Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

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Keeping Your Team Energized in a Fast-Changing Environment

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Keeping Your Team Energized in a Fast-Changing Environment
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You don’t know how powerful your executive team truly is until they are put to the test in extreme conditions.

It doesn’t take a single event to create this kind of scenario. We are in now in a fast-changing environment full of twists and turns that keeps conditions extreme.

How do you keep your team energized and engaged so that you can flex and pivot with ease?

Help normalize fear.

“My CFO has checked out,” Sam said. “As hard as it is to think about, I feel it’s time to replace him.”

“Mark has been with you for years,” I said. “What are you experiencing that makes you think you need to replace him now?”

“He doesn’t speak up in meetings. He holes up in his office. The other execs are asking if something is wrong with him,” said Sam. “The last thing I need is to drag him around by my ankle.”

“Sam, Mark has shouldered many changes with you in this business,” I offered. “Don’t you owe it to him to have a deeper, thoughtful conversation about what you are seeing, rather than to just chalk it up to disengagement?”

Sam did talk with Mark. And here’s what he found: Mark was afraid. He admitted that in light of the pandemic and its effect on the marketplace, he felt “frozen in place.” It was hard to think, to make decisions. Mark was feeling alone and paralyzed.

Later, Sam recounted, “And here is what I told Mark: Mark, I’m here. Yes, this is crazy and we don’t have a roadmap. I’m so sorry you have felt alone with this. Why don’t we meet for the next few mornings and talk through where we think we need to pick up in your area of responsibility?”

“Sam, you gave Mark a great gift,” I responded. “These are unprecedented times. Having you recognize where he is, that it’s okay to feel that way, and that you will be on hand to work through this with him.”

“Well, Patti, thank you,” Sam said. “Truthfully, I should have thought to talk with him much sooner. Guess I was wrapped up in my own stuff. And really, to replace Mark would have been challenging for so many reasons – and evidently, unnecessary.”

Ferret out denial.

Cindy recognized that Jim had been making excuses for many weeks, now. He was missing key deadlines and behind on other projects. Each time she confronted him, he chalked it up to the pandemic and unforeseen developments. I urged Cindy to inquire as to what he was working on since he was held up in these areas.

“Patti, I found out that Jim has been focusing on a couple of initiatives that are really back-burner for us,” she reported later. “And when I asked him how he thought this might help us get ahead, he couldn’t answer me. Seems he has been keeping himself busy on things that really don’t matter. And I have just discovered that there are several things he could have been working on that would have helped us at this time. Now what?”

“Cindy, it’s not unusual to go into denial about things when the going gets tough,” I answered. “Jim appears more comfortable focusing on easier initiatives.”

Cindy went back to Jim and had a pointed, but supportive conversation about priorities. She asked him if he had what he needed in order to move forward. After reviewing things with her, Jim sheepishly admitted that he did.

“We’ve agreed to meet a couple of times weekly until we feel things are firmly on track,” Cindy shared. “I’m not sure why this happened.”

“Cindy, when crisis occurs, the stress can be great. Going into denial by carrying on ‘business as usual’ feels comfortable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t meet the company needs. At the same time, when events such as this pandemic take place, it’s important to huddle a bit more closely and offer support – more than usual. You have a good executive in Jim. And it sounds like you have figured out how to get him moving.”

Identify roadblocks to learning.

“I can’t wait till things get back to normal,” the CEO said. “I’m having a tough time making decisions that work for the current crisis.”

“May I suggest that you may have to acquire some flex in the way you are making decisions,” I countered. “I promise you that we are headed into new territory and that we are not turning back.”

When Harrah’s Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman talks about the difficulty successful executives face in learning, he often quotes from a 1991 Harvard Business Review article by Chris Argyris: “Because many professionals are almost always successful at what they do, they rarely experience failure. And because they have rarely failed, they have never learned how to learn from failure.”

Learning new ways to do business in order to respond to changing conditions is necessary. Yet many top executives feel that “once we get over this hump,” that things will fall back to normal. Untrue.

We are already seeing changing customer demands, rapid transitions in the workforce and how it operates, shifting regulations, and more. All this requires that we learn how to do business differently.

The question is not therefore, “When will things get back to normal so that we can breathe easily?” Instead, it is, “What are we learning from this and what skills and abilities do we need to acquire in order to meet the ‘next normal’?”

Where do you need to grow in order to meet the next normal and thrive?

