http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/ 15 Practical Leadership Advice from Cambridge Leadership Associates en Copyright 2009 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:05:28 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Question: After finishing my professional training a year ago, I started work for a large municipal agency. Fortunately I have a pretty good working relationship with my immediate supervisor. My challenge is that he often chooses to do things himself rather than show his staff how to do them. I think he gets so busy that when something comes up he just doesn't feel he has the time to explain it to me. I'm concerned my professional development is suffering, but I don't know how to talk to him about it. -- Young and Stymied Dear Young and Stymied, Regular readers of Leadership House Call might think this sounds like a broken record, but before you do anything, you need to test your assumptions. Check out your interpretation of what is happening. We find in our consulting work at Cambridge Leadership Associates that the misdiagnosis of a situation, or http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/09/young-and-stymied.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/09/young-and-stymied.html Career Management Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:05:28 -0500 The Question: I'm a newly appointed executive director for a medium-sized family foundation, and I am having a hard time making meaningful changes to the foundation's antiquated programs. The family is content doing things the way they have always been done, but I know the non-profit sector is changing rapidly and that our money has the potential to achieve a lot more. Also, this family's personal issues take up a lot of energy at our board meetings and shape many of the foundation's major decisions. I want to lead this foundation, but any changes I attempt to implement are bogged down by old patterns and the family dynamic. How can I help the family members make decisions in the best interest of the foundation, and not themselves? -- Enmeshed Executive Director Dear Enmeshed Executive Director, You are in the middle of it, for sure. Family foundations often become arenas for http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/08/leading-a-dysfunctional-family-foundation.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/08/leading-a-dysfunctional-family-foundation.html Change management Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:07:03 -0500 The Question: The messages from the top of my organization are "do more with less." I was overworked before the economic crisis hit, and now it is even worse. I don't see how it is possible to achieve this commandment and keep up a level of quality I am committed to. Also, having two kids and a wife that I want to spend time with, but also need to support, is emphasizing my need to keep this job! Leaving is not an option. -- How to stay alive, doing more with less [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Dear Staying Alive: Leadership is about making tough choices and helping others do the same. And you certainly have got some tough choices in front of you right now. Your problem cannot be decided on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis; it is not http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/08/reality-check-doing-more-with-less.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/08/reality-check-doing-more-with-less.html Career Management Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:23:02 -0500 The Question: Q. I am a fairly new senior public manager, currently charged with increasing the performance of the people who work for me. I have repeatedly exhorted them, told them how important it is that we step it up a notch -- several notches actually -- and pushed them to do better. I have very few carrots or sticks to employ, as I did during in my previous career, which was in the private sector. I am really stymied. These folks seem addicted to complacency. -- Complacency-Addicts Manager [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Dear Complacency-Addicts Manager: It doesn't sound like you are having a lot of fun. But your characterization of the people who work for you as "addicted to complacency" is pretty revealing, of you more than them. As long as you believe your own rhetoric you can be http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/stop-hating-your-employees.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/stop-hating-your-employees.html Leadership Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:08:08 -0500 The Question: I am a female in boutique consulting firm and have been working here (and promoted to middle management) for the last five years. Recently, a male -- junior to me in age -- was hired to our firm and quickly promoted to a position equal to mine. I noted from the outset his extraordinary sense of entitlement. That quality, coupled with relationships he has formed with senior males in the firm, has increased his level of responsibility and prominence. At the same time, he is--with shocking ease--delegating tasks to myself and other peers, and has gone behind my back at points to change my work as he sees fit. While I certainly admire his sense of entitlement and think I have much to learn from it, I am frustrated by how he treats me and has accomplished his stature in the organization. How can I leverage his behavior http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/confronting-gender-bias-head-on-part-ii.