Organization Change & Leadership Scholar Mike Manning Announced as New Faculty Member

Benedictine University’s Center for Values-Driven Leadership (CVDL, www.cvdl.org) announced Dr. Mike Manning as the Center’s newest faculty member. Manning will join the staff immediately, with responsibility for teaching, advising, and research.  

“Mike is the quintessential scholar-practitioner,” says Dr. Jim Ludema, director of the CVDL and a professor of leadership and change at Benedictine University. “He is a leader in the fields of leadership and organization change, and is extremely well published in the top journals in the field, but he is also a world-class consultant, facilitator of large scale organization change initiatives, expert at creating specialized leadership development programs, and designing applied research initiatives.”

Dr. Manning has a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Administrative Science and has held faculty appointments at New Mexico State University, Case Western Reserve University, Fielding Graduate University, and SUNY-Binghamton. He currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and is active in the Academy of Management, where he is a former Chair of the Organization Development and Change Division.

“The CVDL is truly a bold and innovative approach, coupling a one-of-a-kind executive doctoral program with an applied research center,” says Manning. “My excitement rests in being part of creating this new model, working with the talented individuals at the CVDL, and learning more about how values play a vital role in organizing now and in the future. The potential of the Center is awe inspiring.”

Four Questions to Start Your Next Staff Meeting

New Years festivities are officially over - but that doesn't 

mean you can't start your staff meetings with a little  

reflection and celebration.

The New Year is here to stay (though that won't keep us from writing 2012 accidentally). But just because January 1 has come and gone doesn't mean the time for reflection and celebration has passed.

Take advantage of this fresh start to give a little overdue praise, seek extra feedback, or rehash the post-game analysis on the year that has passed. Extra time spent in reflection and celebration will help your direct reports start the new year feeling heard, respected, supported, and refreshed.

Here are four questions for use in staff meetings or one-on-one check-ins, that will give you a new perspective on what's on your team's mind.

1. If our team were a movie this past year, it would be a ________________. (Comedy, drama, tragedy).

This question offers a broad-brush stroke look at the past year, but also opens the door for more serious conversations: what themes reoccurred in the past year? Were they positive or negative? How can we foster what's working, and make this team perform like a blockbuster in 2013?

2. The things I am most proud of from the past year include ________________, ________________, and ________________. (Encourage employees to list personal as well as professional achievements. 

You may be surprised at what  your team lists here. If you haven't publicly thanked or congratulated them for their top achievements, take time to do so now. Help employees see how their individual contributions add to the team's overall success - or even how their personal achievements develop skill sets and attributes that are useful at the office. For example, you might say, "I'm impressed that you beat your own personal best record in your marathon. I know training takes a lot of discipline and hard work, and I see how you bring that to the office as well. It's an inspiration to me."

3. The  disappointments we experienced this past year were ________________. 

It can be hard to discuss disappointments directly, but awareness of them provides a clearer picture of the new year's growth opportunities. It can also give senior executives a chance to assess where the team is fruitlessly investing their time: how can you shift assignments, change priorities, or improve processes in the coming year?

4. 2013 will be great because ________________. 

End conversations on a positive and future-focused note with a question that lets employees state goals. Share your own, and hold each other accountable. Find a way as a leader to support these goals: for example, if you have employees with weight-loss goals, consider holding walk-and-talk meetings that allow you to move a little more during the work day.

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These questions are adapted from Laura Zumdahl, a contributor to this blog. Read more of Laura's ideas:

• How Shame Shapes Leaders & Sabotages Success
• Contriving Culture: How Responsible Leaders Can & Should Shape Culture

Positive Energy Drives Positive Results

Over 100 senior executives attended Positive Strategies 

for Extraordinary Leadership, our  most recent senior 

executive roundtable.

Over 100 senior executives gathered on January 11th to discuss strategies for exceptional leadership, at the Center for Values-Driven Leadership's Senior Executive Roundtable, Positive Strategies for Extraordinary Leadership. 

Positive leaders result in employees with higher job satisfaction ratings who contribute greater innovation, exhibit more cohesion, and feel happier in their work and personal lives, said keynote speaker Kim Cameron, Ph.D., a professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan. Cameron's latest research, which he shared as part of the roundtable, explores the contribution of "energy networks" to high performance. High performing firms have three times as many positively energizing networks than low performing firms. 

