The Exec-Ed Zone

An article this week in The Business Journal's online site examined the new strategy that the Center for Creative Leadership is adopting under the direction of its new President, John Ryan, to expand its operations through a more decentralised approach. More autonomy will be given to CCL's satellite campuses. Currently 300 of CCL's employees are based at the Greensboro, NC, headquarters with a similar number spread across the four other sites at Colorado Springs, San Diego, Brussels and Singapore.

Intriguingly for this previously very US-immersed organisation, Colorado Springs and san Diego are soon to get Managing Directors to drive their regional businesses, in the same way that Brussels and Singapore have had for some time. My dealings with Rudi Plettinx - a regular contributor to this blog - and MD of CCL Europe in Brussels, has indicated that the Brussels campus enjoys a great deal of autonomy in how it builds its European operations. There was certainly some concern earlier in the year that this might have been reined in while the new plans were in formulation, but it appears that Ryan has understood the benefits that local approaches can bring. This is especially true of course in terms of the marketing and sales operations - and not in terms of the actual program content that must retain a coherent approach across the organisation.

France, for instance, has been pretty resistant to CCL's charms - this no doubt was partly a reflection over the last 8 years of the Bush effect, which was never a great selling proposition for any US organisation in France. It goes deeper than that, there are cultural barriers that go beyond a dislike of the current resident of the White House that prevent French organisations and managers from embracing star-spangled education programs. CCL Europe has been chipping away at this perception and the recognition from Greensboro that they could do no better (only much worse, in fact) by dictating from the other side of the Atlantic is to be applauded.

Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of the European operations of the Center for Creative Leadership, offers his personal view on a current aspect of business leadership.

I had a call from my old friend Charlotte the other day. She’s one of those corporate trouble-shooters who get sent to problem parts of an organisation when the going gets too hot for everyone else. Is she a leader ? You bet. But talking to her about her last challenge made me think just how poorly prepared many of us are when we take on one of those tricky assignments.

Here’s what Charlotte told me about her recent experiences. “Often the problem for me is that I’m only called in when others have failed to do their job. So the number one issue, especially if you are sent to clear up a mess, is to be certain that the firm has given you all the tools you need to turn things around.”

She went on to say, “If you aren’t sure just how far you can go (and don’t have it in writing) then you’ll never achieve anything. My belief – based on a great deal of “combat” missions - is that you need maximum autonomy (and authority) to get a job like that done well. You can’t build respect and develop and engage employees if you – as the leader - are unsure of what you can and cannot do. Hesitation and prevarication aren’t options out there on the battle front.”

Charlotte’s belief is that the biggest trap any manager moving into a new job can fall into is letting the initial euphoria (of their so-called promotion) stop them from getting some very basic rules agreed between them and their boss.

As she explains, “time and again I hear of newly appointed managers who were so excited by their new promotion they forgot all the basics – that’s a recipe for disaster.” She continues, “sure, have that bottle of celebratory champagne, but next morning sit down with your boss and get the rules agreed. AND get them in writing. If they aren’t carved in stone they aren’t rules at all.” She adds, “without that you can’t do the job you are being asked to do.”

So what are Charlotte’s rules ?

“Any manager heading into a new assignment needs to have at least these clear from day one,” she stresses. “Not just clear, but agreed in writing before they begin.”

• What are my short-term goals ?
• What are my long-term goals ?
• What is the time frame for reviewing, correcting and revising these goals ?
• What is the report-back relationship and how and when does this happen (weekly, monthly etc) ?
• If my personal compensation is related to performance, what are the parameters ?
• Is the budget for my group agreed and what autonomy do I have in using it?
• What is my expense approval threshold ?
• What are my limits on hiring new personnel ?
• What are my limits on dismissing existing personnel ?

She concludes, “There are more than this, but get these basic ground rules agreed and you will at least know where your limitations are. This saves a lot of grief and hand-wringing later on.”

Charlotte tells me that she is consistently successful because she and her boss both know the rules. “This way there are no ambiguities, no surprises. I know where I stand and the company knows what it has asked me to do and the parameters that have been set.”

My question : is that how the rest of us work ?

Do you have ground rules for your team leaders; are they clear and unambiguous; are there other key pieces of advice I missed ? Let us know, we’d like to hear from you.

Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of the European operations of the Center for Creative Leadership,offers his personal view on a current aspect of business leadership.

I met an old colleague of mine on a flight to Moscow recently. The successful CEO of a giant retailing operation, he was on his way to Russia’s capital to buy something of great value – a new vice-president of East European operations.

His mission got us talking about talent and just how hard it is to get the right kind of people for your business these days. “This guy I’m about to sign up,” explained my pal Clemens, “is a perfect example of what’s going on in the marketplace right now. I’ve really had to go the extra mile in getting him to finally sign up.”

“What do you mean by that?” I queried.

“Simple,” sighed Clemens, “I had to tear up our rule-book on recruitment. If I hadn’t done that he would have gone to work for our toughest competitor.”