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/confronting-gender-bias-head-on-part-ii.html Change management Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:44:20 -0500 The Question: I am a female in boutique consulting firm and have been working here (and promoted to middle management) for the last 5 years. Recently, a male--junior to me in age--was hired to our firm and quickly promoted to a position equal to mine. I noted from the outset his extraordinary sense of entitlement. That quality, coupled with relationships he has formed with senior males in the firm, has increased his level of responsibility and prominence. At the same time, he is--with shocking ease--delegating tasks to myself and other peers, and has gone behind my back at points to change my work as he sees fit. While I certainly admire his sense of entitlement and think I have much to learn from it, I am frustrated by how he treats me and has accomplished his stature in the organization. How can I leverage his behavior to my advantage and http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/confronting-gender-bias-head-on-part-i.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/07/confronting-gender-bias-head-on-part-i.html Culture Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:16:22 -0500 The Question: I work at an organization that has poor leadership (inconsistent communication, lack of vision, etc). Can I still succeed in my own job under these circumstances? Or is my only hope trying to effect change on the leaders above me? Or should I just leave? -- One Foot Out the Door [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Dear One Foot Out the Door, It sure doesn't sound like you are having a lot of fun. We're not clear what role you have in your organization, but our experience suggests that if you are right, and the firm is heading downhill, it will be hard for you to emerge untarnished unless your part of the enterprise is discrete and can be independently assessed. Good athletes on poor teams, like the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame shortstop Ernie Banks, sometimes go on http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/can-you-succeed-under-poor-leadership.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/can-you-succeed-under-poor-leadership.html Career Management Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:31:31 -0500 The Question: I am the Director of Human Resources for my company, and I have been playing an active role in the layoffs that have occurred over the last eight months. I am having these difficult conversations with peers and people I have worked with for years, and it is taking a toll on me. What's more frustrating is my other role is to keep up morale even after these layoffs have occurred. Our staff seems pretty demoralized, and to be frank, I am too. We are far away from the culture we once maintained with seeming ease. What can I do to perform my roles better? -- Demoralized [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Dear Demoralized, Sadly, your experience is shared by many others. Maintaining the morale of those who remain after layoffs is a critical priority. If your company is http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/finding-optimism-amidst-layoffs.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/finding-optimism-amidst-layoffs.html Culture Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:11:47 -0500 The Question: "I work in a highly technical environment, and it's hard for me to get people to pay attention to each other, as they would all much rather work alone. How do I raise enough heat in the organization to get others to consider changing how they operate and begin working together? We need a stronger organization, not a group of individuals functioning in silos." -Stronger together [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] One of the biggest lessons from the challenges we face right now -- from the economy to the environment -- is that optimizing the pieces does not necessarily optimize the whole. This seems to be true in your own organization, and the image that comes to mind is that of Frankenstein's monster, who has all the working parts but is not fast or agile enough to escape the http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/how-to-get-people-to-collaborate.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/06/how-to-get-people-to-collaborate.html Leadership House Call Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:36:24 -0500 The Question: On January 23, 2009, Wal-Mart became a 58% owner of D&S, Chile's largest chain of supermarkets, by purchasing $1,400 million of D&S in a public offering of shares. This began their first step to expand operations in Latin America. Small suppliers in Chile are concerned about Wal-Mart's low-price policies and what it means for them. A Wal-Mart executive for Latin America (let's call him John) feels this is an issue between the local managers and the suppliers. At the same time, D&S' unions are acting defensive because of stories about Wal-Mart's mistreatment of employees in the United States. How should the in-country D&S manager (let's call him Roberto) deal with the suppliers and the unions as they adjust to Wal-Mart and its policies? - Anxious About the Future [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Well, Anxious About the Future, your http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/wal-mart-in-chile-how-to-be-a-successful-change-leader.