NEWSLETTER 6

Coaching Cosmos July 2007

 CAREER COACHING

COMMUNICATION INSIGHT

 George Bernard Shaw once said that “The problem with communication … is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

To be effective at home and at work, the use of one liners can get results, form deeper bonds and enable you to communicate on a higher level. LifeHack provides some insights on this approach: 

One liners are the stuff of effective communicators and though we are seldom aware of it, each of us can use them to our advantage. The “art of delivery” is not just for a skilled politician who is running for re-election but can be mastered, over time, by just about anyone. A good one liner doesn’t click immediately but leaves its mark, silently accomplishing what the deliverer has in mind- results.

The key of course is to figure out which one liner works best and when to use it.What follow are some examples of  excellent one liners that, if delivered well, will make interactions memorable and maybe even help you get ahead.

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 LIFE COACHING

  Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs model in 1940-50's. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs remains valid today for understanding human motivation, perceptions in life and for management training.

 Maslow's original five-stage Hierarchy of Needs model is attributable to Maslow; later versions are not. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs was later variously developed by other people, shown below as the adapted seven and eight-stage Hierarchy of Needs models .

The core proposition is that each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs.  

 

 

An explanation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and further adaptations :

 

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Self-Actualisation needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

 

1970's adapted Hierarchy of Needs Model, including Cognitive and Aesthetic needs

 

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualisation needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

 

1990's adapted Hierarchy of Needs including Transcendence needs

 

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualisation needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

 8. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualisation.

 

Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order. Aims and drive always shift to next higher order needs. Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators; level 5, and by implication 6 to 8, are growth motivators and relatively rarely found. The thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress, and is particularly so at level 4.

Examples in use: You can't motivate someone to achieve their sales target (level 4) when they're having problems with their marriage (level 3).

You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're having their house re-possessed (level 2).

 

Maslow's Self-Actualising characteristics

 

keen sense of reality - aware of real situations - objective judgement, rather than subjective

see problems in terms of challenges and situations requiring solutions, rather than see problems as personal complaints or excuses

need for privacy and comfortable being alone

reliant on own experiences and judgement - independent - not reliant on culture and environment to form opinions and views

not susceptible to social pressures - non-conformist

democratic, fair and non-discriminating - embracing and enjoying all cultures, races and individual styles

socially compassionate - possessing humanity

accepting others as they are and not trying to change people

comfortable with oneself - despite any unconventional tendencies

a few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships

sense of humour directed at oneself or the human condition, rather than at the expense of others

spontaneous and natural - true to oneself, rather than being how others want

excited and interested in everything, even ordinary things

creative, inventive and original

seek peak experiences that leave a lasting impression

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EXECUTIVE COACHING

Reflective questions

Below are sample key questions executives should be asking themselves as they contemplate what they want to accomplish :

•What is my most compelling goal right now?
•What business relationships need to be rekindled?
•Who are my primary advocates?
•How can I build accountability in my team?
•Where do I want to be in my career three years from now?
•What strategy needs to be evaluated?
•Where can I find candid and objective feedback?
•How will I measure success?
•What do I enjoy doing the most?
•Where is there mentoring opportunity?

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Executive Insights -2 : Measures for success , from strategy to results?

PERECEPTIONS

There is a lot of activity across the corporate landscape these days as executives attempt to master the three Rs of the current management wisdom:  

Re-engineering, re-structuring and renewal. 

How do executives know that their change efforts are producing results? A number of companies are answering the question by rediscovering the importance of measurement as an important management tool based on the old adage “You simply can't manage anything you can't measure," 

Some key questions include: 

•  What are companies actually doing to measure results?
•  Does measuring strategic performance make a difference?
•  Is measurement being used to manage change?

 RESEARCH INSIGHTS

Recent research shows that measurement plays a crucial role in translating business strategy into results. In fact, it was found that organisations which are best in their industry, stellar financial performers and adept change leaders, distinguish themselves by the following characteristics:

1. Clarity about agreed-upon measures that managers understand;
2. Balancing financial and non-financial measurement;
3. Linking strategic measures to operational ones;
4. Updating their strategic "scorecard" regularly;
5. Clearly communicating measures and progress to all employees.

The measurement effort is yielding ongoing results to the bottom line.

Measuring What, When?

