How Leaders Apply WHATEVER They Learn to Achieve eXtraordinary Results

The End is the Beginning
The end of ANY book, seminar, or educational endeavor is the start of your journey to fulfill your purpose for that endeavor. In other words, the most important part of education is what happens after you obtain it.

Let’s assume you just finished reading a book on leadership. Why did you read it? To become a better leader, of course. But will you actually become a better leader? Haven't you read other non-fiction books that failed to help you to take the action required to improve your skills? We don't want that to happen to you, do we? Knowledge is not power, applied knowledge is power. You spent your money, and more importantly your precious time, reading the book. (FYI, the expenditures for training and development services in North America exceeds $120B. Training Magazine, Oct., 2003.) You need to see the pay off! Otherwise, it’s like shoveling cash and small pieces of your life into a burning potbelly stove.

How To Use It and Not Lose It
The process outlined below will help you apply the ideas you learn from any meeting, seminar, book... It is a system that shows leaders how to invest, not spend, their time and money on education.

1.      Brainstorm challenges and strategy. Ask yourself: What major challenges am I facing at work? Let your ideas flow and keep your pen moving as you brainstorm the answers to the question. In addition, reflect on your professional goals and your organization's strategy.

2.      Write a S.M.A.R.T. goal. Based on your business challenges, professional goals, and your organization's strategic imperatives, write a S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Responsible, and Timed) goal for your leadership development. What do you want to do better or differently because of the book? For example, one executive at our recent leadership course said her goal was: Improve my coaching skills by… (insert date) to help my direct reports develop professionally.

3.      Meet with your manager. Meet with your manager for a few minutes to discuss your goal. Access your commanding skills and tell your boss what you’re planning to work on. Ask for input, especially regarding how well you have aligned your goal with his or her overall strategy.

4.      Review your insights, ideas, and behaviors page. Write a list of 7 to 10 insights, ideas, or behaviors (IIB's) on a sheet of paper. (I do this as I read a book or take a class.) For example, listed below are several ideas that leaders from my leadership classes identified as most effective:

• Use the XLM for my and my team’s development. Ask team members to assess their XLM at www.xlmassessment.com. Then develop ways to leverage our talents and hold each other accountable for stretching. Meet every two weeks to measure progress and celebrate our success.
• Map a paradox. Conduct a mapping session on issues affecting our team. This will help them understand the tension they feel and increase buy-in to managing the two issues simultaneously.
• Eliminate internal silos using systems thinking principles. Think systemically by increasing cross-functional teamwork, inviting other departments to our meetings occasionally, and using the S.T.A.T. model.
• Focus on what’s important to team members. Meet 1-on-1 with one team member every day for five minutes to discuss individual concerns, clarify expectations, and applaud small successes.
• Increase two-way communication. Speak last at meetings, ask more questions, listen better, and remember that broadcasting is not communicating.
• Conduct after action reviews. Coach others by delegating small portions of my job, and then ask these questions after completion: What happened? Why? What lessons were learned? Who else might benefit from these lessons?
• Make better decisions with the XLM. Access all four orientations of the XLM when making decisions. This will help ensure I have all the facts (R), consider the big picture (V), assess the impact on others (E), and take action (C).
• Manage anxiety. When stressed, ask the team "how can we view the differently?" Also, remind them that anxiety is the essence of growth and that great companies approach downturns as a chance to beat their competitors.
• Understand concerns and focus on influence. Use Stephen Covey's circle of concern and influence to encourage me (and others) to take personal responsibility, exercise their free will, and be expansive.

5.      Review your favorites with a partner. Review your insights, ideas, and behaviors with a colleague. Focus your discussion on the few IIB's that you feel will help you best reach your goal. Tell your partner how you're going to use these few IIB's.

6.      Create a list of four behaviors. Translate your few, insights, ideas and behaviors into four specific behaviors you will implement when you get back to work. Write these four behaviors in the left-hand column on a blank sheet of paper. A well-written behavioral action helps you adapt an IIB into a behavior that you can actually see yourself applying. Here's an example: I will write the XLM on a Post-it note, and place it on my computer screen during my direct reports' performance reviews.

7.      Link the new behavior with an old habit. One of the best ways to remind yourself to practice your new behaviors is to link those new behaviors to old habits or current systems (old habit + new behavior = new habit). In the previous step, the old habit (i.e., current system) was conducting performance reviews. Linking the performance review with the XLM on a Post-it note will help create the new habit of using the XLM to develop direct reports.

8.      Review and celebrate progress. When you are back at work, solicit feedback from a colleague or your manager regarding your implementation of these behaviors. Ask them to help you monitor your progress. Once a week, report the progress and challenges you are experiencing as you use your new behaviors. Make sure you also celebrate your small successes. Don't worry too much about your goal, concentrate on behaviors. Research tells us that you will accomplish your big goal by focusing on small steps.

The most important part of education is what happens after you obtain it. Which of these steps do you use to help you Use It and Not Lose it? Are there others you find helpful?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

P.S. Click on the link below (or paste it into your browser) to read about my research on 171,000 leaders:

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

From NO Silos to KNOW Silos - How Leaders Increase Cross-functional Collaboration.

A CEO recently showed me his new organization chart. Notice what was at the bottom:

 
No Silos

 

I asked him if his silos (meaning the various departments in his organization) were completely dependent on each other. He said of course not, each unit has its own goals and objectives. I then recommended that he re-think his “NO silos” stance to one of “KNOW when and how to open silo doors.”

As a leader, you are probably responsible for a group of individuals working in a unit, team, division, or department. You and your people are therefore accountable to produce a certain amount of work in that unit, right? Let me ask you this: How often do you and your people need to interact with others to accomplish work that is important for the entire organization?

It is my experience that the individual units in most organizations should operate independently (like silos), focusing on what they do best, most of the time. Yet, there are occasions when people in these units need to collaborate to accomplish important project and strategic goals. I’m not talking about the “I need some info to complete a report” type of collaboration. I’m talking about the “We need to work together to accomplish an important goal” collaboration. This later type of project-oriented working together requires the management of the tension between independence and interdependence. Too much independence leads to silo thinking, thereby limiting the leaders’ ability to see when it is appropriate to come together to achieve organizational imperatives. Too much interdependence leads to “over-collaboration,” creating unnecessary meetings and inefficient communications. Silos are OK, silo thinking is not. Thus, an effective leader needs a process that opens the silo doors and invites collaboration among the parts when it makes sense to do so (e.g., to achieve strategic goals).

The systems thinking action team (S.T.A.T.) is such a process. It integrates the basic tools of project management with systems thinking principles to create a systematic approach to help leaders bring the right people together at the right time to realize critical goals. Specifically, the Table below identifies the situations that call for applying a S.T.A.T.

When to Apply a Systems Thinking Action Team (S.T.A.T.)

1. Achieve fast results on strategic issues with a team

2. Improve employees’ buy-in to a key project

3. Strengthen the belief that the organization can reach an important goal

4. Keep a key initiative on track using disciplined feedback

5. Encourage an experimental, life-is-learning, mindset

6. Manage the tension between independence and interdependence

7. Develop leaders through action learning

The Table below outlines the steps of the S.T.AT. process. Don’t let the number of steps intimidate you, most of these steps can be accomplish in two meetings. In fact, I recommend that you take the first six steps in the first meeting. The next five can be taken in the second team meeting, while the final step – lessons learned – concludes your project.