Cameron's research explores energy
networks in high performing companies. 

In layman's terms, energizing networks are the personal relationships and communication channels between employees and teams that facilitate work flow. "Positive energy is an attractor," Cameron says. When executives are strong contributors to positive energy networks, they can anticipate higher productivity and better team relationships. 

How can you develop your own positive energy? Cameron says the first place to start is by smiling more. Listening, giving credit to others, and using appropriate rewards also contribute. 

Fellow keynote speaker Paul Spiegelman, an Inc. columnist and the founder and CEO of BerylHealth, echos this approach. The most important words a leader can use, he says, are "I don't know. What do you think?" Spiegelman says this approach to problem solving engenders team ownership in finding solutions and gives employees a chance to let their best ideas bubble to the surface, making them feel valued and supported. 

An engaging culture makes Spiegelman's
company more than just a fun place
to work. It makes it profitable. 

Spiegelman's company, which provides concierge call center service for some of the nation's largest hospital systems, has earned national recognition for its strong, employee-focused culture. As CEO, Spiegelman says he spends the largest share of his time maintaining the culture, including putting processes in place for caring for employees in the totality of their lives. His company uses an intranet system that allows employees to report significant life events - graduations, new babies, marriages, completing a marathon - fellow colleagues have experienced. Spiegelman then writes a personal note to each person. 

"You wouldn't believe the number of employees that tell me how much those notes mean to them," he says. But this kindness isn't just a compassionate act from a caring leader. Spiegelman believes the personal interactions and culture-ingrained fun at Beryl contribute to the company's financial success. "We call it the Circle of Growth," he says. "Invest in your people, they will make your customers more loyal, this will drive your bottom line."

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Learn more about CVDL events at www.cvdl.org/roundtable. Interested in ongoing learning? Consider applying to our Ph.D./D.B.A. program in values-driven leadership. The next cohort begins April 5, 2013. 

Workplace Resolutions that Increase Productivity and Improve Culture

Used with permission from lululemon athletica. 

Here's a little exercise to help you ease your way back to work this week: 

Grab a piece of scrap paper and write down every New Year's resolution you've ever made. Circle any you kept for more than a month or two.

Any circled on your list? Almost half of us have made a New Year's resolution this year, and yet only 10 percent will manage to keep it.

Chances are, the resolutions on your list match the most common resolutions:

• Lose Weight and Get Fit
• Quit Smoking
• Learn Something New
• Eat Healthier and Diet
• Get Out of Debt and Save Money
• Spend More Time with Family
• Travel to New Places
• Be Less Stressed
• Volunteer
• Drink Less

It's interesting, isn't it, that we spend more time at work than just about any where else, and yet virtually none of our most common resolutions have to do with the work place. Up your resolve this year by setting a workplace resolution or two. Here are a few for workplace leaders to consider:

To Increase Productivity

• Set a "Meeting-free Monday" rule: You can see a dramatic increase in productivity by reserving one day of the week for getting stuff done, rather than meeting about getting stuff done. Ask your staff to do the same. Set a goal of managing two meeting-free Monday's per month, with a reduced schedule on the other Mondays. Block time on your calendar today. 

• Reduce the email in your life: Here's a three step process to getting rid of the junk in your email inbox:

1. Take 20 minutes today to unsubscribe from the email newsletters you never read. 
2. Ask your assistant to send an end-of-day update email with calendar changes and important notifications, rather than sending messages as changes occur. 
3. Think about what email you really do want, and communicate your wishes to your staff. Here's an example:
   
   "Dear Management Team - I'm making an effort to reduce the email in my inbox so I can be more responsive to the messages that merit my time and attention. In the future, please try to only send me messages that require a response. If an 'FYI' message is necessary, let me know at the start of the email that a response isn't required. You can further help me out by using specific subject lines ('3rd quarter sales dip expected, but big contract coming early in Q4') rather than generic subject lines ('update on sales expectations'). Thanks for understanding."

