baltimore Ravens fans. For those folks, I’m sorry about the playoff loss on Sunday. I hope you will bear with me despite the fact that the leadership I am writing about comes from Tom Brady, quarterback for the Patriots. After the Patriots win in the AFC Championship game Sunday, Brady was being interviewed and the reporter mentioned how great Brady played, leading his team to a fifth Superbowl while he was quarterback—and tying a record doing so. To which Brady responded, “I sucked today—fortunately the team did better than I did.”
Is that leadership? Yes! I think we need more of that type of leading in organizations across America—both public and private sector. So please tell someone you were a poor performer today! It may sound a bit funny but there is something to it. A lot to it, actually. The first thing is candor. We need candor to make our agencies and departments better. Leaders address reality—even when it is tough to do and with upcoming budget pressures and the sometimes extreme political dialogues we hear on TV—candor will serve you well with those you lead.
The next quality Brady displayed with his comment was accountability. He took personal accountability for his performance and he did it publicly. When leaders do this it builds credibility with those they lead and with the customers they serve. It can be a powerful way to increase the trust in your organization. A side benefit is that makes it easier to give difficult feedback to people around you when you admit your own failings. Something that makes feedback easier? Who couldn’t use some of that?
Last, but not least… it promotes humility. Humility is a leadership quality that will serve you well in every way. Not thinking poorly of yourself; but realistically. And realizing our teams are the reason we succeed in our leadership roles and giving credit where it is due.
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.
Analyzing performance management: Is your leadership style effective?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Communication, Federal Agency, Goals, Government, Leadership, Motivation, Performance, Productivity, Results, The Ken Blanchard Companies on December 7, 2011
To bring out the best in others, leadership must match the development level of the person being led.
In order to improve performance management and efficiency, several federal agencies are using analytics to identify problems, identify progress, and share information and results. The Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government reviewed four agencies that are using data analysis to save money, improve services and more effectively achieve their goals. The agencies that were reviewed include Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Each of these agencies is actively using analytical tools to determine the success of specific programs they have implemented. The agencies highlighted in the study shared certain practices that they all used to gather data and turn the information into knowledge that improved their program results:
- Leaders focused on transparency, accountability and results.
- Staff had a clear line of sight from where they stood to the desired goals and outcomes.
- Agencies invested in technology, tools and talent.
- Agencies cultivated and leveraged partnerships across the agency and with partners who deliver services.
Equally as important as the analytical tools used to improve performance management is the leadership style and direction managers use with their direct reports.
Leaders play a critical role in communicating a clear vision, setting expectations and calling for accountability for results.
Oversupervising or undersupervising has a negative impact on people’s development. That’s why it’s so important to match leadership style to development level. This matching strategy is the essence of Situational Leadership II®, a leadership model that delivers an effective approach to managing and motivating people. It opens communication and fosters a partnership between the leaders and the people the leader supports and depends on. SLII is based on the beliefs that people can and want to develop and there is no best leadership style to encourage that development. You should tailor leadership style to the situation.
Check out this fun video, narrated by Ken Blanchard, about how the right leadership can make a world of difference in your agency’s success.
You can also access the study on how agencies are using analytics to measure performance management and improve program success.
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.
Are You Happy With Your Job?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Government, Leadership, Motivation, Performance, Productivity, Relationships, Roles, The Ken Blanchard Companies, Trust on September 14, 2011
They say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. This statement is true for some but unfortunately, there are several federal government employees that are less than satisfied with the work they do on a daily basis. A study released by the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte focusing on job satisfaction of federal employees reported that those who have been on the job for three years or more are less satisfied with their jobs versus those that have been in their role for less than three years. In addition, effective leadership and employee relationship and interaction with their supervisors had a major impact on the individual’s level of satisfaction. Pay, training, and opportunity for advancement also played a significant role in on-the-job fulfillment.
Fifty-nine percent of individuals indicated they had left an organization due to trust issues.
Trust is a key influencer of job satisfaction. When employees lack trust with their immediate supervisor, motivation and productivity decline and performance falters. So how can leaders improve trust with their direct reports? The Ken Blanchard Companies has researched how trust impacts work relationships and has designed the TrustWorks! ABCD Trust Model. The model is comprised of four elements of trust that leaders should take into account when working with the people they lead. The Trust model can assist leaders with increasing the level of trust or repair relationships where trust has been lost.
The four elements are Able, Believable, Connected, and Dependable.
- Able is about demonstrating competence.
- Believable means acting with integrity.
- Connected is about demonstrating care and concern for other people.
- Dependable is about reliably following through on what the leaders say that they are going to do.
Do you fully trust your supervisor? How can your leader improve your level of trust?
Here are 8 ways your agency can enhance the trust between you and your leaders and coworkers.
How Motivated Are You?
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Attitude, Employee Passion, Engagement, Leadership, Motivation, Performance on May 25, 2011
Let’s face it; there are some days when you are just not that motivated. We’ve all seen the commercial on television where the guy is out with friends and asks a raspy-voiced woman to call his place of employment to say he will be out sick for the day. While the commercial is all in good fun, for some people, calling in “sick” can be a sigh of relief when they lack motivation or passion in their role.
Motivation is a skill that can be taught, learned, developed, and nurtured.
So what motivates people to excel in their job and truly enjoy what they do?
Dr. Drea Zigarmi and Susan Fowler with The Ken Blanchard Companies have been researching what exactly motivation and passion mean to individuals and how they can leverage both to improve their state of mind at their workplace.
Employee passion is the positive emotional state of mind resulting from our own perceptions of worthwhile work, autonomy, collaboration, growth, fairness, recognition, connectedness to our colleagues, and connectedness to our leader, all of which lead to standards of behavior that include effort, long-term commitment to the agency, peak performance, low turnover, and increased tenure with the agency. Motivation increases the probability of employee passion that results in three intentions highly valued by any agency:
- The intent to stay, support, and use good judgment on behalf of the agency
- The plan to perform at or above expectations
- The willingness to demonstrate organizational citizenship behavior
Want to learn more? Drea and Susan will be discussing the results of their cutting-edge research and the implications on how we work and lead within the workplace on June 1st in Washington, DC. They will also be sharing key skills needed to engage employees and sustain optimal motivation and employee passion.
Registration is currently open for this briefing.
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