Focus your changes on engagement and not technology

We all know it. We all hear it. Leadership loves to talk about change. Employees love to ignore it. Talk is very cheap. If we are honest however, we all know it is true. Change is inevitable. The real question is what we will do about it. Will we lead it or will we be a victim?

The biggest challenge is knowing the right time to change. Often, by the time we realize we need to change, the moment has passed us by. The worst possible scenario is that others' realize it before us and beat us to the punch. Rather than being strategic, we are impulsive and reactionary. Our perceived competitor builds a website that does X and we have to do it to. Why? Maybe they have just wasted a ton of money. Mimicking others is not a strategy.

Are you inspired by technology or overwhelmed? Are you keeping up with technology or are you getting left behind? Have you seen what a three-year-old can do with an iPhone? Does that intimidate you? This is all very disruptive. You know it and your customers know it. The difference could be that our customers are embracing it.

As a company, is someone else about to displace you in the marketplace? Are you staying up with the pace of change with technology or are you about to get left behind? Do you have strategies, systems, processes, and protocols in place that will recognize that this is disruption? We need to assess opportunity, and we will need to facilitate the testing of Ideas. Is this your job? How much time and resources that you control are you devoting to it quarterly?

These are very serious questions. They need to be answered now. From the point of view of your mission, is this a case of only the strongest surviving? What will happen if the pace of change is so fast that your customers adapt and change before you can? This is the reality we all need to face. We all know the role that technology plays in our personal lives. Do our digital properties at work match up to our personal experiences?

This might be a time for humility. Is the economy really our problem? If your company did well before the downturn of 2009 during bad economic times, why didn't they do well during the downturn turn of 2009?

All companies are facing disruption. Have you been displaced in the marketplace and simply don't know it yet? There are companies who are thriving and growing.

Over 40% of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500, in 2000 were no longer there in 2010. Who are some of the top companies today that weren’t on the list 10 or 20 years ago? I talked with a company leader recently that illustrates this perfectly I think. They probably aren’t on anybody’s list of top companies. They are a $5 billion dollar international company. They have a laser focus on the digital world. Their marketing is absolutely unified. Why doesn’t anyone know about them as a leader in their sector?

So as a company, you have established a presence on Facebook and Twitter. And so? Is the customer experience and relationship any better than it was before? Perhaps so or perhaps not. Do you know?

This may be about survival. It could take more than a presence in new channels to improve the overall experience and relationship with those who can support us the best. It may take more courage than you think. It will certainly take more persistence to break through the resistance. In the end, it could be about how you work with your leaders and we're back to you about how you personally lead.

Are you leading a movement towards empowered and customer – centric culture? Are you setting in motion real business transformation?

You have a special path you can follow. You can set in motion the change that opens the door to an improved experience both inside and outside your company. You can lead the change you need your company to experience!

"The genius of leadership is its humanness and heart." ~Lolly Daskal

What is your new ecosystem?

The need for change is obvious. The CIO as change agent not only touches his/her own function, but also need make influence on entire organization and business ecosystem as well, it takes strategic planning, methodology and practice in orchestrating such transformation. This is a big deal. If the business isn't strategic it will be impossible for technology to be strategic as well.

Define Roadmap: In fact, the required changes, at the most fundamental level, need be well documented. A clearly defined roadmap is available, and industry best practices are in place to serve as a framework upon which the solution can be implemented over time. The transformation to a more proactive service/solution delivery organization with repeatable management processes in place of the 'crisis of the day' leadership model, can be a reality, but only if the CIO is the proactive, visible and charismatic sponsor.

Optimize Process: Meanwhile, to compete, business unit leaders need IT to ensure the availability and reliability of their business process automation tools/technology, so their staff can function as efficiently as promised, back when they justified the tool purchase. In fact, many organizations have little insight into their cost structures and who is consuming the assets. They have no idea where they are spending their money on and often assume it is mainly being spent on items which are actually much lower on the list. Every IT finance group can capture costs but the challenge is to have visibility and traceability between costs and the assets consuming those costs. The leadership team needs IT to be the business process optimization expert for the company, to find creative sources for competitive advantages, to better compete.