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/wal-mart-in-chile-how-to-be-a-successful-change-leader.html Change management Fri, 29 May 2009 10:23:52 -0500 The Question: My industry, health care, is under pressure and in the spotlight, with the stimulus bill, H1N1 (swine flu), and discussions about the sky-rocketing cost of health care. In this intense environment, I worry our decision-making will be disjointed. At CLA you talk about productive disequilibrium -- the art of creating enough discomfort in a person or group to get them to move in a new direction. Right now, in my organization, however, the heat is up too high. How can I work to bring us back from crisis mode into that zone of productivity? -- Hoping to avoid disjointed decision-making [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com or enter them in the comments section below] Dear Hopeful, Crisis leadership has two phases: the emergency phase when your task is stabilizing the situation, limiting the damage, and buying time. When the triage is over, you can enter the adaptive phase, http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/staying-productive-in-a-crisis-lessons-from-health-care.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/staying-productive-in-a-crisis-lessons-from-health-care.html Change management Thu, 21 May 2009 07:29:52 -0500 The Question: We started as a Mom-and-Pop advertising shop, and now we've ballooned to a 60-person Mom and Pop sorely in need of a clearer leadership team. As the "Pop," I have been overwhelmed by the responsibilities thrown at me. I think I've done a fairly good job identifying departments, delineating responsibilities for department leaders, and finding ways to bring the newly minted management team together. Now my question is: What should my job description be? I find myself stepping on toes, making small comments that people take as huge directives, and wondering what my role should really be. -- Not So Clear in New York [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Not So Clear, you've done a nice job of dealing with Stage One Founders Syndrome, a negative situation in which an organization revolves around a person, very often the person http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/founders-syndrome.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/founders-syndrome.html Change management Wed, 13 May 2009 11:34:50 -0500 The Question: I'm trying to lead transformative change in an entrenched, resistant bureaucracy--a public school system--that serves the needs of its providers but not its consumers well. What are the best ways to deal with the resistance to change, which, after all, is not completely irrational? -- Frustrated Reformer [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com, or post them in the "comments" section below] Thanks for sharing your problem, Frustrated Reformer. In the public sector, where security has traditionally been a high value and senior authorities come and go, the "weebee" factor is always alive, as in "We be here before you came and we be here after you are gone." That sounds like some of what you are dealing with. I assume from your tone of calm frustration that you have diagnosed the situation deeply and accurately. The good news is that you understand the resistance is not, as you http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/how-to-lead-change-when-others-resist-following.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/05/how-to-lead-change-when-others-resist-following.html Change management Wed, 06 May 2009 11:51:14 -0500 The Question: What have you learned about how to help leaders make difficult behavioral changes? In particular how to can you help them recognize and take charge of unconscious, automatic, reflexive responses that may undermine what they consciously espouse to do? - Grady McGonagill, Ed.D. [Send your leadership questions to leadership@washingtonpost.com] Thanks, Grady. You have been in this business yourself and your website, The Reflective Practitioner, is a source of wisdom on this question. In our experience, people at or near the top of organizations find personal change difficult because what they do well is valued by others and has been successful for them. Their current repertoire of behavior - what you call their "unconscious, automatic, reflexive responses" - is probably what got them the big job in the first place. Those strengths have can have downsides and, as you note, some leaders end up shooting themselves - or other http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/04/why-leaders-must-change-to-survive.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/04/why-leaders-must-change-to-survive.html Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:07:30 -0500 The Question: Unlike the 8.5 percent of Americans without a job, I actually have a very good paying job, pretty good benefits, a nice home, and I am paying off all of my credit debt with my bonus and tax refund this year. Yet I'm not fully satisfied. I took my current job a few years back because it propelled my career into the stratosphere from where it had been. The job, however, requires some compromise on my part. I find myself wanting to move back to where I was or to take on something new and exciting. Personal vs. professional fulfillment: Can you ever have your cake and eat it too? -- Golden Handcuffs Dear Golden Handcuffs, While many people would be willing to trade for your challenges, we are increasingly hearing from executives, young lawyers, community advocates and entrepreneurs all questioning how they are spending their time. This http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/04/should-i-leave-my-unsatisfying-job-in-this-tough-climate.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_house_call/2009/04/should-i-leave-my-unsatisfying-job-in-this-tough-climate.html Career Management Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:28:00 -0500