Psychē Consulting - Latest Comments

Re: http://innocentdiva-.tumblr.com/post/3924874108

KidaMasaomiKun — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:59:55 -0000

Awh! Sorry about your laptop!
Even though I've never actually spoken to you, (er, at least I don't think I have,) I still miss seeing your posts. :>
Hope it gets fixed soon~
<3

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

NO TRUST NO CHANGE — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:40:12 -0000

While bringing in an outsider to implement change is a good idea, there does have to be some consideration for the culture of the organization. One of the most important criterion for change is trust and in an organization as fundamentally based on trust as the RCMP, installing an individual like Elliot who has no understanding of what members of the RCMP face on a daily basis will likely not promote an environment of trust. Furthermore, if you ask a police officer what he/she generally think of lawyers, you will no doubt get another set of reasons why Mr. Elliot is at another disadvantage in the RCMP environment. I am not questioning Mr. Elliot's abilities as a bureaucrat or as a change agent, I am curious if the Harper government really wants the RCMP to change. Because if he did, I am sure he could have found someone who would not have had to start with such a disadvantage.
In addition, because RCMP officers put up with petulance from the public is more reason why they shouldn't have to put up with it from their boss. Furthermore, because of RCMP officer's high tolerance it leads me to believe that maybe Elliot was 'that bad' to work for.

Re: Our Customer Is Always Right

Clay Forsberg — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:05:39 -0000

Very nice article. I like what you guys are doing, here. It's interesting that I just saw this article - I was thinning my Twitter follows. I just commented on a piece on how employee engagement improves customer service ... you think so. So your post follows right in line. I like your take on the one word thing, 'our.' It's something I've always tried to do because, well - it just seemed like the good thing to do.

Employee engagement of the current worker bee employee segment, Generation Y, is highly dependent on their identification with the firm they work with - and whether that firm is doing what they think they should be doing, even socially.

It's not enough to for management to push the 'our' word. It's something that the front line work force buys in to as their own idea. Build a company that they feel proud of and want to work to contribute to ... and it'll be everybody's company.

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Kellie — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:22:15 -0000

I would concur with your comments on Mr. Elliott and the reluctance of some RCMP members to accept his leadership. I worked for the RCMP for almost 20 years myself (in a civilian capacity) and my husband was a police officer for 35 years (recently retired). There seemed to be a real divide in terms of bringing in Mr. Elliott because he lacked the policing experience. I believe that they are actually better off by not having the policing experience because he is able to view their world through different eyes - which is probably what the force is in need of. Leaders in organizations that have been command and control (which is what the RCMP is) do not have an easy road ahead of them when they attempt to change that mindset. This is not an organization that will change easily or rapidly - and believe you me - many of these folks would not survive in the 'read world'. I believe that the majority of policing personnel are very good people with the best intentions of serving and protecting - I truly do - but I also know from being 'inside' that it is a very closed and protective environment.

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

abashford — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:26:46 -0000

What do you think about Bill's new take on HR + Marketing? http://www.fastcompany.com/169... Is another scrap in the works? ;)

Re: Passion – Experience – Education : Pick Two

abashford — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:05:46 -0000

This Fast Company post is in a similar vein: "Who's smarter, an attorney or a welder?" http://www.fastcompany.com/169...

Re: LWD 2010WK36 – Your_Company Has Died, Restart From Last Save?

abashford — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:40:31 -0000

I didn't intend for this post (Your_Company Has Died, Restart From Last Save?) to be prophetic http://psycheconsulting.org/ps...

Unfortunately, our hosting provider can only access a save from 6 days ago. #fail

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

abashford — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:31:25 -0000

It looks like the government is standing by their man: http://www.theglobeandmail.com...

While it is arrogant to think any of the top brass read my article above, I hope some came to the same conclusion: "Those that truly believe that changes Mr. Elliott is directing are going to harm the RCMP’s ability to protect citizens and enforce the laws of the land, need to make this very clear. The timing is perfect for them to give Mr. Elliott their support and explain where they see lines being crossed."

If not, I suspect they will be soon be looking at early retirement.

Re: Passion – Experience – Education : Pick Two

abashford — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:40:44 -0000

A great post with a similar observations (thanks for the reference @knealemann!): http://inoveryourhead.net/credentials-vs-skills-vs-talent/

To help translate terminology: THEIRS = MINE
TALENT = PASSION
SKILLS = EXPERIENCE
CREDENTIALS = EDUCATION

Re: LWD 2010WK34 – Improve Productivity, Cut Out Politics

abashford — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:30:34 -0000

I just discovered that Chip Conley (featured above) has a TED talk... check it out:

Measuring what makes life worthwhile - http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_...

Re: Is Your Job Stuck in ’1984′?

