It's the thought that counts...

The Christmas season is upon us!  That usually means the typical scramble to get those last minute gifts, prepare for family visits, or send off Christmas cards.  It is also the time of year for work-based Christmas parties and events.  In my healthcare experience these have taken on many forms from unit-based social events, to Board/senior executive formal functions, to larger site-based or team-based gatherings at a local restaurant, and even holiday-themed meals provided for free to all staff during the Christmas season. 

What some may fail to realize is that these events say a lot about the organization's or the individual manager's commitment to staff and can send strong messages about the reality of employee engagement in the organization.  In a previous blog entry on employee engagement I touched on a couple of issues that I believe need to be reinforced in regards to how Christmas functions are managed.  It is my hope that you see value in my perspective and can use that input in considering your options for this or future years.

I recall from painful experience a year in which budget and optics caused my organization to cancel what had been a long-standing event - the annual tradition of offering a free meal to staff in the week leading up to Christmas.  Given the nature of trying to serve hundreds of people at 3 or 4 points in the day the food provided was of a nature that lent itself to industrial production - hot food dished out of a cafeteria style buffet line, with cake or squares for dessert, and your choice of juice or coffee.  There was cost, but not extravagance.  However, it was the thought that counted.  Staff social committees put forward their best effort to provide entertainment for these functions as well so there was music, carolling, and perhaps a contest to encourage socialization and camaraderie.  What I believe staff also enjoyed was the fact that very many of their managers took turns serving out meals at the event.  This included senior executives as well.  A colleague of mine and I made a particular tradition of taking on the night shift - which if memory served was 1 or 2 in the morning.  Staff were generally impressed that we made the effort to come in at night to put in a couple of hours of work and engage in conversation with them.  And we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  There certainly was a cost to this event, but in my estimation it was an investment that paid off many times over in conversation and engagement. 

Needless to say the cancellation was not well received by most.  It was a challenging decision to make.  Some believed that public perception as much as cost supported the decision.  If there were budget challenges for the healthcare system how could we justify spending dollars on a staff Christmas meal?  Others believed that if other parts of the health system were making similar decisions we had no choice but to follow.  However, for most management and staff it was not a warmly received decision.  Many felt it diminished the hard work and sacrifices of all staff.  Many felt that this was the one true reward and recognition that they received in a year and now it was gone.  Others may have taken the tradition for granted and it simply became an entitlement.  Nevertheless the cost to the organization in terms of goodwill was not insignificant.  We definitely came across as Scrooge-like.

What also went by the way that year was any formal lunch time gathering of management teams.  All of my managers would have gotten together at a restaurant or some other venue to have a buffet style meal, socialize, and listen to me give greetings of the season and thanks for a year's hard work.  Other senior executives would have done similar things with their direct reports.  That was no longer on the table.  I could have chosen then to forgo any annual Christmas gathering of my team.  However, it's not that easy to just give up these types of events if you really believe in rewarding and recognizing your team.  With the support of my direct reports and my family we decided to take a different approach to celebrating Christmas - we opened up my house over two days to a potluck style celebration.  What did this mean?  Well mostly it meant parking challenges for my neighborhood and space challenges in my house with upwards of 100 people in our house each day enjoying each other's company and culinary creations.  It was a house full to the brim of Christmas spirit!  Adversity turned to celebration!  What could have been a season of discontent was turned into a huge positive team-building event.  The comments that my wife and I received from my management staff were overwhelmingly positive.  Many even suggested that this home-based event become the new Christmas tradition.  The team was strengthened that day and the Christmas spirit was alive and well.

I also kept my own more intimate work-based Christmas celebration going.  For probably the last 10 or 15 years, I have invited my immediate direct reports and their spouses over to my house some time in the Christmas season.  Again all the food is home-cooked with contributions from all.  More importantly for me, I have always used the occasion to individually recognize each of my team members with a gift - paid for by myself - that I believe spoke to their individual achievements or reality in the past year.  I put hours of thought into each person's gift.  Sometimes this related to a singular event, sometimes to their particular personality or character, or perhaps some key accomplishment - personal or work-related - that was noteworthy.  In all cases, the gift giving was preceded by a mostly humorous, and always heart-felt, presentation on my part.  I believe this was warmly received by my colleagues precisely because it demonstrated that I paid attention to their efforts throughout the year and thought enough about each one of them to put in this individualized effort.  Our success was made possible by their individual and combined efforts.  It certainly would have been easier and less time-consuming to give them all a gift card to Chapter's, or give them some corporate swag, or something equally as generic.  I also could have assigned the task of getting these gifts to my support staff or similarly had them make arrangements for the party.  After all, I was a senior executive and could have pulled out the "I'm too busy or important" excuse to support the delegation of work.  But I don't see that it would have had the same meaning for any of us.  And the reward I got for the effort was the laughter, the tears and team building that came from this Christmas tradition.  I enjoyed it and got energy from the effort!

