Archive for category Teams
“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.
Let Me Help You
Posted by Kristina Marzullo in Collaboration, Communication, Leadership, Relationships, Teams on September 16, 2010
Collaboration is, yet again, prevalent across the news, blogs, and industry publications. Government Executive magazine featured an article in the September issue about agencies working with and supporting other federal government agencies. The article focuses on how interagency collaboration has the potential to bring teams together that demonstrate the know-how to get things done efficiently and successfully.
High performing teams execute better and faster than traditional hierarchies. People with collaboration concerns are focused on coordination and cooperation with others. They want to get everyone on board because they are convinced the change is making a difference. Questions that arise with these concerns are: Who else should be involved? How can we work with others to get them involved in what we are doing? How do we spread the word?
In order to promote highly effective teams, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is concentrating on goals that call for collaboration of multiple agencies and programs. These efforts can also promote key practices that can enhance and sustain collaboration. The U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a testimony on strategies to improve collaboration in the Federal Government. A few of the strategies include:
- Establishing common strategies
- Leveraging resources
- Agreeing on roles and responsibilities
- Developing compatible policies and procedures
How can you leverage other agencies to become a more effective team? To find out how, click here to read a whitepaper on the role of teams.
Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Released
Posted by Dominic Giammarinaro in Federal Agency, Government, Leadership, Supervisor, Teams, Telework, Transparency on July 15, 2010
The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (formerly the Federal Human Capital Survey) was released this week. This survey was designed to measure Federal employees’ perceptions about how effectively agencies are managing their workforces.
Conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), over a quarter-million Federal workers responded to the survey. “President Obama has made it clear: the Federal government needs to deliver results for the taxpayers. Our civil servants are the people who deliver those results, and we at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management are doing everything we can to make them the best, most productive workers in the world,” said OPM Director John Berry.
Below you’ll find some highlights of the results:
• 5% increase in belief that organizations’ leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.
• 4% increase in having high level of respect for organization’s senior leaders.
• 4% increase in feeling that leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment, but scores on this item are still below 50 percent favorability.
• Less than half of respondents thought that promotions were based on merit, that pay raises were connected with job performance or that steps were taken to deal with poor performers.
• There are 3-5% increases in supervisor performance discussions seen as worthwhile, perceptions that performance appraisals are fair and differences in performance are recognized.
This survey is conducted every two years. Here are some interesting trends from the past three surveys (2006, 2008, and 2010):
• I have trust and confidence in my supervisor: 2006 – 63.8%; 2008 – 64.2%; 2010 – 66.5%
• I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders: 2006 – 49.5%; 2008 – 52.1%; 2010 – 55.6%
• How satisfied are you with the work/life programs in your agency: 2006 – 38.6%; 2008 – 39.9%; 2010 – 35.4%
To read the entire report, visit the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s website.
Working Virtually—Challenges and Benefits
Posted by Dominic Giammarinaro in Communication, Government, Ken Blanchard, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance, Productivity, Teams, Technology, Telework, Trust, Virtual on April 22, 2010
By Ruth Anne Randolph
With the blizzard that hit the Washington DC area earlier this year, estimates of the cost of lost productivity among federal government agencies totaled $550,000,000 for one lost week. When people cannot physically get to their offices, current technology offers multiple options to allow staff to continue to work from home. Recently, I talked with a client who wasn’t in her office because of the blizzard, then a personal illness, for three weeks in February. Yet, she was productive because her agency was set up for teleworking.
Why is teleworking not more wide-spread in the federal government? It is beginning, but government is not leading the way. If teleworking were more established, this loss of productivity would definitely be mitigated.
What holds government agencies back? Lack of trust and accountability are big hang-ups, our clients tell me. Can we address these hurdles? Absolutely. The virtual work world has to be structured with more intentional support and clear direction because people do not have the safety net of informal communications. Expectations must be crystal clear, with milestones and check-ups more defined.
As Ken Blanchard says, “As a manager, the important thing is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you are not there.”
