Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

PracticalTipsToShapingYourOptimalCultureAccelerateAchievementofDesiredResults

Inyearspast,togrowandcapturemarketshare,thebigatethesmall.Intodays‘commoditizationeconomy’thegamehaschangedsignificantly.Weareinabrawlwithnorules,wherethefast,flexibleandagilewilleatandspitouttheslow,over-thinkingandcomplacent.Yourorganizationsculture-simplyput-isthewaythatyouremployeesthink,thebeliefstheyholdandthewaytheyactandgoabouttheirwork.Theresults(goodorbad)thatyourorganizationachieves,areaby-productofthewayyouremployeesthink,actandbehave.Isyourcultureanenginereadytopropelyourorganizationintothefuture,orananchorthatwillimpede,stifleandsuffocateprogress?Thechoiceisyours–youcanletyourcultureleadyou,oryoucandefineandshapeyouroptimalculture.Throughintentionalfocusonafewprovenprinciples,youcanigniteextraordinaryresultswithinyourteamororganization.Decadesofresearchhavepinpointedprinciplesandpracticesthataccelerateshiftsinculture.Theseprinciplesarenotcomplicated—theydon’trequireanadvanceddegreeoranyspecializedtraining.Thesestraightforward,practicalandmemorabletipscantransformyourculturetosupportanddeliveryour‘must-achievedesiredresults.’

1. CultureShapingCannotBeDelegated–LeadersMustBeIntentional2. DefineYourOptimalCulture–FosterSupportingBeliefs3. NurtureDesiredBehaviorsandActions4. LeveragetheOpportunity-FocusontheMiddle5. EmbedtheCultureintotheFabricoftheFirm

Customersandclients(externalandinternal)haveanabundanceofchoicestoday.Whatdrawscustomerstoyourteamororganization?Whentheydochooseyou,dotheystickwithyou?Goodserviceandqualityproductsarethepriceofentrytoday.Intoday's'commoditizationeconomy',wherecustomershaveaseaofoptionsfromwhichtochoose,thewinnerswillbetheteams,organizationsandindividualsthatcreatememorableexperiencesthatdifferentiatethemfromthecompetition.Experiencescreateloyaltyandareasdistinctfromserviceasservicesarefromgoods.Isyourorganization(culture)clearlydistinctfromyourcompetition?Whatmakesyoudifferent?Haveyoudevelopedacustomerbasethatwouldneverdreamofnotdoingbusinesswithyou?Doyouremployees‘thinkandact’inamannerthatisspeedingyoutowardyou‘must-achievedesiredresults?’Anorganizationsespoused(stated)cultureisoftenincongruentwiththeactualculture—theculturethatyourcustomersandemployeesexperience.Theespousedcultureisoftenwhattheleadershipwithintheorganizationbelievestobetrue,butoftenisnotthetruereality.Thisespousedcultureandtheleadersthathavedeclareditcanlosecredibilitywiththeorganizationandcustomerswhenpeopleseeastarkdifferencebetweenthe“leader-speak”