How to Apply a Systems Thinking Action Team (S.T.A.T.)

1. Define a strategic issue

2. Create a cross-functional team

3. Write a SMART goal

4. Gain commitment to the goal

5. Develop team norms

6. Identify your top ten stakeholders

7. Write a brief scope S.T.A.T.ement

8. Brainstorm assumptions and risks

9. Generate tasks

10. Find leveraged action

11. Assign tasks and chart progress

12. Conduct an after action review.

Feel free to call me to discuss these steps. Which of them are you using now? How well do you KNOW silos?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

P.S. Click on the link below (or paste it into your browser) to read about how my research on 171,000 leaders:

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

Don’t Just Count Your Blessings…

My sister-in-law's mom, Ruth, died last week. She had been ill for some time and required 24/7 healthcare. She spent the last week of her life calling old friends and writing thank-you notes to those who had cared for her over the last several years. It seems to me that she died the way she lived – counting more than just her blessings.

Ruth's wonderful life teaches me that it is easy to be thankful when things go my way, but hard when people or circumstances fail to meet my expectations. Ruth wasn’t thankful just for her blessings, she was thankFULL for everything.

It is also easy to mourn someone with tears, but hard to honor them with action. This holiday season, I'll try to honor Ruth by practicing what she lived – being thankful all the time. Here are a few examples of “difficulties” for which I choose to be thankful:

1. Traffic

2. Dirty dishes

3. Tough times

1. Traffic
I hear people complaining about traffic and long commutes all the time. Of course, Los Angeles traffic bothers me too at times. Yet, it was those hours in traffic that drove me to turn my car into a rolling university 25 years ago when I worked for Siemens. I've listened to thousands of hours of educational audio programs during long commutes, traffic jams, and airport delays. I attribute a significant portion of my “success” to my dedication to lifelong learning… in my car and elsewhere. I invite you to check out www.teach12.com and learn from the best teachers in the world.

2. Dirty dishes
I used to hate washing dishes. My attitude changed one year when I realized that Ruth couldn't do the dishes because of her failing health. In that moment I decided that dirty dishes, especially during the holidays, represented an abundance of food, friends, and family. There are many who do not experience abundance during the holiday season. Those serving in our armed forces, suffering ill health, dying of hunger across the globe would do anything to wash dishes after a Thanksgiving meal with us. I encourage you to dirty a few extra dishes this holiday season by inviting someone who may have no place to go.

3. Tough times
The essence of growth is the management of anxiety during tough times. Nature, life, and research all teach us that hardship is critical to leadership. The ocean's reef is more spectacular on the side where the waves crash; those who fail to learn from difficulties are doomed to repeat them; eXtraordinary leaders understand that 70% of professional development occurs during challenging assignments.

Our challenging economy continues to cause anxiety in many hearts and homes. I too was anxious, especially at the start of the year after losing my largest (banking) client. I channeled my anxiety into positive energy by creating my new website (http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com/) and the eXpansive Leadership Model (XLM) assessment tool (http://xlmassessment.com/). I am very thankful that these have been instrumental in the upswing in my business this year. It may be a stretch to say I am “thankful” for tough times, but it’s not a stretch to say that I’m choosing to GROW through tough times instead of merely going through them.

The holidays begin by giving thanks. I'm thankful that Ruth touched my heart. I am thankful that she taught me to count all things, not just my blessings. How about you?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

P.S. Click on the link below (or paste it into your browser) to read about how my research on 171,000 leaders:

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

Ten Tips To Improve Leadership Learning

"Dave, we need to talk about your responsibilities around here." Jack was the new director.

"Okay, what should I be doing?" My teenage voice cracked as I rubbed my sweating palms.

"I know that under Bob you had a lot of responsibilities. I heard he even gave you the unofficial title of assistant youth director. Well, all that stops as of today. Consider yourself demoted to the front desk."

I was devastated.

Two years earlier, Bob, the youth director at our local YMCA, hired me to work at the front desk in the youth department. I worked hard for Bob and eagerly took on every new responsibility he tossed my way. By the time I turned 19 years old, Bob had entrusted me to lead the YMCA’s youth leadership program, junior high school teen center, and assist in running two, month-long, cross-country camping trips.

But now, it seemed that my professional growth had come to a crashing halt at the tender age of 19 because Bob left.

How about you? What happens when you are dealt a professional setback or encounter a new, challenging situation? Do you go through the experience or grow through it?

In a survey of 6,900 managers from 77 firms, the McKinsey organization reported that only 3% agreed with this statement: "We develop people effectively." (1) I invite you to adapt their question by asking, how effectively do I learn?

If you want to grow through today's turbulent environment, you must take control of your own development. It is not your boss’s job to keep you informed about the numerous changes bombarding your field. Of course he or she should support your learning efforts, but why trust your future in their hands? The latest research tells us that if you want to keep earning you must put agility in your learning.

Learning agility is the ability to deal effectively with new situations and changing conditions. When Jack took Bob’s place at the YMCA, my world was turned upside down. The question became, was I an agile learner who could grow through these tough times? (Read on to find out.) Researchers Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger followed 313 managers for two years after they were promoted. (2) They found that high learning-agility managers performed significantly better in their new jobs than those with lower scores. This study and other research tell us that a key to navigating any whitewater environment is becoming an agile learner. (3) Leaders I coach find the following ideas helpful in growing their learning agility. Pick a few that might work for you.

1. Involve others in learning. One administrator asked members of her team to develop a plan to train everyone on the new office software installed. Another invited the staff to add content to their web site.

2. Make education part of your meetings. When I was Chief Administrative Officer of Molecular Imaging at UCLA, our Friday staff meetings included a 10 – 15 minute educational agenda item. We would teach each other, invite faculty, and ask outside experts to bring us up to speed on technical and medical issues.

3. Volunteer to be on unfamiliar committees. Become more active in your associations. I’ve been on the board of directors of the National Speakers Association (LA Chapter) for the last four years. It keeps me going AND growing!

4. Obtain objective measures of quality. The Radiation Oncology Department at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn maintains a very active patient satisfaction survey and regularly reviews results. How active is yours?

5. Become an advocate for change. The top companies are ever mindful of how advanced technology serves their strategy. Are you?

6. Conduct small experiments. Ask your team members to try novel approaches to improve operations. Then conduct after action reviews.

7. Ask more questions. Listen more than you talk during one-on-one and staff meetings. Broadcasting is not communicating.

8. Find a coach or mentor. Be willing to look at issues from multiple perspectives by asking for diverse opinions. When I was conducting research at University of CA –San Diego, I learned a great deal from a few mentors.

9. Actively solicit feedback. Complete a research-based 360 assessment (e.g., http://xlmassessment.com/ ) in order to lead with your strengths and manage your weaknesses.

10. Try something new every day. Drive to work a different way, change the drawers in your dresser, go to the theater or symphony instead of the movies, brush your teeth with your less dominant hand...

Meanwhile, back at my local YMCA… how did I handle my change? After licking my wounds for several days and realizing Jack was not going to change his mind about my responsibilities, I approached Don, the director of physical education at the same YMCA. I asked him if he had any open positions. He said yes and I went to work for Don the next day. I continued my professional growth under Don and his able successor until I left home for graduate school.

Popular speaker and author Zig Ziglar recently told me, “I wasn’t much of a student in school, but I sure became a good one after school.” What kind of a student are you?