What ideas do you have on building trust and ensuring accountability? How can government agencies maintain productivity while staff telework?
Can we look at the blizzard of 2010 as an opportunity to open the door to new approaches to improve performance and worker satisfaction even when it is 70 degrees?
Government Roundtable Issues #4
Posted by Jim Atwood in Communication, Employee Engagement, Silos, Teams, The Ken Blanchard Companies, Transparency, Trust, Vision on June 25, 2009
At The Ken Blanchard Companies Government Roundtable in Washington DC, attendees were asked to participate in a table discussion on an issue of importance. Below is the fourth and final set of consolidated notes from each table discussion.
Issue 4—Employee Engagement
What are the top 3 to 5 ways that your table team identified how Employee Engagement impacts productivity and/or morale?
• Negative morale—Impacts productivity
• Not fully engaged—Not using all your resources
• Communication—Suggestions
• Misconceptions—Goals and outcomes
• Lack of engagement—Leads to fear
• Employee engagement increases ownership
• Engagement increases morale & productivity
• Transparency
• Engaged employees leads to trust and mutual respect
• Engaged employees understand the bigger picture/bigger vision
What are the top 3 strategies and/or activities your table team identified that can be employed to enhance Employee Engagement? What are the top 3 activities that should be avoided to prevent a decrease in Employee Engagement?
Enhance:
• Communication
–As open as you can be
–Be open to other ideas
• Work with change agents
• Building Trust
• Engage yourself
• Keep your commitments
• Engagement–motivates everyone
• Seek employee input
• Provide interaction opportunities
• Transparency/open door policy
• Climate surveys – are they using them
• Group challenges for improvement
• Involve the people who prepare sound changes
• Builds awareness
• Dedicated weekly time/Open agenda
Avoid:
• Get people to get out of their comfort zones
• Decrease miscommunication
• Creating silos
• Restrictive chain-of-command
• Lack of communication
Government Roundtable Issue #2
Posted by Jim Atwood in Collaboration, Communication, Direction, Performance, Relationships, Roles, Teams, The Ken Blanchard Companies on June 18, 2009
At The Ken Blanchard Companies Government Roundtable in Washington DC, attendees were asked to participate in a table discussion on an issue of importance. Below is the second set of consolidated notes from each table discussion.
Issue 2—Managing Performance
How can managing performance positively impact productivity and/or morale? How can the failure to manage performance negatively impact productivity and/or morale?
Positive:
- Personal accomplishment / satisfaction / achievement
- Mission achievement / results (outcomes)
- More collaboration
- Clarity of goal setting – “What does an ‘A’ look like”
- Communication can enhance performance (constructive feedback is critical)
- Inflated rating tasks don’t always mirror actual pd
- Rating should be based in reality and “connect” on all levels
- Focus on relevancy of performance plan – re-evaluate periodically to test the barometer of relevancy
- Objectivity is key. Create a team culture of success. No ‘I’ in team, “we” not me
Negatives:
- Lack of direction / roles understanding
- Loss of staff
- Harder to move people
- Project delays
- Lack of clarity
- Leads to a lack of accountability between employer and management.
- Stop equating Managing Performance with FEAR on the part of the employee.
What are the top 3 to 5 strategies and/or activities your table team identified that can be employed to ensure positive impact of managing performance?
- Cross-functional teams
- Regular meetings
- Develop relationships/communication
- Clearly define roles + expectations (more frequently than once/year)
- Rewarding success / communicating success
- Have objective conversation between leader/manager and staff person to determine what priorities should be.
- Have elastic and relevant goals.
- Know critical success factors and what ties them together.
- Coach and train leadership as well as staff on issues that drive better performance.
- Create a culture of “helping” everyone succeed. Find the ‘new normal’. Distinguish “goals” what stretches you and the tasks at hand.
- Focus on clarity of mission.
- Build relationships with employees.
- Feedback shouldn’t be reserved for the negative.
- Encourage ongoing communication with employees not just on performance issues.
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