Ask for Help: One of the first things a CIO must do in a transformation initiative of this magnitude is to ask the business for help. The effort will fail if the business units are unwilling to invest resources and accept a "period of pain" where service levels may be adversely impacted. CIO can envision themselves talking with business unit leaders, selling them on the challenges and the vision for the future. Will CIO be open to new perspective, willing to adapt the new skill set to the demands of evolving technology or adapt their role to the evolving business requirements for technology? Will CIO be learning agile to understand business ecosystem and connect innovation dot cross-functional, cross-industrial and cross-cultural border? It takes both attitude and aptitude.

As a leader, do you have more than two modes of operating?

Any great leader faces a multitude of challenges every day. Whether it's communicating strategy, helping people through change, holding on to excellence in the face of compromise, or just navigating the leadership environment, there is no shortage of development opportunities lurking in each day's schedule.

Les McKeown has worked over the years with leaders on all of the challenges above--and many, many more. But surprisingly, the skill that he sees more leaders struggle with more than any other is relatively mundane (but very important): the ability to work with their team as an equal. To be "merely" a resource, rather than the team leader.

As we've seen, many leaders can only operate in one of two modes--in charge, or not there. In other words, once they join their team (virtually or otherwise), the team instantly defers to them, and they take the lead.

Truly great leaders have a third mode: The ability to sit with their team without needing to be in charge, using their subject matter knowledge just the same way as anyone else around the table would. More here.

Is Twitter just for people who like to say what they ate for lunch?

Is Twitter just for people who like to say what they ate for lunch? Is it a useless tool for self gratification?

I don't think so. Here is a great resource on who to follow for leadership ideas. Tom Peters is one of my favorites.

http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leadership/top-leadership-tweeters/

You Call That Innovation? Maybe it is just change management

Everybody is on the innovation bandwagon. It is the "buzzword" of the year. Unless what we are talking about is disruptive, we are probably talking about monumental change and change management. This may be the "elephant in the C-Suite" but it is an elephant none the less.

Got innovation? Just about every company says it does.

Companies throw the term "innovation" around but that doesn't mean they are actually changing anything monumental. Leslie Kwoh reports on digits. 

Businesses throw around the term to show they're on the cutting edge of everything from technology and medicine to snacks and cosmetics. Companies are touting chief innovation officers, innovation teams, innovation strategies and even innovation days.

But that doesn't mean the companies are actually doing any innovating. Instead they are using the word to convey monumental change when the progress they're describing is quite ordinary.

via You Call That Innovation? - WSJ.com.

Guest blog: Vinay Nadig - Have you checked on the health of your Operating System lately?

Vinay Nadig is my guest blogger today. Vinay's mission in life is to help people practice leadership as a daily behavior and enable themselves and their teams to achieve exceptional outcomes.

Vinay has spent more than 2 decades building companies, delivering value, serving clients, sometimes failing and ultimately succeeding on his own terms.  From a serial entrepreneur, to the leader of a business unit in a corporation, and entrepreneurial positions in technology startups, Vinay constantly “lives leadership daily.”   Vinay is usually engaged with a select group of client companies, doing meaningful work to help them grow the next generation of leaders.  On occasion, he works with motivated individuals who wish to take their performance to the next level and live exceptional lives.  He enjoys speaking at conferences and company events and discussing his opinions on his blog.

Vinay lives in the Dallas, TX area with his wife and two children. Here are his thoughts.

Have you checked on the health of your Operating System lately?

i.e. Your Core Operating System - the "software" that helps your leadership behavior.....

No, I don’t mean your version of Windows or Macintosh or Ubuntu.  I am listening to Daniel Pink’s Drive on audio, and he talks about the “operating system” for motivation (and the fact that it is outdated to fit today’s workplace).  It is fascinating and provoked me to apply it to the area of my particular passion – that of daily leadership behavior.

I believe that each of us has to design, build and polish our Cores – and the concept of Operating Systems (OS) fits right into this!  What kind of Core have we built? Do we think it is sufficiently refreshed to keep us relevant today?  Are there parts missing?  To wit:

• Is your Operating System Open Source or Commerical? – {Are you in this for purely monetary rewards or a longer term sustainable objective? Listen, be honest – both models obviously work in the computer industry}.


