Management and culture make a difference

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If you don’t believe that management and culture make a difference in your company’s success, you are wrong.  Let me give you an example from Toyota that I learned about from a recent podcast.

When Toyota was making their first moves to manufacturing in the US, they teamed up with GM. They formed NUMMI and needed a manufacturing facility. The choose the old GM Freemont plant, considered the worst workforce in the US automobile industry.

Before NUMMI, GM’s Freemont facility was in disarray. Quality was terrible, there were serious personnel problems, and chaos reigned. Workers even intentionally sabotaged the vehicles they worked on. The factory was ultimately shut down.

NUMMI re-hired most of the Freemont workers but made changes – BIG changes.

Seniority rules changed.

They focused on teamwork – the same uniforms for everyone and cafeterias served all levels of employees.

Emphasis on quantity changed to quality, and stopping the assembly line to correct an error became the right action.

Training, continual improvement, and consensus decision making became the norm.

In two years, Freemont’s production was as efficient at Toyota’s Japanese plants, and quality as measured by the number of defects was similar to Japan’s as well. All that was done with with what was once the worse workforce in the industry.

The lesson here? Culture and valuing the right things matter. How management leads the company is important. Leaders make a difference.  Good leadership turned an entire manufacturing plant around by changing the style of management and culture.

If you have trouble with your team, have you thought about how the company’s management team may be contributing to the problem?  We can help you.  Contact us at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmatt/ or use the CONTACT US page.

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High-Performing Teams Require Trust

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Do you trust your employees?  A better question is whether they trust you.  High-performing teams require trust at all levels of the organization.

A lack of trust limits innovation and collaboration.  It keeps good ideas, good processes, and good people from becoming better. Without trust, people are unwilling to take risks.

Sadly, trust is often lacking, especially as you go down the organization.  A survey of 33,000 people in 28 countries found that 1/3 of employees didn’t trust their employer. Almost 2/3 of executives trust their organizations compared to less than half of staff-level people surveyed.  Workers said they trust their peers more than their executives.

When we talk about trust in the workplace, we normally think about employees or managers being reliable, doing what they said they would do, and being competent in their job.  Hannah Price, in her blog for Jostle.me, calls this “practical” trust.  An organization can’t run without it.

There is another level of trust.  Price calls is “emotional” trust. This is when people believe you are on the same team, support each other, and have some level of vulnerability.  You have each other’s backs.  Emotional trust is where performance kicks into another gear.  Performance requires belief that the leaders trust and support their teams.

With emotional trust, people are willing to take risks.  They feel safe to propose or try something new or different.  They are comfortable challenging how things are done. They know – they trust – that questioning or evening trying and failing, if done for the right reasons, won’t end their careers.  People are willing to step up and take on new responsibilities.

If your team isn’t performing at its potential or innovation is missing, a lack of trust may be the root cause.  Building trust starts with the leaders.  It won’t happen overnight, and it won’t happen unless you intentionally create it.  High-performing teams require trust.

CONTACT US  or connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmatt/  if your team isn’t performing at its best.

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The 4 C’s of Accountability

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Do you wish you had more accountability in your organization?  Business owners commonly express the need for more accountability when talking about their challenges.  I have found leaders actually mistake other issues for a lack of accountability.  Leaders build accountability over time using what I call the 4 C’s.

Clarity – Sometimes people mistake accountability for clarity.  People and teams can’t be held accountable if their goals and responsibilities aren’t clear.  You must provide clarity before you can have accountability.

Communication – Team members need to know they can have an open dialog with their manager to discuss issues and ideas.  Likewise, leaders must make themselves available to their teams on a regular basis in both group and one-on-one settings.  Lack of communication can lead to culture and accountability issues.

Coaching – Some managers and leaders struggle with having difficult conversations with team members who aren’t meeting expectations.  People can’t improve without knowing where they fall short.  It is the leader’s responsibility to identify inadequate performance or behavior early and help their team member correct it before it becomes a problem.

Consequences – Sometimes managers jump straight to applying consequences when they ask for accountability.  You have to check yourself on Clarity, Communication, and Coaching first; otherwise, you risk creating a culture of fear.  Fear is the result of people facing consequences without knowing why or being given the chance to improve.  If you have the other three C’s and have built a strong culture, positive peer pressure may address some issues organically on its own.

Accountability isn’t a system or an action.  It is a culture.  Leaders build accountability by consistently providing clarity, having meaningful communication, proactively providing coaching, and only then having consequences if the team isn’t self-correcting.

If you need help building accountability, let a fractional COO help you.  Contact us at https://opalpg.com/contact-us/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmatt/.

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Are your employees engaged?

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According to a Gallup report, only 34% of US employees are actively engaged in their jobs.  Gallup defines “engaged” as “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.”

What about the other 66%?  13% are “actively disengaged,” and a whopping 53% are “not engaged” which means they show up and do their work but they aren’t connected to their work or their workplace.

Disengaged employees cost you money.  It is estimated that absenteeism, churn, and lack of motivation – signs of a lack of engagement – cost companies around $500 billion per year.

Writing for Small Business Trends, Victor Snyder, a business coach, says that business leaders should avoid these three things that cause employee disengagement:

  • Poor communication with employees
  • Ignoring your personal brand
  • Failing to develop leaders

If you make an honest assessment of your business, are you creating an environment that fosters engagement?

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Creating Clarity

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It’s true – inquiring minds do want to know, if you are talking about the people who make your business run every day.  They crave clarity.

I was reminded of this working with a client recently on some operational challenges. The client, who uses EOS, said during our discussion that it was surprising how putting a name in a box in an accountability chart gave his employees clarity.

He’s right. We forget that organizational charts, job descriptions, or a position matrix give people clarity in their roles and the roles of others.

