I read an interesting article in The Globe and Mail (Canada’s national newspaper) last week on setting New Year’s resolutions. It said that evidence shows that more people keep and achieve their resolutions for the upcoming year when someone else sets them for them! I found this really interesting.
It seems that the key pre-requisites for success are (1) that the person setting the resolutions for you knows you and has unique insights into what you could benefit from working on (things that we as individuals often can’t see for ourselves); (2) that the person receiving the resolutions find them reasonable and accept them as being worthy of the effort; and (3) that the person setting the resolutions provide ongoing support and encouragement as the other strives to achieve the resolutions.
It turns out that the two-way accountability that occurs in this situation plays a critical role in the successful achievement of the New Year’s resolutions.
Now, I know that many people don’t bother to set resolutions. “They’ll just get broken before the end of January” they say. Others think that using the turn of the year as the trigger for choosing to make a change in behavior is a ridiculous idea. When you think about it, resolutions are really just goals and, by custom, we give our goals a special name at the beginning of the new year – probably to give them greater importance (and to increase the chance that we’ll actually stick with them).
Goals are critical for people AND organizations, no matter what time of the year you choose to set them. Goals give us something to strive for and generally drive us forward, whether it be in our personal lives or in the performance of our companies. Whatever trigger you use to decide to establish goals, and whether you call them resolutions or not, I support anyone who wants to strive for better performance and outcomes through goal-setting.
Getting back to the idea promoted by that article I read – I started wondering whether having someone from outside an organization set resolutions or goals could work in the same way as it does in personal situations. I think that it could so I thought that I would make some suggestions for your organization.
Recall that the first pre-requisite for success in this effort is that the person setting the resolutions knows the person, or company, and have unique insights into what they could benefit from working on.
Do I qualify? Maybe…..
Though I may not have the luxury of having personal knowledge of your company, I have worked closely with many organizations over the past year – giving me the chance to notice some similarities in opportunities for improvement across businesses. I have also had lots of conversations with business leaders and colleagues about the critical improvement areas for companies in a variety of industries and sectors. Finally, I have been keeping my eye on the trends in business over the past 12 months and have added these insights into the mix.
Based on what I have observed in, and about, organizations over the past year, here are the goals or resolutions I would make for your organization if you were to invite me to do so.
Resolution 1: Break Free from Your Focus on Short-termism
Short-term thinking is a big problem in many organizations. In the private sector, it seems to be driven by the demands of the street and shareholders to see continually improving financial performance quarter after quarter. In the public sector, it is often driven by the election cycle and the term of the existing political administration. For those jurisdictions where there is the chance of frequent government and policy change, many public servants feel that they have no choice but to adopt a short-term view in their work.
While I know that it is important to deliver short-term results in any organization, I never believe that a short-term decision (and result) is worth it if it destroys the long-term value of a company or will severely limit an organization in its efforts to successfully achieve its mission.
You will get no argument from me that there can be serious tensions between short-term and long-term objectives and decisions in any organization. The key to success (and the gist of this suggested resolution) is for business leaders to get back to managing this tension rather than focusing on short-term matters and decisions almost exclusively.
Sometimes short-term decisions will have both short and long-term benefits. More often than not, a short-term objective or decision will have negative consequences in the long-term. In this scenario, tradeoffs are required by business leaders. The key to doing a better job with these tradeoffs is to make both the short and long-term objectives of your organization visible at all times and to place them front and center in the conversation when business decisions are being made. This is called conscious decision-making – making short-term decisions with a full understanding of, and consideration for, their long-term impact on the objectives and direction of your organization.
So, here is how you can put this resolution into action:
Do not shy away from managing the tension between short and long-term objectives in your business decision making process by always taking the short-term route. Acknowledge that both the short-term and the long-term need to be actively considered and managed in every key strategic business decision and do it in an informed and transparent way as frequently as possible. Leverage such tools as a weighted strategy map and the balanced scorecard to do this more effectively. Model this behavior to all business leaders in your organization and help them do the same in their business decision making. While you will still find yourself making short-term decisions, you may find that you make different short-term decisions that provide a good short-term result while also benefiting the long-term objectives and prospects of your business.
Resolution 2: Focus on Leading, Not Managing
Are you a manager or a leader? According to a definition offered by about.com, a manager “is a person responsible for planning and directing the work of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary.” This definition suggests a top down approach where the manager controls the work of others and that the thinking about what should be done and how to do it is the sole responsibility of the manager. Because of their propensity for action, many managers are very hands-on, controlling or micro-managing every decision the employees on their team make.