I encourage you to improve your leadership learning by developing your learning agility. Which of these ideas will you try?

Keep eXpanding,

Dave

P.S. Read a great article about how my research on 171,000 leaders can help you be an eXtraordinary leader; click on the link below (or paste it into your browser)

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

1. Cited in Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger, The Leadership Machine, 2002, page 165.
2. Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo: Learning Agility as a Prime Indicator of Potential, Human Resource Planning, December 01, 20004, 12 -- 15.
3. Lawrence Clark: Wanted: fully engaged, learning-agile people, People & Strategy, December 1, 2008.

Leadership and Unions

Do we need unions anymore?

I came across an interesting blog with varied opinions... Take a look: http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=3022&tag=nl.e713

Here's what I think about unions AND management:

The problem with most unions is that they take responsibility for the welfare of the worker, but not their work.

The problem with many leaders is that they take responsibility for the work, but not the worker.

Until both sides realize they are only playing with half the deck, the US will continue its slide from the top.

What do you think?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

P.S. Read a GREAT ARTICLE about how my research on 171,000 leaders can help you be an eXtraordinary leader AND deal with union; click on the link below (or paste it into your browser)

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

Leadership Decisions, The Road, The Rocks, and...

As I leaned my Trek into the first hairpin turn, there in the middle of the mountain road, about 20 yards ahead, were two rocks. I gently squeezed my brakes and signaled my biking buddy Jim to watch out for these two loaf-of-bread-sized obstacles. We eased past the rocks and briefly discussed hopping off our bikes to remove them. We decided against it, and continued our descent.

Would you have removed the rocks? (It would have been safe to do so, since the rocks were 20 yards beyond the hairpin turn.) If so, why? If not, why not? More importantly, how would you make your decision?

Information, Knowledge, Wisdom…
When we make a decision, we base it on the information we have and how we think about that information. If the information is accurate, we call them facts. If we think about the connections among the facts within the context of the decision, we call that systems thinking. One way to make better decisions is to consider the relationship between facts and connections, as seen below.

Increasing Facts and Connections
Leads to Wisdom and Better Decisions

This diagram teaches us that wise decisions are a function of seeing the connections among relevant facts. Of course, if we had all the time and money we wanted to make decisions, we could spend it gathering numerous, high-quality facts and then contemplate/assess their connections. We could hire experts, review the latest research, and even conduct our own experiments. However, that's not the way the world usually works. We often need to make split-second decisions with a few facts and little reflection regarding their connection.

Lessons on the Mountain
Jim and I decided not to remove the rocks because we wanted to help those who would follow us down the steep mountain road. That's right; we decided we would actually serve more people by leaving the rocks. We arrived at this seemingly outrageous decision by quickly discussing facts and contemplating their connections:

FACTS:

1. The rocks were near the top of the mountain, 20 yards after a hairpin turn.
2. There are 37 hairpin turns on this specific mountain.
3. Numerous cars and motorcycles race down the mountain every weekend for sport.
4. A car racing down plunged off the mountainside right in front of me a few years ago
5. (Read about it: http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2008/12/leading-by-monitoring-your-environment.html ).

CONNECTIONS:

1. 20 yards provides ample time for cyclists and motorists to avoid the two rocks.
2. Racing motorists do not know what is beyond each of the 37 hairpin turns.
3. The rocks near the top could serve as a possible warning sign to racing drivers.

DECISION:

Not removing the rocks has a greater chance of helping more people.

Back at Work
Of course, this article is not about the road or the rocks; it's about how to make excellent decisions more consistently. The first step is to gather the facts. This sounds simple, but how often have you seen leaders make decisions based on a biases, opinions, or emotions instead of facts? For example, have you ever:

- Counseled underperformers without knowing the real story?

- Dashed off quick e-mails without verifying the facts?

- Reacted to a colleague or loved one without “seeking first to understand?”

- Pontificated in meetings regardless of the evidence?

- Implemented something new (e.g., policy/procedure, training, change initiative…) based on a popular management book or “flavor-of-the-month” fad, instead of solid facts grounded in research?

Evidence-based management may sound obvious, but as Professors Jeffrey Pfeiffer and Robert Sutton point out, it is not what organizations actually practice. (1) For example, they point out that Hewlett-Packard (HP) conducted extensive internal testing on 13 pay-for-performance programs in the early 90’s. They learned that although pay for performance increased motivation to some, the benefits were not worth the damage done by the programs (lower trust, decreased employee commitment, infighting regarding pay levels…) These facts led them to conclude that pay-for-performance programs were not worth the headache they created at HP. Unfortunately, when CEO Carly Fiorina took over, she let everyone know that she favored pay-for-performance. The boss’s opinion trumped the facts. She implemented the new compensation plans, thus creating the previously proven problems. Perhaps she was not strong enough to doubt herself. Are you? Remember, dogma is dog pooh!

Once we have the facts, it is important to consider how these facts relate to each other within the context of the decision. This involves contemplating the relationship and pattern among the facts in time and space, a process known as systems thinking. Again, this area seldom receives adequate attention from leaders. For example, have you seen:

- New policies or procedures implemented in one area create unintended consequences in another?

- A silo mentality (or a turf war) surface during or after meetings?

- Fragmented approaches to improvement without connecting the dots?

- People spend more time pointing fingers and fixing the blame than fixing the problem?

Like the human body, your organization is a system – “a group of interacting elements forming a complex whole." System thinking is the ability to contemplate these elements (i.e., facts), their patterns, and their interactions with each other. When you think systemically, you realize that 1 + 1 = 3 because of the principle of emergence – “from the interactions of the parts arise characteristics which are not found in the parts.” If you studied hydrogen and oxygen in isolation from each other, you’d never know water. If you observed the behaviors of two partners separately, you wouldn’t understand their marriage. Likewise, making decisions by only looking at the facts in isolation seldom yields insights.

How to Make Better Decisions at Work
To make excellent decisions consistently, I recommend that you conduct your own little experiment. For the next 40 days, write these five fundamental questions on a 3x5-index card every morning (you can use abbreviations):

1. What are the facts?

2. How do these facts relate to each other and the big picture?

3. What might be the long-term, downstream consequences of various options?

4. What would be an eXtraordinary outcome?

5. Who should be involved in answering these questions?

Pull out the index card and answer these questions whenever you need to make a decision that requires some contemplation. Of course, you don’t need them to make simple decisions (where are we going for lunch?). Nevertheless, try them when you need to think about a decision. How surprised will you be when you become a better leader at home and work because you are a wise decision maker?

Let me know how your experiment goes.

Keep eXpanding,

Dave

P.S. Read a GREAT ARTICLE about how my research on 171,000 leaders can help you be an eXtraordinary leader and decision-maker; click on the link below (or paste it into your browser)

http://davejensenonleadership.com/XLMHoweXceptionalLeadersAchieveeXtraordinaryResults.html

1. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton; Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 2006.

Leadership, Silos and Turf Wars

"Dave, I hear you've been calling engineers in Chicago again." My boss wrinkled his brow.

"Yes Doug, they need to do something about our cardiac software. It's killing our customers." I had done clinical research in the area prior to joining the company and I had a good idea of what they needed to do.

"Dave, they know about the problem. I told you before, stop calling them. They are in engineering, you are in sales."

I didn't want to lose my job, so I stopped calling my engineering friends.