To Improve Culture

• Participate: It's been said that leadership is lonely. Sometimes it is. And sometimes it's only so because we make it that way. Make an effort to participate in the office Fantasy Football league (no gambling, of course). Post a photo of your kids on Christmas morning to the office bulletin board of social media site like Yammer. Eat lunch in the cafeteria. Pick one way to participate each month, and reserve time on your schedule today.
• Live and breath your values statement: Most companies have a set of five to seven corporate values that are meant to guide decision making and insure transparency and ethical leadership. But the values can't do their job if they never leave the website or over-the-water-cooler placement. If you really want your employees to value innovation, or trustworthiness, you have to model it. Start with storytelling: at staff meetings, by email, and in one-on-one conversations, share stories of decision-making and leadership as shaped by the values you have adopted. Encourage managers and directors to do the same. Set a goal of sharing three stories a week. 

What workplace resolutions do you have this year? Share your ideas in the comments section.

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Amber Johnson is the Center for Values-Driven Leadership's corporate relations and social media advisor. She is a non-profit and small business communications professional. 

Leaders Manage Meaning

When we connect with others through our framing, we shape reality.  What’s more, if we “manage meaning” when others are unable, we emerge as leaders.  ~Gail T. Fairhurst

This past week I experienced one of the many perks of living in downtown Chicago – a night at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO).  The musicians casually filed in, warmed up their instruments, carefully tuned following the first violin’s lead, and then quietly and reverently waited for the conductor to enter.  He enters and is welcomed with applause. The conductor could have turned his back to the audience, raised his arms, and began the first piece. But he didn't.

Instead, the conductor turned to the audience and described the first piece in great detail.  He told us about the composer, Dvorak, and how the piece was written toward the end of his life. He went on to describe the visual images throughout the piece, what we would sense, how it would flow, and what was being communicated throughout the music.

All of this reminded me of the very important and artful skill of leadership that we many times rush past – framing.  As Fairhurst states, we shape reality when we take the time to connect through framing. Framing might be accomplished through a story, a metaphor, visual images, or group exercise. As an example, it's taking the time at the beginning of a meeting to set the stage. On several occasions when I've known that those in the meeting have varied opinions and the discussion could create tension, I tell the fable of Three Blind Men and an Elephant.  It acts as a reminder that even though we may see the situation from different perspectives given our individual experiences, that doesn't mean any one of us is right and all others are wrong. 

Framing can better prepare individuals for an effective meeting and framing can also communicate vision and priorities. I recall a meeting with a college strategic planning committee that was struggling to articulate their collective vision. At one point, the president (finally!) stated his vision through framing and it seemed to connect with the committee members. Then the president, somewhat stunned at their surprise, said, “That's what I said in my inaugural speech three years ago.”  Somehow, he thought he could frame his entire tenure as president in one speech at his inauguration. Framing vision and priorities is something that leaders must do constantly, not once a year at an annual meeting, or once in a career.

One of the most effective examples of framing might be Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. The vast majority of the speech was framing. He was "managing meaning" when others were unable. I'll admit few of us are orators even close to the likes of Dr. King. But we can each find our individual art of framing. My church has a periodic guest speaker who uses visual aids in the form of props to an extreme.  But he uses those props to "manage meaning" and frame his message. I recently heard a speaker who artfully used fables to frame complex ideas.  I frequently facilitate meetings with leadership teams and I try to come up with a participative exercise that sets the tone and direction for the meeting.

Back to my evening with the CSO. Because the conductor took the time to "frame" each piece, I have no doubt I that my concert experience was much richer had he not taken the time to shape reality for the audience. Bravo, CSO, bravo!

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Dr. Kathryn Scanland is the president of Greystone Global LLC, a consulting firm focusing on strategic planning, leadership development and organizational design. This post is republished with permission from Tuesday Mornings.

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Four Things Strong Leaders Always Do (Plus an Invitation to Learn More)

There was a time when I looked forward to December as a time to slow down a little: sure, there were always extra parties to attend and shopping to be done, but my work calendar thinned out in the weeks preceding the end of the year. And on my emptier work days, I could look forward to a lighter To Do List and a few less meetings. 

Not so anymore. If your schedule feels like mine, you're on a collision course with end-of-year deadlines. The To Do List is growing by leaps and bounds. 