Does this sound like you? Most organizations have too many managers, even at the executive level.
Successful strategy execution and business performance is built on a different model – one where leaders lead. Leading includes: establishing the playing field and boundaries for employees (i.e. what’s in and what’s out in terms of behavior, direction, and work); opening up the lines of communication across the team and organization; facilitating, connecting, and integrating people across the organization; and getting out of the way so that people from all over the company can create innovative ways of putting the business strategy into action and make aligned business decisions that will move your organization forward in the right direction.
Leading in this way requires new skills including looking out, looking in, and looking ahead. It also requires asking “Are we doing the right things right?” and thinking strategically (i.e. thinking about the impact of today’s actions and business decisions on the future of the business). Leading successfully means helping managers and employees at all levels of the organization start thinking in this way and seeing that they are actually able to spend time on this as an expectation of performance (that is, making it a part of their regular work activities).
So, here is how you can put this resolution into action:
First, consciously make the switch from managing to leading behaviors. Every time you catch yourself controlling the work and decisions of those who report to you, stop and take the time to change your approach whenever possible. Next, encourage those managers who report to you to actively become leaders. Model the desired behavior for them and coach them in the fundamentals of leadership. Finally, always ask employees knowledgeable questions, with a focus on strategy, about the fundamentals of proposed decisions and action plans. Test the validity of these decisions and plans and their alignment with strategy, probe on the progress of action plans (and the impact they are having on moving the business forward), and publically praise and recognize employees who engage with the business strategy, model strategic thinking, and lead effectively.
Resolution 3: Look at, and Do, Communications in a New Way
Internal and external communication is a problem for many organizations. Not enough time and/or resources are placed on communications and there is often no clear plan. Limited communication vehicles are used to drive information throughout the organization. Communications are not created within a clear framework of objectives and desired outcomes, are reactive rather than pro-active, do not reach or capture the attention of the intended audience, and are uni-directional in nature. Sub-optimization of communications is the road to sub-optimized business performance.
Your internal and external communications play a critical role in the strategic success of your business. At the very least, it keeps internal and external audiences “in the loop” with what is going on across your organization. In the best case scenarios, your communications both inform and engage audiences so that you are able to engage in two-way conversations and dialogue that move your organization forward further and faster than you ever thought possible. Unleashing the ideas, thoughts, input, and feedback of as many people as possible from inside and outside your company is very powerful and has a transformative effect on the execution of business strategy and the achievement of business performance results.
To “do” communications in this new way, it is critical to develop a solid internal and external communication plan that clearly outlines: communication triggers; messages; target audiences; vehicles; tactics; timing; timelines; spokespeople; and action owners. In addition, the new style of communication leverages such interactive vehicles as social media (e.g. twitter, blogs, videos, and Facebook) and internal business community software. Internal group conversations, wikis, and other collaboration tools are new vehicles that are key in making two-way dialogue a reality.
So, here is how you can put this resolution into action:
Begin by assessing the performance/success of past and current communication efforts including an inventory of communication mechanisms, approaches, and infrastructure and then evaluate the capability of each. Determine required communication campaigns including key objectives, calls to action, desired outcomes, and measures of campaign and communication success. Leveraging your knowledge of audience communication needs and preferences, as well as your communication objectives and goals, review and assess possible communication mechanisms and vehicles. With this information, create appropriate communication strategies and develop a comprehensive communication plan. Resource your communication plan (i.e. assign people to implement and manage the plan AND ensure that the plan is supported with the necessary budget) and then execute. Measure impact and adjust the plan as required as you go. Doing this will revolutionize both your organization’s approach to communication, and the success you achieve through it.
So, there you have it - my three resolutions for 2012 for your organization (if you would allow me to choose them for you of course!). I hope that you think that they are reasonable and worthy of effort in the upcoming year.
I have kept the list brief so that you will have the opportunity to successfully implement all of them over 2012. Based on my experience, no matter where you currently are on any of these three items, your organization will be further ahead by the end of this New Year (i.e. more effective strategy execution and better business performance results) if you focus on your particular opportunities for improvement in each of these areas.
Just a reminder – be sure to find someone to provide you and your organization with support and encouragement as you strive to achieve these resolutions (it’s a critical part of the success formula).
Here’s to a successful New Year!
Thank you for sharing your articles, I hope you have an interesting and creative new year.
Posted by: india to maldives cruise | 01/05/2012 at 04:11 AM