Mcshawn — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:20:09 -0000

Was pay ever a substitute for motivation? ;-)

I think one of the reasons many disatisfied workers leave large organizations and start something of their own is that they want a closer alignment with their personal motivations...I really should go read 1984 again now!

Re: Respect: Change’s Greatest Enabler

abashford — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:25:12 -0000

Thanks for your comments Shawn.

I chose 'respect' instead of 'trust' because of two reasons. #1 is that respect is built on trust, not necessarily the other way around. #2 is that you can trust someone but not feel they are competent to give you direction or feedback. Respect usually connotes a sense that you value a person's capabilities within their domain of responsibility (at least in the way I am using it).

In a business setting, where change is being requested, trust is absolutely necessary, but also respect for the person giving you the orders, or providing the feedback.

In the exercise I suggested, I think you are right on the money, it is really a trust building exercise (trust that we have the same goals in mind), which starts the process of hopefully building respect.

Re: Respect: Change’s Greatest Enabler

mcshawn — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:54:17 -0000

Great update Adrian. The one thing that kept going through my mind as I read this is this: "Is it respect or trust, or both that has been lost (or never gained)?"

While similar, there are subtle differences in them and I think it might be as much trust as respect that was never gained. And building trust in large organizations is a really tough thing to do, especially when a new leader arrives. Part of it is linked to being an authentic leader, and in a politically charged environment, I'm not sure how much authentic leadership is encouraged.

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

abashford — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:37:00 -0000

This is the most balanced view I have come across, and probably closest to the truth: http://www.theglobeandmail.com...

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

abashford — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:04:52 -0000

An excerpt of this was also accepted as a 'letter to the editor' for the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/o...

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

abashford — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:23:20 -0000

Of course, not everyone has the same point of view on LeBron's decision... this is really funny (based on the iPhone 4 HTC rant): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

Adrian Bashford — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:29:45 -0000

I think you are really on to something there Shawn.

Having spoken to many executive coaches working in the field, they inevitably point to this lack of awareness when the topic of 'engagement' comes up. e.g. They might say "Why isn't everyone as motivated as I am?" but this translates to "Why isn't everyone motivated by the same things that motivate me?"

This was what spawned our post on 'Being Genuine: “The CEO Who Cried Wolf”' which was about the leadership team taking a look at itself, and the company culture they are trying to create, and understanding if it was consistent.

If a leader is really only in it for themselves, they can be certain of two things: 1) people will eventually figure this out, and 2) they can expect a lack of commitment to the organization from those that don't have the same motivators that they do. Narcissists –in particular– have trouble understanding the motivations of others.

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

Shawn McCormick — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:37:35 -0000

Loved the lines "Management is the most noble of professions if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team."

I think the problem is, the overachievers who got to the top (and are likely your bosses) never understood this and more importantly, don't appreciate it in another leader. This further incites a behaviour of managing up and ignoring below, which is why large companies seem to have so many issues with employee morale.

There's a quote I hold dear which is "You look no better than your people do"...helping them grow and succeed associates you with that success, but the ego-driven mentality of the "me organization" doesn't seem to understand that.

Re: LWD 2010WK23 – Lessons from Oily Birds, the A-Team & Zappos

Steven Milstein — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:36:02 -0000

Thanks for the "won’t" pingback to my http://stevenmilstein.com/2009....

Another testimony to Zappos genius is documented in John Jantsch's The Referral Engine where he describes The Offer. After a week of training, Zappos offers each new employee to be paid for that week plus $1000 if they quit that day! The assumption being, the cost of keeping uncommitted employees far exceeds the cost of The Offer.

On the other end of the spectrum, take a look at http://stevenmilstein.com/2010... for another kind of retail experience.

Thanks again for the pingback!
-Steven

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Nick Corcodilos — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:47:34 -0000

Touche! That's the best comment so far! ;-) I think it needs to be invented. (That's never stopped smart managers.)

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Adrian Bashford — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:22:28 -0000

Assuming we can't wipe out the HR 'function', is there a model that you have seen that works better than others?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Nick Corcodilos — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:39:01 -0000

Adrian, I agree that HR might be viewed differently in a technocracy. Tech folks, especially in a start up, sometimes prove the stereotype... "We don't need no touchie-feelies..."

The best HR folks I've known have been "embedded." They advocate for the business group they're in and they get quickly educated by "the locals." This can work very well. I wonder how many HR functions could be embedded like that, without any net increase in personnel doing the "HR" work.

I don't think HR intentionally turns into this big blob... I think that in general board-level management doesn't like dealing with HR issues, so HR is left to its own devices. It takes only one big ego, or one big bureaucrat, or one self-aggrandizing HR manager to turn the whole thing into a disaster that no one wants to go near... with the result (as you suggest) that everyone else disengages from HR and reinvents the function for their own department...