That got me thinking. Just how many CEOs and their staff have had to break the rules to hook the kind of big fish they need for their businesses and just how do they do that?

I started asking around.

“My view is that just occasionally you need to throw the rulebook out of the window,” says Reinhard, a pharmaceutical CEO in Zurich. He goes on, “sometimes there’s a candidate that you know will change your business. What do you do ? Personally, I go shopping with my chequebook!”

But as others told me, you can’t get away with a “no-rules-at-all” hiring programme. “If you break the rules to land that special talent, then you have to understand that there are new rules that apply and the candidate has to sign up for them,” says John, the CEO of a UK based transport conglomerate.

His advice ? “Never, ever break your recruitment rules unless you have an alternative set of rules ready to be applied. Rules that you and they [the new hire] agree to. Remember you are not hiring this person for fun, you have broken your rules for a very specific business purpose.”

But it’s not just about tearing up the rulebook once in a while – there’s more to it than that. Jeanette, a tough-talking Paris-based entrepreneur told me, “you don’t break the rules, you make up new ones.” She added, “There’s nothing more satisfying than changing the rules and getting everyone else – especially the competition - to follow them – if they can.”

A Rotterdam based engineering consultant agrees with Jeanette’s change-the-rules philosophy, but suggests that, “at very senior levels you are hiring in talent to do a job that others simply cannot manage.” He continues, “I have seen this in major engineering projects where there are perhaps only five people in the world who can get an assignment completed successfully. At that level, there is no point in arguing, you either hire them or not. That means the project either happens – successfully - or not. There’s no other debate on this.”

And it’s not just changing the rules and throwing money at the issue either. When it comes to going fishing for super-talent you need to bait your hook with a lot more than cold hard cash. Super talent it seems rarely needs the money. What they want most is something that most corporations can’t or won’t give them. Great talent it seems is not only passionate about the job, but about other elements of their lives. For these people the life-work balance equation really is part of how they are “compensated”. Tap into that aspect of their expectations and you are on to a winner.

On the way back to Brussels from Moscow, I met Clemens again. “How did it go?”I asked. “Got your man?”

He looked a little sheepish. “Well, no,” he muttered.

“What happened,” I queried, “I thought it was all in the bag ?”

“Guy got a better offer,” said Clemens through clenched teeth. “Our top competitor matched our cash offer but also told him he could base himself anywhere in Europe. He’s a sailing fanatic and is taking his yacht and his family to Monte Carlo! Seems they tore more pages out of their recruitment rule-book than we did!”

Have you got a story about throwing away the recruitment rule-book; had to come up with an unusual compensation package ? Let us know, we’d like to hear about it.

Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of the European operations of the Center for Creative Leadership, offers his personal view on a current aspect of business leadership.

A good friend of mine has just been catapulted into a huge promotion. More responsibility than he's ever had before. He's smart and knows that, career-wise, he has to get this right. He's also figured out he doesn't have weeks and months to make his mark with his new team. All the same, even he was a bit surprised when I told him. “Not long at all Bill. In fact you have about 48 hours!”

“What, just two days?” said Bill somewhat incredulously.

“I'm afraid so,” I said. “It might sound brutal, but in my view it's the first 48 hours that affect how well you manage your team.”

You see, I'm a firm believer that first impressions count. And this is never truer than when a new manager meets the new team for the first time. If you can't convince them that you are their natural leader, then you will never get them to meet the goals you set.

Bill then, not surprisingly, challenged me. “OK then,” he said, “so what am I supposed to do when I meet all of them face-to-face next week?”

First thing to do is meet them all. Don't leave anyone out from that first critical encounter. If someone is travelling, make them get to the meeting, no matter what. Everyone needs to meet you on day one and all hear the same story at the same time.

Start with a group meeting and then move on to one-on-one sessions. Don't make them too long, just enough to establish some basics on both sides. You need to know about them, they need to know about you. It's all about building a comfort zone where you can stamp your authority and build relationships.

Immediately the meetings are over work through these questions. Putting answers to these will help you forge your leadership role with the group.

What are the four or five strong points that you can build on? What comes through the group and individual sessions that are truly positive? : e.g. enthusiasm, energy etc

What are the four or five weak points you need to work at? Where are the negatives : e.g. lack of experience, lack of team feeling etc

Do you have any potential stars in the team?  If you do, what are you going to do with them?

Have you inherited any problem employees? What are you going to do with them ? : confront issues, remove them etc?

Then look at how the team functions. For example, is this a new team? If so, you're in luck - you have a blank canvas to create your own vision of a successful group.

But if the team has been established for a long time ask yourself these questions :

Has the team been stable or have there been departures or forced redundancies?

Is there anyone in the team who feels they should have had your job and are they resentful about it?

In one-on-one meetings how do individuals describe the team dynamics? For example are they quick to criticise others, push themselves forward rather than the team?

Does the team socialise outside of work (e.g. lunch together, drink together) and do they do this as a cohesive group or (possibly competing) small groups ? Either way how do you approach this, by getting involved, by staying aloof ? Much of how you involve yourself (or not) depends on your personality and your chosen leadership style. Remember, it’s about making YOU comfortable in the leader's role.