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

andtherealitythattheyexperienceonaday-to-daybasis.Mypastcolleague,TomPeters,referredtothisasthe‘brandinside–brandoutside’incongruency.Irefertoitashavingahollowbrand.Forthemostpart,anorganizationsculturethinks,actsandbehavesthewayitdoesasaresultoftheexperiencesleadershiphascreatedovertime.Truthbetold,yourorganizationscultureisareflectionofitsleadership.Seniorleadersmustbedeliberateandintentionalwhenitcomestoshapingtheiroptimalculture.Whenyoudonotleadyourculture,yourculturewillleadyou.Whenyourcultureisnotproducingthedesiredresults,leadershipcanproactivelycreateshiftsinthewayemployeesthink,actandbehave.How?Throughbeingintentionalanddeliberateincreatingappropriateexperiencestogerminatenewthinkingandultimatelybehavior.Theprocessmuststartwithidentifyingthespecificbeliefsandactions,thatisheldandtakenbythemajorityofemployeeswouldaccelerateandpropelyoutowardachievementofyour‘must-achievedesiredresults.’CultureShapingCannotBeDelegated–LeadersMustBeIntentional:Leadersmustowntheprocessofdevelopingandshapinganorganization’soptimalculture.Formany,itmayfeelawkward,orperhapssomethingthatshouldbehandedofftoHumanResources.NomatterhowskilledyourHRteammaybe,delegatingculturechangeisalwaysthedeath-knelltotheeffort.Seniorleadershipmustpossessthesamedegreeofownership,rigorandpassionaroundcreatingitsoptimalculturethatitholdsfordevelopingthemostimportantstrategicinitiativesthathavebeenlaunched.Afterall,culturetrumpsstrategyeverytime.Asaleader,youarebeingthoroughlyscrutinizedatalltimes.Youremployeesarewatchingyou.Everywordyouutter,everysignalyousendwithyourbodylanguageandthetonalityofyourvoice,andmostimportantlythecongruencybetweenwhatyousayandwhatyoudo.Thequickestwaytoderailsomethingascrucialasshapingyouroptimalcultureistobehaveinamannerthatdoesnotmirrorthemessage.Leadersmustbeinvolvedandhighlyvisiblethroughouttheprocess.Youarebeingwatched!Leadersmustbedeliberateandhighlyawareoftheexperiencestheyarecreatingforthosetheylead.Asthoseexperienceswilleitherreinforcethebeliefsyouremployeesalreadyhold,orcreatenewbeliefs.Whenaleaderiscognizantofthis,theyaremorelikelytocreateexperiencesthatdevelopbeliefsthatwillinspirethedesiredactionstheywishtoseefromemployees.Considerations:Whatactionshaveyoudemonstratedinthepasttwoweeksthatmodelthebehaviorsthatwouldmanifestinyouroptimalculture?Whatpercentageofyourtimeisspenttalkingaboutandcreatingexamplesofdesiredbehaviors?

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

DefineYourOptimalCulture–FosterSupportingBeliefs:Inonesense,yourcultureisyourbrand.Itisthewayyourorganizationisperceived.Ideally,anorganizationscultureisstronglyalignedwiththebrandpromise.Yourcultureisamanifestationofthewayyouremployeesthinkandbehave–theexperiencestheycreate.Your'brand’-thewayyourorganizationisperceived,isaresultoftheexperiencesyouremployeescreateforyourcustomersandclients(internallyaswell).Youremployeesthinkandactthewaytheydoforavarietyofreasons.Oneofthemaindriversisthemannerinwhichtheyareled,aswellastheexperiencesleadershipcreates.Thinkaboutthebusinessresultsyoumustachieveinthefuture.Ifthemajorityofyouremployeescontinuetothink,actandbehaveinthemannertheydotoday,willyouachievethoseresults?Whatshiftsareneededinthewayyouremployeescurrentlythinkandactthatwouldacceleratechangeandthrustyoutowardyourdesiredresults?Whatbeliefsexistthatimpedeprogress?Orsimply,whatbeliefsmustbeabandonedandwhatbeliefsmustbeadopted?Considerthis,ifyouremployeescontinuetothinkandactthewaytheythinkandacttoday,canyouexpecttoachievetougherdesiredresultsinthefuture?Isthatnotthedefinitionofinsanity?Considerations:Ifyoucouldcreateyouroptimalculture,whatarethespecificbeliefs,actionsandbehaviorsyouwouldseeinthewaythatyouremployeesgoabouttheirwork?Whatexperienceswillyourleadershipteamcreatetofosterthesedesiresbeliefsandbehaviors?NurtureDesiredBehaviorsandActions:Eventhebeststrategyisuselesswithanineffective,cynicalorapatheticculture.Youcanhavetheabsolutebeststrategy,thetoptechnicalresourcesandpositiveintent,butallofthatisuselesswithanineffectiveculture.Morethan20yearsofdatacollectedwhileworkingalongsidebest-sellingauthorsandworldrenownthought-leadersDr.StephenCovey,Dr.JohnKotter,TomPeters,JimKouzes,ChrisMcChesney,SteveFarberandotherspointsto'communications'asthenumberonevehicletoacceleratingculturechangeandoptimizingindividualperformance.Thisincludestopdowncommunications,peertopeer,andemployeetoleader.Effectivecommunicationcanacceleratechange,fostercollaboration,igniteemployeeengagement,bolstermorale,cultivateaccountabilityandcreateshiftsinbehavior.Yet,oftencommunicationisnotasprecise,clearandconsistentasneeded.

