Getting Tensions Right

How CEOs can turn conflict, dissent, and disagreement into a powerful tool for driving performance.

by Ken Favaro and Saj-nicole Joni

Chief executives most often work in a pressure-cooker atmosphere where two kinds of tension are present. The first kind is the natural tension that exists among top teams, in which talented, driven people who have to work together are also competing with one another for results, power, and stature. The other kind is performance tension: the stress caused by three pairs of important objectives that, in many companies, come into conflict on a daily basis. These are profitability versus growth, the short term versus the long term, and the success of the organization as a whole versus that of its individual parts. Over many years, we have worked with hundreds of CEOs as they confronted difficult situations, and we have observed that the most successful chief executives are the ones who get these tensions right. They have an uncanny ability to turn conflict, dissent, and disagreement into progress. Their mind-set is that having the “right fights” — embracing the right tensions and making them work for you — is the most effective way for companies and teams to move forward. As Brian Pitman, the former chief executive of Lloyds TSB, liked to put it: “You need real disagreement first to get true agreement later.”

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Getting Tensions Right

Enabling the ‘enablers’ - Business of Life - livemint.com

It was a routine operations review with the age-old bickering between line and support. The argument from the business heads was that support departments were just not “supporting”. Rounds of justifications and counter-justifications followed. And then came the “aha!” moment. One senior support leader thumped his fist on the mahogany table and pronounced: “I have a point to make. Please don’t keep calling us ‘support’. That makes us feel so second class. We are ‘business enablers’. Your comments imply it. So please call us that.”

Indeed it is not just the title, though that is symptomatic, but the whole attitude that organizations take towards these business enabler functions— finance, human resources, training, quality, information technology, administration. And that is the key difference, in many cases, between good and great, average and superlative institutions.

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Enabling the ‘enablers’ - Business of Life - livemint.com

Theory U and Theory T

You can't solve every fight simply by talking.

Most management theorists believe conflict emerges through miscommunication, but it's just as plausible to argue that it emerges from genuine differences in interest, argues Matthew Stewart. The first theory suggests that conflicts can be resolved simply through discussion; the second demands more difficult, more effective practical solutions. "One theory is like going to the movies. The other is like living in the real world," Stewart writes.

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Theory U and Theory T

Fistful of Talent: Employee Advocacy Programs

More companies need to find ways to better connect senior leadership with the rank-and-file workers, as shown in the reality show, "Undercover Boss," Marisa Keegan writes. One idea: Set up an employee advocacy program.

CBS is airing a new season of Undercover Boss, which is a show where the CEO of a different organization each week goes undercover to meet with employees on the front line. While the CEOs are undercover, they talk candidly to employees asking them questions about corporate policies, employee engagement, and their personal circumstances. Every episode I’ve seen so far has completely opened the CEOs eyes to the good, the bad, and the ugly about their company. It has highlighted the disconnect between Senior Leadership and the front line employee and has inspired the CEOs to make some significant changes within their organizations.

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Fistful of Talent: Employee Advocacy Programs

How to Manage Managers

Your company's managers are smart, committed, and passionate. How can you make sure they perform to their potential?

When you work for yourself, as most entrepreneurs do, the notion of "managing" those you have hired to do just that may seem quaint in light of all the work you need to catch up on. But as the company you started begins to grow, and you hire more and more people to fuel that growth, it is a good idea to take a step back from the day-to-day grind and consider what it might mean to both you and your company if you devoted some of your time to thinking about how best to manage your managers. After all, the more people you empower to make decisions, and that free you up to think more strategically, the faster, at least in theory, your company can grow.

"Don't fall into the trap of believing that management is an indefinable art," says Ed Muzio, CEO of Group Harmonics, a workplace consulting firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It's not. The key to managing anyone is to set clear performance expectations in advance, and hold the person accountable. That may be more difficult to do for managers than direct workers, but it's no less important."

How does one best managing a manager anyway? Follow the link for some strategies to consider:

How to Manage Managers

Top Ten Things to Do When an Employee Resigns to Join a Competitor

When a worker leaves to work for a competitor, employers should immediately halt the employee's remote computer access and make sure all records and company property are returned, Michael R. Greco writes. Employers should be suspicious of bulk electronic transfers or unusual e-mails by the employee, which might indicate company information is being taken, he writes.

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Top Ten Things to Do When an Employee Resigns to Join a Competitor

Ulterior Motifs: What Does Your Office Décor Say About Your Leadership Style? :: Refresh Leadership | Fresh Ideas for Today's Business Leaders

People may be making determinations about your personality and leadership style based on your office décor, Jared Brox writes. For example, a lavish display of awards and lots of leadership books may tell others that you're a leader who needs a lot of recognition, while a stark, minimalist approach suggests a sharp focus on detail.

