By Kendra Coleman

Over the years, we have seen clients pursue partnerships or relationships that are not good for business, or even for them personally!  And yet, they persist in trying.  That is until they don't …

 

 

The case that follows is about a time when we, at Miller Consultants, suffered the same challenges, and what we learned as a result.  We hope that our lessons learned will help you as you engage in new relationships with other businesses or groups.

Case:

In 2009 Networks Company decided it would focus on growing its business in a key emerging market. Both Networks Company and Miller Consultants had an interest in this market and specialized expertise that could yield great results.  This seemed a great opportunity to proactively partner.  We had worked with Networks Company for a few years providing their clients with leadership development and change management services to support their technical services. Our work together was successful, and we developed positive individual relationships with their staff.  At the business level, however, challenges based on differences in values ensued.   Time and time again, we disagreed about the best way to engage with our clients.    After several projects together, Miller Consultants advocated for greater collaboration and earlier involvement in projects.  For various reasons, we were not able to accomplish this proactive partnership with Networks Company.  Instead, we allowed the pace and amount of work to take precedent and we continued to try to address issues reactively.  We never really sat down to 1) get clear on our own requirements, or 2) discuss and negotiate our mutual needs and interests with Networks Company.

Through 2008, Miller Consultants had mostly joined Networks Company in its primary market.  They got the leads and pursued the technical work with clients.  They brought us in when the client requested change management or other organizational development services.  Because Networks Company “owned” the client, we decided, we would follow their protocols.   Per their own preferred consulting style, Networks Company regarded Miller Consultants more as functional experts rather than collaborative partners.

In 2009, we made a concerted effort to bring Networks Company into our markets with the intent that we would be equal and collaborative partners delivering a high-value, combined service to clients.  We assumed that they would follow our protocols and trust our knowledge of how to engage our clients, as we had done with them.  At the early stages, Miller Consultants initiated conversations to clarify roles and approaches to the work.   While both companies acknowledged our separate areas of expertise, we did not reach agreement about how we would work together to leverage these separate skills.  Instead, we got clear on the outcome (to win work focused in this new market) and the immediate next steps which were focused on how to win the work with the clients.  Perhaps most detrimental of all, we did not fully acknowledge as a team our lessons learned from our past working relationship – what supported us to do good work individually and together, and what got in the way of doing good work

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An Interview with Dr. Kathy Miller by Sue Morgan, OnTrack Consulting, LLC

The perfect person to talk with about sustainability is Dr. Kathy Miller, President of Miller Consultants, who has collaborated with clients for 30 years.

First, let’s set the stage. Encarta Dictionary defines ‘Sustainability’ as:
1) Able to be maintained (viable, defensible, supportable); and
2) Maintaining ecological balance, exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological
balance of an area, (environmental, green, and balanced).  

Q:  Did you see Sustainability as a natural fit for your company?     

Kathy says it’s simple. “We have always focused on the long-term relationship with our customers rather than pushing products or services and engaging in short-term transactions. Kathy became particularly interested in the issues pertaining to the energy and environmental aspects of sustainability while working with one of Miller Consultants’ partner companies, MWH Engineering. MWH Engineering was building a new business in the area of strategic resource management. This business involved helping companies improve their energy and water efficiencies. This work uncovered some ‘softer’ needs such as how to get employees engaged in finding ways to increase energy and water efficiency. Frequently the work required getting employees to collaborate across unfamiliar boundaries within the company. The groups had differing perspectives and definitions of what needed to be addressed. Kathy says that she realized companies needed help in enabling the collaboration and engagement necessary to move these initiatives forward. 

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Finally the corporate world is beginning to come to grips with what sustainability means to their companies and to their survival.  While varying definitions of 'sustainability' abound, more and more companies are embracing values related to sustainability and are defining actions to support the values.  Some are merely looking for ways to comply with new regulations.   Others are looking for better ways to manage their electrical and water resources, and reducing their carbon footprint.  Still others are taking much broader approaches and looking at how the company does business with its shareholders, suppliers, customers and employees.  No matter how narrow or broad a company defines its efforts, success will require activities to enable change within the company. 

Many times those who are assisting with change enablement  to support organizational initiatives use models  of change management.  However, change enablement for supporting sustainability efforts, whether broad or narrow, will differ substantially from the change management for most other corporate initiatives.  Sustainability initiatives are much more complex than almost any other corporate initiative that I have observed or assisted with in my 30 years of consulting.  Thus our traditional models for change are unlikely to be sufficient. 

Certainly some  parts of our traditional  models will apply.  However I do believe that fundamentally, our approach to change enablement for sustainability requires a new  paradigm: 

1. The changes required to enable successful sustainability efforts are enormously transformational.
2. The implications of the 'triple bottom line' are far-reaching and continue to evolve with more data, advances in technologies, etc.  Thus the change process must be organic.
3. Usually the initiatives include a very  broad range of stakeholders who must work together across internal and external boundaries to accomplish change .
4. Sustainability generally energizes the workforce.  Resistance is more likely to occur at the top of the hierarchy than at the bottom. 

We are beginning to build this new paradigm for change that companies are seeking as they take on the hard work of looking at corporate sustainability.  Our work is truly cut out for us! 

Will Six Sigma initiatives lead to sustainable change and long-term improvements in  quality within an organization?  I would argue that sustainable change will not result from Six Sigma projects if the focus is on the use of tools to drive short-term improvements that will result in  immediate impacts on the bottom line.    An article published by Aveta argued that all Black Belts must learn the principles and techniques of change management in order to succeed in their tool-based projects.  I would go several steps beyond this assertion and suggest that long-term, sustainable success will require more focus on the culture within which the improvement projects are embedded. 

