Sheepwalking

A clever take on a common malady, by Seth Godin:

"I define 'sheepwalking' as the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them a braindead job and enough fear to keep them in line.

Training a student to be sheepish is a lot easier than the alternative. Teaching to the test, ensuring compliant behavior and using fear as a motivator are the easiest and fastest ways to get a kid through school. So why does it surprise us that we graduate so many sheep?

And many organizations go out of their way to hire people that color inside the lines, that demonstrate consistency and compliance. And then they give these people jobs where they are managed via fear. Which leads to sheepwalking. ("I might get fired!")"

Thoughts on Alignment

I really like the thought of alignment, but it is really hard to put into practice. We see it in clearly in the world of sports, where coaches are able to get their players to understand and fulfill their roles. In organizations, it is harder to identify the skills and roles and objectives, which are more intangible that physical performance on a field. The leaders who can accomplish it are extremely gifted.

"My belief is that when you are in a culture where there is alignment, you do get a sense that everyone is clear about the purpose/ambition of the organization and how their role contributes to that. When people understand how what they do connects to the organization, and if the right systems and processes are in place for the work to get done, alignment can start to happen. On the flipside, I recently visited an organization, and depending who I spoke to, I got a different sense about the company. It felt as if the company had a split personality, maybe multiple personalities. It was clear to me that people were not focusing their energies towards the same goal. The departments weren't in 'relative position,' but rather opposition to each other.

I am not so naïve as to think that every person in an organization will head in the same direction. However, I get concerned when an organization seems scattered, vs. being drawn or pulled in the same direction.

That's my view. What's yours: Is there really such as thing as organizational alignment?"

Observation on Leadership

Regarding the rumored new president of Harvard, an observation on what it takes to be successful:

"“Complex institutions need wise leaders with vision who can inspire collaboration for change,” said Dr. Gutmann, who had said repeatedly that she intended to remain at Penn. “And Drew has all that it takes to be such a leader. She has a strong backbone and sense and sensibility.”"

Quite a checklist:
-wisdom
-vision
-inspirational
-collaborative
-change
-backbone
-sensible

Being Part of Something Special part2

More Tom Peters on great management. Here he's commenting on Daniel Yankelovich and John Immerwahr's 1983 research report, "Putting the Work Ethic to Work." Yankelovich and Immerwahr discovered that there was approximately 70% discretionary effort available in most employees. The discretionary effort being the difference between what they have to do to keep their jobs and what they could do if they brought forth all their talent and effort.

"It seems to me then, that a leader or manager's first job is to pull out that discretionary effort. This starts with clearly identifying the ambition of the organization and helping each and every employee see their part in realizing that ambition. I still believe that one thing we want from our talent is the sense that they make a difference. In my years as a first-line supervisor, I was always amazed at my weakest performers on the job who did amazing volunteer work after hours. Clearly they had the work ethic; we just didn't define an ambition for them worthy of their best efforts."

New Coaches

It's inspiring to read about the new style of coaching making an impact in the NFL. I hope this catches on in other realms of leadership:

"Smith and Dungy, perhaps the two closest friends to coach from opposing sidelines in the Super Bowl, are studies in positive reinforcement. They put unblinking trust in their players. They seek their opinions. Without handing over authority, Smith and Dungy treat their players the way a good boss treats an employee, or a teacher treats a student. For whatever reason, those social rules have not always applied in coaching.
.
'By and large, when you ask good people to accept responsibility, they will, and they will respond,' said the Colts president, Bill Polian. 'They respond to his character, his personality, his care for them, which they return.'
."

"Guys want to know that you believe in them," Smith said. "And then they'll do anything for you. After a while, it grows on you. That's what I see happening here. We have a positive approach to coaching football."

"You don't get tired of Lovie," Bears tight end Desmond Clark said. "He's not trying to impose his way on everybody."