Ultimately, regardless of organizational circumstances, I believe that any leader can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to staff, to engaging their team, and building a strong culture.  It does take effort, it does take creativity, but ultimately it really is all about sincerity of commitment to others.  As the leader you set the tone for the culture you work in.  You build the culture by all of your actions, both large and small.  You build the culture by how you treat and work with your colleagues on a day-to-day basis.  You build the culture of your organization by your level of engagement and interest in your staff.  You demonstrate by the level of your effort how much your team really means to you.

There is no better time to demonstrate your commitment to your team than at Christmas. 

After all, it's the thought that counts.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Succession Planning Takes Leadership

Increasingly, organizations feel compelled to consider some form of succession planning.  Most often the reasons identified for undertaking this effort is an aging workforce or a shortfall in skills of available candidates for key positions.  These certainly seem like logical reasons to aggressively implement or refine a succession planning initiative.  However, I believe these stated reasons mask a fundamental truth - succession planning has always been critically important for the long-term success of any organization.  Good times or a more robust labour pool in years past may have reduced the perceived cost of error - just go out and get another candidate - but in reality having the right people in place or waiting in the wings to keep the organization's momentum flowing forward in a positive direction has always been important. 

In a market-driven enterprise lost time with a wrong hire means lost ground to the competition which may not be recaptured - we lose market share or profit or both.  In the public and not for-profit sectors we don't benefit from similar incentives and historically appear to have put less effort into constructively, assertively and with real intent growing managerial and leadership talent.  This is despite the fact that these organizations have broad-ranging and substantial impact on many aspects of our lives that we hold dear - like health and education.

I've seen a variety of models proposed and used for succession planning.  Whether they are formulated on the basis of a multi-step process, multi-component model, or some other framework, there are some key elements in any succession planning initiative that are critically important - identify key positions, understand competencies required to perform in the key positions, identify gaps in your talent pool, formulate individual development plans or target external recruitment as necessary, update on a regular basis.  A structured process on paper, however, is no guarantee of success in reality.  More important than adherence to any particular model or formula I believe is need for the right leadership mentality if you are to truly achieve the benefits of the effort.

Fundamentally, some organizations and leaders have to decide whether they have the courage and confidence to engage in meaningful succession planning.  If done with the right intent, and with the long-term success and sustainability of the organization in mind, as a leader you are really trying to develop your own replacement.  More than a few leaders find that prospect a bit threatening to their own personal security!  Therefore, they go through the motions of succession planning but never fully commit to what it takes to develop the qualified candidates that might step into their role in the future.  After all, if someone becomes too skilled or competent perhaps the succession plan might be accelerated or taken out of their hands!

There is also another risk in allowing only the immediate supervisor to identify their succession plan.  As noted above, there may be a reluctance or hesitancy to really fully support or develop a replacement due to perceived personal risk.  Just as much a concern is that a current leader may identify and groom a successor that is a carbon copy of themselves.  A carbon copy of a successful leader may not be a bad idea - presuming that the current leader is in fact a good leader.  However, if they have not been effectively performance managed over time, or they have not been an effective champion of key organizational values or strategic directions, then the consequences of leaving succession planning solely in the hands of this individual will certainly compromise long-term success for the organization.  This can be particularly challenging when staff in the area view the current leader has highly competent, a champion for their particular issues, and the epitome of their current sub-culture.  If some new level of performance or new direction is required from this work group it will be tough to find from a hand-picked successor.

Another misstep in succession planning is confusing success or competency in a current role with predicted success or competency in the next.  In healthcare we have been guilty of this error on many occasions.  In particular, we have often erred in equating potential management/leadership competency with success as a clinician - a great nurse, physician, or tech will make a great manager. Unfortunately, we often compound this error by not providing good mentorship and development opportunities to the newly minted or promoted leader.  We never provide them with the skills and training to take on a fundamentally different role.  The new leader is left to their own devices, often experiences the school of hard knocks, and ultimately succeeds or fails based almost entirely on the strength of their character and the toughness of their skin.  The likely consequences of failure, however, are a damaged career and a dysfunctional work unit left in the wake.

The last paragraph also presumes that there is actually ongoing assessment of individual performance.  As I have touched on in previous blog entries, performance management is important in its own right.  For the purposes of effective succession planning it becomes absolutely critical.  In the context of succession planning, this process must again include robust 360 degree assessment with results tied to the creation of a personal development plan.  Effective leaders are made through constructive feedback and concrete development opportunities - not wishful thinking.

Finally, there must be real accountability for succession planning from the Board of Directors, through senior administration, to all levels of management.  It must be as important, if not more important in terms of accountability, as budgetary performance.  If an organization wants to build and sustain high levels of performance over time it must hold itself accountable for cultivating talent and investing in its future.