As Liker and Hoseus argue in their book, Toyota Culture, the Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way, true sustainable success comes from embedding a philosophy of continuous improvement and respect for people into the organizational culture.  In his book Strategy for Sustainability, Adam Werbach stated that "being a sustainable business means thriving in perpetuity."  The short-term gains that come from Six Sigma projects can lead to businesses that thrive in perpetuity if the projects are couched within the context of an overarching long-term plan.  Leaders who strive to build sustainable organizations will build on the current cultural strengths while planning for cultural transformations over time.  This approach will require black belts to understand far more about change than how to succeed in their tool-based projects.  They will need to learn the processes that lead to transformations. 

Are we prepared to transform our organizations in order to sustain them? 

Are you looking for a way to keep your employees engaged through this time of high economic stress?  Leaders have found that their employees are motivated by assisting with their companies' green strategies.  People are excited about helping their companies reduce energy costs and increase profits while demonstrating a real concern for the environment.  However, the excitement must be sustained by a clear show of commitment from top-level leaders.  If employees suspect that the 'green' initiatives are merely flavors of the month, they will be cynical instead of engaged.  How do leaders successfully demonstrate commitment?  One means of demonstrating resolve is to provide the manpower and financial resources to enable success.  Also when leaders insert green-related targets into the Key Performance Indicators, their employees know that they are serious.  Leaders must find ways to create a culture where the commitment to sustainability, energy and water efficiencies is merely part of the fabric of how work gets done.   Commitment means long-term focus on the environmental challenges and opportunities within your business.  As Andrew Winston stated in his book, Green Recovery , "increasing engagement and knowledge around green issues isn't just about pumping up morale - it also gives your people a solid foundation to innovate and create value in new ways." 

2009 will certainly be a year that leaders will remember!  The challenges just keep coming.  For many leaders, the bad news has been relentless.  Yet, at the same time, the challenges have forced reflection, renewal and change. How often have we talked about how nothing is constant but change!  And yet I, for one, frequently spouted that phrase without any real emotional connection.  Seems like it takes on new meaning when times are really tough.   Change arrives whether we want it or not, whether we are ready for it or not, whether we are equipped to survive it or not.   Miller Consultants has entered our 30th year of business during these hard times.  In celebration, we decided to reconnect with all of our clients - or as many as we could find - to catch up and find out how all are faring in this down economy.  Little did we know that the stories we would hear and the relationships we would reestablish would inspire us to work even harder and smarter, and would fill us with gratitude. We are not only grateful to our clients for the first 30 years of service and relationships, we are ready to move forward towards this uncertain future, renewed and reinvigorated.  Leaders take note!  No matter how daunting the challenges, take the time to reconnect with those parts of your work that you really love and the people who make it all worth it. 

Leading an organization through  tough times isn't for wimps!  It is difficult to stay upbeat when faced with adversity.  Anxiety and defensiveness are natural reactions to challenging phases of organizational life.   And yet those we lead will be watching us.  To a large extent the leaders'  behavior will set the tone for the organization.  I believe that self-awareness is the foundation for strong leadership any time, especially during crises.  I base this assertion on a number of factors. 

First, in order to control our behaviors, we need to understand our emotions.  For example, fear is likely to lead to defensiveness, sadness to withdrawal and so forth.  Understanding our own feelings will help prevent self-destructive behaviors that could also harm our organizations.     

Second, we must be in touch with our own feeling first before we can truly empathize with others.  And empathy is critical to leading people through difficult times.  I am not suggesting that all of our decisions should depend on the feelings of others.  Sometimes we will need to make hard decisions that we know will affect others adversely.  However, while making these decisions for the sake of the business, the strong leaders will implement them with empathy and sensitivity to others.  His or her behavior will not be cavalier nor callous.  We must avoid the mistake of hiding behind these self-protective styles.  They will not serve us or our organizations well as we navigate through the turmoil. 

Finally, self-awareness is the first step towards humility.  Strong leaders never forget that they are human and must show their human faces if they are to be respected and followed. 

As leaders of our companies, all of us have our share of challenges these days. Lately I've been reflecting on what it takes to show strong leadership when times are tough. Over the past few months I have observed closely leaders who are effective and those who aren't.  I believe that the differentiating factor is  leadership presence.  This somewhat elusive characteristic is more than mere charisma.  It stems from deep self-knowledge that comes from reflection.  It includes the ability to be in the moment, reach out, express yourself and connect with others.  In their book entitled Leadership Presence, Kathy Lubar and Belle Linda Halpern define it as the following:

Being Present not pretentious.

Reaching Out not looking down.

being Expressive not impressive.

being Self-knowing not self-absorbed.

The concept is very simple.  The embodiment of it is tough - especially in tough times!  In my opinion, the real test of leadership is in how leaders act during hard times.  My observation is that many are able to exude "presence" when times are good, but revert to defensive, self-protective if not narcissistic behaviors when times are tough.  

So what are the behaviors that leaders can strive to exhibit during hard times?  In my opinion, the leader who listens a greater percentage of the time than he or she talks demonstrates "being present not pretentious."  The leader who communicates informally and  invites people at every level of the organization to share their thoughts and concerns is  "reaching out not looking down. "   A leader who clearly communicates the good news and the bad  with compassion and acknowledgment of his or her own feelings is "being expressive not impressive."  The leader who takes time to assess, reflect and acknowledge his or her own strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears and spends an equal amount of time considering how he or she can understand and respect the needs of others is "being self-knowing not self-absorbed." 

While these qualities and behaviors are always important, during tough times they are pivotal to the morale as well as the productivity of the organization.