Through our research at the Center for Values-Driven Leadership, we spend a lot of time asking leaders how they spend their time. One CEO of a Inc. 500 company recently told us he spends 75 percent of his time, or more, on developing a positive culture. Not on spreadsheets, or dashboards, or metrics (though he watches all those things carefully as well). The result is a fast growing company that outperforms its closest competitor by 40 percent. 

Dr. Kim Cameron, of the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship has found that positive leaders are often exceptionally invested in people and culture. His research indicates that positive leaders always have these four items on their To Do Lists:

To Do #1: Foster a positive work climate. Specifically, positive leaders focus on creating environments that welcome compassion, forgiveness, and expressions of gratitude. Such expressions help transform people, which in turn helps transform the organization.

To Do #2: Foster positive relationships among members. Kim and his colleagues found that creating positive mentoring relationships, and helping people find the right fit on the right team, went a long way toward achieving extraordinary performance.

To Do #3: Foster positive communication. When given information about their best-self, their strengths, and their unique contributions, team members are able to capitalize on these strengths to the benefit of the organization.

To Do #4: Associate the work being done with positive meaning. When people experience a sense of calling in their work, performance is elevated and individual well-being is enhanced. Leaders can help people see how their contribution is meaningful and supported.

Whatever is at the top of your end-of-year To Do List, make time for these four items. You can learn more about positive leadership practices from Dr. Kim Cameron at our upcoming Senior Executive Roundtable:

• January 11, 2013 | 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• (with networking reception to follow)
• Tellabs Campus, 1415 W. Diehl Road, Naperville, IL
• Registration (including two books): $50/person | Teams welcome

Our speakers are global experts on positive leadership: Dr. Kim Cameron of the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship; and CEO of the Beryl Companies and Inc. Magazine columnist Paul Spiegelman. Learn more and register today at www.cvdl.org/Roundtable. 

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Amber Johnson is the Center for Values-Driven Leadership's corporate relations and social media advisor. She is a non-profit and small business communications professional. In addition to blogging about business for the CVDL, Amber writes about marriage and other topics on her personal blog. 

Positive Relationships Spur Exceptional Performance: Three Tips on Connecting Appreciation and Performance

This post originally appeared in our
November eNews.

Most of us know how to show gratitude and appreciation to friends and family, but it can be tougher at the office. Yet, research from a variety of sources confirms the link between gratitude, appreciation, and improved performance. You can expect more from people when you take time to say thanks. Here are three examples.

Positive relationships spur exceptional performance.  We know instinctively that people work harder when they are appreciated. What you may not know is that it will make you happier too. In his book Positive Leadership, Dr. Kim Cameron of the University of Michigan shows that it’s what people give to a relationship, rather than what they receive, that accounts for the relationship’s positive effects. Give gratitude, and you’ll feel better about yourself, your employees and their performance. 

Note: Kim Cameron will be joining us on January 11th for a Senior Executive Roundtable, Positive Strategies for Extraordinary Leadership. Registration required. $50/person, teams welcome. Learn more. 

People who feel valued will work for meaning rather than just money. Author Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, concludes that most of us aren’t purely motivated by our salaries or bonuses. Give people tasks that require intelligence and compensate them fairly, and they’ll be motivated by what they find meaningful. Show appreciation for your team by helping them connect their tasks to meaningful outcomes. “Thank you, Ryan, for your exceptional work in serving that client. She told me you made a great impression - we’ll likely get her business, and it’s due in large part to your great work.”

Learn more: See a quick video summarizing Pink’s book in our blog post, Carrots & Sticks are So Last Century.
 
Engaged employees are the future of your business. The four authors of It’s My Company Too!, a new book published by Greenleaf Press, introduce a new pinnacle of employee engagement: entanglement. Entangled employees, they write, are what drive the business forward: they innovate, they lead, they push back. And how do employees get entangled? They work in a strongly positive culture that offers autonomy: in essence, they’re appreciated. Entanglement may at first sound like a negative term, but as it’s been redefined, it’s the best business leaders could hope for in employees, and it revolves around gratitude.
Hear more: Read a review of It’s My Company Too!

This holiday season I plan to make a daily point of expressing gratitude to my colleagues. I hope you’ll find inspiration to do the same: and let us know the effects of gratitude in your company. 

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Jim Ludema, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Values-Driven Leadership and a Professor of Leadership and Change at Benedictine University.