I lay back in the chair, closed my eyes, and almost immediately felt my body relax. An instant later a stream of warm water rinsed through my hair while strong, competent hands massaged my scalp. For that moment my stress disappeared, washed away with the water.
I might as well have been at some exotic spa on vacation in the Caribbean but I was in New York City, in the middle of a workday, still in my suit.
I was getting my haircut at a salon, Lovella, run by a friend of mine, Avi Benichou. I expected a great haircut, and I got one. But I also got a lesson in management.
After the shampoo, in a slight daze of tranquility, I was guided to a chair and Avi began to cut my hair. We began to chat when, suddenly, behind us, came a commotion. I watched Avi in the mirror as he looked around to see what was happening.
One of the other hair stylists, we'll call him Jon, was talking to a colleague, gesturing dramatically, clearly upset. The other customers began to look around, a little uncomfortable, not sure what was happening.
Avi excused himself and went over to Jon. He spoke softly to him, listened, and in a few seconds Jon calmed down.
Avi returned to my haircut, apologized again, made a joke — but not at Jon's expense, and resumed his cutting.
"So Avi," I said, "You know I've gotta ask: What was that about?"
It turns out that Jon had gotten into a small dispute with a client on the phone. The client had asked Jon to spend the day doing her hair at her wedding but was upset by the fee he quoted which was much higher than a single haircut. He tried to explain to her that he'd have to give up a day's work at the Salon and needed to cover that lost work. Still, she was upset. Which made him upset. And a little dramatic.
Which, Avi said, must never happen in his salon.
"Drama?" I asked.
"Anything unprofessional. We're always on stage. We're all in a single open space. Anything anyone does is visible to everyone else. I don't want customers, other stylists, the receptionist — anyone — to feel uncomfortable."
That's when it hit me: We all work at Lovella.
I was recently on the trading floor of a large bank. Hundreds of people were sitting next to each other in rows, everyone visible to everyone else. The head of the department, one of the top ten people leading this multi-billion dollar company, worked in an office constructed entirely of glass. There was no place to hide.
And it's not just trading floors. Many of the newly built offices I've seen — like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's — are built as open spaces with everyone from the CEO to the receptionist visible to everyone. Even in older buildings almost everyone sits in cubicles or behind glass walls.
This architectural style reflects a management style — we're breaking down the walls between us, trying to soften the hierarchy, and offering transparency. It also reflects a social style facilitated by the Internet that exposes, well, just about everything.
In other words, there's no place to hide.
We need to be diligent and disciplined about how we act, because, as Avi observed, we're always on stage.
In the past, we could be calm and professional in front of everyone and then walk into our private offices and lose it. That harmless venting didn't impact anyone. But when our offices are glass — or worse, desks in the middle of everyone else — our losses of composure are losses of professionalism. People begin to lose confidence and trust in us.
So when Avi noticed Jon lose his composure he knew two things: 1) everyone was looking at Jon and 2) everyone was wondering what Avi would do about it.
Avi passed the test. He maintained his composure, spoke softly to Jon, and let Jon know that it would be better if he as the Salon owner — not Jon — negotiate the price. He promised that he would do just that after my haircut.
"When you're in charge," Avi told me, "You need to look good, relaxed, in control. Meanwhile your stomach is turning because you see that things aren't running like they're supposed to."
Avi demonstrated the new rules of professionalism in an open work place. Be calm. Be supportive of others. Show leadership by avoiding — and, when necessary, actively managing — drama that could distract, embarrass, or unsettle others. And never, ever be the cause of that drama yourself.
"You know," Avi said to me. "Hair stylists can be a little, well, fragile and moody. You need to handle them gently. Otherwise they'll just leave."
He's right. But it's not just hair stylists. It's people. We're all a little fragile and, at times, moody. We all need to be handled with care.
I emerged from the salon an hour after I had entered with a great haircut, more relaxed then I had been in a long time. And that led me to one final insight.
