Image Source: http://putnam-consulting.com/wp-content/uploads/photodune-12772856-diverse-group-people-working-together-concept-m.jpg

People First

Building and Leading a Successful Team

#MW17-FS

Museums and the Web

Friday April 21, 2017

1:30pm - 2:20pm

Introductions

Anne

The Field Museum

Workplace

Culture & Staff

EngagementMaybe if we

ignore it, it will

just go away

Um ....

Douglas Hegley, Chief Digital Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Art @dhegley http://www.slideshare.net/dhegley

Image Source: https://i2.wp.com/davidgodot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/elephant.jpg?resize=636%2C310

Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Minneapolis_Institute_of_Arts.jpg

People

The single most important

thing that great leaders do for

their organizations is hiring.

- Attributed to Eric Schmidt of Google, and also

uttered by great leaders everywhere

Image Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1599567/images/o-SCHMIDT-facebook.jpg @dhegley

… how do you hire someone? In principle,

it’s simple. You’re looking for people who are

1. Smart

2. Get things done

That’s it. That’s all you’re looking for.

Memorize it.

- Joel Spolsky

Image Source: http://www.businesszone.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/banner/public/joel_headshot_0.jpg?itok=EBbMJgRv

@dhegley

Hiring PracticesHow do you evaluate talent?

How do you make hiring decisions?

The Other Things

Internal or External ResourcesMany ways to source good talent

Internal

External

Considerations

How long will you need the resource?

Unique skills required?

Would external perspective enhance the work product?

Time

Cost

Hire character.

Train skill

Image Source: https://goinswriter.com/wp-content/uploads/miyagi.jpg@dhegley

Personalities are Key

● Personality fits are essential, especially when an institution's culture is unique.

● Part of the The Franklin Institute hiring process includes a personality profile

with our leadership consulting firm.

● Candidates interview with individuals at varying levels of the organization to

gauge for personality fits.

On-boarding

Mia 101 - Formal On-Boarding Process

All new hires

Includes:Mission, Vision, Value Proposition

Workplace Culture

Org Structure & Cross-Functional Teams

Audience Centric Philosophy

Strategic Plan

Museum Tour

Stats - Mia by the numbers

HR & benefits

Your Mia Buddy

Two Friends, Frogtown, 1994

Wing Young Huie

Gelatin silver print

Gift of funds from David Parker 98.228.2

Someone who already works here

and has offered to help new staff.

Not a mentor, per se.

Available for questions and to help

orient you to the museum.

The Franklin Institute Onboarding Process

● Currently in the process of designing an entirely new onboarding process.

○ New person buddy system

○ Introductory lunches for new employees

○ Multi-day orientation and training sessions

● As we hire more people from outside the museum field, seemingly obvious

training like customer service, place-based management and safety, etc

becomes essential for ALL employees.

Engagement & Retention

Engagement & Retention of External ResourcesGood contracts can help retention but they can’t ensure engagement

Activities supporting engagement may even be more important with external resource

At a minimum exert the same level of effort as you would for an internal resource

How to Engage External Resources

Acclimate them to the Museum

Teach them about the history, purpose & strategy

Set up tours

Include them in staff meetings

Invite them to participate in team outings

Empower

Allow them to do their best work

● Collaborative team environment

● Shared goals

● Aligned with strategic plan

● Workplace culture, applied

● Empowerment

@dhegley

High

High

(Hard)

Low

Low

(Easy)

Importance,

Via STRATEGY

Difficulty,

via practical

REALITY

Make the Decision

© Douglas Hegley 2014 @dhegley

©

Cool Blue

Do a select few

Seek funding & partners

(We wish we could do them all)Risk: Too many at once

(saying yes to everything)

Red Flag

Do only if necessary

Stop! (or proceed with extreme

caution)

(We wish we could have none)Risk: Bogs down & exhausts resources

Green Light

Do these fast

Make a prioritized list, get moving

(We wish there were fewer)Risk: Resources pulled away from Cool Blue

Gray Fog

Do only if there are resources

“Busy work” or dreamy distractions

(We wish we had more time)Risk: People fall into it , esp. in times of stress

High

High

(Hard)

Low

Low

(Easy)

Importance,

Via STRATEGY

Difficulty,

via practical

REALITY

Make the Decision

© Douglas Hegley 2014 @dhegley

Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Flow

• Ask your people to spend time with their email

closed

• Let them work remote some days

• Encourage your people to block out periods of

time for focused work - with email CLOSED

• Put blocks of time on their calendar for work;

put blocks of time for email

• Did I mention closing email for periods of time?

Source: http://flavorwire.com/192948/phillip-toledanos-portraits-of-people-playing-video-games

E.P.I.C. at The Franklin Institute

Excellence

Philanthropic Mindset

Innovative Thinking

Collaboration

Teams

Successful Teams Share 5 Defining Characteristics

Image Source: https://www.eaglesflight.com/hubfs/Blogs/Teamwork_in_the_Workplace-_Enthusiastic_Consistent_and_United_Effort.jpg

Successful Teams Share 5 Defining Characteristics

1. Everyone talks & listens in roughly equal measure

2. Face one another, conversations and gestures are energetic

3. Members connect directly with one another, not just with the team leader

4. Members carry on back-channel or side conversations

5. Periodically break, go explore outside the team, and bring information back

Source: The New Science of Building Great Teams, by Alex "Sandy" Pentland, Harvard Business Review, April 2012.

@dhegley

Digital as a Catalyst for New Teams

Digital initiatives can be a driver of new team

structures and transform old ways of getting work

done.

Bad Apples

Does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch?

“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst

behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”

Steve Gruenert & Todd Whitaker (2015) School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It

Image source: https://pickfreshfood.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/miller-john-one-rotten-apple-amongst-other-green-apples-e1422640780350.jpg @dhegley

Poor performers aren't happy, ever, no matter what they may say

Image Source: http://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/image/1940x900/vintage-boss-1940x900_34819.jpg

Address the Situation, or It Will Get Worse

Start here:

● Know the workplace culture.

● Know the employee.

● Understand the gap between the two.

@dhegley

Courage!

● Know the workplace culture.

● Know the employee.

● Understand the gap between the two.

Do this:

● Talk honestly and openly about the gap. This is not a confrontation.

● Explore solutions, together.

○ The basic choice: Make it better here, or find it better elsewhere.

● Make decisions on how to move forward, together.

It's possible to achieve a positive outcome for both sides

It takes practice to do this effectively, lots of practice.

For a deeper dive on this topic, see Poor Employee Performance: What Exactly is Broken?

and 8 Tips for Having Difficult Conversations with Employees@dhegley

Further Thoughts on Dealing with Dysfunction

Barriers

Operate with Transparency

Context

• Web and Digital team switched from service-oriented to proactive

• Past: 90% responding to incoming requests; 10% strategy

• Work was done first-come-first-serve

• Answer was always yes, therefore strategy driven by squeakiest wheels in

the Museum

• Now: 75% strategy and execution; 25% incoming requests

• First step in transformation was transparency: share everything

Operate with Transparency

Operate with Transparency

Dealing with the Constraints of the Nonprofit Sector (limited: budgets, head count, salaries, etc.)

Questions & Discussion

Thank you

Anne Bennett linkedin.com/in/anne-timonere-bennett/

Brad Dunn @badunn

Douglas Hegley @dhegley

Susan Poulton @sepoulton