Organizations that do succession planning right end up having the talent on board when they need it to step into key leadership positions.  Future leaders have been provided with the skills necessary to ensure success and just as important they carry the values with them into roles that define the organization's culture.  In the end organizational success can only be sustained by ensuring continuity in quality of leadership developed from within. The leaders of today can lay the foundations of success for tomorrow through their investment in others.
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Charting Your Leadership Course

Over the course of the past several months I've touched on a number subjects related to leadership, how I believe leaders should perform and behave, and how they set the tone for the organization as a whole.  I've also discussed at some length the importance of well-articulated and supported vision and values for an organization, a process that the leader must facilitate with significant energy and commitment.  What I haven't touched is the imperative for a leader to put the same amount of energy and thought into their own personal plan and journey as a leader. 

I've had my own personal Mission, Vision and Values statements for at least 15 years.  I've made effort to review these statements on a periodic basis and particularly at points in time where I've either been considering or experiencing a major transition in my career or life.  In general, I can say that an intensive review has taken place at least every two to three years.  Otherwise, I keep the statements close at hand and visible enough to remind me and support me in my day-to-day work.  The frequency with which I review my commitments to myself seems to work and I've surprised myself in seeing how stable my vision  and values have been over the years despite some major changes in personal circumstances.

Key to the long-term stability - and relevance - of my personal mission, vision and values was some pretty intense up-front work and personal introspection.  I wasn't always interested in that level of self-work and there are days even now where I cringe at the "touchy-feely" exercise that it can sometimes feel like.  Certainly some of my closest colleagues over the years will attest to the challenge of trying to get me to explore my inner self!  So I thank them for the effort!  It's been worth the trip.

I strongly believe that every leader should put this kind of work into themselves.  They owe it to themselves, but they also owe it to those that they hope to lead.  And it's not just thinking about it - you need to spend time crafting, articulating and ultimately putting pen to paper.  It's not something that you may share with anyone but yourself, but it will clarify what is important to you as a person and as a leader, will help guide your decision-making in an organization, and will help place your career goals within the context of your broader life goals.  This latter point is critical.  We don't exist in a vacuum nor in a manner that allows us to easily compartmentalize our lives.  Our work life impacts our home life and vice versa.  I believe that this reality is too strong to ignore and we do a great disservice to ourselves and others if we try to force that compartmentalization.

What are the necessary steps to creating the components of your leadership plan?  In some ways, the effort and the components very much mirror the work most of us as leaders have done in crafting strategic plans for our organizations.  We have experience and templates/processes already available to us that we can scale back to an individual level.  Most efforts need to start with some process of self-evaluation or self-diagnosis.  This could take a variety of forms.  Over the years I have continued to take advantage of opportunities afforded to me by 360 performance reviews/ assessments, self assessments, or even something as simple as a SWOT framework applied to my leadership.  This self-evaluation process may include both reflections/lessons learned from your past experiences as a leader - how did people in the past respond to your leadership?  Your process may also benefit from an assessment of the approach, style, qualities and perceived values of leaders you have worked for in the past.  I have found that I have learned as much from poor leaders as I have from excellent leaders.  Poor leaders have helped me define what I don't stand for and how I won't lead.

There is also benefit in writing down your thoughts about your vision and values as you go.  You need to engage with yourself and struggle with the work of articulating what is important to you as a leader.  Don't expect to come up with the perfect statements in the first - or seventh - attempt.  As you know from work on organizational strategic plans, there is a lot of back and forth, refining and clarifying that is going to happen.  Cut yourself some slack in the process and understand that you make refinements as you grow and develop in your leadership knowledge.  Don't be afraid to listen to what others say about what are important leadership qualities to them.  That doesn't mean just adopting what somebody else has said, but there will more grist for the mill in your process and at this point more input is better than no input or ideas.  Talk with some of your trusted colleagues.  There is great benefit in bouncing ideas off those who will be honest with you about your strengths, weaknesses and current leadership behaviours - if you have the strength and courage to really hear them.

Charting your leadership course may mean that you end up with far more than just a set of statements about your personal Mission, Vision and Values.  You could choose to create other components of your own strategic plan including a personal action/learning plan (Human Resource Plan), personal strengths/approach that characterize your leadership style (Marketing Plan), how you want to be known or remembered as a leader, and any number of other components.  The choice is up to you.  At a base minimum, however, I have always found value in establishing and finalizing in written form a personal Mission, Vision and Values.

My personal vision is perhaps a bit different than some.  I have not articulated it as a statement of which position I expect to hold in five years or how much money I'm going to be making.  Rather I have talked about the characteristics of my life that I want to be known by - honesty, integrity, hard work - the lifestyle I expect to lead (e.g., physically active, life-long learner), and my commitment to family and others.  At a professional level I have focused on being of value to my profession, contributing to the improvement of health services, and being respected and valued by my colleagues.  The value in this approach is that it allows you to be true to your core rather than defining success by whether you achieve or don't achieve a particular position.  Moreover, it allows for a greater degree of personal flexibility in responding to both adversity and opportunity - life can throw us curves, both good and not so good, but if we keep our eye on our personal north star we will be successful in navigating short-term "surprises". The ultimate benefit of knowing yourself is the ability it gives you to truly take control of your journey to becoming the most effective leader - and person - you can be. 

Your future is yours to create if you understand who you are and what is important to you.  Chart your course.  Your star is out there.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.