• Does your Operating System perform fast and reliably under peak loads? – {Do you have a Core set of competencies that you rely on to execute at exceptional levels, especially under pressure?}.


• Does your Operating System support a large number of applications? – {Do you know how to enable, rather than direct and control?  Do you know how to play well with others?}.


• Does your Operating System try to occupy a lot of space and features and try to gobble up single feature tools? – {Are you able to rely on your peers//teams//bosses and trust them to perform their roles as you perform yours?  Or do you have to do it all and always be at the forefront?}.


• Can your Operating System be upgraded smoothly, with a minimum amount of loss to existing features and capabilities? – {Do you have the capacity to continue refreshing your Core, learning new skills, while retaining an unflagging Core?}.

So, take a few minutes and reflect on your Core.  You will be able to figure out that “upgrade path” as the technology mavens are always talking about – only this time it is your own internal “software”………

You can connect with Vinay:

Twitter:  @vinaynadig

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vinaynadig123

Blog: http://www.leadershipdharma.com

iPhone App on AppStore: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/leadership%20dharma/id504547135

iTunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/living-leadership-daily-daily/id506808286

Leadership Lesson: Compassion and Courage

Compassion is a huge thing as a leader. It is lacking in so many cases today it is stunning. We hear a lot about freedom to make mistakes but what is the response if someone makes one, admits it and learns from it? As a leader, what is your response? Think about it.



So, what is courage? Can you lead from the heart? Do you have courage to forgive?

Courage is about connecting to reality and suspending judgement. As a leader, courage is about love. That is our mission. That is how we serve others.

"Without courage, compassion falters. Without compassion, courage has no direction." ~ Eric Greitens

Related articles

• Our Leaders Need to Develop the Courage and Strength of Their Conviction to Lead This Nation (vineandbranchworldministries.com)


• Leadership Test (tigeroutsider.wordpress.com)


• Leap: The Teachings of Compassion and Courage (christainnewyork.com)


• Wake me Wonder ~by Linda Willows (lindawillows.wordpress.com)

As a leader, what should you stop doing today? Here is a good list

I am a big fan of list of things "to stop" doing. We all have "to do" lists but we all need more "to stop" lists. Here is a good one for leaders.

Which is your favorite?

1. Out: Micro-management, or the need to control every aspect of your company. In: Empowerment, the ability to give your people some rope--even rope to make mistakes without blame.

2. Out: Management by walking around the office; it is no longer enough to be visible. In: Leadership by watching and listening, engaging in conversation, implementing the ideas presented to you, and distributing the results.

3. Out: Pretending you know everything. You don't have all the answers, so why try to make people think you do? In: Knowing your leadership team members and trusting them. Choose great people who have the right skills and fit the culture. And get out of the way.

4. Out: No mistakes, or a "no tolerance policy" some still think works. In: Learning from mistakes, or being the first to admit an error.

5. Out: The balance sheet drives the business, and informs all other decisions. In: People drive the business, boosting customer loyalty, and profit.

6. Out: Job competency is sufficient. Do the job asked, and you'll survive. In: Recruit "A" players who will go the extra mile. They're out there.

7. Out: Invest in technology to increase productivity. In: Invest in people.

8. Out: Demand change; be very specific about what you want and when. In: Nurture change; your people can come up with the best ideas and you can give them credit for it.

9. Out: Fried food in the cafeteria. In: Wellness in the workplace.

10. Out: Incentives; pay employees more money and they'll do more. In: Rewards; being valued matters more than money.

via Leadership Practices to Stop Today | Inc.com.

Related articles

• Leadership Lessons - If You Aren't PLOCing You Ain't Leading (briansmithpld.com)


• 10 Barriers to Great Leadership (inc.com)


• Memo To Micro Managers: STOP! The 10 (Hardest) Steps To Effective Delegation (forbes.com)


• 5 Qualities that Make a Good Leader in the Social Media Age (forumone.com)