Loyal is as Loyal Does (Part 2)

EV: If loyalty is still important to the company, how can we as leaders enhance this value?

CBH: Yes, for the performers only as they will add value to the company with probably the lowest cost. ROI.  A leader can promote via emotive means, and appropriate compensation packages aimed at retaining key staff.

KCH: Of course, loyalty is important – that is why many good companies focus on retention of talent. However, the key question we need to ask is: Loyalty for what purpose? There are staff who are loyal because they want no change, but remain in comfortable positions. Many who just rather remain in the status quo, and can work on given tasks day in day out till the last day before retirement. But, in today’s highly competitive landscape that demands staff to be productive and efficient…

To enhance the value of engagement, leadership needs to connect (engage) with the employees. It needs to communicate and be transparent and drive a purpose, or goals, throughout the organisation.  Leaders need to have followers – and followers must feel they are being appreciated, being engaged and involved, being part of a team. There is a famous saying in leadership: “People do not care how much you know, but they want to know how much you care.”

MY: Change their mind, and let them know why loyalty is important or good. The company should show loyalty to their employees. It's a 2-way thing. Corporate culture may be important to cultivate a sense of loyalty.

EV: What can be done to promote loyalty?

KCH: A need to promote a sense of common values, common goals, and lots of empathy.

CBH: Create an appropriate workplace environment such that a worker comes to work happy and returns home even happier.

MY: I don't think Chinese employees will bear loyalty in their mind. They are very "snobbish", and we just do what is "worth" doing. If a company is not the "best place" for me, in terms of income or whatever, they will leave. Remember the old saying? "人往高出走”， “人挪活，树挪死。” Chinese are good at looking for "better" positions for themselves, so loyalty is not the first value they look to.
 
MY: So, that's why we think the professionalism of Chinese employees is a problem. The behaviors of being loyal are like that of being professional, but may be more: Loyal employees should do all their best for their company’s interests. Stay with the company even in hard times, willing to stay in the company for long time, to develop with the company, and regard the company as part of his or her life, or family.
 
EV: How can we measure loyalty?

CBH: Staff turnover, morale, and organizational effectiveness.

KCH: Many people measure employees on satisfaction, but are they satisfied in working in an organisation or team? However, being satisfied is easy – pay them right, give them less work, and just cajole and appease them.  But we should measure engagement instead. Engagement is more than being satisfied. Engaged employees lead to effective organizations. For example, in my organisation – Inchcape - we believe that our people are at the heart of who we are, how we think and how we act as an organisation.  Because of this belief, our people strategy is all about engaged employees in winning teams who will make our customer-centric vision around the world a reality.
 
To us at Inchcape, an 'engaged' employee is anyone who truly understands where the company is heading, believes in the direction, knows what it means and what is required personally, does what is needed to make it happen and thoroughly enjoys the journey. Furthermore, we know that there is a proven link between levels of employee engagement and business performance.
Engaged employees are more than just satisfied employees. They are committed to the company and proud to tell others that they work there. They feel a sense of personal accomplishment in the work they do, and are willing to provide the discretionary effort needed to help the company achieve its goals.

Certain conditions must be in place for employees to be engaged. They must have good team leaders whom they can trust. They must have the resources and training necessary to get the job done. They must have proactive, adaptive and supportive colleagues who pull together to help the company succeed.

In uncertain economic times, when margins are tight, the companies with the most engaged workforces will be the companies that will succeed in the marketplace.

EV: Thank you, gentlemen for helping us appreciate the challenges and approaches to leadership.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS:

1)    Loyalty is a value that is still worthwhile.

2)    Engaging staff may be the better way to enhance individual and collective potential.

3)    Loyalty may be transactional in its basic sense; in its expanded form, loyalty promotes trust, continuity, and a heightened sense of belonging and identity.

4)    How will you exercise loyalty in your business?

Loyal is as Loyal Does (Part 1)

Generously contributed by Koh Ching Hong, Chew Boon Hee & Michael Yin

A regular reader of this blog initiated this post. He has been thinking deeply and appreciating the value of loyalty from various perspectives and approaches. So, I interviewed three managers from around the region and they generously shared their tacit wisdom and experiences. I hope that this will serve you well. The interviewees comprised one general manager, a C-level manager and one business-owner. They are based over Singapore, China and Vietnam.