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Ulterior Motifs: What Does Your Office Décor Say About Your Leadership Style? :: Refresh Leadership | Fresh Ideas for Today's Business Leaders

Understanding micro-inequities is huge - KansasCity.com

How being "dissed" can decrease productivity.

There may not be outright discrimination in a workplace, but smaller slights and differences in treatment or "micro-inequities" can be just as damaging to employees' morale, job satisfaction and productivity, Michelle T. Johnson writes. "[I]t's something everyone has experienced in the workplace: feeling blown off, dismissed, ignored, slighted, subjected to different standards or inferior treatment, treated as 'less than' for no good reason," she explains.

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Understanding micro-inequities is huge - KansasCity.com

LeaderLab » Seven Things to Expect From Your Narcissistic Employee

Psychologists say that narcissism is a measurable trait, and one that has specific and predictable consequences in the workplace. To manage a narcissistic employee, anticipate potential problems and set clear boundaries, advises Bret Simmons.

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LeaderLab » Seven Things to Expect From Your Narcissistic Employee

Is Your Culture Too Nice? - Ron Ashkenas - Harvard Business Review

Are you afraid to pick a fight with your workers?

Too many leaders avoid workplace conflict at all costs -- and that's a dangerous habit, writes Ron Ashkenas. A culture of "niceness" tends to produce a mindset in which people are afraid to ask important but awkward questions, or to launch any innovations that might rock the boat, Ashkenas argues. To put things right, start by being brutally honest with yourself -- then gradually extend the same courtesy to your workers.

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Is Your Culture Too Nice? - Ron Ashkenas - Harvard Business Review

Global employee engagement declining.

As business around the world is increasing, global employee engagement is waning significantly.
In fact, in the most recent study of employee engagement levels by Hewitt Associates, the report found that engagement levels at the end of the June 2010 quarter represented the largest decline Hewitt has seen in 15 years.

Not surprisingly, this dramatic drop is due to the growing strain between employers and their employees. Employers are attempting to stabilize their financial situations and their employees are exhausted after 18 months of stress, insecurity, and bewilderment thanks to the effects of the recession and their employers’ actions.

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Global employee engagement declining. ~ Friday, 13th August 2010 from 4Hoteliers

Employee Engagement and Motivation - Two Magic Words That Will Multiply Team Performance

I was with my mentor today and we were talking about his time in management and he was relaying a story to me that left me stuck for words. In fact the message was so basic that I may have disregarded it completely.

He was telling me that he had just taken on a new role in a large organisation and he received the wonderful perk of having his own secretary. At the end of his first day or so he uttered the two magic words - not the kind uttered by Harry Potter but the kind expressed my masters in the area of people motivation - wait for it - yes he said "thank you". As I said I almost disregarded this information but his secretary was gobsmacked and may have visibly appeared shocked so he said "What's wrong?" thinking he may have inadvertently insulted her. But she said "I have worked here for 25 years and you are the first person who has thanked me". 25 years and not one thank you - where did the woman ever get the motivation to come into work?

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Employee Engagement and Motivation - Two Magic Words That Will Multiply Team Performance

Steve's HR Technology - Journal - Making the right choices

With Annual Benefits Open Enrollment season rapidly approaching in the US, human resources and benefits professionals have started to plan, prepare, and develop their set of materials, communications, and tools to help their employees navigate through what can be a complex and confusing collection of plans, features, costs, and even tax implications.

Absent life changing events like marriage or birth or adoption of a child, open enrollment is the only scheduled opportunity for employees to re-evaluate and potentially change their choice of medical, insurance, and other company sponsored benefit plans. Most organizations prepare some kind of annual open enrollment package, or update the company intranet with information and perhaps even some tools like downloadable worksheets or online calculators to assist employees in the process of evaluating their known and anticipated needs against the available choices to help guide them to make what is hopefully the ‘best’ choice for their circumstances.

But still these resources often are overlooked, can be ignored, or themselves are almost as complex as the plans and options they are trying to explain. Sometimes trying to make sense out of complicated and detailed plan offerings is beyond the capability of traditional methods of communication.