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

The Untapped Potential of Your Middle Management

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health
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You can quickly improve the organizational health of your company by focusing on the potential of your middle management.

But if your culture doesn’t recognize this as important, you are headed for trouble.

How do you redirect so that you strengthen your future?

Three steps.

  • Make leadership development a high priority.
  • Know how to develop your emerging leaders.
  • Address prickly roadblocks that stand in the way.

Following are three real scenarios from former clients.

I hope these help you to see where you might improve your own process and mindset.

1. Make leadership development a high priority for your organization.

Tom had led the company for years, and it had done well. Then, he was diagnosed with a heart problem. Although the prognosis for recovery was excellent, his doctor informed him that he would have to take off a considerable amount of time in order to work a wellness program.

The company was in a bind when Tom called me. He had never gotten around to putting a system and process in place to develop those high potentials who might have stepped in to help bridge the gap.

Now what?

If he left to care for his health, the business would be in trouble. If he didn’t, he would seriously jeopardize his health.

Tom and I worked together on an interim plan to support his absence, and a way to stay in communication with him on the large-picture items.

I then coached his executives to the plan as they stepped into the new responsibilities assigned to them. I also helped coach them as a team on a regular basis to keep things cohesive and smooth.

However, this was challenging. The executives all experienced steep learning curves, with corresponding bumps in the road, which presented some tense moments. We worked through it, and Tom was able to return some time later. Quite happy that we moved through this critical time, I shared with Tom that the company could have experienced a much smoother and more effective transition, had he worked with his HR department to implement an ongoing plan for leadership development.

2. Know how to develop your emerging leaders.

Rebecca ran a tight ship. She, along with her executive team, believed fully in leadership development, and they approved large budgets year after year to support succession planning. But they were not seeing the results they wanted.

Rebecca intuited that the talent was there – why weren’t those programs working for them? They were on the cusp of cutting the entire budget for learning and development. Meanwhile, some of her best middle managers were voicing complaints that they were not moving up the leadership ladder. Engagement was waning.

When Rebecca called, she said she was only calling because another CEO colleague had pressed her to do so. “I’m ready to bag investing in leadership development,” she said. “I’m only reaching out because Tim says you get results.”

After exploring what she and the team had implemented, I congratulated her on placing development as a priority. I also pointed out that the programs in which she had invested were not carefully customized to her company, its culture, and its needs.

We did wind up working together and I am happy to report that we turned things around by identifying development initiatives that would support organizational goals, a way to support growth ongoing, and systems and processes to undergird this. I’m just sorry we had to work hard to reanimate engagement because of prior wasted efforts.

3. Address prickly roadblocks that stand in the way of leadership developments.

Mark had been waiting in the wings for years for Jack, the seasoned CEO to finally retire. Jack allowed him to run daily operations and to field the heat that comes with leading a business.

There was one problem, however: Jack also kept Mark and the executive team from truly stepping into their own power to improve organizational health.

He would run interference when Mark attempted to hold employees accountable.  He would halt Mark from moving forward with initiatives that would keep the company highly competitive because, Jack said, “We have never done that, before.” Mark was quietly seeking another leadership position elsewhere – and so were some of his best executives.

This scenario was tricky. It was actually Mark who called me and not Jack. “What am I doing wrong?” he asked. “I’ve been here forever. I keep the company running, but I’m not empowered. I deal with problems that Jack creates because he keeps ‘pets’ around that shouldn’t be here – some even subversive to the organization.”

I worked with Mark to confront Jack about some of the decisions that he was not allowing Mark to implement, which compromised the business. Unfortunately, Jack did not want to listen.

Jack was afraid of retirement, and so he sat in his office and continued to collect the incredible salary and bonus he had enjoyed for more than 20 years.

Mark decided to leave and assumed the CEO spot at a new company. It’s been my pleasure to work with him there to develop a high-performing team. Mark’s only regret is that he didn’t move sooner. “I wasted a lot of years waiting,” he said. “It could have been different.”

Each of these cases could have been avoided. Good leaders are not born knowing how to prize and approach leadership development in a way that benefits them and their company.

How could stronger leadership at the middle management level improve your organizational health?

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© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Why Your Talented Team Member Won’t Speak Up

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Why Your Talented Team Member Won’t Speak Up
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Do you have a team member who has great talent but won’t speak up to contribute? There are several possible reasons why.

And the bottom line is if your team member won’t speak up, you are losing revenue and momentum – simply because he isn’t adding the value he could.