Mention loyalty these days, and employees may scoff at it. Some claim that it is dead. What is this value called loyalty? Does your staff expect loyalty after they have served a few years in the company?  As a leader, how would you show loyalty to your staff?

If staff value loyalty less these days, then which value would you promote instead at your workplace? Why is this value so elusive?

EV: What is loyalty?

CBH: Loyalty is, being faithful towards a cause. Loyalty also means devotion, dependence, and honest to one person or thing.

EV: Now, what do you think about LOYALTY?

CBH: Same as above; maybe, literally have one woman for life and staying in one job for life, maybe be a true friend, whatever the outcome.

MY: Loyalty is very important to a company. If we don't have loyal employees, then our business won't be stable, operations will be affected, core competencies and expertise won't be built!

EV: What do staff think about loyalty today?

KCH: Question we ask – how do we define loyalty? Is loyalty and security the same? Being loyal – therefore means having job security? Question we also ask – being loyal to a company? Being loyal to a team? Being loyal to a boss? I have known of people who will leave the company when their boss or team leaves – but I also know that people will stay on, being loyal to the company. Loyalty has to be built with trust over time – for both companies and leaders.
Staff, in difficult economic climate – are loyal to companies (more because of job and financial security); whilst in boom-time, more staff will trade that loyalty for better jobs, pay, or work environment.  

CBH: WIIFM (What’s in it for me)! And this cuts both ways - person to company, and company to person.

KCH: I would rather talk about engaged staff rather than loyal staff.  A loyal staff can produce X amount of work, whilst an engaged staff tends to produce X-plus amount of work.

 MY: The first issue of loyalty is retention-rate of employees. It's a huge cost to a company. Then, if employees don't quit, but stay in the company without loyalty, it could be another big problem. They may misuse work-time, steal company information and business information, and even do some unethical things for their own interest.

EV: Is the practice of loyalty vastly different in Third World countries compared to developed nations?

KCH: Probably – Japan and Korea tend to have a cradle-to-grave work ethos. China and Taiwan used to have that, too – and many traditional companies tend to be like that, too. Western, developed countries tend to be different.

CBH: In the context of the business world, my opinion is that developed countries are very capitalistic. That is, I sell my time for money. The company uses me for as long they need me! In the Third World, the behaviors of people are as capitalistic. There is a lot of emotional attachment to a leader/company and hence the loyalty to remain.

MY: So, loyalty is very important to the company. However, to employees they don't even think about loyalty. We just know only Japanese are very loyal to their company, and feel ashamed if they "betray" their employers. But this is not the case in China. Chinese may be loyal to their family, but not to others; not to mention companies.

Are You a Twit?

I assure you that I don’t mean the title to be rude. I am referring to those who have optimized the use of social media tools such as Twitter. What do you mean you are not on Twitter? Get a move on it. Leaders do things. Start Tweeting. Roger Chow, my training buddy in triathlon, connected with me on Twitter today so it triggered off this post. We are both Generation X, with Generation Y aspirations.

Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. On 17 April 2009, Actor Ashton Kutcher was famous for beating CNN Breaking News in getting one million subscribers to follow his ‘updates’. Wife, Demi Moore helped with her collective star power, beating CNN by 1,200 tweets. Facebook has this application, so it may be a function that you are already familiar with.

Perhaps, there is a misconception about the irrelevance of Twitter; mainly, who cares about what you are doing? However, within your social circle (also affectionately known as your tribe) what you do may be of interest to it. It is an application that should be tested before you can rightfully criticise it.

Read Keith De La Rue’s essay on the impact of social media tools. He provides insights on the popular tools such as Twitter. He argues a sound case about using Twitter to post notes while at a conference. This tool promotes the skills of writing with a sense of focus, brevity (not more than the 140-character limit) and sensibility. Each tweet should be important and relevant to your reader.

As I have shared with friends and students, keep your phone text messages brief yet comprehensive. If you are not clear enough, it will invite extra and extraneous responses that eat into your time. For business matters, spell in clear, avoid emoticons, and get to the point. Compose your message clearly, convey your message with well-considered vocabulary, and commit to communicating.  