If you're in a situation in which your professionalism is hard to maintain — for some reason you've become upset, riled up, or anxious — and a deep breath or glass of water isn't enough, go for a walk. Leave the office — or whatever space you're in — entirely. Then, if you have the time, walk over to your neighborhood hair salon and ask for a shampoo and cut. You'll emerge composed, relaxed, and professional.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Top 7 Ways To Leverage Your Target List
1. Linkedin: Connect to employees of your target company through Linkedin. The closer to your target department/area/decision maker the better. Don’t send the standard Linkedin request (“I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”), many won’t accept standard Linkedin requests from those they don’t know personally - others may get offended and mark that they don’t know you (Linkedin’s term for spam - too many of these, and you’ll be asked to go home). Instead, write a custom connection request letter, complementing on blogs, tweets, LI updates, or LI group posts they may have made. At the very least, mention that you’re researching company X to consider if you’d like to work there, and would like this person’s insight.
2. Networking events: To gain an understanding of which events are most likely to yield results with your target companies ask the following questions:
o What organizations does your target company sponsor?
o What charity events?
o What networking or industry organizations does this company (or department) participate in?
How do you find out? Ask people in your Linkedin network, study Linkedin profiles of company employees, study tweets and blogs of company employees. Look at the company’s press releases. All of these can give information about which organizations the company supports.
3. Ask your network: But ask the right question. Ideally, you’re seeking someone in a specific area of a company. And realistically, you’re not looking for a job ... you’re looking for people within the company to talk to - If you’re smart, you’re probably not going to ask these people for a job (unless you’ve gotten lucky and been referred to the hiring manager). Instead, ask to be introduced to people who can help you learn more about company X. See: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/08/bringing-your-resume-to-informational.html for more details.
4. Linkedin Company Follow: Linkedin Company follow is a great way to keep abreast of company news, company new hires, people leaving the company (good source of info), and job openings advertised on Linkedin. See http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/04/linkedin-company-follow-helps-job.html to learn how to use Linkedin Company Follow to gain contacts and information on your target companies.
5. Search job boards: But don’t apply through them. Search the job boards for information ... The types of people the companies advertise for gives signals to the problems they are facing. New Executives build their own teams, numerous customer service ads may mean the company needs accounting or marketing help. An ad for a Controller with significant process improvement experience signals that the company is looking for people to help cut costs ... in other departments as well. See some more ideas at: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/05/3-ways-to-leverage-job-boards-and.html.
6. Twitter: Now that many Linkedin profiles display Twitter links, follow everyone you can from your target companies on Twitter. Use some of the many search tools on twitter for company mentions, and for other employees. Follow as many employees as you can, especially those in or close to departments you’re targeting. Twitter can be a great listening device, but can also be a way to start a conversation, discussion and the beginnings of a business relationship by making positive comments on Tweets by employees of your target companies.
7. Don’t rely on employees to “refer” you: Most companies today (other than really small ones) employ employee referral bonus programs, as a way to address government labor law compliance. These employee referral bonus programs aren’t as beneficial to candidates as you may think.
2. Networking events: To gain an understanding of which events are most likely to yield results with your target companies ask the following questions:
o What organizations does your target company sponsor?
o What charity events?
o What networking or industry organizations does this company (or department) participate in?
How do you find out? Ask people in your Linkedin network, study Linkedin profiles of company employees, study tweets and blogs of company employees. Look at the company’s press releases. All of these can give information about which organizations the company supports.
3. Ask your network: But ask the right question. Ideally, you’re seeking someone in a specific area of a company. And realistically, you’re not looking for a job ... you’re looking for people within the company to talk to - If you’re smart, you’re probably not going to ask these people for a job (unless you’ve gotten lucky and been referred to the hiring manager). Instead, ask to be introduced to people who can help you learn more about company X. See: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/08/bringing-your-resume-to-informational.html for more details.
4. Linkedin Company Follow: Linkedin Company follow is a great way to keep abreast of company news, company new hires, people leaving the company (good source of info), and job openings advertised on Linkedin. See http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/04/linkedin-company-follow-helps-job.html to learn how to use Linkedin Company Follow to gain contacts and information on your target companies.
5. Search job boards: But don’t apply through them. Search the job boards for information ... The types of people the companies advertise for gives signals to the problems they are facing. New Executives build their own teams, numerous customer service ads may mean the company needs accounting or marketing help. An ad for a Controller with significant process improvement experience signals that the company is looking for people to help cut costs ... in other departments as well. See some more ideas at: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/05/3-ways-to-leverage-job-boards-and.html.
