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Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke
Publisher: Wolf Rinke Associates, Inc.
(c) 2003 Wolf J. Rinke
Vol. 6 No. 3, June/July 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. HOW TO MANAGE CHANGE--PART III
3. HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES--CD, VHS OR DVD
4. BRAIN TEASER
5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
6. ANSWER AND EXPLANATION TO BRAIN TEASER
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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REALITY CHECK
"You can always spot well informed people. Their views are the
same as yours."
--Ilka Chase
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1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
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LABOR SHORTAGE
Yes, you read correctly. According to Watson Wyatt, by 2010 there will
be a significant labor shortage. (The Baby Boomers will be retiring
en masse.)
ACTION STEPS:
Don't let the current abundance of labor lull you into complacency.
Make it a habit--that means you do it on autopilot--to treat all employees
as if they are volunteers.
Source: Consulting, Feb/Mar, 2003, p. 28
INDIVIDUALS ARE MORE CREATIVE THAN TEAMS
Contrary to popular opinion teams are better at convergent thinking,
i.e. coming up with single ideas whereas individuals are better at divergent
thinking i.e. coming up with many ideas.
ACTION STEPS
Make up teams that are highly diverse and engage them in techniques
that take advantage of the individuals' ability to think creatively
such as the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). (For FREE details of how
to conduct NGT, send an e-mail to WolfRinke@aol.com with the word NGT
in the subject line and we will e-mail it to you.)
Source: The Academy of Management Executive 17 (1): 96-109.
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2. HOW TO MANAGE CHANGE-PART III
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In the last issue of this eNewsletter you discovered the first four
steps required to make a major change in your organization:
Step 1: Mobilize Commitment by Creating a Powerful Sense of Urgency
Step 2: Tailor the Change to Fit the Situation
Step 3: Assemble a Powerful Change Action Team
Step 4: Create a Vision of the New Future
Here are the remaining five steps:
Step 5: Communicate the Vision and Identify WIIFM
A critical component of this step is to have every team member be very
clear about what is in it for me (WIIFM), good and bad. P. T. Barnum
was incorrect; you cannot fool most of the people most of the time.
So be up front and tell it like it is. Also, be sure to personally communicate
with the front-line supervisors who are the most critical players in
any change effort. If things will get better for certain people, let
them know that. (By the way, the change must result in perceived improvements
for at least half the employees, otherwise your change effort likely
will fail!) If people will be laid off, or otherwise be impacted negatively,
let them know that too. Also, it is absolutely essential that you, the
senior management team, and members of the change action team walk their
talk! Remember, people will hear actions much, much louder than words!
This is so critical that any member of the management and the change
action team who is unwilling or unable to commit to the change effort
must be removed from the organization either permanently or, if the
organization is large enough, for the duration of the change process.
Caution: If you are not using every possible communication medium to
talk about the new vision until you are sick and tired of it, you probably
are not talking about it enough.
Step 6: Find the Energy to Build Powerful Coalitions
Every organization has what are referred to as early adapters-- these
are the folks who love change--and highly committed team members who
are willing to carry the ball (they represent energy), as well as opinion
leaders. Use the change action team to identify these folks to become
disciples of the change effort so that they can carry the message and
their passion to the late adopters.
Caution: Ignoring the late adopters can scuttle your change initiative!
Step 7: Empower Everyone to Make the Vision a Reality
This includes removing obstacles, be they policies, procedures, systems,
or employees who are undermining the achievement of the vision. Everyone
must be encouraged to use his/her initiative, energy, and power to help
move the organization toward the attainment of the new vision. This
does not mean that conflict should be squelched. Just the opposite.
Conflict should be harnessed utilizing conflict resolution strategies.
