Effective Leadership Archives

Jan 25 2023

Whats Grit Got to Do … Got to Do with It?

The word ‘GRIT’ and ‘GRITS>’ has been around for many years. Perhaps you first heard of it as a food of Native American origin, most commonly served in the Southern United States. Then ‘grit’ went Hollywood long ago in 1968. Then the book, True Grit, was made into an academy award winning movie starring John Wayne … a film that was re-made a dozen years ago in 2010. So, we know that ‘grit’ is something we can eat and watch. Yet is there more? Evidently so because now GRIT is studied and acknowledged as a very meaningful personality trait badly needed today.

What makes it meaningful these days is the work that many businesses are having to do to re-emerge. Working tirelessly to move on from COVID, it is grit that is being referred to and called upon. It is grit that can really make a defining difference in business, differentiating the successful and achievers from those who are less so. Actually, it’s exciting. Whereas IQ has often been considered a good measurement for how well one might do in a given field … or in life, grit seems to be giving that concept a run for its money.

A researcher, psychologist and educator Angela Lee Duckworth, identified six characteristics of GRIT several years ago.

having true passion and perseverance to drive to the long-term goal.
having the stamina to stay the course.
sticking with your future, not for the day, week or month. For a very long time.
working very hard to make the future happen.
viewing life … not as a sprint … rather a marathon.
is not IQ. In fact, it is seen as being inversely related to talent or capabilities.

Without question, businesses and those working as its employees or employers, have struggled for the recent 2-3 years in attempts to survive something with which they had no experience … COVID. And, it is possible that the individuals who have been most responsible for the survival of the organization at all levels possess the characteristics attributed to ones having grit! It appears that the individuals who have made the greatest contribution to survival are those who would be labeled as possessing the grit gene. It’s a gene that is available to leaders and employees alike

We have had the opportunity to witness leaders and employees as they navigate the rough waters of recent times. And do you know what? In most every case that we’ve witnessed or read about, each person possessed many of the six personality components above. Whereas those considered the brightest in terms of IQ offer a clear value to an organization, when push comes to shove it’s not the IQ about the industry or the product that saved the day. It’s about the survival of the ‘grittiest’.

To what extent do you have it and is it evident in your organization? Are you using it to your advantage and that of your company? Can you see ways to up your ‘gritty-ness’? Seems like a good topic to think about. Yet is there more? Evidently so because today GRIT is back at the forefront once again being researched, studied and acknowledged as a very meaningful personality trait. It’s a trait that is seen once again as one that can really make a defining difference in business. It has the ability to differentiate the successful and achievers from those who are less so.

Actually, it’s exciting. Whereas IQ has often been considered a good measurement for how well one might do in a given field today, once again and because of the challenges of these past few years, grit seems to be giving that concept a run for its money. If you’re curious to measure your own personal degree of GRIT, you might get a kick out of taking a short quiz here. To what extent do you have it and is it evident in your organization? Are you using it to your advantage and that of your company? Can you see ways to up your ‘gritty-ness’? Seems like a good topic to think about. Perhaps a good thing to be curious about?
Mike Dorman

Nov 15 2022

Generational Differences Fade in the Post-COVID Workforce

Several years ago there was a movie entitled ‘The Intern’ starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. The story centered on the challenges of having a workforce made up of members of two significantly different generations. The extremes were those in their 60s and 70s versus those in their 20s and 30s. True it was a Hollywood movie and yet it addressed the reality of what was going on in businesses of all sizes and types.

Although it’s safe to presume that all of us wish we could speak about a truly POST-Covid, it remains, Yet even in its’ current state we are all somewhat used to changes that have been required of the way we live our lives. The business world is one area that has been impacted significantly as the often referred to ‘new normal’ becomes defined and established.

Of interest is that the generational divide that existed and created challenges just a few years ago has been altered. No one in today’s workforce can claim any past experience of life during a pandemic regardless of age. Thus, accepting and adapting to the imposed changes has dulled any differentiating lines created by age. On the other hand, the way this has impacted various ‘generations’ and how business leaders have needed to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach is significant.