6. Twitter: Now that many Linkedin profiles display Twitter links, follow everyone you can from your target companies on Twitter. Use some of the many search tools on twitter for company mentions, and for other employees. Follow as many employees as you can, especially those in or close to departments you’re targeting. Twitter can be a great listening device, but can also be a way to start a conversation, discussion and the beginnings of a business relationship by making positive comments on Tweets by employees of your target companies.
7. Don’t rely on employees to “refer” you: Most companies today (other than really small ones) employ employee referral bonus programs, as a way to address government labor law compliance. These employee referral bonus programs aren’t as beneficial to candidates as you may think.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
You're Getting a Bonus! So Why Aren't You Motivated?
If you're like most professionals working in large corporations, you're eligible for an annual bonus as part of your pay. If you're one of the luckier ones, you've been hearing rumors lately that with the economy recovering, that bonus may become a reality again.
Good for you. But maybe not so good for your company. Chances are, its bonus program is costing it plenty but it isn't seeing much of a motivation boost in return, from you or anyone else.
The idea that some part of an employee's pay should be contingent on good performance is a very old one. Harvard's Derek Bok writes that it dates back to at least the time of Julius Caesar, who instituted an "elaborate system to supply bonuses to loyal soldiers participating in successful campaigns — 50 dinari for every legionnaire and 500 for each centurion." In America, Bok says, bonuses started to become a significant part of corporate leaders' compensation around the time of the first World War. Now, bonuses have become so commonplace in the business world that their value is rarely questioned.
The problem is that, even if it's true that contingent compensation spurs higher performance (and not everyone thinks it does - see, for example, this pdf), when the reward comes as one big check cut by the finance department at the end of the fiscal year, that motivating effect is mainly lost. That's because the bonus fails to make two critical connections:
1. The connection between values and behavior. Typically, bonuses are tied to financial achievement —they're paid out when a certain benchmark is hit such as yearly company revenue, earnings per share, or department revenue targets. But the connection between the outcomes you truly value and the behaviors you want to see from employees can be far from obvious.
2. The connection between a worker and his/her direct supervisor. Plenty of research has shown that the most important influencer of workers' performance, for better or worse, is the dynamic between them and their bosses. For example, research into workplace deviance by Lance Ferris of Singapore Management University shows a higher level of outright deviance among employees who feel they've been treated rudely or unfairly by their immediate supervisors. By the same token, there is nothing more motivating than recognition that comes directly from the higher-up who knows your work best: your manager. At that close range, a reward is a relationship-builder. Administered more remotely, as bonuses are, it's only a transaction.
What works better than an annual bonus, then? The answer is a more strategic, thoughtful approach to conditional rewards, involving smaller payouts given year round and, critically, targeting the vast majority of the workforce — not just a privileged few.
Of course, this raises the complexity level of performance management. At software maker Symantec, for example, it had always been a simple matter to give top performers non-strategic cash rewards. Now, through its Applause recognition program, the company spends the same basic amount of money on thousands of small acts of recognition, tied to important goals and values and dispensed through direct supervisors, each of them valued anywhere from $25 to $1,000.
The perceived difficulty of that task helps to explain why so many other companies continue to give out bonuses that lead to no real uptick in employee engagement or company performance. They're easy to administer. Management has decided it should institute pay for performance, and an annual bonus program is the simplest way to check off that box. But shouldn't more companies try to do better?
I'm interested in your thoughts. How does your company recognize and reward good work? And does that approach have any effect on people's everyday habits? What version of contingent compensation would engage and motivate you?
Eric Mosley is co-founder and CEO of Globoforce, which provides employee recognition solutions. For more information, also see his company's blog at http://globoforce.blogspot.com/
Good for you. But maybe not so good for your company. Chances are, its bonus program is costing it plenty but it isn't seeing much of a motivation boost in return, from you or anyone else.