 "Not all things are worth measuring all the time .... You have to determine what you want to measure and measure it properly"

The research examined how executives measure six strategic performance areas that are crucial to long-term success:

1.      Financial performance,

2.      Operating efficiency,

3.      Customer satisfaction,

4.      Employee engagement and performance,

5.      Innovation/change,

6.      Community/environmental issues.

 The research sample was asked these two questions:

1. How highly do you value information in each strategic performance area?

2, Would you bet your job on the quality of information in each of the areas?

Findings

Interestingly, information about customer satisfaction is highly valued by the largest percentage of executives, even more than the traditional management data on financial performance and operating efficiency. In a tough, competitive marketplace, knowledge about customers is seen as power and a distinct competitive advantage.

Two-thirds placed a significant level of importance on employee performance, and nearly half of all managers place importance on innovation and change and community/ environment.

Just how confident are executives about the quality of information upon which to base decisions in each strategic area?

Not many would stake their jobs on the information that is available to them! 

Even in the area of financial performance, only 60% of executives place confidence in the data that is available to them. There exists a wide gap between what is valued and what is treated as truly accurate. This trust gap cuts across internal and external environments. To the extent that an organisation, like an individual, must "know thyself" to be effective, then

executives face an urgent task of re-examining their measurement system to gain greater self-knowledge and self-confidence.

Why do executives feel so uncertain about the quality of information concerning customers, employees, innovation/change and other external stakeholders such as community groups or regulatory agencies?

The findings point to two factors that contribute to executive uncertainty:

1. The clarity of measures in each strategic area of the business,
2. The frequency with which measurement is undertaken.

Apart from financial and operating efficiency, relatively few executives report that success measures in other areas are either clearly defined or updated at least twice per year. Most striking in these figures is how few managers feel that their organisations have been able to define in clear, unambiguous terms what the organisation hopes to accomplish in

the areas of employee performance, innovation/change and community/environment. Even in the area of customer satisfaction, the data indicated that there is disagreement in many companies on what should be measured.

The research looked at what measures were reviewed on a regular basis, which were linked to compensation and the extent to which different measures were used to drive organisational change. 

Not surprisingly, what executives review and depend on to manage their organisation aligns with what they consider to be reliable. While many organisations have begun to examine performance measures beyond financial and operating efficiency at regular performance reviews, few have linked such measures to compensation or rely on them to drive organisational change.  

Without executives putting their money where their measures are, or without using measures to drive and evaluate strategic change, it is unlikely that these measures will become integral to how a business is directed and run.

If better measurement does not result in better performance, then why bother? Put differently, are "measurement-managed" companies more successful than those that downplay measurement? And, if so, how does measurement contribute to success?

Measure By Measure

The research identified those organisations characterised by respondents as being measurement-managed and compared them to a subset of organisations that did not appear to place much reliance on measurement. Measurement-managed organisations were those in which senior management was reported to be in agreement on measurable?

criteria for determining strategic success, and management updated and regularly reviewed performance measures in three or more of the six primary performance areas. Fifty-eight organisations met both criteria for being measurement-managed. 

The approach identified non-measurement managed organisations as those in which senior management reportedly did not agree on measurable criteria for determining strategic success, and performance measures in only one or two primary performance areas were reviewed regularly. Sixty-four organizations met these criteria.  

Once two groups of contrasting organisations were identified, they were compared on three success measures

Measurement-managed companies fared better on each of the three measures.

A higher percentage of measurement-managed companies were identified as industry leaders, as being financially in the top third of their industry and as successfully managing their change effort. This statistic implies that measurement-managed companies tend to anticipate the future and are likely to remain in a leadership position in a rapidly changing environment. Given the number of change efforts that are buried in the graveyards of so many competitors, it is notable that 97 % of the measurement-managed companies reported success with a major change effort.

One hypothesis for these findings is that successful industry and change leaders simply do a better job than non-leaders in measuring their workforce, which is where real change is won or lost.

 In fact, the survey findings reveal that employee measurement is the biggest single measurement area that separates successful from less successful firms, where success is defined as knowing workforce values, morale, productivity and competencies appears to be a significant advantage for these successful firms.

In addition to employee measurement, another key distinction separating industry leaders from non-leaders is that industry leaders report reviewing on a more frequent basis a broader range of measures than do non-leaders, especially those related to customer satisfaction, employee performance, and community and environmental issues. These organisations keep performance measures continually in front of key executives and managers, knowing that if measures are out of sight, they're out of management.

