Recognition

A recent edition of the "Walk the Talk" e-newsletter talks about recognition.  They say,


"Recognition is perhaps the highest return on investment activity a leader can exhibit because a little goes a long way. And, it’s a gift that keeps on giving!

Here are a few specific How-To Recognition Tips for your consideration:

• Make a list of all the people who work with or for you. Then go through your list and identify the last time you gave recognition to each person … and for what. You should remember your last praising of most of the people on the list. If not, you’re probably not doing it enough!

 

• Be specific! The more specific your recognition, the more impact it will have. Instead of merely saying, “Great job,” tell the person what it was about the job that was done so well. Example: “That was terrific work. You came in under budget, you completed the work six days ahead of schedule, and you had everyone working together as a team. I really appreciate your efforts and your results.” When you’re specific, the person knows exactly what behaviors to replicate in the future.

Make it timely! Recognition loses impact with the passing of time. Receiving praise for something you did many months ago is not all that motivating and can feel contrived. A good rule of thumb: Give recognition as soon as possible after the positive behavior or performance."

I certainly don't spend enough time on this activity, but I'm trying to get better!

To read more information from Walk the Talk, visit the web site at:

WalkTheTalk.com

Words of CEO Wisdom

Ackermann PR publishes a great newsletter. I always enjoy the short and to-the-point stories.  In a recent article, it provided Words of CEO Wisdom that I thought was worth sharing.

"In a recent roundtable of Fortune 100 CEO's, the following 'words of wisdom' surfaced and were agreed upon by all participants:

• Hire people who are better and smarter than you.
• Ego is your single greatest enemy.
• Don't mess with the people who are getting the job done.
• Be sure to get feedback on big decisions from everyone.
• Always act like the leader you truly can be.
• What you say isn't as important as what the people you are saying it to think they are hearing.
• You could be wrong - always listen to others.
• Your hardest critics might actually be your best friends.
• Stop if you don't know what you are doing.
• Integrity is always number one."

Our leadership team needs help in all these areas. Tell us when you think we aren't living up to these words of wisdom.

Attributes of Good Measures

This is a portion of an article written by Harry Hertz from the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. See the link at the end for the entire article.  As our Strategy Implementation Teams and our Baldrige application teams conduct their work, this information should be helpful.

Attributes of Good Measures

I believe there are nine key attributes of good measures, starting with the way results are scored in the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

1. LeTCI (or let's see)—The acronym stands for levels, trends, comparisons, and integration. In the Baldrige scoring system, good measures must show the current level of performance on a meaningful scale. Good measures show how performance has trended over time on a time scale that is relevant to seeing changes in performance. Comparisons indicate how you are performing relative to key competitors, industry averages, and benchmark performance, as appropriate. Finally, integration demonstrates the extent to which your measures address important performance requirements and support organization-wide goals.

2. Measures should be comprehensive—They reflect a systematic approach to everything that is important to your organization's success. In the Baldrige results category, we look for product/service performance, customer-focused performance, operational performance (including workforce, leadership, and process performance, as well as ethical and legal compliance), and financial and marketplace performance.

3. Measures should be accurate and timely—Data are useless if they are inaccurate or not available soon enough to use them in decision making.

4. Measures should provide a basis for decision making—If the data and information are not informing decisions, you are probably not collecting the right information. Choice of top-level measures is critical, which is why it is the domain of senior leaders. A corollary to decision making is that key measures must also support decisions about resource allocation.

5. Measures should be strategic and operational—Measures need to address progress on strategic objectives and associated action plans. They also need to address ongoing operational performance. Measures need to address in-process performance, process output, and outcomes. Measures need to include leading and lagging indicators—those that predict future outcomes as well as those that track current performance.

6. Measures should be understandable—Users must be able to take action based on seeing the data. If the measures are very convoluted or abstract, they will not be useful.

7. Measures should be shared and cascaded—Data should be shared with your empowered workforce and suppliers and partners so that they can contribute to improvements and organizational success. Organizational-level measures should have counterpart or component measures at the business unit, divisional, and work unit levels. Measures can also cascade to individual employee scorecards.

8. Not all measures are numeric—Qualitative information is also important to an organization, including the perceptions of employees, customers, and your community. Qualitative information includes information on legal and regulatory compliance as well as financial audit performance.

9. Measures should be reassessed—Economic and competitive conditions change. Performance requirements change over time as well. Measures need to be scrutinized to see if a change is needed. If data are no longer providing any discriminating power between normal performance and outstanding performance, they need to be re-evaluated. While trend data are important, and speak to consistency in measures, you should not be locked in to no-longer-relevant measures.

ASPA Code of Ethics

Many professional organizations have a Code of Ethics.  The American Society of Public Administration is a professional organization that represents academics and practitioners in the field. I have been a member for nearly 30 years.  ASPA recently updated its Code of Ethics, so I thought I would share it with you.