 

How often do people in your organization think in silos or battle over turf? The answer for most organizations: A LOT. Because organizations are structured into departments, divisions, and units, the business responsibilities, goals, objectives of the leaders in these units are usually set independently of each other. The leaders’ financial and emotional incentives are often dependent upon achieving specific goals for their individual units. They therefore focus only on their goals, their silos. (One of the executives I’m coaching recently corrected me, “They’re not silos, they are cylinders of excellence!”)

The segmentation of work arose from the foundations of the Industrial Revolution, where the division of labor was thought to be the best way to achieve efficient operations. However, the nature of today's work often transcends these internal borders. The rapid pace of change, global forces, and hyper-competition… demand that leaders collaborate (co-labor) with those in other units to achieve their objectives and the goal of the whole. If an enterprise is going to survive, leaders must think systemically. (1)

An organization, like the human body, is a system – “a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole." System thinking is the ability to contemplate these elements, their patterns, and their interactions with each other. My manager in the opening story was doing what most leaders do -- his part. He treated his part as a separate element without much thought to the whole. He and most of the managers in the field, as well as the engineers in the home office, were blind to the needs of the system. Unfortunately, this had grave implications for our sales. When the next release of software hit the market, our customers hit the roof. The software did not meet their needs and sales plummeted. I'm convinced it was because the engineers in the home office and the sales organization were guilty of silo thinking, which lead to turf wars. They mismanaged the paradoxical tension between meeting their individual needs and the needs of the organization. They thought only about their trees, not the whole forest. How about you?

When a situation, challenge, or problem arises, how often does focusing on your part blind you to the needs of the whole? Listed below are a few of the symptoms indicating that leaders are not thinking systemically:

⊗ Lack of creativity in dealing with challenges

⊗ Previously applied fixes create negative consequences elsewhere

⊗ After a fix is applied the problem returns in time

⊗ Leaders who were partners for growth become adversaries

⊗ Leaders compete for limited resources to achieve individual goals

⊗ Conversations often contain the words I, me, my, mine...

Do any of these look familiar? How do you deal with them? What tools do you use to manage the tension between the part and the whole? Let me know…

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) Assessment measures paradox in leadership using the “Agility Score.” Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized Profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to read about the assessment.

1. Joseph McCann; Organizational Effectiveness: Changing Concepts for Changing Environments, Human Resource Planning, 3/1/2004.

How to Leaders Manage a Paradox Over Time - Part II

In a previous blogs, I discussed how to resist the simplistic slide into either/or thinking when dealing with a paradox (1) Instead of choosing sides, leaders need to manage the paradox over time by placing their attention on the tension. This involves inviting those affected by the paradox to follow the steps outlined below:

 

1. Create a paradoxical vision statement

2. Develop norms that build trust

3. Balance the power

4. Pay equal attention to each issue

5. Identify your smoke signals

1. Create a paradoxical vision statement
This was discussed in the previously cited blog. (1)

2. Build trust
The founding fathers of the United States struggled with the centralized and decentralized paradox when they were writing the U.S. Constitution. While many of the members of the Continental Congress wanted a strong federal government (e.g., Alexander Hamilton), others were leery of giving too much power to the Federalists and wanted to remain independent states (e.g., Thomas Jefferson). Trust in each other and the vision for which they were drawn to Philadelphia enabled them to create the US Constitution, a document that manages the paradoxical tension between federalism (centralize) and states’ rights (decentralize).

Unfortunately, a survey of 12,750 employees found trust to be very low in most organizations. (2) Think of trust as a thick bungee cord that holds the team together as they stretch to manage these conflicting issues of a paradox simultaneously. Without trust, the team won’t hang together as tensions heighten.

To create trust on your paradox team, follow these steps adapted from leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith (3):

a. Ask each team member to write their answers (confidentially) to two questions:

• “On a 1-10 scale (10 is the highest), how much trust do you feel is on this team now?”
• “On a 1-10 scale, how much trust do you feel we need on this team to effectively manage this paradox over time?”

b. Invite a team member to calculate the average score for each question. Discuss the results. If the team believes that the gap between current trust and needed trust must be bridged, continue to the next step.

c. Ask the team, “If every team member could work on two key behaviors that would help us close the gap between current trust and needed trust, which two behaviors should we all try to change or work on?” Have each team member write his or her selected behaviors on flip charts.

d. Combine those that are similar. Then prioritize the behaviors in order to identify the two most important behaviors that every team member needs to work on.

e. During follow-up meetings, ask each team member to identify how they and one of their team members demonstrated these trust behaviors. Each person should also ask the group for suggestions for improvement. The person receiving the ideas must not judge or critique the ideas. He or she should listen and say "thank you." Those providing the suggestion need to focus on the future, not the past. (As my friend Mike says, it’s OK to look at the past, just don’t stare.)

3. Maintain the balance of power.
Ask your team to consider what actions they could take if they perceive one issue is receiving too much attention, focus, or power. Illustrate the importance of maintaining equal power by asking the team to imagine the following scenario: you're in the meeting discussing the allocation of training related to a paradox you mapped two weeks ago. During this meeting, pretend that most of the members of the team become very one-sided and start advocating for only one of the paradox issues.

For example, if you had mapped the commercial banking strategy and retail sales paradox two weeks ago, imagine that the majority of team members become very excited as they discuss the new commercial banking training schedule. As the leader, you realize that there is no balance of power. If the team makes decision as to how much training, who goes to the training, and the dollars allocated for the training right now, those decisions will be lopsided in favor of the commercial banking strategy. As Ben Franklin said: A man in passion rides a mad horse!

To avoid riding your horse off a cliff and experiencing the subsequent collateral damage, ask your team to generate a few practical tactics that would restore the balance of power. Let them brainstorm a number of answers.

4. Pay equal attention to each issue.
It is important that both issues in a paradox receive approximately the same amount of attention. You can quantify the amount of attention that each issue is receiving by observing the amount of time allocated to the issue in meetings. Therefore, ask your team to write a few ideas to help them schedule attention to both issues. After they do so, share these ideas from other executives:

a. Agendas. Mandate that meeting agendas allocate equal time for both issues.

b. Minutes. Review the action items in the minutes of your meetings. Both sides of the paradox should have approximately the same number of action items.

c. Formal dialogue. In a decade long study of 150 employees in one organization, Professor Ann Westenholz found that paradoxical tensions were better managed when there was “a forum for discussion where those with different frames of reference could meet and discuss those differences.” () She also reported more divergent thinking, the willingness to see other point of views, if these meetings included the presence of employees who were capable of paradoxical thinking. How can you adapt this idea to your environment?

5. Identify your smoke signals
Native American’s (and soldiers along the Great Wall of China in ancient China) used smoke signals to communicate information, often an early warning. You also need an early warning system that sends the signal that there is too much emphasis on one issue of a paradox.

For example, imagine your working to manage the “increase sales and improve customer service” paradox. How would you know if people were getting carried away with the sales side of the paradox at the expense of service? What would be an early warning that people were getting carried away with the sales issue? One bank executive said that an early warning signal of too much emphasis on sales would be complaints from one of the supervisors of the customer service representatives (CSRs). The bank executive pointed out that this supervisor had been on a “customer loyalty” committee a year earlier, thus she was very sensitive to people losing focus of customer service. Thus, the CSR supervisor had become such a strong advocate for customer service that she would be the first to notice any negative consequences caused by of an overemphasis on sales.