The study supports the conclusion that good measurement is essential to good management.

Forget magic. Industry leaders surveyed simply have a more sensitive read on the world around them. While they carefully track financial performance and operating efficiency, they also apply rigour to the so called "soft side," such as customer satisfaction, human resources and innovativeness. These companies realise that their organisations are complex environments that require greater alignment and a balanced set of performance measures.

Success Builders

Beyond balance, why it is that measurement-managed companies outperform those that are

less disciplined? The data points to four mechanisms that contribute to the success of measurement-managed organizations:

1. Agreement on strategy. The act of translating vision or strategy into measurable objectives forces specificity. It helps to surface and resolve those hidden disagreements that often get buried when the strategy remains abstract, only to return at some later date to haunt an organisation.

2. Clarity of communication.

Managers were asked how well their business strategy was communicated and understood from top to bottom at their organizations. 60% of managers in measurement-managed organisations rated favourably how well the strategy was communicated throughout the organisation, while only 8 % of managers from non-measurement-managed companies reported that strategy was well-communicated and understood. Good communication demands a clear message. If the strategy itself is unclear, insisting on measures for strategic goals can force clarity.

 "We can’t afford a gap between the strategy and what it means on a day-to-day, operational basis," 

This would leave employees uncertain about how they could contribute. Senior executives added a number of "wraparound elements" to the strategy and then tied the key strategic goals to performance measures. Measurement also provides a common language for communication.  

"People talk about how they're being measured,”

"It is almost the language in which communication occurs in an organisation."

Consistent with the notion of a common language, 71 % of managers from measurement-managed organizations reported that information within their organisation was shared openly and candidly, compared with only 30 % in non-measurement-managed companies.

 3. Focus and alignment efforts.

Effective organizations are organic, integrated entities in which different units, functions and levels support the company strategy-and one another. Not surprisingly, measurement-managed organisations reported more frequently that unit performance measures were linked to strategic company measures (74 % versus 16 % for non-measurement-managed companies) and that individual performance measures were linked to unit measures (52 %

versus 11 %, respectively).  

As strategy cascades down the organisation, performance measures are established to link with the strategic performance expectations of the entire company.

"This alignment of effort ensures that the corporate strategy is carried throughout, right to tactics and individual performance measures".

Measurement-managed companies were also more likely to link multiple measures to compensation .47% of measurement-managed companies had measurements in at least three performance areas linked to compensation, while only 9 % of the non-measurement-managed companies had measures in as many as three areas linked to compensation.

4. Organisational culture.  

Call it culture, tone or style, but a number of mechanisms are at play in every organisation that help provide a set of collective attitudes and behaviours that either sustain or impair competitiveness.  

For example, teamwork. When compared to non-measurement-managed counterparts, managers of measurement-managed companies more frequently reported strong teamwork and cooperation among the management team (85 % favourable ratings on teamwork versus 38 % for non-measurement-managed companies). The study considered the extent to which employees in their organization self-monitored their performance against agreed-upon standards. 42% of the measurement-managed companies reported excelling in this regard compared with only 16 % of their non-measurement-managed counterparts.

Other factors

Increased willingness to take risks appears as an additional feature for building success in measurement-managed organizations. 52% of managers from measurement-managed companies said employees in their organization generally were unafraid to take risks to accomplish their objectives, compared with only 22 % of the non-measurement-managed companies.

While culture is difficult to quantify, change-measurement can play an important role in specifying values, and can provide everyone in an organisation with clear goals for focusing a culture change effort.

Measurement Blockers

 Few executives would disagree with the proposition that a good measurement system is an important management tool. Why, then, aren't more companies managing by deploying and reviewing a balanced set of measures, especially in the areas of customer satisfaction, employee performance, organisation innovativeness and environmental/community influences?

The four most frequent barriers to effective measurement that were encountered are:

1. Fuzzy objectives. 

It is difficult to run a business without clearly defined objectives. The development of measures requires that goals and objectives be defined with sufficient precision to be measurable. Typically, this precision exists in the financial and operational areas. Many companies do not invest the time needed to define with equal precision other areas of performance, such as customer satisfaction, employee performance and rate of change. A first step in achieving precision in hard-to-quantify areas is to translate "soft" objectives into clear statements of results and then ask, "How can this result be measured?" For example, one organisation converted their company's guiding principles into specific "pledges" to customers, employees and stakeholders and then attached easurement criteria to each pledge.  

