I have been hearing leaders talk about their desire to become 'learning organizations' for the past 15 years.  I wonder what they think a learning organization looks like.  Over the past few months, I have taken several informal polls to find out how people learn and improve within their organizations.  The results are discouraging. 

Poll # 1 - Do people in your organization have time to reflect and think about the outcomes of their actions? 

I sent out this poll to all members of LinkedIn.  Over 200 people responded in the first hour that the poll was available.  Only 13% indicated that they had plenty of time to reflect.  Over half said that they had very little or no time to reflect.  One person commented that we can't expect sustainable growth either personally or for our companies if we don't take the time to think about our outcomes.  Another questioned (rhetorically) whether it is better to make the same mistakes over and over or to take the time to reflect.  Another challenged leaders to think about whether they wanted to 'waste' or 'invest' time! 

Poll #2 - How does your company conduct debriefs after projects in order to capture lessons learned? 

This time over 400 people responded to the poll in LinkedIn.  The results were somewhat encouraging in that 44% indicated that they at least usually debrief.  However only 24% said that they had a formal process and a full third of those who responded said that they rarely or never debrief.  This poll elicited many comments!  One person questioned whether these percentages of debriefers was too high.  In fact, when I took a closer look at the data, I found that most of those who said that they use a formal process for debriefing were consultants.  Most engineers rarely or never debrief!

Others said that the quality of the debriefs was so poor and fuzzy that nothing could be learned and carried forward. 

In another survey that we conducted pertaining to sustainable practices within organizations, 86% of the respondents said that continual learning was a core focus of their organizations.  Yet only 62% agreed that they had enough time to reflect and learn at work.  And this sample included some stellar organizations  known for their great work in Sustainability strategies.  

So what is my take-away from this informal research?  It seems to me that we are engaging in what my family used to call 'wishful thinking.'  Most of us would like to achieve growth both personally and professionally.  Yet we don't invest the time and process into those activities that would foster the growth. 
My next set of questions to people at work will focus on how they achieve continuous improvement.  Stay tuned. 

We’re excited to launch the first in a series of Employee Engagement surveys, and invite you to be a part of it.

We like to find out about employee attitudes and motivations in companies’ sustainability efforts. Is it being driven by management, or by passionate employees? Results will be posted once a month to our site.

If you would share your thoughts in this short survey, you will be entered for a drawing of a $100 gift card to Amazon.com this month!

TAKE SURVEY HERE

As I have work ed with leaders who are challenged daily with the problems of these tough times, I have learned some tips for surviving and thriving: 

1.  Connect with those who care about you from the present and the past.
2.  Engage in activities that help you control your anxiety about the future.
3.  Don't get hooked by the small stuff .(Many are prone to volatility when under stress).
4.  Take the time each day to engage in at least one task or activity about which you are passionate.
5.  Several times a day ask yourself "what is the most important thing I can do now for the company?"
6.  Several times a day ask yourself, "what is the most important thing I can do now for me?"
7.  When faced with difficult challenges, reconnect with your core values to guide your decisions.
8.  Find joy every day in some part of your life and experience it fully. 
9.  Recognize that leadership is stressful and that only the resilient survive.
10.  Lead with strength and compassion.  Others are emulating you.   
 

Times are tough and we all need connections with others to help us through the turmoil.  Never has human touch been more important than now. 

I ran across an article recently that reported the latest research on how people feel about attending meetings.  The interesting conclusion was that people complain about too many meetings.  However, when their attendance at meetings is reduced, they report feeling isolated and missing the meetings.  The authors of the reports suggested that people underestimate their need for human interaction in this electronic world.  How much we still need to connect with people face-to-face, share jokes, stories, make eye contact.   Technology will never replace this need. 