For clarity, here are the working generational divides as they are known and the related ages of each:

Baby boomers — born between 1946 and 1964
Generation X — born between 1965 and 1980
Millennials — born between 1981 and 1996
Generation Z — born in 1997 or later

There are several commonalities that are found to exist among the majority of all age groups of employees that the shared experience of COVID have created. These include:

The hybrid approach to work is here and viewed as the look of the future
Perhaps not surprising, younger employees prefer and want to work in an office and the socialization it provides is key. Conversely, the older employees prefer the hybrid approach that allows completely home-based or a combination approach of office and home.
Productivity on an individual basis is increasing
The older the generation the more positive the adaptation to remote work. They have come to see the related benefits of the ability to focus, spending less time commuting and greater flexibility. Still positive, however not preferred, is typical of the ‘Zs’ as they prefer the support of others around them as they are learning.
Across the board all express satisfaction with employers
They recognize the required rapid shift toward remote or hybrid work. That this entailed greater use of technology it only presented added challenge at to Gen Z level. Even then, and with time and training, this has become of reduced significance.
Flexibility, wellness and a growth mindset are considered mandatory
Remote work has made more in the workforce much more aware of their physical and mental wellbeing. Commuting has been replaced with exercise. The gained time has allowed for hobbies to be resurrected and enjoyed. This is especially the case for the ‘Boomers’ however the large majority of all age groups see flexibility as mandatory.

Perhaps a surprise added benefit is the large portion of employees who have shifted their thinking to one of envisioned growth. As such the willingness to strive to improve their knowledge and growth has become more of a front-burner focus.
The pandemic’s impact on work-life balance and mental health is significant
Employees have struggled with what, to many, is an overwhelming sense of isolation. Added to that is the blurred lines between work and home and the expectation to be available and reachable beyond work hours.
Remote work success is significantly enhanced with good communication
Maintaining a strong cultural bond is key for remote workers. This leads the ‘must have’ list even over regular meetings and a flexible schedule. The greater awareness of a focus on mental health is evident with the younger generations. Having a reliable form of communication … either group or 1 on 1s … brings a positive impact.
Team collaboration has become more challenging
There is little disagreement that along with the various benefits that have been realized with adjustments over time, teams have experienced added challenges. It has been a matter of devising ways to achieve collaboration with each working from varied locations. The likes of zoom have offered a solution however people are also feeling ‘zoomed out. This has been one of the drivers that have created the ‘hybrid’ approach within companies.

Summarizing, common to all workforces across the board, are the things they want and look for in today’s work environment that include:

A company that is strong and secure
Training to enhance value and increase the potential for advancement
Work that they feel in important to achieving the organizational goals
The ability to truly feel pride in the work they individually and collectively do
A positive work environment
The feeling that they are contributing to a positive societal impact

Clearly there are pros and cons to what today is an emerging normal regardless of age group. The ability to have more control over how one is able to split work vs. personal time and the flexibility to balance the various components of one’s life is a real positive. The negative aspects of today’s employment include the blurred lines between work and personal in the ‘boss’s’ approach. The added sense of social isolation and boredom that accompanies remote work add to diminished positives.

Is there good that the pandemic forced upon us related to the generational divide in organizations? To the extent that it lessened the divisive aspects that previously existed the answer is yes. How each group interprets and responds to any reality is going to be different simply because of where they are in their age and experiences. And yet, as this experience has been and is something new to all, it has served in many ways to lower the wall of differentiation effectively.
Mike Dorman

Oct 19 2022

COVID Fades … Quiet Quitting Surges

COVID is on the wane and likely the result of more people being vaccinated and boosted. At last … finally. However, there is a new resulting twist and although not new to the working world, it does have a new name. It’s called ‘Quiet Quitting’ and is impacting numerous businesses and throughout the organizations. A very recent Gallup poll found that about half of US workers could be described as “quiet quitters,” meaning they fulfill their job description but are psychologically detached from their work.

Although it sounds like it refers to someone resigning from their position, it is not that. Rather, it describes a person pulling back from the hustle culture of going above and beyond what a job requires. COVID is given as the motivation and clearly it upended employees’ priorities and companies’ workplace policies. COVID has resulted in what is referred to as the ‘great resignation’. This saw over seventy-one million people leaving jobs within one year … April 2021 to 2022. it is also the force behind the employee who stayed at their job and yet made the conscious decision to do the bare minimum to satisfy their job requirements … or Quiet Quitting (QQ).