The idea that some part of an employee's pay should be contingent on good performance is a very old one. Harvard's Derek Bok writes that it dates back to at least the time of Julius Caesar, who instituted an "elaborate system to supply bonuses to loyal soldiers participating in successful campaigns — 50 dinari for every legionnaire and 500 for each centurion." In America, Bok says, bonuses started to become a significant part of corporate leaders' compensation around the time of the first World War. Now, bonuses have become so commonplace in the business world that their value is rarely questioned.
The problem is that, even if it's true that contingent compensation spurs higher performance (and not everyone thinks it does - see, for example, this pdf), when the reward comes as one big check cut by the finance department at the end of the fiscal year, that motivating effect is mainly lost. That's because the bonus fails to make two critical connections:
1. The connection between values and behavior. Typically, bonuses are tied to financial achievement —they're paid out when a certain benchmark is hit such as yearly company revenue, earnings per share, or department revenue targets. But the connection between the outcomes you truly value and the behaviors you want to see from employees can be far from obvious.
2. The connection between a worker and his/her direct supervisor. Plenty of research has shown that the most important influencer of workers' performance, for better or worse, is the dynamic between them and their bosses. For example, research into workplace deviance by Lance Ferris of Singapore Management University shows a higher level of outright deviance among employees who feel they've been treated rudely or unfairly by their immediate supervisors. By the same token, there is nothing more motivating than recognition that comes directly from the higher-up who knows your work best: your manager. At that close range, a reward is a relationship-builder. Administered more remotely, as bonuses are, it's only a transaction.
What works better than an annual bonus, then? The answer is a more strategic, thoughtful approach to conditional rewards, involving smaller payouts given year round and, critically, targeting the vast majority of the workforce — not just a privileged few.
Of course, this raises the complexity level of performance management. At software maker Symantec, for example, it had always been a simple matter to give top performers non-strategic cash rewards. Now, through its Applause recognition program, the company spends the same basic amount of money on thousands of small acts of recognition, tied to important goals and values and dispensed through direct supervisors, each of them valued anywhere from $25 to $1,000.
The perceived difficulty of that task helps to explain why so many other companies continue to give out bonuses that lead to no real uptick in employee engagement or company performance. They're easy to administer. Management has decided it should institute pay for performance, and an annual bonus program is the simplest way to check off that box. But shouldn't more companies try to do better?
I'm interested in your thoughts. How does your company recognize and reward good work? And does that approach have any effect on people's everyday habits? What version of contingent compensation would engage and motivate you?
Eric Mosley is co-founder and CEO of Globoforce, which provides employee recognition solutions. For more information, also see his company's blog at http://globoforce.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Create a Simple Strategic Principle
Helping employees understand a strategy while simultaneously motivating them to achieve it is a dire challenge for many leaders. Creating and sticking to a pithy, memorable, action-oriented phrase can help. When designed and executed well, a strategic principle gives employees clear direction while inspiring them to be flexible and take risks. A powerful strategic principle forces trade-offs between competing resources and provides a litmus test for decisions. When faced with a choice, an employee should be able to test her options against the strategic principle to make a decision that aligns with the company's objectives.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Develop the 4 Qualities of an Inspirational Leader
Leaders need vision, energy, authority, and a natural strategic ability. But those things don't necessarily help you inspire your employees to be their best and commit to you as a leader. Here are the four qualities you need to capture the hearts, minds, and spirits of your people:
1. Humanness. Nobody wants to work with a perfect leader. Build collaboration and solidarity by revealing your weaknesses.
2. Intuition. To be most effective, you need to know what's going on without others spelling it out for you. Collect unspoken data from body language and looks given across rooms to help you intuit the underlying messages.
3. Tough empathy. Care deeply about your employees, but accept nothing less than their very best.
4. Uniqueness. Demonstrate that you are a singular leader by showing your unique qualities to those around you.
1. Humanness. Nobody wants to work with a perfect leader. Build collaboration and solidarity by revealing your weaknesses.
2. Intuition. To be most effective, you need to know what's going on without others spelling it out for you. Collect unspoken data from body language and looks given across rooms to help you intuit the underlying messages.
3. Tough empathy. Care deeply about your employees, but accept nothing less than their very best.
4. Uniqueness. Demonstrate that you are a singular leader by showing your unique qualities to those around you.
Monday, September 20, 2010
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