Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

values

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.

Are You Playing Favorites on the Executive Team?

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Are You Playing Favorites on the Executive Team?
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It’s natural for us to favor some personalities more than others. When we feel a comfortable energy and alignment, it makes conversations and common experiences flow. No doubt, you have one team member with whom you hit it off more easily than others.

Then, there’s “that other one” on the team with whom things seem a bit more stilted. You feel a small undercurrent of resistance or tension when they bring forth ideas. You don’t enjoy conversations with them, and you find yourself dismissing their contributions.

These relational dynamics can give the impression that you are playing favorites (and maybe you are!). And this damages your team’s ability to work best together. Because if you are noticing your bias, so are they.

What do you do?

1. Get perspective.

Talk to a mentor or colleague outside of the team and check your intolerance. Allowing someone you trust to give you some outside perspective might help you to flush out hidden biases that need reconciling on your part.

2. Shift your focus.

Find things you appreciate about the person. Begin to look for ways you appreciate this team member on a personal and professional basis. Notice unique qualities she contributes. Ferret out ways he lends positively to the team or outcomes. This will help you rebalance your view of the team member.

3. Build bridges.

Begin to call on your “unfavored” team member first when asking for opinions in meetings. Chances are, if they have not been speaking up, you haven’t been encouraging it. Think about instituting individual coffees or breakfasts with your team members, and be sure to start with this particular team member. Seek to identify projects and other discussions which will allow you more face time with them so that you can practice engaging differently with them.

Finally, remember that as leader, you are the role model for the team and, in turn, the rest of the organization. Making the conscious decision to turn a problem into an opportunity can only be a great learning lesson, and a win for all of you.

© 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.

What Does Compassionate Leadership Look Like in a Crisis?

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What Does Compassionate Leadership Look Like in a Crisis?
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Making decisions in a crisis may feel like one arm is tied behind your back. Whether you head one direction or another, the anticipated results are full of challenges.

Compassion is key to moving your people forward and promoting organizational health.

What does it look like when you don’t have all the answers?

I help leaders to lead change. Most typically, leaders call me when they are ready to grow, develop new leadership talent for succession, expand into new markets, or transition through a merger or acquisition. Leading and managing at such critical change points can make or break an organization.

COVID-19, however, is one of those change points that takes us by surprise and has turned the business landscape upside down. Such a cataclysmic event requires all the fortitude, competency, and character of a leader to move through such devastation.

At such a time as this, compassion rises up to be most important.

Compassion is perhaps the most misunderstood characteristic of leading from the heart. Many interpret this to be “touchy-feely,” or devoid of backbone. Yet, compassion is perhaps the strongest trait that a leader can embody.

What does compassion look like in a crisis?

Following are three conversations I have had with leaders in the past few weeks. I’ve protected their identity through slight changes in the profiles.

  1. Containment is more important than reinforcing vision.

“Our people seem to be doing pretty well,” said the CEO. “They are adjusting to working from home and finding creative ways to connect with each other during the pandemic.”

“Well, you can thank yourself and the leadership team for that,” I replied. “I just talked with one of your directors who said you all have made a great difference. He said your president assured everyone that the company was on solid ground. You have been sending personal notes of acknowledgment and encouragement. Your entire team has expanded the “open door” policy to holding virtual “kitchen time” hours so that people to drop in and say hello to you.

“What you are doing is containing or ‘holding,’” I said. “Containing people’s emotions and showing them that you are shouldering with them is key to helping them move forward together. On the other hand, some of your peers are not doing this.”

“What’s happening there?” the CEO inquired.

“We are sadly seeing a lot of anxiety and fragmentation,” I answered. “It turns out that painting a brighter future isn’t effective when your people don’t feel held with empathy and compassion in the moment.”

  1. Asking questions before making judgments yields better results.

“I’m frustrated,” said the president of another company. “We could move a lot faster, but I’m finding people are not performing the way they could. Granted, we are in strange circumstances, but I’m not getting results.”

“Let’s get one of your managers on the phone with us,” I suggested. “You and she have always been able to troubleshoot together, and I’m sensing we need to dive deeper here.”

A 20-minute 3-way call proved to be revealing. After probing deeper in a couple of key areas, we discovered that although the company’s systems supported this crisis environment, protocols and processes had not been ironed out. Conflict was on the rise, and as a result, productivity was very low. The president called an emergency executive team meeting to help troubleshoot this. Two weeks later, productivity has risen quickly even though people are still working from home.

I debriefed last week with the president. “So, what lessons are you learning from your COVID experience?” I asked.

“Well, Patti, I’m learning that I should ask more questions before I make judgments,” the president answered. “I can’t believe I didn’t dive into the productivity challenge more deeply before talking with you.”

“We most often revert to ‘fire-fighting mode’ when crisis hits,” I said. “And leaders and their teams sometimes have to put out big fires quickly, so let yourself off the hook here. But asking questions before judging is key. Great learning.”

  1. Making business decisions that support the company will best support its people.

Emotions and tensions are high. Executive team members have been working around the clock to cut costs as they incur big losses. Part of the emergency measures can involve layoffs and furloughs, and this is always devastating. Each life involved has a family and livelihood tied to it. And it is in this kind of scenario where compassion may look like ruthlessness.