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Adrian Bashford — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:17:14 -0000

Since we are all products of our past, I will come clean and admit most of my career was in organizations that would be most accurately described as technocracies, and HR often struggled for a seat at the table, as opposed to the scenario you depict, which I have experienced only anecdotally. I spent most of my time frustrated with really good strategic HR initiatives (many actually initiated by 'embedded' HR or even non-HR initiated) that never saw the light of day b/c of 'other [tactical] priorities' that IMHO would have been mitigated or eliminated by the strategic initiative.

I see your point, which I will try and paraphrase as: since 'human resources' can be considered all encompassing, the opportunity for an abuse of power is high, especially when there isn't really a way to enforce accountability. Perhaps the new 'ethics/compliance' officers that companies are now hiring can be lumped into the same high-risk-for-abuse camp as well.

I like the example you gave regarding recruiting and hiring, lets play with that a bit:

Lets say we are in an organization where HR has control of this, and line managers are frustrated that the talent they are getting isn't consistent with their needs because those making the decisions aren't close to the business. What options do they have?

1) Try and initiate organizational change: Very slow and painful for the individual manager, fraught with the risk of being attacked by the 'Its your own leadership capabilities are actually the problem, not the talent being sent' approach. The average manager probably gives up before any change happens.

2) Circumvent the process: Develop relationships with key HR gatekeepers to allow for talent you find to be considered. Chance of success here is high, but it really ends up being just extra effort to find talent yourself, HR is a hindrance not a support.

3) Manager gets actively disengaged: Manager decides to just grin an bear it, but now views HR as a hindrance not a strategic partner, and will actively subvert HR in other initiatives, even the ones that will have value.

Yep, on that specific issue, I don't like HR taking charge.

This is one of the reasons I am a fan of my experience with the Business Partner model. Because there were always embedded HR people in the business units, they acted as a checks-and-balances the centralized functions.

If there was an HR issue that was negatively impacting the performance of the business unit, the embedded person would take action to either make change at the corporate level (absolving the manager of this challenge above) or get an exemption for the business unit due to special circumstances. This way good HR initiatives could be disseminated, but those not suited to individual business units could be tailored, replaced or eliminated. At the same time, corporate functions would allow economies of scale for initiatives that could clearly be leveraged across the whole business.

As to how to deal with 'runaway HR', perhaps it is the same mechanism that "takes the leadership to task if they aren’t following through on developing good methods to address functions 1-7 listed above?". :) Isn't it sufficient for senior executive to be aware of the opportunity for abuse of roles like HR/compliance/ethics as opposed to elimination of the function?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Nick Corcodilos — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:15:56 -0000

Adrian: thanks for pushing this debate. It's long overdue.

I think there's a big difference between legal and finance departments on the one hand, and HR on the other. The former are well-defined and circumscribed. HR, on the other hand, seems to keep expanding its reach -- it's role is blurry and seems to seep into every corner of business.

Consider some other examples of the long arm of HR compared to legal and finance (which are just two examples of other depts we could talk about): Managers are often restricted by HR from doing their own recruiting and candidate selection. Imagine if finance insisted on finding the deals a company could do -- or if legal insisted on vetting every sales opportunity prior to going after it.

Yet HR tightly manages recruiting and hiring -- when it has no expertise whatsoever in engineering, marketing, accounting or any other corporate function. Why such power and control over decisions that belong to business managers?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Adrian Bashford — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:06:02 -0000

Maybe we could clarify by discussing why other functions are necessary, legal, finance? Or are those not necessary functions either? I see those all as roles that include specialists that find benefit in coordinating their efforts, is HR not the same? Or is there something in those functions that clearly indicates that they should have a 'corporate' function (which is how I interpret your view), where HR should not?

Great article by the way (yours), I am really enjoying the debate on this important issue! I am using all the back/forth to help me prepare for a discussion on HR structure in very large organizations.

Psychē Consulting - Latest Comments

Re: http://innocentdiva-.tumblr.com/post/3924874108

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Re: *Our* Customer Is Always Right

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: Passion – Experience – Education : Pick Two

Re: LWD 2010WK36 – Your_Company Has Died, Restart From Last Save?

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Re: Passion – Experience – Education : Pick Two

Re: LWD 2010WK34 – Improve Productivity, Cut Out Politics

Re: Is Your Job Stuck in ’1984′?

Re: Respect: Change’s Greatest Enabler

Re: Respect: Change’s Greatest Enabler

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Re: RCMP Mutineers: Be Careful What You Wish For

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

Re: LWD 2010WK28 – Management, the Most Noble of Professions

Re: LWD 2010WK23 – Lessons from Oily Birds, the A-Team & Zappos

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: LWD 2010WK26 – Creating Creativity & Is HR Really Necessary?

Re: Our Customer Is Always Right