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Onceseniorleadershavedefinedtheiridealculture,theycanhastentheculturechangeby:• Maintainingabsolutealignmentwithoneanotherandmodelingtheway.• Calloutandrecognizeemployeesthathavedemonstrateddesiredbehaviors.• Sharestorieswithteams,departmentsandindividualsabouthowthesedesiredbehaviors

haveproducedpositiveresults.• Consistently,inallcommunications,citethedesiredbehaviorsandlinkthemtosuccess

storiesortheimpacttheyarehavingonresults.• Frequentlyofferappreciativefeedbacktothoselivingoutthedesiredbehaviors.Aswhen

individualsreceivedappreciativefeedbacktheywilldemonstratethatbehaviormorefrequently.Thisalsocallsattentiontoandcreatesalignmentaroundthedesiredbehaviorsthatwillpropeltheorganizationforward.

• Integratedesiredbehaviorsandbeliefsintoperformancemanagementsystemsandrewardsandrecognitionsystems.

Considerations:Whatishappeninginyourorganizationtoensurethespotlightandfocusisaimedatcallingattentiontodesiredbehaviorsandactions?Whatareyoudoingdailytoincreaseawarenessandalignmentaroundidealbehaviorsandactions?LeveragetheOpportunity–FocusontheMiddle:Nomatterthestrategyorinitiative,nomatterhowcriticalormundane,therewillalwaysbeemployeesthatfallintooneofthreecategories:

• Resisters(Willneverjumponboard.Eithertheycan’tortheywon’t)

• Potentials(Toobusywiththeday-to-dayworktohelp.Caughtupintheminutiaeofthedaytodaytsunamiofwork)

• Models(Willwalkonbrokenglassforyou)

Oneofthekeystoacceleratingculturechangeistomoveasmany‘potentials’(seegraphictoright)furthertotherightintothe‘model’category.Therealopportunityiswiththepotentials.Theresistersoftennevercomealongorjumponboard.Infact,thatisthegrouptheoftenheavilyrecruitsthe‘potentials’tojointhem.Whenleadershipcanmovethe‘bell’righterandtighter,achievementofdesiredresultsaccelerates.

Simplytellingpeopletochangeandembraceandadoptnewwaysofthinking,holdnewbeliefs,andinsomecaseschangehabit,withoutengagingthemintheprocessyieldspoorresults.Itishumannaturetoresistchange.

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Mostindividualsexternalizetheneedforchange.TheybelieveeveryoneelsemustchangeandthatIamdoingquitewell.Soasaleaderyoumustfocusyourattentiononthosethatare‘onthefence.’Thisisthegroupthatwillprovideyouwiththemostleverage.Asyouengagemoreofthose‘inthemiddle’,otherswilljointhecauseorself-selectout.Don’twasteabraincellworryingaboutthe‘resisters.’Theywillneverhelpyourorganizationachieveanythingofsignificance.

Theseprinciplestoacceleratingculturechangeequipleaderswiththeabilitytoconnecttotheheadandheartofemployeesinthe‘potential’segmentofthebellshapedcurve.Thatisthegroupwherethemostopportunityandleveragetoacceleratechangeexists.Whenemployeesinthe‘potential’categoryselfselecttomoveintothe‘model’category,organizationsrealizeexponentialimpactontheabilitytorealizetheir‘must-achievedesiredresults.’

Considerations:Howmuchofyourtimeisspentleveragingtheopportunitythatexistswithinthe‘potential’segmentofthebell-curveversusthe‘resister’segment?Whatdidyoudolastweektomovemoreofthe‘potentials’intothe‘model’categorybeforethe‘resisters’recruitthem?