Communicating strategy to everyone builds trust that the company has a plan for success. Scorecards inform people how they as groups or individuals contribute to that success.

Leaders can’t forget that they have access to more information about the business than other employees. Team members may feel less secure or certain about their roles and the company’s future in the absence of good communication from their leaders.

People thrive when allowed to do their best knowing what is expected and how they will be evaluated. Having the structure in place to support and guide them in decision making gives them freedom to be creative and exceed what was thought possible.

If you need help creating clarity in your organization, CONTACT US  or connect with us on https://linkedin.com/in/cmatt.

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Culture – policed or created?

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Today I read an article that called HR the department responsible “for policing personnel actions and culture.” That struck me as odd.

Corporate culture shouldn’t be policed. Leaders model and nurture it; employees create it.

Culture is the environment and personality of a company. It is the result of thousands of interactions a day between employees in every group at every level.

If the actual culture doesn’t match the stated company culture or values, there is a disconnect that causes confusion – or worse – mistrust.  It is fine to aspire to a desired culture as long as you realize 1) the difference, and 2) that you aren’t there yet.  Mismatch between the stated and actual culture fools no one.

If no one takes ownership for building and managing culture, culture still happens by default.

HR may do things to encourage culture, but a single department can’t force a culture.  HR’s roles are to advise the leadership on issues of culture and to ensure rules and laws relating to personnel are applied correctly.

Some may argue there isn’t much difference between policing and building a culture.  I believe there is huge gulf between the two in terms of approach and attitude.  Do you want to work for a company where culture is policed or one where culture is intentionally created?

Contact us at https://opalpg.com/contact-us/  or http://linkedin.com/in/cmatt if you struggle with building corporate culture.

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Growth: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly

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It’s a safe bet that if you do a quick internet search on business priorities that increasing topline revenue, improving sales performance, and increasing company value will show up in the top results.  Growth matters.

To misquote Gordon Gekko:  growth is good.

Growth tells us you are meeting a need in the market and customers see value in what you do. Growth gives your team more opportunities and expands your horizons. Investors are happy. If you ever watch ABC’s Shark Tank, you know that history and forecasts of growth are major areas of concern.

But it’s not all rosy. You must be prepared for growth and have realistic expectations.

Growing your company may require capital or decreased profitability while you invest in the future.

Your team may need to find newer, better ways to accomplish their tasks to be more efficient and maintain profitability. What got you here may not support you at the next level.

The company may outgrow the capacity and capabilities of its employees. This is especially true of leaders as the company moves from an idea to a company to a professionally-managed firm.

Strong leaders can navigate these obstacles by taking a long-term approach and making tough decisions at the right time.  You must be prepared to protect the business.

However, there are two challenges of growth that can be devastating if you aren’t intentional about protecting them:  maintaining culture and customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is obvious. You won’t stay in business if your level of service drops. Customers have other choices.  Can you maintain your current level of satisfaction while adding more customers?

Culture, however, is easy to ignore if you aren’t intentional. Rapid growth may mean rapid expansion of your team. Hiring strategies must include finding new team members who embrace your values.  Leaders must work harder to model, foster, and communicate values as the team gets larger.  “Culture eats strategy.”

Growth is vital, but exceeding your ability to absorb growth is dangerous.

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Your business strategy is incomplete. Or just wrong.

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Let me clarify — wrong for YOUR business.

Your strategy should be as unique as you are.  If you can delete just a few key words and your plan is unidentifiable as yours, it may not be the strategy you need.

Strategy doesn’t begin with deciding what steps you will take to meet your goals.  It starts well before that.  It begins with your company DNA and an understanding of why your customers do business with you.  Without those foundational elements, your strategy misses the mark.

Company DNA

The company DNA is the combination of the core purpose or passion – the reason your business exists – and the values inherent in the organization. DNA drive everything in your company and it sets you apart from your competition.

Your position in the marketplace

Your customers choose to do business with you.  What is it that compels them to select you over others in a crowded market?  If you don’t know, there is one sure way to find out – ask them!

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats you face help round out your market niche and how you can leverage your unique position.

Armed with the info above, you can better define the products and services you provide with clarity which allows you to sharpen your brand and target your audience.

Now plan your strategy

Your strategy will set the goals you are trying to attain along with the steps you will take to achieve them.  They should leverage your unique purpose, values, and niche.  Every goal and action must be specific nad have owners responsible for driving them.

If your strategy isn’t more than a list of goals, doesn’t capitalize on the elements that make you unique, and and doesn’t leverage your strengths, it isn’t the right strategy for you.

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Is your company healthy?

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Employees long to be part of a healthy organization.  Business owners and executives reduce wasted effort and lost time by creating environments where their employees can perform their best.

There are two aspects to a healthy business:  organizational health and operational health.

Organizational health deals with the environment of the company.  Hallmarks of an organizationally healthy organization include:

  • The company values are known and exhibited by employees at all levels of the organization.
  • People are hired, fired, and rewarded based on the company values.
  • There is open communication in the business – between different departments, teams, and levels.
  • Challenges are discussed with transparency and are solved, not allowing them to fester and get worse.
  • Employees believe in the company and its mission and values to such an extent that they hold themselves and others accountable.

Operational health focuses on how the company performs the tasks to deliver its products and services.  An operationally healthy organization can make statements like:

  • Our processes are documented and understood by everyone.
  • All team members know how their roles and the roles of others fit into the big picture.
  • Company and departmental goals are published, and everyone knows if they are being met.
  • Tasks – and even products and services – that don’t add value to the organization are eliminated.
  • The company’s structure supports timely, consistent, and informed decision making.
  • Waste and inefficiency is eliminated whenever possible.

For your business to thrive, it must be both organizationally and operationally healthy.  Only then can it effectively execute its strategy.

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