What can you do?

Let’s take a look at five different executive teams in the following scenarios. Each had at least one team member who wasn’t speaking up. Do any of these cases sound familiar to your own team’s situation?

Jim and the So-Called Expert

Jim has been CMO for a year, now. He has an impressive track record and an uncanny sense of what to anticipate in order to serve customers. In his one-on-one meetings, Jim shows great strength in strategizing. But when he gets into the executive team meetings, he simply shuts down. His CEO is frustrated. If Jim keeps quiet, the team isn’t able to benefit from his expertise and perspective.

“Sandra’s the self-proclaimed expert on our team,” Jim explains wryly. “As CFO, she has decided she’s the person with the organizational ‘eye.’ Whether she knows what she’s talking about or not, she will weigh in and do it first. Others may jump in and play – but I’m just not willing to do that. If someone wants my opinion, I guess they will ask me.”

Samantha’s Intolerance for Poor Arguments

The executive team wonders if Samantha is really happy at the company. She starts to speak up but shuts down quickly when the team wants to move toward a solution. Samantha is becoming disengaged and it shows. Her CEO is worried. “I need a CIO who can wrap her arms around problems and run with the solutions,” she says.

Samantha has another view on this. She says, “Quite simply, the executive team is lazy. They always settle for less – the path of least resistance. Every time I suggest doing some outside research to see what others are doing, they snuff me out. I’m tired of contributing to inferior arguments for poor solutions. Why doesn’t our CEO take Samantha aside and give her some coaching on this?”

Bill and His Need for a Business Case

Bill speaks up at times and shuts down at others. His team members wonder which Bill is going to show up today – the one who contributes, or the one who seems to mentally check out at odd points in meeting discussions. Bill’s CEO wonders why Bill dips in and out of discussions.

Bill himself says he gets quiet when he can’t figure out how certain decisions impact the larger picture. “Sometimes the team seems to get into discussing pet projects that don’t really support the business imperative we set for this year,” he says. “I have a hard time hanging in there when it doesn’t make sense to the larger picture. Why doesn’t our CEO stop it and get us back on track? He lets this stuff go on forever and our meetings become pretty ineffective.”

Dani the Divergent Thinker

“Dani’s a bright leader whose best days are yet to come,” said her CEO. “But I can’t figure out why the rest of the team gets frustrated with her when discussing certain topics. I’ve been waiting for her to figure it out. Or for them to all work it out. But it’s not happening.”

Dani has additional light to shed on this. “My team is very structured in its conversations,” she begins. “The members seem to be ‘convergent thinkers,’ and they follow a very tight process to arrive at solutions. Don’t get me wrong – we need to come to some quick decisions in this current environment. But I’m a ‘divergent thinker’ and need to free-flow a bit to come up with best solutions. I’m pretty frustrated that when we are looking to innovate, my contributions seem to be perceived as getting us off course. I simply shut down when that happens. I wish my CEO would check in with me – surely he sees that I’m not participating?”

Jan Wants Better Decision-Making

Jan is perceived as “dead weight” on the executive team. Her credentials and expertise are impressive, but she doesn’t contribute her wealth of knowledge to the team’s benefit. She used to speak up, but took what seemed to be an argumentative tone which deterred others from entering into conversation. She now defers to others on the team without really contributing. Her CEO wonders if she simply doesn’t know how to get along with others.

“I have become tired of being perceived as contrary,” Jan shares. “In my last position with another company, we prized bantering back and forth with different perspectives on things. No one took it as arguing; rather, they enjoyed turning issues on their proverbial heads to examine all sides. The result was a rich outcome. We enjoyed it. Here, it appears I’m just arguing. I wish someone would be real enough to talk with me about it – and to entertain another possibility besides seeing me as antagonistic. Perhaps it’s my tone. I wish my CEO would give me feedback, but she acts like she doesn’t see it.”

And what about the talented, but quiet team member on your own team? What’s his or her side of the story? If you are in charge, it’s time for you to work on how your team can work together to resolve this. The loss is too great to let this go – and the ROI once you bring this to resolution too great to leave on the table.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Leading to Recovery While Managing Response

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Leading to Recovery While Managing Response
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Your full attention and energy have been called to manage the current crisis. By now, part or all of your workforce is working remotely. Your executive team is alternating “home days” with “office days” to meet social distancing edicts.

Your entire management team is working on ironing out the systems and protocols that need to help you deliver service to your customers during this critical time.