One contributing reality was the remote work environment that accompanied the pandemic. It helped to put the spotlight on a work-life balance. As workers learned to adapt to this it also allowed them to appreciate and even enjoy this outlook on life. It is one that many felt they had been missing. And, along with this appreciation, came the awareness that their leaders were less focused on the balance aspect. They just appreciated those who went above and beyond. Although the individual team members were still fulfilling their job responsibilities, they were much less inclined to buy into the ‘work is life’ culture. Enter the clash of these two mind-sets.

What are signs of quiet quitting that leaders can see as indicators of this? There are several:

Scheduled meetings that a person does not attend … although they were expected.

A noticeable reduction in one’s productivity measure in daily output or as related to a team project.

Unreliable attendance most often demonstrated by ones’ arriving late or leaving early with regularity.
Feeling less attachment to or interest in team projects … wherein the overall success requires this from all to maximize success.

Failure to be an active participant in needed planning.

An overall lack of interest, passion or enthusiasm related to the expected and needed work.

There are three questions that company leaders should be asking themselves. First is ‘what do the employees want from me in order to reverse this current trend?’ Here are some key desires and needs:

The manager’s ability to build a relationship with their employees where they are not counting the minutes until quitting time.

The manager’s ability to balance the push for results with a concern for other’ needs.
The manager’s ability and drive to create a work environment that is a place where people want to go the extra mile. All giving 110% the efficiency and results are elevated.
Making certain the one’s reports clearly know that they and their work is both valued and appreciated. This enhances ones’ motivation to be actively engaged and thus, ones’ lack of this receiving this leads to QQ.

Another question a leader needs to consider and explore is ‘what habits must I incorporate into how I work with my reports in order to reverse this disruptive trend?’

The initial question considers when examining those reports that one feels are demonstrating QQ is whether this is a problem with the direct reports. Or … is it with me and my leadership abilities?
Take a hard look at your approach toward getting results with your team members. When asking your direct reports for increased productivity, do you go out of your way to make sure that team members feel valued? Open and honest dialogue with colleagues about the expectations each party has of the other goes a long way.
Question the degree to which you as leader demonstrate the trust conveyed to the employee. This is the number one behavior that impact the reports willingness to be an active team participate. When trust is present, they also presume that their manager was concerned about them and their well-being. Trust is conveyed with these three components:

- The positive relationships with all of ones’ direct reports. This means the leader enjoys connecting and enjoy interactions with them. With some this is easier than with others however looking for and discovering common ground will build mutual trust.
- Consistency in being totally honest and delivering on what has been promised are ways to earn the desired trust.
- Demonstrating ones’ expertise through being current on all aspects of the work is necessary. Knowing that your opinions and advice are trusted and provide a clarity and a clear path forward further trust.

The third question for a manager/leader to ask themselves is ‘what are the ways I can manage QQ’ that can improve both employee happiness and protect workplace productivity?

No Sunday emails. This may be an attempt to get a head start on one’s week however it serves to elicit anxiety, stress, and resentment. It’s a firestorm. Then sure otherwise wait until Monday.
No weekend work. The firestorm strikes again? Then sure and understandable however firestorms don’t occur often nor should the request for weekend work.
Reduce the number of meetings and their length. Meetings should be work sessions or about strategy—not status checks. Managers need to ask themselves why they are calling for a meeting and whether it is truly productive.
Limit workplace “fun activities”. For all that has been written and suggested about allowing for a fun time with the team remember that many workers want to do yoga and have happy hour on their own time and with their own friends. Don’t go overboard.
Set goals based on achieving milestones and quality of work. The fact is that with remote working you can’t know if your employee is working a full week or full days, but does it matter? If they know what is the assignment is and when it is due and the work is top-notch, isn’t that enough?

Here’s the bottom line of this surge in Quiet Quitting. There is going to be an employee who is unhappy or not doing adequate work. This being the case parting ways is the right decision, especially with those who spread negativity and disharmony throughout the team. Quiet quitting can affect other employees who might still want to give 110% and move up through the company. While workers may have the desire, and the right, to be happier in their jobs than in the past, they don’t have the right to have a detrimental impact on their employer, especially when that employer is a smaller business.