“The executive team decided 5 week ago that we need to lay off 50 employees,” the CMO shared. “We have cut the budget by 40% and need to cut more in order for the business to stay afloat. We’ve even taken pay cuts at the executive level. But we are going to have to eliminate positions or keep ourselves in extreme jeopardy.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this,” I responded. “Layoffs are always so very sad. But what’s holding you back? It’s been 5 weeks since you made the decision. We are in tough times right now.”

“Truthfully, some of us just can’t face laying off our people,” the CMO answered. “We keep hoping an alternative will emerge.”

“Sounds tough,” I agreed. “But you know a miracle isn’t going to pop up. Allow me to help you reframe this. If you don’t effectuate the layoffs, it will hurt the company. If the company is in jeopardy because you aren’t making the cuts, then this places the rest of your employee base at risk. Right?”

“I guess so,” the CMO said. “Yes, you are right. If we don’t make these cuts, there will be no jobs for anyone.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Deferring to the business case, as strange as it sounds, is the highest expression of compassion. Making emotional decisions for a few at the expense of many is unwittingly destructive.”

“It helps to process with you,” the CMO said. “It’s still hard.”

“Yes, it’s still really hard,” I answered. “I’m sorry you and the team are having to do this. Just keep in front of you the people you are helping to keep afloat by supporting the solvency of the business. It doesn’t fix that hard situations often call for tough choices.”

Exercising compassion in your leadership when facing crisis isn’t always easily detected to the outsider.

In fact, it can seem quite the opposite. It can give the idea to some observing that you aren’t coming up with quick answers when in fact, you are allaying the fears and concerns that otherwise keep your people paralyzed. It can seem to those not involved that you aren’t taking quick action when you are simply asking critical questions first in order to make best decisions. It may even appear ruthless to some when you are really supporting the fate of many.

It is now that the courage to exercise strong compassion is paramount.

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” — Douglas MacArthur

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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.

Strengthening Culture with a Remote Workforce

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Strengthening Culture with a Remote Workforce
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How do you retain your company culture when you have a remote workforce?

Retaining who you are and what is important to you as a company is more challenging when you aren’t in the same physical space on a regular basis.

Yet, many companies with international teams and other remote situations have been successfully enjoying solid culture throughout their organizations for years.

How do they do it?

Intentionality.

The best companies know that culture is what makes or breaks them. Culture defines who you are as a company – your corporate identity. It sets the standard and tone for the way your workforce works together. It’s what gives people a shared identity – team, a sense of belonging. And it’s the glue that holds people together when the going gets tough.

But when people aren’t in the same physical environment on a daily basis, adopting and sharing the same tone and standards in thoughts, behaviors and actions can be challenging.

A remote or hybrid environment calls for being more “on purpose.” And this is not a bad thing. Many companies have lost their culture because they have simply taken it for granted. Setting intentionality is what will revive this, whether there is a remote component to your workforce or not.

Here are some things to consider as you seek to reinforce culture with a remote workforce.

1. Add virtual ways to share the company story and tell it often.

As you revisit your values, norms, and priorities in light of considering a remote and hybrid workforce, realize that the way you do things may change, but it doesn’t change who you are and what you stand for. At the same time, you will want to seek to make your company story memorable in creative ways more frequently and in different ways to emphasize identity. Look for seminal touchpoints to share this, such as announcing company-wide changes, annual meetings, company marketing collateral, and key celebrations. Include virtual ways to strengthen this, such as online meetings, video interviews and story markers in communications and at the bottom of email messaging, shared drives, and chat mechanisms.

2. Define what it means to live company values.

Most companies outline their values, but they do not take the time to define what these look like in action. For example, if one of your company core values is creativity, what should that look like in behaviors, actions, work, relationships, outcomes, etc.? You and your executive team should be firm on what all of your core values look like in action. Further, take the time to discuss what these might mean and how they might show up in a virtual or remote setting. Test these thoughts with your employees for feedback and buy-in – this is key. Then decide how you can weave this into your communications, your meetings and other touchpoints, and how to integrate this into your performance standards.

3. Communicate with greater intention.

This means not only increasing your communication, but heightening the way that you connect, such as using video when touching base virtually. Be sure that you set expectations around your communication methods and protocols so that this becomes part of your shared “way of operating.” Place greater emphasis on culture during your onboarding of new employees and leave time for discussion around this. Consider building in an accountability component for the direct supervisor of a new employee, ensuring that they have discussions around what your cultural markers are and how they show up in and at work. Devote intentional time for listening to the employees as well, especially in virtual meetings. Take the pulse on what their challenges are, what they are learning, and opportunities they see for improvements and working better together.

4. Reinforce the importance of each employee’s part in the company community.

Help your employees feel known and part of the team and help them to see how they fit into the bigger picture. Systematize some teambuilding exercises that help everyone to get to know them personally and vice versa, and that identify gifts each brings to the table for greater outcomes. A sense of inclusion and contribution is paramount. Be sure to capitalize on ways to recognize employees in both face-to-face and virtual settings for visibility, appreciation, and teambuilding. Consider cross-training or mentoring with different people to get to know others more rapidly across teams.

In your planning and process to define, strengthen and reinforce culture, please also remember that including your workforce in discussions at key points in various ways will pay great benefits. Allowing the entire employee base to give input means that they will also feel ownership and responsibility for the outcomes.

© 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.