(If you like help with this read Beyond the Wall of Resistance by Rick
Maurer.) It is important that all team members recognize that conflict
is good, since conflict--appropriately channeled--represents energy,
energy that can be used to initiate creativity and innovation, the force
that is needed to make the new vision a reality. Suppression of conflict
and excessive controls, on the other hand, results in dramatic reductions
in commitment, risk taking, and learning. This stage requires managers
to be generous in giving their power away, encouraging team members
to take calculated risks, and stimulating unconventional behaviors and
actions. In short, managers must act like coaches, not a cops!
Caution: Not letting go, really letting go, and excessive controls will
stall the change process.
Step 8: Celebrate Incremental Victories
Most fundamental organizational changes take three to eight years to
achieve. Yes, you read right, three to eight years! Few people will
be able to maintain high levels of energy and commitment for such a
long time. Hence it is critical that achievable goals and objectives
be identified in three to six months increments. Attainment of these
goals and objectives should be celebrated in a big way, with bonuses,
public recognition, and other public promotions that will let everyone
know that the organization is moving in the right direction.
Caution: Change without positive reinforcement will extinguish the newly
acquired behaviors.
Step 9: Anchor the New Vision in the Culture
Let's face it: When the pressure is off, human beings and organizations
tend to revert to old and comfortable behaviors. Behaviors that support
the new vision must be continually reinforced until they become the
norm. New team members and managers must be selected on the basis of
how well they believe and support the new vision. Policies, systems,
and organizational structures--especially reward and compensation systems--must
be continually reevaluated and realigned to support and anchor the new
vision so that it becomes the accepted modus operandi. Changes in the
management team can lead to rapid reversals and, therefore, new managers
should be chosen on the basis of how well they can buy into and support
the new vision.
A case in point is a health care client I had worked with for the purpose
of implementing an empowerment program. After about eighteen months,
team members finally began to take positive and independent actions
on behalf of patients. All customer-service indicators began to point
in the right direction. Complacency began to take place; after all,
the perception was that the intervention effort had been completed.
At about that time a new executive director was being hired. The board
of directors took independent actions to search for a new director.
Only after some cajoling did the board agree to involve the management
team. At that point, however, the board had already selected a candidate
and only accommodated the management team's request in order to appease
them. The individual who was selected had never worked in an empowered
environment and lacked the ability and/or the willingness to change.
It took only about three months for the entire organization to revert
to its prior autocratic behavior.
Caution: Declaring victory before the new vision has been internalized
as "the way we do business around here" will cause the change
process to self-destruct.
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3. HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES--CD, VHS OR DVD
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How to Motivate Employees to Achieve Peak Performance
This LIVE audio or video program by yours truly (~60 mins.) will teach
you how to build an organizational culture that is conducive to maximizing
the potential of team members by encouraging high levels of trust, empowerment
and teamwork so that your organization will achieve quantum leaps in
performance, productivity and profitability.
CD--$19.95 + s/h
VHS or DVD--$34.95 + s/h
You RISK ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! If for any reason you are not satisfied,
return your order and we will give you your money back.
Click www.wolfrinke.com to order or for more information.
Or call 800--828-9653
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4. BRAIN TEASER
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I have in my hand two U.S. coins that add up to 30 cents.
If one of them is not a nickel, what are the two coins?
(Answer and explanation in section 6 of this eNewsletter.)
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6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, CSP is an internationally recognized management and
motivational keynote speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized
presentations that combine story telling, humor and motivation with
specific "how to" action strategies that participants can
apply immediately to improve their management and personal effectiveness.
He is also a highly effective management consultant, executive coach
and author of 12 books including: Winning Management: 6 Fail-Safe Strategies
for Building High-Performance Organizations available at www.WolfRinke.com
To take advantage of Dr. Rinke's services call 800-828-9653 or mailto:WolfRinke@aol.com
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6. ANSWER AND EXPLANATION TO BRAIN TEASER
===================================================A quarter and a nickel.
One is not a nickel, but the other is.
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7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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We will not make your name or e-mail address available to anyone. Period!
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