I would certainly agree with those who suggest that meetings can be very inefficient, use up resources, and generally waste a lot out time.  However, I think that the suggestion that meetings should, therefore, be curtailed if not eliminated may be missing the point.  The key to successful meetings is for those conducting them to know how to structure them appropriately, who to include, how to help people prepare, how to determine the meeting type,what to cover, and how to follow up afterword.  Well-planned meetings can be unsurpassed for value.  Not only can much work get done in a meeting, but people can strengthen the bonds that allow them to be more engaged in their work and collaborate better with each other when the tasks require it.  Meetings solidify the ties that last long after the meeting ends.  I find that people are much more likely to contact each other by phone or email when they have a question or a need after they have established relationships with each other face-to-face.  Let's face it.  No one really likes to make cold calls -- even within their own company.

I do a lot of professional and executive coaching.  I carry out the coaching face-to-face and by phone.  Most companies prefer that the coaching be done via technology because it is more convenient and cheaper.  However, over the years I have discovered that the face-to-face coaching offers far more value for the money in comparison with the phone coaching. We can accomplish as much in one 2-hour face-to-face meeting as we would accomplish in weeks of phone coaching.  Communication is clearer. Connections are stronger and commitments to the process are greater.  

I'm not saying that people can make no progress in virtual meetings, one-on-one phone conversations, or through emails.  All of these approaches to working together have their place and their advantages.  I am saying that nothing will ever replace the face-to-face meetings that build human connections,  trust, collaboration and engagement .  Let's not give up on the necessity of the  'human moments' at work especially when times are tough and we are all feeling the stress of the challenges that we face.  The human touch is critical to productivity and morale in organizations facing hard times.   

 Over the past year we have conducted hundreds of leadership assessments.  We have found a prevalent gap in leaders' comfort with and ability to deal with ambiguity.  They don't like  gray areas or uncertainty.  This phenomenon is troubling since we are in the middle of unprecedented uncertainty stemming from global competitiveness, economic pressures, and a new generation of workers who don't hold the same approach to work as the current leaders.   In fact, I could fill a few pages with all of the conditions that are currently creating a very uncertain business environment. 

Certainly traditional training and development will not address the issue.  Comfort with ambiguity can be developed (to a degree) through several avenues.  When we coach leaders facing this problem, we start with practical suggestions such as developing several scenarios concerning the future over which they have little certainty.  We ask them to develop plans for each of the possible futures.   For example, if the uncertainty pertains to the cost of raw materials, we would suggest that they generate several scenarios concerning how the costs could vary and how strategy could address the cost variations.  Or perhaps the uncertainty is with forecasting sales.  Once again we would suggest that they generate a series of scenarios concerning sales, factors that could affect sales and contingency plans for addressing each scenario.  We have found that this process of constructing scenarios and devising strategies for each gives the leaders a greater sense of control of the uncertain future. 

In addition to the practical scenario approach, we also use a deeper coaching process.  We work with  leaders around issues pertaining to courage, flexibility and the value of reflecting before acting.  We have found that some leaders become paralyzed by uncertainty while others act without thinking in order to reduce their own anxiety.  These deeper levels of coaching require our coaches to first diagnose the root causes of the discomfort and the likely behaviors of each individual leader.  Once the diagnosis is made, the coach can tailor a plan to the unique needs of the leader. Yes this process can be intense and takes time.  However the payoffs are great.  And can your company really afford to ignore the issues?  The question to ask when considering these coaching options is this:  In these times of great uncertainty and ambiguity, what is the cost to the company when leaders cannot deal with it?  What is the payback for moving leaders towards a more balanced reaction to uncertainty and a more productive approach to managing their discomfort with ambiguity?  The results will justify the efforts. 

In honor of our 30th anniversary, we are making our Sustainability Leadership and Culture Assessment available to you through December. 

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.  We will publish the results in January. 

Here is the link: 

Survey Link

Miller Consultants is proud to be piloting an organizational diagnostic tool for assessing a company's readiness for succeeding with sustainability initiatives.  The following is a sample of the 65 item on-line survey instrument:

Organizational Assessment:  Sustainability Initiative Readiness Rate your level of agreement with each of the following statements.

1=strongly disagree    5 = strongly agree d/k=don’t know.