Leaders need to willingly accept the confront the reality of the QQ surge. This means altering their actions and incorporating things that are important to their reports. In doing so they will have successfully transitioned into a leadership style that is prudent in today’s business environment. And, will help to silence the form of ‘quiet quitting’ currently gaining steam with undesirable and unwanted impact.
Mike Dorman

Mar 23 2022

The Great Migration from the Workplace … Why and What?

One doesn’t have to go far to experience what the lack of needed employees does to our experience and the ability of a business to function effectively. For starters simply visit your local restaurant. You’ll find parties waiting in the lobby for an available table. You’ll also find many empty tables making it obvious that it’s not space that’s the issue. Rather it’s the inability to find people wanting the available jobs being offered.

Unfortunately, the ‘Great Resignation’, as it is being called, is knowing no boundaries. It is being experienced in restaurants and hotels. Education and health services, transportation and utilities, financial activities as well as professional and business services are in the same boat. The numbers of people who are leaving jobs and without necessarily having their next one is setting records. It is anticipated that even as we hopefully emerge from the threat that COVID has provided, being an employee’s world will remain with us for much of 2022.

WHY ARE WE HAVING THE RECORD RESIGNATIONS NOW BEING EXPERIENCED?

Higher pay, COVID burnout and a lack of career-development opportunities have been cited as factors. But that’s not the whole story. Marcel Schwantes, the founder of Leadership from the Core believes it’s a simple explanation provided in his contribution to INC. It comes down to four little words that provide the explanation for the job flight that has hit record numbers. Feedback that goes unheard.

To alter the current direction being experienced, a management solution organization (Explorance) surveyed some 2000 full-time and part-time employed adults seeking an understanding of ‘why’. The findings were clearly thought-provoking and motivating. As eager as employees are to share their feedback with employers hoping for positive change, their feedback goes unheard. As a result, there is no meaningful change.

These are other factors that play a large role is the exodus being experienced:

Working Remotely
It is well established that the remote work requirement that became a necessity during COVID also became preferred by many. With organizations now requiring workers to return to an office workplace, there are many not wanting to do that. They have learned to efficiently perform from home and that is how they want to continue their work lives.

Upset with the COVID work experience
Learning to be productive and function well in an often-imposed remote manner was a learning experience for all concerned. Some employees were unhappy with the ways in which they felt treated and valued especially in the early months. Feeling they were forced to put in longer hours by working at home, they speak to the resulting burnout.
Switching Careers
The changes that workers were forced to embrace led to some self-evaluation. What they missed related to their sense of accomplishment and satisfaction led some to make a switch. Understandably, healthcare workers experienced this. Feeling unchallenged and unfulfilled made this time ripe for change.
Work-Life Balance

Working remotely clearly blurred the line between ones’ workday and the remainder of a day. Having both one’s office and home be one and the same, blurred the lines of division. Thus, the desired and needed balance faded to the background bringing frustration and unhappiness.

WHAT CAN ORGANIZATIONS DO TO CURTAIL THE GREAT RESIGNATION?

As head-scratching as this question seems, the answer might be quite simple. Focusing on why people are resigning at a record-breaking rate through exit interviews is valuable to gain that understanding. However, the solution might well be in conducting ‘stay’ interviews. Sabina Nawaz in her article in the Harvard Business Review made some insightful suggestions. She sees as the key to stay interviews is asking questions that address what the exit interviews reveal. Having such one-on-one interviews with employees that remain will lead to potential solutions.

What’s your frame of mind today?
Encourage people to express a full range of emotions and don’t attempt to solve the problem or negate their experience. You want to encourage and acknowledge their honesty in sharing their experience and feelings.

Who do you feel connected to at work?
Friendships create a bond that work like gravity. And it has been found that friendships at work relate to enhanced productivity. Thus, once one knows of a connection that exists work to create situations that will deepen that friendship. With this information the leader can create work situations that allow this friendship to be furthered.
What barriers can I remove for you?
Having a manager remove barriers that inhibit employees from achieving their goals is very meaningful. Often praise or rewards are offered which makes the leader feel good however don’t impact the employee or their work. Then, with this information devise ways in concert with the employee that the identified things can be achieved.
What new thing would you like to learn that will excite you and aid your growth?
Doing this will demonstrate that you care about the employee. Not only for the work they produce but also for what the company can do to aid their growth and success. Doing this you demonstrate that you are their advocate for helping them achieve their personal goals.