List-full Thinking

Saturdays and Sundays are good days to genuflect and consider options and dreams. It is also a good time to read, research, exercise and learn. One exercise I do is review my List. The List includes some of the challenges I have set for myself every year, and some for a period of 1-3 years. Plans can change, however, dreams merely get delayed. I still have my first list from 1995. Here is a glimpse of my elaborate list:

1.    Visit all the Ancient Wonders of the World

2.    Visit all the Modern Wonders of the World.

3.    Complete 10 Ironman triathlons by end-2010.

4.    Complete my second book by end-2009.

5.    Get my first book published in 2009.

6.    Start a new business in China.

7.    Earn an honorary PhD.

8.    Initiate a new business process that funds my favourite charities.

9.     Interview 52 people of distinction in one year (for this blog).

10.  Compete in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon World Championships 2008/2009

You can start on such a list immediately. This list can and should involve your loved ones. Take your journey with others – makes it more meaningful. Once you have achieved one, underline it. Your personal achievements can be shared in your future as fodder for retirement conversations. What’s wrong with reminiscing when it is shared experiences. As Ironman co-founder John Collins said of completing the grueling 226km swim, ride, run course:"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life" ‘

Get going on your list. 

The Choices We Make

Leadership is a choice. We can choose to lead, or not.

Leadership is about doing. If you do something, there will be some evidence of results. When you begin something, you are leading by your actions. Actions speak louder than words. Empty vessels make the most noise.

Values like taking the initiative and being proactive come about only through your action. Leadership is about leading (yourself), not just talking. Walking the talk is part of establishing your credential and credibility. Leaders cannot display inconsistencies – say one thing, do another – trust me, it is largely frowned upon.

When marine biologist Sivasothi rescued about 300 horseshoe crabs by himself, he made a choice to be a leader. There was little time to wait. The actions of this National University of Singapore lecturer encouraged others to follow suit, or at least consider the consequences of ignoring the plight of nature. Secondary school teacher, Soo Chan Hua tutors students (on weekends) who are weak in English through the kindness of his heart. He also shares his passion for sleight-of-hand magic with cards, by generously coaching interested students in this ancient art. These two individuals inspire as they perspire.

Seth Godin wrote in Tribes (2009): ‘Leadership is a choice. It is the choice to not do nothing.’ What is your choice today?

Laughter is the best medicine

Today, I gave a workshop to about 75 teachers and support-staff on ‘Managing Stress with Humour at the Workplace’. We had a whale of a good time, with an abundance of shared laughter. I love to laugh, and I will inject a healthy dose of it into my classes because my students appreciate it. When they laugh, they open up and are receptive to new ideas and perspectives.

A sense of humour is necessary when things don’t normally go the way we expect. Sometimes, just laughing about it may help. It changes our physiology and makes us more alert. Laughter lightens the tension of the moment, and may be useful in dissipating some stress. Being overly disappointed and depressed may not be useful if all we do is mope and dwell on a past that won’t change. Instead,

1. Look at the bright side of things.

2. Consider that it could have been worst.

3. Laugh at the absurdity of the matter.

4. Ask: What can I learn from this?

5. Ask: What will I do differently the next time?

Share a joke with a colleague; be sensitive and keep it respectful. Relate an amusing story. We can laugh about similar experiences. We can play with language to elicit a laugh. It is okay to be, occasionally, silly.

Take a moment. Catch your breath. Have a laugh. It may just be what the doctor ordered to cure your blues.

My friend, entrepreneur-triathlete-financier-philanthropist, Mitch Thrower reaffirms this with The Billion-Dollar Secret is Humour. 

Suffering from Writer’s Blog?

My readers have enquired how I can write so much, and so often on this blog? I never really thought about it. In 2003, for 30 consecutive weeks I researched, edited, wrote and e-mailed weekly issues of my e-zine called The Inner Pilot. My friends, students and associates still ask what became of it.

Which returns us to the questions: Why write? Perhaps, it was because I was taught: ‘If you have something important to say, then say it.’

In the film Finding Forrester, I was inspired by what the mentor said: ‘First, write with your heart. Then, with your head.’