Who could be the early warner of overemphasizing customer service, the other issue in our paradox example? Another executive I coached told me that her recently hired sales manager would be the first to know if too much attention was being paid to customer service at the expense of sales. She explained that the sales manager receives a daily report on the sales referrals from CSRs. If the CSRs spend too much time on service issues at the expense of sales referrals, the sales manager would see this reflected in this customer service referral metric.

At a recent party, a management professor told me that she believed that a leader's job was to relieve tension for their followers. I disagreed because I believe that a leader's job is to help manage the tension that is inherently in our work these days. Competing priorities, conflicting stakeholder, and contradictory demands is the nature of work today. The tension is already here.

How can you use these blogs to help you lead by managing this tension? Let me know…

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) Assessment measures paradox in leadership using the “Agility Score.” Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized Profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to read about the assessment.

1. http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-leaders-manage-paradox-over-time.html

2. WorkUSA® 2002 - Weathering the Storm: A Study of Employee Attitudes and Opinions, http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender.asp?id=W-557&page=1

3.http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/goldsmith/2007/10/team_building_without_time_was.html

4. Ann Westenholz; Paradoxical Thinking and Change in the Frames of Reference. A Study of Employees' Thinking Processes, Organization Studies; January 1, 1993.

How to Make Better Decisions About Healthcare Reform

The outcome of the healthcare “debate” (more of a shouting match really) will be flawed because the process of decision making is flawed. A solid structure built on a soft foundation will not stand. So, unless “we the people” take a stand by insisting that “they the politicians” change their polarized, decision-making process, healthcare reform is moribund.

We must demand that our politicians frame the healthcare debate around four fundamental questions that will improve the decision-making process. Each of these questions is associated with one of the four leadership styles of the eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) seen below. The XLM cannot tell us what to do; it can frame the process of how to think about what to do (i.e., the decision-making process).

1. VISIONARY QUESTIONS -- begin by asking, "What would be an eXtraordinary outcome?" Visionary thinking invites contemplation of a broad perspective, strategic implications, and long-term considerations. When dealing with a difficult challenge, such as healthcare reform, probe deeper by answering visionary questions, such as…

How does this challenge relate to our nations priorities? (What about two wars, the economy, energy dependence, the environment, atrocious k-12 educational performance…?)

Is this a problem worth investing resources to solve at this time? (Can you say debt?)

What might be the downstream negative and positive consequences?

Are we too invested in the status quo? (Why is everyone talking about the British and Canadian systems? What lessons can we adapt from Germany and some of the Asian countries?)

2. RATIONAL QUESTIONS – explore how we know what we know. We therefore ask, "What are the facts and expectations of those affected?" Rational thinking helps us monitor our environment and be in touch with the facts, without the irrational hype we see night after night on television. In deciding how to address a complex challenge, this means being aware of the external and internal context of our decision by asking...

Do we have the correct information about quality, cost, and access? (Americans spend twice as much on entertainment as we do on out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. 50% of the US hospitals are losing money.)

What assumptions we making? (Can we really fix a nonexistent system? Healthcare “system” is an oxymoron. Healthcare in the U.S. is a fragmented cottage industry.)

How will we monitor the implementation of this decision?

How can we make this process of deciding transparent?

3. EMPOWERING QUESTIONS -- concerns themselves with the moral code and values we use. We begin by asking, "What's the right thing to do, especially for others?" This is an empowering question because it focuses our attention on serving those whom we lead. When we’re dealing with thorny issues, consider asking…

If everyone in the world had to do exactly what we are contemplating doing, what type of world would we have?

What is the right thing to do for the greatest number of people without violating individual rights? (Is it right for people who choose to smoke, drink, and eat poorly to pay the same healthcare expenses as those who exercise, practice prevention, and maintain their weight via healthy eating?)

What is the most honest and fair thing to do?

Is what we are deciding to do consistent with who I aspire to be?

4. COMMANDING QUESTIONS -- remind us that human beings have free will and therefore are responsible for their actions. It leads us to the question, “What are the consequences of our options?" This commanding question compels us to refuse victim thinking and accept responsibility for our choices. Eventually you must choose what to do or not to do. (That is the question!) Here are a few more questions that will help you think expansively as you access your free will responsibly:

Have we solicited the opinions of those with whom we often disagree?

How risky are the alternatives?

Can we test the alternatives on a small scale before we decide?

What are our best options based on the answers to all of these questions?

Peter Drucker reminds us that while leadership used to be about having answers, it is now about asking questions. The best approach to meeting daunting challenges and solving perplexing problems is therefore, to use a consistent methodology that helps us ask expansive questions. The XLM doesn’t tell us what type of healthcare system we need, it does show us how to frame the conversation.

What other questions should we be asking in the healthcare debate?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) assessment measures 4 fundamental leadership styles, 16 core competencies, and 8 essential leadership skills. Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to http://xlmassessment.com/ to learn more.

Harnessing the Power of Paradox at Work

I wrote an article for Advance Magazine, titled “Harnessing the Power of Paradox at Work,” published on their website. Click on the link below (or paste it into your browser):

http://imaging-radiation-oncology.advanceweb.com/article/harness-the-power-of-paradox-at-work.aspx

Feel free to share it with your team. AND take a moment to Post a Comment… because we can all learn from each other.

Keep eXpanding,
Dave
http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) assessment measures paradox in leadership by assessing 4 fundamental leadership styles, 16 core competencies, and 8 essential leadership skills. Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to http://xlmassessment.com/ to learn more.

How to Leaders Manage a Paradox Over Time - Part 1

In a previous blogs, I discussed how to make a diagnosis of a paradox, as well as map, and measure a paradox. (1, 2, 3, 4) I also pointed out that the best way to manage a paradox is to follow the four M’s seen below. This blog will focus on number IV.

The Four M’s of Managing Any Paradox

I. Make a Diagnosis

II. Map the Paradox

III. Measure the Paradox

IV. Manage the Paradox Over Time

As you deal with both issues of a paradox, over time many decisions will be made regarding allocating resources, expenditure of funds, assignment of tasks, and so forth. For example, I was teaching a group of bankers to manage their paradox (increase retail sales AND implement a new commercial loan strategy). After creating the paradox map and plot, the team needed to decide how to increase the emphasis on commercial banking. Should they increase training, design new marketing material, have a sales contest, hire more commercial bankers...? Yet at the same time they increased commercial banking sales, it was critical that the retail side not be neglected. Otherwise, they would experience the down side of over-focusing on the commercial side at the expense of the retail.

Managing the tension between the two issues of a paradox is analogous to sailing a small boat on windy day. If the wind grabs your sails and starts tipping the boat, you need to jump to the other side of the boat and hang over the edge while holding the ropes. You don’t pick one side and stick to it for the entire trip or drop the rope (Gilligan’s island here we come?). You get where you want to go by managing the tension between the rope and the wind (via the sails). That’s what keeps everyone moving. The same is true when you’re dealing with a paradox.

Unfortunately, according to the theory of cognitive dissonance (and common sense), we usually want to resolve tension when we feel it. Thus, leaders often find themselves favoring one issue of a paradox and then justifying or rationalizing their bias. This dangerous proclivity to pick sides - to see issues as only black or white - is what researchers Porras and Collins labeled the “tyranny of the either/or” in their book, Built to Last.

To resist the simplistic slide into either/or thinking when dealing with a paradox, instead of choosing side, leaders need to manage the paradox over time by placing their attention on the tension.