1……………2……………3……………4……………5 D/K

 

1. Our leaders have a clear vision for sustainability in our company.
2. Our suppliers are familiar with the concepts of sustainability and what our company is already doing. 
3. By and large, people in our organization are very engaged in their work.
4. We have a clear strategy for engaging each stakeholder group or individuals in our sustainability efforts and gaining commitment from them to our goals. 
5. Our company has a strong track record of implementing large-scale change successfully.
6. The level of trust within our organization is very high.
7.  People in the company have enough time to reflect and think about the outcomes of their actions. 

Each item is based on the outcome of at least one major research study of organizational attitudes and behaviors pertaining sustainability.  We are using the assessment to help companies develop their goals, strategies and roadmaps pertaining to the triple bottom line.     For more information about the pilot and/or the instrument, contact us at kathy@millerconsultants.com or phone us at 502-452-1751. 

NEW:  YOU CAN NOW COMPLETE THE ENTIRE ASSESSMENT ONLINE AT NO COST THROUGH DECEMBER. 

Sustainability Leadership and Culture Assessment Online Survey Pilot

In an ideal world, all of us would love our work and the organizations within which we do it.  We would understand how our companies make money and how we contribute.  However, this ideal scenario is not one that many of us experience.  In my 30 years of consulting,  I have found that almost all leaders would like to create a culture that engages a highly informed workforce.  And yet, the dilemma is how to put together a strategy to get there.  So many company leaders lack the knowledge of how to impact what they consider to be important yet fuzzy stuff like culture.  While they would like for their employees to understand more about the overall business, they aren't sure of the best strategies for facilitating that learning. 

As I participated in the Harvard Business School meetings on Integrated Reporting this Fall, I realized that the process of integrating financial and non-financial variables in one report, if done right, could address the broader issues of employee knowledge and engagement.  Employees would learn about the company's 'big picture' through the cross-functional work required for integrated reporting.  At the same time, they would be likely to feel more engagement with their jobs and their employers by contributing to goals that have meaning, not only to the company's success,  but to the global community. 

As I pondered the possibilities, I decided to write the following chapter for the HBS eBook, The Landscape of Integrated Reporting . The chapter is entitled Employee Engagement and the Holy Grail .  Take a look at my arguments and let me know what you think. 

Public trust in corporations has suffered a setback over the past few years! While I am rarely accused of understating anything, this time I understated.  I believe it is safe to say that many  of us have become fatigued and cynical as we learn more about the causes of the global economic crises.  We ask ourselves why no one was able to see the troubles brewing long before the explosion. We are all hearing,if not calling for, a renewed commitment to transparency.   

The context within which our companies function is indeed complex.  All businesses have many stakeholders including customers, community, suppliers, stockholders and employees.  How do we create trust within our far-flung stakeholder community?  I believe that the key to rebuilding trust is to provide our stakeholders with a wide array of information about our business, our strategies, our operations, our values, and how we hold ourselves accountable.  And we must engage our stakeholders in a two-way conversation. 

I wrote a chapter for the Harvard Business School eBook, The Landscape of Integrated Reporting.  The essence of the chapter is that we can use our corporate reporting processes to become better stewards of our resources - both financial and nonfinancial.  And in order to engage in better, more integrated reporting, we have to manage our companies differently and better.  Sound reporting must be based on sound management.  My chapter, Building Trust in the Collaborative Community , outlines how business leaders can rebuild trust with stakeholders. 

We have been working with leadership and organizational culture for the past 30 years.  Recently we have been engaged in R&D around the issues of how organizational culture either hinders or helps companies execute their sustainabiltiy strategies.  As we began the third round of pilots of our culture assessment instrument, we noticed some interesting patterns in one area of the survey assessment:  how companies address ongoing learning within the organization.  We decided to expand the assessment to the more general question of how companies learn from experience.  We are casting a wide net to get an answer to this question and will publish the results.  Please weigh in!    

Take the 20 second poll on LinkedIn. 

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/111325/fmota