It doesn’t matter if you write one sentence, or a paragraph. Stephen King wrote in On Writing: ‘Put yourself in a room, without any distractions, and write. It doesn’t matter if it is one sentence. Just write.’ Write what you feel. Write what you think. My good friend, author Lewis Jones taught me: Get to the point soon.

By the way, marketing guru Seth Godin (author of The Dip & Permission Marketing) updates his blog once a day, almost without fail. His posts are succinct and concise. My friend, Michael Hartley-Robinson taught me: Write less. Communicate more.

Are you ready to write?

Real World Examples

I, occasionally, receive workshop feedback by my students about having more real-life or real world examples. I often wonder what they mean exactly…

What is real life? Does it suggest that some of us are living ‘virtual lives’? In the real world, aren’t we humans who go to work, have families, raise children, go for prayer, enjoy an annual vacation, develop our skill sets, and hopefully, realize part of our dream? If that is part of your blueprint for life, then, how irrelevant can that be?

This has led to me consider the following questions:

1)    Do staff only want to hear real-life stories from within their company alone? Therefore, the trainer or teacher needs to be from in-house and has worked across all departments in the company to be credible and relevant.

2)    Do staff believe in applying ‘good practices’ or ‘best-in-class practices’? If not, the real world does not matter much.

3)    Is there a misinterpretation of the phrase ‘real world’ and ‘real life’?

4)    Is there a distinct difference in mindset between employees and employers?

5)    Do they really understand what ‘theory’ is, and that it is already applied or can be applied?

6)    Are there underlying issues that need to be attended and addressed?

7)    Can you really challenge somebody’s experience?

As annoying as the phraseology may be, I suspect that there are attendant opportunities we can unearth from such feedback. How can we connect daily workplace experiences and practices with ‘real world’ ones? How can we make that leap from where we are, to another point where  ‘we could be’ in our future? Is that considered thinking outside the box?

Just one question, that leads to many more. What about you?

Leadership at Work: Facilitating Groups at Play (Part 2)

Breaking the Ice

Icebreaking is a popular activity in public seminars and conferences. It is a simple process of reducing differences, and increasing similarities. Participants re expected to become more comfortable with these ‘small games’ so that they may be more open to the event, its facilitators, and new possibilities. You can get them to look for information under stringent time considerations, design and deliver their war-cry/cheer and form different team configurations. We need to be sensitive and mindful of the audience and which types of activities may be useful and relevant. One of our signature pieces is dubbed the Handshake Challenge, as we not only review and revise the Universal Handshake we also use international handshakes (taught to me by Dr Peter J Stark) to enhance the level of openness of our students. This is a popular process, and has been ‘borrowed’ by many trainers.

Solutions Focused Approach

Most of us tend to take a logical approach to problem solving – by taking a problem-centric approach. Instead, we take a solutions-focused approach with

Solutions-Focused Coaching and Appreciative Inquiry (www.briefacademy.com). Problems tend to focus us on the past (and impossibilities), whereas solutions focus us on the future and what is possible. Solutions focus on ‘what ought to be there’, instead of ‘what is’.

Adventure-based Learning

Activities are useful because it engages the body, mind and spirit. Physical exercise alerts the body to what is possible, and what our perceived limitations may be. Adventure-based learning includes low-element and high-element activities; low-elements are described as physical challenges that are performed less than 30-centimetres off the ground, and vice versa. Rope courses are also useful in that we secure ourselves with safety-harnesses and rope, and are bound by rules and restrictions, and we attempt to release our self-imposed limitations. Other activities that inject a sense of adventure are circuit driving, off- road driving, trekking and climbing, water-sports, and aerial-manoeuvres. Each challenge is designed to bring out aspects of our personality, talent, abilities and capabilities we do not, normally, apply at the workplace or classroom.

Are the Answers in the Questions?

THE ANSWERS ARE IN THE QUESTIONS. Expert facilitators know that there is always one more question that may not have been asked. I am always concerned that THE QUESTION is not usually asked in discussions, especially if staff experience and sustain dysfunctional dynamics, or when staff feel helpless and hopeless. In comprehension, there are at least 7 questions to ask, NOT 6! The missing question can retard our progress in accelerating personal change for our students. This question builds a promise and premise for possibility; asking it builds a sense of entrepreneurship and opens the door to innovation. In the Solutions Focused approach, coaches are trained to facilitate the Miracle Question and it may change your life once you have considered it.