"Managing paradoxical tensions denotes not compromise between two, but awareness of their simultaneity." (5)

Manage the Paradox Over Time
To manage the tension between the two issues, conduct a “manage the paradox meeting.” (In my coaching and consulting work, this meeting is often an extension of the map and measure meeting discussed in the previous blogs.) In this meeting, explain to the team the importance of paying attention to both issues over time. Remind them of the side effects of overemphasizing either of the issues. Show them the paradox map and plot, illustrating what happens when there is a lack of balance. Then, invite them to follow the steps outlined below. We’ll focus on step 1 in this blog.

1. Create a paradoxical vision statement
2. Develop norms that build trust
3. Balance the power
4. Pay equal attention to each issue
5. Identify your smoke signals

1. Create a paradoxical vision statement
To understand the cause of the nurse’s strike at the New Zealand hospital discussed earlier, researchers analyzed 196 leadership assessments on 20 nurse leaders and conducted over 80 hours of observations and interviews. They found that a narrow-minded view of the issues led to “divergent realities.” In other words, because the nurses and hospital administrators focused only on their individual goals, the overall organization suffered. (6) These leaders mistook their tunnel-vision for vision. By fixating on their own side, that they couldn’t see the value of both sides. This limited perspective is analogous to letting go of the rope in the sailboat on that windy day. It’s also why the bible teaches that “without vision, the people parish.”

Researchers at the hospital also discovered that the strike was finally resolved when both groups agreed saw the value of pursuing a common goal - improve the functioning of the hospital – while still making progress on their individual goals. Hospital management recognized that a pay rise for the nurses could improve the functioning of the hospital. Nurses felt that the pay raise demonstrated recognition for their work and would also motivate them do their jobs better. Progress was made only when both parties had a common vision. Unfortunately, everyone had to suffer through a strike before they opened their eyes. Pain pushes, vision pulls.

When Dodd and Favaro analyzed the paradoxical tensions of 1,000 companies over a 20 year period, the found that the "best performing companies strengthen the factor that unites the two sides." (7) They called it a common bond. Others call it a shared purpose statement. I call it a paradoxical vision statement because of the importance of emphasizing both issues over the long haul. Regardless of what you call it, avoid the pain of myopia by creating a paradoxical vision statement with your team. Here’s how:

Explain that each person will soon write his or her own paradoxical vision statement. This statement is a brief sentence that captures the spirit of the paradox and embraces the importance of both issues. It often has a marketing slogan type of feel to it. However, before they actually write their own statement, provide some examples. For example, when I was working with the team that had just mapped the commercial banking strategy and the retail sales paradox, they wrote the following statement, Big and Small, We Need Them All. That statement captures both sides of this paradox because it honors the large sales/loans associated with commercial banking and the often smaller sales from the retail side.

Several other examples of paradoxical issues and their corresponding vision statements (in parenthesis) that leaders have created in our classes are seen below:

Centralize Loan Processing AND Decentralize Decision Making
(Best Little Scorehouse in Banking)

Decrease Time to Market AND Increase Product Quality
(Get ‘er Done… Right!)

Care About Employees AND Hold Employees Accountable
(Know When To Hold ‘Em and Fold ‘Em)

Increase Sales AND Decrease Expenses
(GROW Me the Money)

Honor Our Traditions AND Embrace Our Future
(Building the Future On Our Foundation)

Improve Customer Service AND Grow the Business
(Service Is Our Guide to Growth)

Decentralize AND Centralize
(Caring Locally While Providing Globally)

Meet My Goals AND Coach Others
(The “I” In TEAM Is Me)

The statements in these examples may not mean that much to you, but that isn’t important. All that matters is that your statement serve as a reminder to everyone (i.e., those involved in the paradox you are working on) that both sides need to keep the big picture in mind as they make decisions that affect the paradox. (It helps if it has a little fun and marketing sizzle to it.) This sounds simple, but it is not easy. What often happens is that everyone agrees to pay attention to both issues, initially. But over time, they tend to lean toward their “favorite” issue. They become advocates or crusaders for “their side” of the paradox. They begin arguing for more resources or attention for their issue. Like the children in the playground, although they agreed to take turns when they first arrived, over time they want more attention paid to their needs.

By definition, there are always two sides to a paradox. That’s why the paradoxical vision statement is the first step to removing the mental blinders and seeing the power of both/and thinking. We’ll discuss the next steps in future blogs.

Is all this paradoxical thinking making sense to you?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) Assessment measures paradox in leadership using the “Agility Score.” Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized Profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to read about the assessment.

1. http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-leaders-mismanage-paradox.html

2.http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/07/paradoxical-issues-most-profitable.html

3. http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-leaders-distinguish-paradoxical.html

4. http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-leaders-manage-paradox-in-work.html

5. Lewis, Marianne; Exploring Paradox: Toward a More Comprehensive Guide, Academy of Management Review, 2000, 35, 4, 760-776.

6. Melanie M. Kan and Ken W. Parry; Identifying paradox: A grounded theory of leadership in overcoming resistance to change, The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 2004, 467–491.

7. Dodd, Dominic and Favaro, Ken, Managing the Right Tension, Harvard Business Review, December, 2006, 73.

8. WorkUSA® 2002 - Weathering the Storm: A Study of Employee Attitudes and Opinions, http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender.asp?id=W-557&page=1

How Leaders Make eXtraordinary Decisions

If you had all the time and money in the world to make your decisions, do you think you could make accurate decisions? Of course. But that’s the problem with, isn’t it? You don’t have all the time or money in the world to make decisions. Research says that when you decide how to address any issue, you are subconsciously weighing a trade-off between effort and accuracy. (1) This trade-off between effort and accuracy leads to what Professor Hammond and his colleagues call, “the hidden traps in decision-making.” (2) Like sand traps to a golfer, these decision traps can bog you down and keep you from achieving your goal – an excellent decision.

Here's how you can use the eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) to avoid these traps and make extraordinary decisions in the face of perplexing problems.

The process begins by framing your challenges with four fundamental questions seen below:

The precursor to eXtraordinary decisions is eXpansive thinking.

Management guru Peter Drucker writes that making difficult decisions in the face of ambiguous circumstances is critical for leadership success. Therefore, when your challenges become more difficult, ambiguous or complex, I encourage you to use the XLM as a guide for asking deeper questions. Listed below are several questions, categorized by the leadership style, which can improve your decisions when confronting these confounding challenges.

1. VISIONARY QUESTIONS -- begin by asking, "What would be an eXtraordinary outcome?" Visionary thinking invites contemplation of a broad perspective, strategic implications, and long-term considerations. When dealing with a difficult challenge, probe deeper by answering visionary questions, such as…

How does this challenge relate to the organization’s direction?

Is this a problem worth investing resources to solve?

What might be the downstream negative and positive consequences?

When do I really need to decide?

Shouldn’t I sleep on it?

Imagine that I am looking back on this decision from the future, and it has turned out poorly, what went wrong?

What might I be thinking when I'm sitting in a rocking chair reflecting on this issue during retirement?

Am I too invested in the status quo?

How is my ego affected by this?

2. RATIONAL QUESTIONS – explore how we know what we know. We therefore ask, "What are the facts and expectations of those affected?" Rational thinking helps us monitor our environment and be in touch with the facts. In deciding how to address a complex challenge, this means being aware of the external and internal context of our decision by asking...

Do I have the correct information (quality and quantity) to decide?