2. Unjustified trust in informal feedback systems.

There are many informal mechanisms by which companies receive feedback about their performance, such as complaints and criticisms from the sales force about products and services. Companies can place

unwarranted trust in these informal information channels as mechanisms for measuring performance. While informal information channels can provide an idea of the range of issues an organisation faces, they do not provide accurate information on the extent to which a problem exists across a larger customer or employee population. Non-measurement-managed companies often learn too late that an apparent problem which has absorbed resources is the

concern of only a few squeaky wheels, while a more critical problem has gone unattended.

3. Entrenched measurement systems and commitment

Most organisations have a legacy measurement system being used to manage things now. Employees can strongly resist new ways of defining success that are unfamiliar to them. They often want to see the measures "work" for a while before they are willing to tie their financial future to them. Such resistance has defeated more than one attempt to increase management through measurement. Organisations often underestimate what is required not only to develop a sound system of measurement, but also to implement it in a way that results in active acceptance by the workforce. Measurement-managed companies tend to involve the workforce in developing measures.

For example, at one company teams not only help determine specific performance measures, but determine how results will be tracked and reported. This ensures broad commitment to the measurement process.

4. The activity trap.

Measurement mania can be debilitating. Too many measures dilute the effort. This occurs when results. If you're measuring for measurement sake and do not use the data for fine-tuning the organisation, or for spurring it on to achieve significant results, then you are wasting effort.With continuous change, organisations are becoming more like molecules operating under Heisenberg's uncertainty principle than like the sure-footed leviathans that once stalked the marketplace just a decade ago.

 Establishing an effective measurement approach will not reduce the rate of change or the need for continuous improvement or step change- but it should help organisations anticipate change and provide a balanced set of coordinates to monitor progress and improve management  throughout  unremitting  chaos. If you don't measure and track results, you won't know where you are and whether or not your strategies are working, that is probably the best justification for becoming a measurement-managed and informed organisation.

BACKGROUND

The research was based on a national survey of a cross section of executives. Of the 203 executives who answered an extensive questionnaire about their measurement practices, 72 percent were top or senior executives. Half the respondents were employed by companies with more than 500 employees.

A majority (65 percent) represented manufacturing organizations. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with senior executives in almost a dozen companies who have been actively involved in looking for new ways to measure performance. These companies range in size), and represent a variety of industries.

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Thank you to everyone who has responed with ideas to help continuously improve my newsletter. I appreciate your kindness and the time taken to do so.

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8 Newsletter Archive

NEWSLETTER 5 Coaching Cosmos May 2007

NEWSLETTER 4 Coaching Cosmos April 2007 

My Coaching and other client services

Contact me to arrange a no obligation, free exploratory discussion at

PeterCobbe@CoachingCosmos.com

 if you are interested in any of the following coaching propositions or services

Executive

See my EXECUTIVE COACHING proposition  :

CLICK HERE :EXECUTIVE COACHING PROPOSITION

Career

See my CAREER COACHING PROPOSITION  :

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Life

See my LIFE COACHING proposition  :

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Business and Strategy

See my BUSINESS AND STRATEGY COACHING PROPOSITION :

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 I have an MBA, BA and I am a member of the CIPD, International Coaching Federation and Association for Coaching. I am an accredited coach with over 8,500 hours of coaching and an associate consultant with Penna (UK) dealing with career, life and business coaching and counselling. In my private practice I have helped people of all ages, different cultures and job levels to understand more about themselves, their impact on others and how to develop across major dimensions in life. My career experience includes HR Director and executive roles in Barclays plc and Tesco plc. My philosophy is to totally respect the integrity of my clients.

Specialties:

Coaching for Executive performance

Leadership Coaching
Career Coaching
Life Coaching
Business and Strategy Coaching
HR Strategy
HR strategy development
Communications
Psychometrics
Completing complex research commissions and producing reports for clients
Organising and Optimising Finances coaching
Creativity coaching
Retail expertise
Shared Services expertise

Complex Change Management expertise

OTHER SERVICES   

• Coaching and support to become a coach in your chosen area (s) and ongoing mentoring
• Leading edge thinking and papers on HR strategy and tactics 
• Detailed research commissions on behalf of clients :You may want some specific work related or personal research completed to inform a project , presentation ,strategy paper , area of interest or other demand on your resources and time. I can take your briefing and research accordingly and then report back in a format or approach of your preference.

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