EmbedtheCultureintotheFabricoftheFirm:Createaculturefocusedonachievingdesiredresults.Soundsgreat,right?Yet,sooftenemployeeswithinmanyorganizationsfocuson'dailyactivity'andnotthehighestpriorityorganizationaldesiredresults.Thereisamajordifferencebetween‘activity’and‘results’.Activityinandofitselfwillnotnecessarilyproducedesiredresults.Answerthis-doesallactivityproduceresults?Trickquestion.Manyquicklysay,no.Theanswerisyes.Evenifyoudonothingyouwillachievearesult.Itsimplymaynotbetheresultyouwant.Whenwedevelopaculturethatviewstheir‘job’as‘achievingdesiredresults’,organizationsrealize:• Heightenedlevelsofcollaborationandteamwork• Increasedlevelsoftrustandcandor• Anelevatedfocusonthecustomer• Anescalationinpersonalandorganizationalaccountability• A‘solutions’focusversusplayingtheblame-game• Amindsetof“whatelsecanIdo’versus‘it’snotmyjob’• Soaringlevelsofemployeeengagement

Thefollowingmodel(seediagramonfollowingpage)depictshoworganizationshaveachievedexceptionalresults.Oncealeadershipteamhasdefinedtheiroptimalculture,itthenbecomesthefocusofleadership.However,nothinghappensuntilleadershipengagesateam,orseveralteams,totakeaccountabilitytoachievethatdesiredresult.Thoseteamsmostoftenmustdosomethingdifferent.

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Whenteammembersmovefromteam/groupaccountabilitytotakingindividualaccountabilityandownershipiswhenorganizationsrealizeanexponentialspikeinresults.Throughrepetitionthesebehaviorsbecomehabits(topofmodel).Definingandshapingyouroptimalcultureisaboutcreatingshiftsinthewayyouremployeesthinkandact.Again,thewayyouremployeesthinkandactisyourculture.

Shapingandcreatingyouroptimalculturestartswith:

1)Theseniorleadershipteamcreatingclarityonthetoptwotofivemostimportantresults(goals)thattheorganizationmustachieveinthenext12-24months.These‘must-achievedesiredresults’mustmeetthreecriteria:meaningful,measureable,andmemorable.

2)Oncethedesiredresultsareagreedupon,theseniorleadershipteammustbe100%alignedandallmembersacceptownershipandaccountabilitytocommunicatethekeymessagingtotheorganization.

3)Thethirdstepistodefinewhattheoptimalculturewouldlooklikeinordertoachievethesedesiredresults.Howwouldyouseepeoplebehave?Whatbeliefswouldtheyhold?Whatwouldtheybedoingdifferently?Whatarethekeygapsinbehaviorsandbeliefsthatareimpedingprogresstowardthedesiredoptimalculture?

4)Leadersatalllevelsapplyproven,pragmatictools,principlesandmethodologiestocreateshiftsinthewaythatemployeesthink,actandbehaveinordertosupportandultimatelyrealizethedefinedoptimalculture.

Theprocessmuststartatthebaseofthemodelandgettingtotopisnoteasy.Allofthestepsaredifficultandtakedisciplineandfocus.Butthepayoffishuge.

Considerations:Whenwasthelasttimeyouaskedthoseyouleadtocitethetop2-3‘mustachieve’goalsforyourteam?Cantheyclearlyandpreciselycommunicateeachgoal?Dotheyknowexactlyhoweachisbeingmeasured?Dotheyknowwhatthedesiredmetricisforeach?Howwellcaneachmemberofyourteamtranslatetheimpactofwhattheydotothedesiredresults(goals)?

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

AboutTheAuthor:MikeEvansisManagingPartnerofQuestMark,with20+yearsofexpertiseintheareasofflawlessexecutionofstrategy,employeeengagement,culture-shaping,changeleadership,organizationalaccountability,andexemplaryleadership.MikeservedinkeyseniorleadershipandconsultingroleswithKotterInternational,Franklin-Covey,andTomPetersCompany.Hehasworkedalongsideandlearnedfromadiversegroupofthoughtleadersincluding:Dr.JohnKotter,Dr. StephenCovey, TomPeters, JimKouzes,HyrumSmith, Steve Farber, ChrisMcChesney andothers.Mikehasworkedwithorganizationsinvirtuallyeveryarena,fromthetechsectortofinancialservices,manufacturing, health care, hospitality, entertainment, retail, and the US Government. Clients includecompanies such as PNC Bank, Intel, Capital One, Apple, Fifth Third Bank, Pfizer, U.S. Navy, FidelityInvestments,Johnson&Johnson,Symantec,AstraZeneca,HeinzUSA,DuPontandNASA.

mike.evans@questmarkcompany.com