What is my backup plan?

What assumptions am I making?

How will I monitor the implementation of this decision?

What transparent process should I use?

3. EMPOWERING QUESTIONS -- concerns themselves with the moral code and values we use. We begin by asking, "What's the right thing to do, especially for others?" This is an empowering question because it focuses our attention on serving those whom we lead. When we’re dealing with thorny issues, consider asking…

If everyone in this organization had to do exactly what I am contemplating doing, what type of organization would we have?

What is the right thing to do for the greatest number of people without violating individual rights?

What is the most honest and fair thing to do?

Is what I am deciding to do consistent with who I aspire to be?

4. COMMANDING QUESTIONS -- remind us that human beings have free will and therefore are responsible for their actions. It leads us to the question, “What are the consequences of our options?" This commanding question compels us to refuse victim thinking and accept responsibility for our choices. Eventually you must choose what to do or not to do. (That is the question!) Here are a few more questions that will help you think expansively as you access your free will responsibly:

Have I solicited the opinions of those with whom I often disagree?

How risky are my alternatives?

Can I test the alternatives on a small scale before I decide?

What are my best options based on the answers to all of these questions?

Peter Drucker reminds us that while leadership used to be about having answers, it is now about asking questions. The best approach to meeting daunting challenges and solving perplexing problems is therefore, to use a consistent methodology that helps you ask expansive questions. This is exactly what the XLM does. It doesn’t tell you what to do, it frames the conversation with questions.

How do you make decisions?

Keep eXpanding,
Dave

http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) assessment measures 4 fundamental leadership styles, 16 core competencies, and 8 essential leadership skills. Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to http://xlmassessment.com/ to learn more.

1. John W. Payne, James R. Bettman, and, Eric J. Johnson, The Adaptive Decision Maker, Cambridge University Press, New York, New York, 1993, page 2.

2. John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa; The Hidden Traps in Decision-Making, Harvard Business Review, January 2006, pages 118 -- 126.

How Leaders Make Great Decisions

Several years ago, my company developed a product called Strategy - an interactive CD-ROM that automated medical marketing. I spent two years and a truckload of money creating and marketing this innovative product. It failed miserably. OUCH! (I'm still convinced it would have been a bestseller... if more people bought it! :-)

In previous blogs (http://davejensenonleadership.blogspot.com/2009/03/understanding-leaders-seven-decision.html), I discussed the common decision-making traps leaders fall into. These traps played a major role in my CD-ROM fiasco. As a way of helping you avoid these hazards, a quick recap…

My early profit projections were based on optimistic market penetration, thus subjecting me to the perils of the anchoring trap (#1). The status quo trap reared its ugly head when I refused to kill the project when I realized the project was in deep trouble (#2). Sunk costs almost buried me because my ego encouraged me to throw good money after bad (#3). I fell into the framing trap by comparing my losses to the many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who were struggling (#4). I also made a number of false assumptions, including the belief that users would spend time entering data and that physicians cared about marketing (#5). Finally, I missed many signals, including hints from colleagues who were not enthusiastic about my product (#6).

Poor decisions flow from poor decision-making processes.

Just like a sand trap in golf, these decision traps are hazards to be avoided. This blog will show you how to use the eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) to steer clear of these traps and improve your decision making. The XLM is seen below, with the four key questions that can help you make a better decision when confronting relatively simple challenges.

The XLM doesn’t tell you what to do; it shows you how to decide.

When you choose to ask these four key questions, you are actually drawing on the wisdom of the ages. That's because these four questions are offshoots from four branches in the tree of philosophy:

1. Metaphysics -- This branch of philosophy deals with universal truths and ultimate questions -- how it all relates to the big picture. In decision making, the second question we ask ourselves is "What would be an eXtraordinary outcome?" This is a visionary thinking question because it invites contemplation of a broad perspective, strategic implications, and long-term considerations. For example, when you are deciding how to handle an employee who made a mistake, do you take the time put their mistake in the context of their overall, long-term performance?

2. Epistemology -- This is the branch of philosophy that investigates the study of knowledge -- how we know what we know. In decision making, the first question we must ask ourselves is "What are the facts and expectations of those affected?" This is a rational thinking question because it's related to monitoring our environment closely and being in touch with the facts. For example, when confronted by poor performing employees, do you gather all the facts related to their performance prior to a counseling session?

3. Ethics -- This branch of philosophy concerns itself with the moral code and values we use when interacting with others -- how decisions affect others. In decision making, the third question we ask ourselves is "What's the right thing to do, especially for others?" This is an empowering question because it focuses our attention on serving those whom we lead. For example, is your heart's desire to help employees when they make a mistake or do you just want them to follow specific performance standards?

4. Existentialism – The last major branch of our philosophical tree reminds us that human beings have free will and therefore are responsible for their actions. It leads us to the final decision-making question, “What the consequences of our options?" This commanding question compels us to refuse victim thinking and accept responsibility for our choices. For example, where is the first place you look when an employee underperforms for the second time? If you answered, "the mirror," then you're a closet existentialist!

Ask these four key questions to avoid falling into the decision-making traps. One CEO recently e-mailed me the following:

Dear Dave,

Thank you for coaching me to use the XLM as a decision-making tool. This simple and powerful approach clarified our current situation and provided direction in making a decision that resulted in $147,000 to our bottom line. I now use the XLM as I make decisions throughout the day.

The essence of great decision making is effective decision framing. As you go about making your daily decisions, I encourage you to keep the XLM in front of you and ask these four key questions to frame your decisions. Use it at your meetings by asking your team to brainstorm answers to the questions. How surprised will you be when you find yourself making better and more consistent decisions because you are not failing into traps?

Be eXtraordinary,
Dave

http://www.davejensenonleadership.com/

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) assessment measures 4 fundamental leadership styles, 16 core competencies, and 8 essential leadership skills. Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to learn more.

Put Research in YOUR Leadership

I recently commented on a blog, asking the author if he had any research behind his opinions. Here’s his response:

No, it's not a hypothesis, this isn't a classroom, I'm not an academian, and I don't do research. I blog about my experience in the real world; that's really all I'm even marginally qualified to discuss. If it rings true, try it. If not, don't. Some companies even pay me for it. Go figure.

What do you think of his answer? Let me ask you a few other quick questions:

1. How much time, money, effort… do you spend trying other peoples’ ideas in an attempt to improve your situation (i.e., conducting your own "experiments")?
2. How do you know their ideas will work for you?
3. Is there a way to increase the probability that all your time, money, and effort trying new ideas will result in success?
4. If so, how?
5. In 100 years, you’re probably going to be dead. Since you’re going to be dead for a very long time, how many grains of sand (i.e., precious minutes of your life) should you let slip through your hourglass because your tried ideas without any evidence to predict success?
6. Is it my ethical obligation as an educator to teach ideas that research predicts will work, thus honoring your grains of time?

Here are my answers:

1. For most people, organizations, and governments… A LOT.
2. Most of the time, you don’t.
3. Yes, but the approach only increases the probability you get results. There’s no guarantee.
4. Try only those ideas that have some science to back them. The essence of science/research is prediction. And aren’t you really predicting things will get better as a result of trying something?
5. Zero
6. For me, yes.

Thank you.
Be eXtraordinary as you pursue what is true,

Dave Jensen
http://www.DaveJensenOnLeadership.com

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) Assessment is based on my analysis of research covering 171,000 leaders. Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to read about the 360 assessment.