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Steve's HR Technology - Journal - Making the right choices

Corner Office - Cardinal Health’s Chief - Leaders Need Peripheral Vision - Question - NYTimes.com

Employee engagement: It's in the eyes

Looking for simple ways to tell whether employees are engaged? Look at their eyes, says George S. Barrett, CEO of Cardinal Health. If employees look at a manager when he or she is speaking, then it's a sign they're listening and engaged. If they shift their eyes away or down when the manager speaks, it could be a signal that the connection has been lost, he says.

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Corner Office - Cardinal Health’s Chief - Leaders Need Peripheral Vision - Question - NYTimes.com

Survey scores take a dip? Great! | SmartBlog on Workforce

I’m so heartened to see evidence that employers are still interested in fostering engagement in their workplace cultures — even in these times when “they should just be glad they have a job” is a management model that actually feels a little legitimate. Well-written engagement surveys are a very good thing.  Scores that report all raves? Okay. Scores that are a little bit good and a little bit bad — even a lot bad? Fabulous!

But how can that be? Isn’t the name of the game to have great engagement scores? Actually, no.  The name of the game is to have a great engagement culture. So what kind of scores should you look for if positive scores aren’t the goal?  Answer: Accurate ones. Well, that’s self-evident, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think.

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Survey scores take a dip? Great! | SmartBlog on Workforce

Instant delivery: FedEx uses social media to connect workforce - Articles - Employee Benefit News

FedEx uses social media to engage workers worldwide

FedEx's Enterprise 2.0 effort, which uses social media and technology to achieve targeted business goals, has enhanced the way the company connects and engages a far-flung workforce. "People now fully expect to connect and collaborate across geographies and boundaries of all kinds. They have opinions on many things and expect to be heard," says Diane Terrell, FedEx's vice president of strategic communications.

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Instant delivery: FedEx uses social media to connect workforce - Articles - Employee Benefit News

Employee Retention Vital To Success Even In Today's Economy | Hartford Business

While keeping top-performing employees should be a key business goal in any economy, some firms may feel that today’s high unemployment rate will protect them from serious turnover issues. This mind-set could be short-sighted, however.
Just as businesses look for new opportunities when conditions improve, so do employees. Forty percent of workers surveyed for Workplace Redefined: Shifting Generational Attitudes During Economic Change, a recent report from Robert Half, said their experiences during the downturn have made them more inclined to look for new opportunities outside of their current firms.
You simply can’t afford to lose your best people, especially now. Losing top talent could leave your firm unprepared to take advantage of new business opportunities as the economy recovers. You need to take steps to ensure your retention efforts are still on target.
Compensation is the first place you should look. If your salaries and benefits are not in line with your competitors, your best people may seek greener pastures. Respondents to the Workplace Redefined employee survey rated salary and benefits highest among factors they consider when evaluating an employment offer.
But clearly it’s not all about money. Here are some tips to help you enhance your retention efforts and keep your best performers on board.
For more, click on the link below:
Employee Retention Vital To Success Even In Today's Economy | Hartford Business

What do Your Employees Really Know About Their Benefits?

In all too many companies, Kimmie the junior HR associate leads a conference room full of half-asleep employees through a positively delightful Power Point presentation outlining the benefit plan options for the coming year.

She hands out brochures and enrollment documents, and sends the employees off to wade through co-insurance charts, legalese disclaimers, and provider directories. Hoping to avoid the hassle involved in switching plans, most employees just pick a plan and stick to it, whether it’s right for them or not.

When it comes to health care benefits, employees can be pretty clueless. It’s not their fault, though — there’s just a lack of education about options, and employee benefits aren’t the easiest thing to understand in the first place.

But, Kimmie’s Power Points are great! How bad could this problem be?

Two-thirds of employees don’t know about their health benefits. Two out of three. Sure, they know they have benefits, but they don’t know the intricacies of those benefits and how to fully leverage their coverage.

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What do Your Employees Really Know About Their Benefits?

Corner Office - Get a Diploma, but Then Get a Passport, Says Capri Capital’s Chief - Question - NYTimes.com

This interview with Quintin E. Primo III, co-founder and chief executive of Capri Capital Partners, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Capri is a real estate investment and development firm based in Chicago.

Q. What were the most important leadership lessons for you?

A. Leadership, in my opinion, is best learned, or honed, through adversity. And it’s in times of adversity that one must step up to the plate and do something. You have to do this, or do that, but you just can’t stand still. You have to take action in adversity.

And for me, probably the most poignant moment in my career as a leader was when my first business failed miserably. We were crushed by the real estate markets of the early ’90s. We went into a head wind, a very stiff head wind.

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Corner Office - Get a Diploma, but Then Get a Passport, Says Capri Capital’s Chief - Question - NYTimes.com