But are you leading to recovery while managing response? If you aren’t already examining how to reinvent yourself and your business to meet the “next normal,” you need to shift gears now.

This begins with vision.

If you can envision the new normal, you can already lay the groundwork to meet it. You certainly know who your customers are and what they need from you at present. But can you anticipate what will they need, once this crisis has passed? The ability to look ahead and project what is likely to happen with customer behaviors and desires will help you define the future of your business. Make sure you are careful to access resources to help you project this. Pool your energy and brain trust with a few other forward-thinking leaders on a regular basis to stay current and sharpen your abilities to anticipate.

Plotting a course for the future, now, is paramount.

This may seem challenging when you are dealing with a crisis, but it’s actually the only smart thing to do. Most organizations are drafting plans that allow them to return to “business as usual.” They are doomed to fail. There will be no returning to ways of operating that we have known in the past. Those who recover and thrive understand this and are seeking to reinvent.  This means that if you can respond to current demands in a way that also lays the groundwork for the envisioned future “normal,” you will have moved your organization ahead. Think about how regulatory and competitive environments in your industry may shift. Does this change your thinking around an action you might take so that you not only survive in the immediate, but you also pave the way to thrive?

You are positioned well right now to make change.

The fact is that managing change is never easy. But current conditions have placed the business world in a situation where all must take bold action and take it now. People are looking to make sense of today. They are seeking leaders who embody confidence and character, even if they don’t have all the answers yet. Employees are rallying to the cause as they work together in new ways to deliver service. Your customers are looking for the human part of your business presence and your support.

If you will look to the horizon toward anticipated and yet unseen vistas, while leading the organizational charge to move forward, your business will be primed to succeed.

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© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Four Steps to Crisis Management

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Four Steps to Crisis Management
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Leading through crisis requires more of you – more energy, focus, and innovation.

Yet, sudden change generates great stress, which actively interferes with your ability to show up as you need to do.

How can you manage your emotions and thoughts effectively during this time so you can lead others through successfully?

Here are four steps that will help you tame stress and develop resilience during critical times so you can operate at your best.

1. Get grounded.

Making critical decisions requires a calm, sharp mind, able to keep all the pieces moving. How can you quickly ground yourself in critical moments?

  • Recognize emotions as useful.

Emotions are simply indicators that we need to pay attention. As you face a crucial conversation or decision, pause to ask yourself what emotions you are experiencing along with the situation.

What can these tell you?

This pause can help to regulate a “hot state” that can interfere with best thinking.

  • Unhook non-constructive thoughts.

What negative or non-constructive thoughts are you carrying with you during this time? Is there a “worry loop” that keeps playing in your head that does not serve you?

Reframe by replacing this with a different track each time the negative thought crosses your mind. This will lessen the stress that accompanies destructive thought patterns, and free you to make better decisions.

2. Create structure.

Structure promotes predictability, which reduces stress.

It is important for you to provide this for your team and organization – but you need to do so for yourself, first.

  • Prioritize what is important.

What is urgent vs. what is really important?

It is important to determine this, and revisit this on a daily basis. Make sure you schedule accordingly so urgencies don’t fill up your calendar.

  • Create a timeline.

This master document should have your priorities outlined so you can keep yourself and your team accountable. Revisit this on a weekly basis to adjust what needs shifting. Putting on paper what you need to keep in mind will free your mind to concentrate.

3. Stay connected.

Who are the industry and other business experts that can serve as a think tank for you? How can you transmit this information to your executive team so that they can work to capacity with you? Decide how you can curate what you need to share, then incorporate this into your briefings.

  • Lean on your life team.

Make sure you have a life team that you can reach out to, and that has your best interests in mind. Decide together how and when you will connect to support each other, especially during crisis. Having people in your life to whom you can turn and be vulnerable allows you to draw strength for the task before you.

4. Reflect, then act.

Recall other uncertain times to draw from the lessons learned there. This will help you know what to do when you aren’t sure what to do.

For example, look back to a past market crash, or other crisis for comparison. Identify patterns, connect the dots. Notice similarities and take your best shot.

Calculated risks to move forward in such times have proved much better than the risks from inaction or decisions made without these considerations.

One key thing to remember is that crises are usually temporary; but decisions made during a crisis can have permanent implications. Protect your ability to make good decisions by…

1. Getting grounded.
2. Creating structure.
3. Staying connected.
4. Reflecting, then acting.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.