How Leaders Manage the Paradox in Work

In a previous blog, I pointed out that a common approach to addressing any issue or problem that arises at work is to ask, what's the problem? Depending on the complexity of the problem, most of us then go through some problem-solving process to arrive at a solution. We then implement the solution in an attempt to solve the problem. This step-by-step problem-solving process works very well when we have a traditional problem to solve, such as whom to hire, which city to build the new plant in, or which vendor to select for the new IT project. Yet, traditional problem solving does not work when dealing with a paradox. That’s because a paradox has four unique characteristics. A paradox:

1. Consists of two interdependent issues
2. Has issues that recur over time
3. Requires choices be made that consider both issues
4. Is mismanaged when over-focus on one issue creates negative consequences

Listed below are the top ten paradoxes leaders mismanage, usually by addressing only one issue at a time, instead of managing them together:

1. Set uniform/standard procedures and meet customized/individual needs.

2. Cut expenses and maintain productivity.

3. Follow mandates from the central office and address local concerns.

4. Focus on long-term goals and execute short-term objectives.

5. Push for change and provide stability.

6. Maintain customer satisfaction and increase sales.

7. Motivate employees and increase accountability.

8. Stimulate creative innovation and improve existing products.

9. Foster individual initiative and improve teamwork.

10. Excel at work and maintain a fulfilling home life

Do you struggle with any of these? Of course you do. So the real question is not whether you deal with them, it’s how well do you manage them interdependently?

To Strike or Not to Strike

The nurses at the hospital wanted a pay raise, while the administrators wanted to cut costs. Because both parties justified their entrenched positions, neither identified the paradoxical nature of their dilemma. They fought fire with fire, the nurses went on strike, and everybody got burned.

In their two-year study of these New Zealand hospital leaders, Professors Kan and Parry found that legitimizing a paradox was the subconscious process people used to rationalize their biased view of the issues. (1) This tunnel vision led to “divergent realities” – the inability of either party to see any benefits of the opposing position, nor the side effects of over-focusing on their own position at the expense of the other side. This created a negative filter in their mind through which they perceived the changes in the hospital, and eventually a costly strike.

In another hospital 9,000 miles away...

Dan, was having problems getting the nurses union (who wanted to focus on improving overall patient care) and hospital administrators (who were intent on lowering expenses to stay competitive) at one of his hospitals to work out their differences. He invited representatives from both parties to a “negotiation meeting.” He then guided the nurses and administrators to map the quality and expense paradox (using the steps described in this chapter). He told me that mapping the paradox averted a strike, saved his healthcare chain millions of dollars, and may have saved patient lives in the process.

The simple mapping process Dan employed enabled both parties to see the benefits of the opposing position and the possible side effects of over-focusing on their own position at the expense of the other side. This expansive view of the issues created a positive filter through which everyone saw the possibility to achieve the common goal of improving patient care and quality at the same time. Let's see how you can do what he did.

Map the Paradox

Once you have identified your key paradox, you are ready to map the paradox. The simple steps of this process are outlined below:

A. Identify key stakeholders

B. Outline a paradox map

C. Conduct a paradox process meeting

1. Brainstorm the benefits of both issues
2. Brainstorm the negative consequences of over-focusing on either issue
3. Gain buy-in from opposite sides

A. Identify key stakeholders

The process begins when you consider who needs involved. Identify stakeholders who are directly affected by, capable of influencing, or most concerned about the issues involved. The ideal number of attendees is between six and 12. For example, a senior bank executive was in the process of rolling out a new commercial banking strategy (Commercial banking provides services to businesses, such as a accepting deposits and providing loans). She felt that the new strategy might cause her team to lose focus of their existing retail banking goals. (Retail banking consists of those banking services offered to individual customers, such as savings accounts, personal loans, check cashing…). She therefore invited a few bank managers, senior loan officers, lead tellers, customer service representatives to her a meeting.

B. Outline a paradox map

Prior to your meeting, draw a paradox map on a flip chart as seen below. The paradox map is the primary tool that you’ll be using throughout the entire process. It was originally developed by Dr. Johnson.

Paradox Map

C. Conduct a paradox process meeting

After thanking everyone for attending, inform him or her that you have two issues with which you would like their assistance. Show them the paradox map outlined on your flip chart and write the names of the two issues in the left and the right boxes, respectively. For example, the left box could be retail banking, and the right box, commercial banking. Explain to the group that you would like to step through a process to help everyone understand the relationship between these two issues. Do not discuss paradox at this time. It is more effective to step through the process before talking about it.

1. Brainstorm the benefits of both issues

Ask the team to brainstorm all the possible benefits of focusing on the left issue. Explain that whatever they say, you will write it down. Now is NOT the time to process or discuss what they say. Write everything they say in the upper left quadrant using a green magic marker. It is critical to keep the discussion to an absolute minimum. This step is about idea generation not idea evaluation. (A manager ignored this advice and kept trying to process opinions as they created their paradox map. His team completely shut down. When people don’t buy into the process, they won’t buy into the outcome of that process.) So keep them talking by asking open-ended questions, such as What might be all the possible benefits of paying attention to this issue? Continue brainstorming the answers to these questions for five minutes.

At the end of five minutes, do the exact same thing for the right issue. Write their answers in the upper right quadrant using a green magic marker.

2. Brainstorm the negative consequences of over-focusing on either issues

Ask the group to brainstorm possible side effects and negative consequences of paying too much attention to the left issue at the expense of the right issue. Keep the ideas flowing by encouraging them to brainstorm the answers to questions such as What might happen if we paid so much attention to the left issue that the right issue was completely ignored? Write down everything they say in the lower left quadrant of the flip chart using a red magic marker. This brainstorming step also takes five minutes.

At the end of these five minutes, brainstorm all the possible negative consequences of over-focusing on the right issue at the expense of the left issue. Write down everything they say in the lower right quadrant.

3. Gain Buy-in From Opposite Sides

After spending five minutes filling in each of the four quadrants, facilitate a discussion about what they see. Ask them questions such as: What is this map telling you? Is focusing on the right issue or left issue the best way to continue? Do you find yourself feeling more of an advocate for one issue or the other? Do we as a group seem to value the left or the right issue more? How should we proceed?

During the debrief, those who favor one issue begin to see the upside and downside of both sides. This breaks the subconscious process of rationalizing their bias toward their favored issue. For example, imagine that you are a strong advocate for your bank's retail banking strategy, isn't it possible that you'll be more open to the commercial banking strategy when you see all the potential benefits of commercial banking, as well as the possible negative consequences of over-focusing on the retail banking strategy? Of course. That's why this process works. Individuals with an open-mind begin to understand the big picture and appreciate the pluses and minuses of both issues. (A closed mind is a wonderful thing to lose.)

In future blogs will discuss the paradox plot and how to manage the paradoxical tension over time.

Be eXtraordinary,
Dave

P.S. The web-based eXpansive Leadership Method (XLM) Assessment measures paradox in leadership using the “Agility Score.” Within minutes of completing your assessment (which takes less than 20 minutes to fill out), you can download your highly personalized Profile - a comprehensive, 21 + page report and customized action plan in PDF format. Go to: http://xlmassessment.com/ to read about the assessment.

1. Melanie M. Kan and Ken W. Parry; Identifying paradox: A grounded theory of leadership in overcoming resistance to change, The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 2004, 467–491.

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