LEGO SERIOUS PLAY

Currently conducted in Singapore by Focus Adventure Pte Ltd (www.focusadventure.com), this is the next best thing to sliced bread – well, almost – NOTHING beats sliced bread. What has been sliced is the border separating Adult Play and Child’s Play. Players construct familiar and abstract, 3-dimensional structures to reflect their perception and impressions of their relationships with colleagues. After the creative effort of building their own sculpture, they then relate it to their colleagues’. The experienced facilitator will be able to successfully draw from the abstract learning afforded from the concrete experience of actually putting the snap-on, bricks together (with Child-Like Curiosity) into unique configurations. 

Focus on the abstracts and abstract learning

Abstract learning may be subjective however it is still part of our human experience. After all, our experiences are subjective and no two persons describing the same one can express it identically. The tools and techniques found in Experience Orientated Management (EOM™, found at www.ipips.com) focus on the abstract learning of managers. When a facilitator describes an experience with ‘a sense of’, then abstracts are being considered; this includes sensations, emotions, and feelings. In team physical challenges, we can discuss abstracts like ‘a sense of adventure’, ‘a sense of anticipation, and ‘a sense of optimism’. We cannot avoid the abstracts as these complement the concrete part of human experiences.

(THE INNER PILOT newsletter, incorporating Inside Leadership © Enrico Varella & Associates 2007) 

Leadership at Work: Facilitating Groups at Play (Part 1)

I wrote this article on 12 March 2007, and I think it is still relevant two years later. As the population of trainers increase, so will their versatility and creativity.

Leaders in education, i.e. corporate trainers, lecturers and teachers are quite fond of integrating games and activities into their lesson plans. It is not unusual, these days, that educators conduct teambuilding-type activities into their classroom delivery. Here is some tacit wisdom, drawn upon my experiences as a corporate trainer and facilitator, and my interviews with my peers. You can consider these as your guidelines when you integrate facilitation into your sessions - indoors or outdoors – so that you get more delivery from your dollar (or bang from your buck), so to speak. 

Focus on the Facilitation

Facilitation can be, simply put as, ‘To make facile and provide facility’. Teachers, corporate trainers and teambuilding facilitators may wish to consider the full range and parameters afforded by facilitation. When we facilitate a process, we have the intrinsic objective of bringing out the best in each person. The late-founder of Conjoint Family Therapy, Virginia Satir used to describe her profession as: ‘My job is to educate people to become more human than they already are!’ Facilitation is supportive, encouraging and optimistic as it moves people from being able to capable, and more future-orientated in their mindset.

Specific Skills Required

Facilitation skills allow us to draw out people’s thinking and feelings. It is not unusual to ask questions that include ‘What did you learn from this activity?’

‘What did you discover about yourself after doing that challenge?’ or ‘How was that experience like for you?’ Successful facilitation begins with a strong foundation of team dynamics, social skills, applied psychology, educational pedagogy, and effective communication at various levels (www.auroraexecutive.com). More importantly, expert facilitation works with ‘what is already there’. We do not violate people’s beliefs, values, experiences and opinions – we merely work with them.

Games People Play

Coined by Eric Bernes, founder of the Transactional Analysis movement, adults do play games. These ‘games’ usually have purpose, and the players have some sort of an agenda. When managers indulge in politicking, what do these games mean? What are their intentions? What outcomes or results do they engineer from this process of being assertive or aggressive? English bard, William Shakespeare did allude to the world being a stage, and we the players! Are you OK?

Team Dynamics

Facilitating groups with complex and dysfunctional relationships requires the sensitivity of litmus paper – notice when people are feeling bitter and when they are being caustic in their remarks. Teams can practise functional or dysfunctional team dynamics. In dysfunctional dynamics, there will be a Victim, Persecutor and Rescuer (Yardley & Kelly), and in Functional Dynamics we observe the Explorer, Builder and Encourager. Expert facilitation requires the exquisite skills of top negotiators and mediators to move teams along to more useful outcomes.

(This article comes in two parts) 

(THE INNER PILOT newsletter, incorporating Inside Leadership © Enrico Varella & Associates 2007)