Could the key to slowing the Great Resignation be as simple as employers or managers listening to and acting upon employee feedback? Combining exit interviews with ‘stay’ interviews will provide organizational leaders with balanced knowledge. As such, it is realistic to believe that the current ‘great resignation will diminish. And that likelihood is enhanced because of what will be learned from the ‘stay’ interviews. These will serve to make inroads into reengaging employees and halting the bleeding of talent from organizations. They will also strengthen skills of managers and the desire of employees to continue working with them.
Mike Dorman

Mar 09 2022

Impactful Leadership Lessons From the Ukraine

With varying degrees of horror and serious concern the past 10 days have been filled with ongoing news pertaining to Russia’s drive to re-claim the Ukraine as their own. It is very clear that the majority of the world is behind Ukraine’s fight for their lives and their future.

On one side of this war … the ‘David’ of this contest … is one Volodymyr Zelenskyy … Ukraine’s president. It’s a role he has had since 2019. And his background that made his ascending to this position a natural? None for he was an entertainer and comedian. What he does demonstrate is that leaders can truly come from everywhere!

One strength that Zelenskyy’s background as a comic helped him develop was his ability to understand what motivates and inspires people. As we see and read daily is that he is using these skills to take them through the darkest of times. Here are the skills that he is employing in his leadership role. They are skills that are applicable and effective when used by any and all leaders.

As it is, Zelenskyy’s practices provide a very effective check list for a leader in any capacity within any organization to consider in self-evaluation:

Be Seen By Those One Leads
To the extent one wants to be admired and respected as a leader it’s simple … they must be seen. The transparent leader builds credibility and therefore trust and cooperation. No hiding behind rules and regulations will bring these critical results.

Be Both Active and Engaged With Those You Lead
Being willing to be a part of the needed action inspires others to want to follow one’s example. Being a ‘do as I do’ rather than ‘do as I say’ creates cohesiveness in achieving the goals of the organization.

Lead By Example
Too often leaders tend to stay in the background and lead through the likes of memos from the back of the room. Yet demonstrating one’s interest and willingness to be in the trenches in helping to achieve the goals has a very positive impact on followers. Leading by example breeds loyalty and enthusiasm to achieve the mission.
Communicate In the Most Effective Way Possible
Addressing followers in a manner that makes us realize that this is just one person who is the same whether have an individual or group conversation. Speaking with the press or being interviewed on television we hear the same person that we might know as leader. No playing a role. Rather just being a true self earns the respect and loyalty of those operating under the leadership.

Jessica Stillman, in writing for INC. magazine, quotes a Wharton professor, Adam Grant. He believes that “What makes leaders great isn’t just their internal characteristics, but their ability to understand and reflect the values and identity of those they lead.” Thus, this becomes the foundation of Zelenskyy’s approach. Grant further makes the point that “Psychologists find that we’re drawn to leaders who represent our group. The people we elevate into positions of authority aren’t typical members of our group–they’re prototypical members of our group. They’re the people we see as exemplifying the ideals of the group and acting in the best interests of the group.”

Zelenskyy ran to win the presidency of Ukraine a short 2+ years ago. He was determined to bring calm and peace to different factions within his country. He lack of experience as a politician caught the attention and support of the citizens. It’s a safe bet to think that he did not envision leading his country while embroiled in a war that threatens their very existence. Yet here he is … the comedian … who has risen to this very real-life threatening challenge to win the loyalty of his fellow Ukranians and the admiration of so much of the world.

I encourage all of us to use this leadership example as a litmus test to evaluate our own approach to leading. It makes no difference if one is leading an entire company, a department or a team. Leadership that embraces the ‘Zelenskyy methods’ cannot help but the develop the loyalty and following of those very ones on whom the desired success depends. He shows himself remaining resolute in adversity and still, always human and accessible.
Mike Dorman

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