Finally, something that many managers overlook in those first few days. Does the team understand what you are there to achieve and how that fits into the overall plan of the business ? Most employees only glimpse a small part of a business. I find it helps to give them insights into the big picture show. Smart companies parachute managers into new situations for a purpose, make sure that your new team know that you are there to do a specific job and achieve a planned result. By making them part of the solution, you overcome a great number of problems : yes, even in that first 48 hours.

What's your recipe for getting your new team on your side? Any experiences and anecdotes most welcome!

A major management story [1]  has been making the rounds of Europe’s news outlets, based on a German university researcher’s findings that today’s managers are all clones of each other. The story and the theory, received strong approval from a wide range of sources, including management guru Henry Mintzberg, who has grumbled about MBA clones for decades. Ever mindful of today’s concerns, here Rudi Plettinx , Managing Director of the European Operations of the Center for Creative Leadership makes the case for employing maverick managers. Just the thing for staving off clone-disease!

Maverick managers, off-the-wall employees, tortured geniuses – individuals that we have been taught, counselled and warned to leave well alone. Staff recruiters weed them out early in any selection process and any inherited non-conformists get sent packing to the outer limits of the corporate empire. Until now, standard procedure seems to have been building organisational cultures filled with like-minded people, none of whom will ever rock the boat, much less capsize it.

But, as I keep trying to impress upon my peers, we are leading and managing in a new era of work. A new world of work where similarity breeds contempt and the status quo needs a good shaking up.

Why ? Simple. Talent is in ever shorter supply, meaning hiring our preferred people is harder than ever. At the same time, we need to innovate and invent to survive. This means that there is an urgent imperative to think new, radical thoughts about our businesses.

And if you want radical thinking where else to go but to the source of all things different – the maverick executive. We’ve all met them, many of us have worked with them. They are the loose cannons of corporate life. Their travelling companions are chaos and confusion, but they may just offer new insights into how to boost a business, promote a product, or smarten up a service line. My argument is that in today’s business world we need these people who think and act differently to ourselves and our plain vanilla compatriots.

Only problem with mavericks, you have to know how to lead them!

As a leader, the first thing to recognise is that maverick employees need one thing above all else – freedom. Try and tie them down to the rules that the rest of us follow and they will quickly get frustrated and quit. Conversely, if you give them a totally free rein chaos can ensue and others will leave instead!

Second thing to take on board is that these wonderful, wacky people need lots and lots of encouragement – amazingly they often have quite a low opinion of themselves and the more you praise their efforts the better they will be.

Thirdly, you need to create a climate that can support them without turning off your run-of-the-mill corporate clones – the Bills, Bobs and Bettys, that your recruitment agency would much rather you were hiring. These employees need assurance too (most importantly that you haven’t gone crazy), but they also need to be told that these mavericks are not different, they are part of the team. Think about it this way, truly great teams thrive on diversity – mavericks most certainly provide that – in quantity!

So, if you want to put some maverick’s into your business, how should you deal with them ? Here’s a few thoughts to get you started.

Make them part of the group you lead (be sure they feel valued) and make real efforts to integrate them. However, also spend a lot of face-time with the others in the group so they know what the score really is. Don’t forget, mavericks are there for a purpose, make sure everyone knows what it is.

Tell your maverick(s) that you welcome their ideas (however weird and wonderful they may be!) and you look forward to them. Above all you want them to make a contribution and feel that they can be as open and as innovative as possible.

Set goals and challenges for them. This keeps them focused on what you want, not what they would like to do. Most mavericks have short attention spans and if not watched can wander off and get into trouble.

Follow up quickly with their ideas and their actions. It’s all about encouragement. If an idea isn’t worth pursuing say so and move on. But rather than saying “no,” suggest they think about their idea in another way. What you want is positive reinforcement, not a series of turn-offs.

However, never say, “it’s a great idea,” where it clearly isn’t. By trying to build up their credibility you will quickly lose your own.

When they come to you, listen to the story and try not to interrupt no matter how bizarre the idea seems at first look. Similarly, in group meetings don’t cut them off or turn their ideas down flat.

Don’t say, “I’ll get back to you,” and leave them waiting days for a response. Say you will consider their idea and get back to them in 24 hours and make sure you do it.

And what about conflict ? Well it does happen. Most often because other members of the team can feel sidelined or ignored and take it out on your mavericks. If that happens, confront it. Make it clear what each member of your team is supposed to do – so everyone understands the responsibilities and the roles they play. Don’t play favourites.

Properly led, mavericks can play a major role in organisational success. Is it worth the trouble ? If you know why they are there and you can keep them focused, yes it is. Otherwise stick with those cosy clones although that way corporate life will never be as much fun !

Have you managed any maverick employees; did you survive the experience; anything to add to Rudi’s list ? Let us know.

[1] “Modern managers are all the same” by Brian Bloch, Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2008