Approved by the ASPA National Council 3/16/13

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PRACTICES TO PROMOTE THE ASPA CODE OF ETHICS

The ASPA Code of Ethics is a statement of the aspirations and high expectations of public servants. These practices serve as a guide to behavior for members of ASPA in carrying out its principles. The Code and these practices are intended to be used as a whole and in conjunction with one another. An ethical public servant will consider the full range of standards and values that are relevant to handling a specific matter and be committed to upholding both the spirit and the letter of this code.


ASPA members are the Public Interest committed to—

1. Advance the Public Interest

. Promote the interests of the public and put service to the public above service to oneself.

a. Seek to advance the good of the public as a whole, taking into account current and long-term interests of the society.

b. Exercise discretionary authority to promote the public interest.

c. Be prepared to make decisions that may not be popular but that are in the public’s best interest.

d. Subordinate personal interests and institutional loyalties to the public good.

e. Serve all persons with courtesy, respect, and dedication to high standards.


2. Uphold the Constitution and the Law.

Respect and support government constitutions and laws, while seeking to improve laws and policies to promote the public good.

a. Recognize and understand the constitutional, legislative and regulatory framework in which you work and fully discharge your professional roles and responsibilities.

b. Promote constitutional principles of equality, fairness, representativeness, responsiveness and due process in protecting citizens' rights and promoting the public good.

c. Develop proposals for sound laws and policies and for improving or eliminating laws and policies that are unethical, counterproductive, or obsolete.

d. Respect and safeguard protected and confidential information.


3. Promote democratic participation.

Inform the public and encourage active engagement in governance. Be open, transparent and responsive, and respect and assist all persons in their dealings with public organizations.

a. Be open and transparent while protecting privacy rights and security.

b. Recognize and support the public's right to know the public's business.

c. Involve the community in the development, implementation, and assessment of policies and public programs, and seek to empower citizens in the democratic process, including special assistance to those who lack resources or influence.


Approved by the ASPA National Council 3/16/13
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d. Assist members of the public in their dealings with government and respond to the public in ways that are complete, clear, and easy to understand.

e. Promote timely and continuing dissemination of information about government activities to the community, ensuring a fair and transparent process and educating citizens to make effective contributions.


4. Strengthen social equity.

Treat all persons with fairness, justice, and equality and respect individual differences, rights, and freedoms. Promote affirmative action and other initiatives to reduce unfairness, injustice, and inequality in society.

b. a. Provide services to the public with impartiality and consistency tempered by recognition of differences. Ensure that all persons have access to programs and services to which they are entitled under the law and maintain equitable standards of quality for all who receive the programs and services.

c. Provide equal treatment, protection, and due process to all persons.

d. Oppose all forms of discrimination and harassment and promote affirmative action, cultural competence, and other efforts to reduce disparities in outcomes and increase the inclusion of underrepresented groups.


5. Fully Inform and Advise.

Provide accurate, honest, comprehensive, and timely information and advice to elected and appointed officials and governing board members, and to staff members in your organization.

a. Provide information and advice based on a complete and impartial review of circumstances and needs of the public and the goals and objectives of the organization.

b. Be prepared to provide information and recommendations that may not be popular or preferred by superiors or colleagues.


6. Demonstrate personal integrity

. Adhere to the highest standards of conduct to inspire public confidence and trust in public service.

a. Exercise integrity, courage, compassion, benevolence, and optimism.

b. Maintain truthfulness and honesty and do not compromise them for advancement, honor, or personal gain.

c. Resist political, organizational, and personal pressures to compromise ethical integrity and principles and support others who are subject to these pressures.

d. Accept individual responsibility for your actions and the consequences of your actions.

e. Guard against using public position for personal gain or to advance personal or private interests.

f. Zealously guard against conflict of interest or its appearance
. Disclose any interests that may affect objectivity in making decisions and recuse oneself from participation in those decisions.

g. Conduct official acts without partisanship or favoritism.


Approved by the ASPA National Council 3/16/13
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h. Ensure that others receive credit for their work and contributions.


7. Promote Ethical Organizations:

Strive to attain the highest standards of ethics, stewardship, and public service in organizations that serve the public.

a. Work to establish procedures that hold individuals and the organization accountable for their conduct and support these procedures with clear reporting of activities and accomplishments.

b. Act as stewards of public funds by the strategic, effective, and efficient use of resources; by regularly reexamining the efficacy of policies, programs, and services; and by seeking to prevent all forms of mismanagement or waste.

c. Encourage open expression of views by staff members within the organization and provide administrative channels for dissent. Protect the whistleblowing rights of public employees, provide assurance of due process and safeguards against reprisal, and give support to colleagues who are victims of retribution.

d. Seek to correct instances of wrongdoing or report them to superiors. If remedies cannot be assured by reporting wrongdoing internally, seek external sources or agencies for review and action.

e. Support merit principles that promote excellence, competence, and professionalism in the selection and promotion of public officials and employees and protect against biased, arbitrary, and capricious actions.

f. Promote proactive efforts to increase the representativeness of the public workforce and the full inclusion of persons with diverse characteristics.

g. Encourage organizations to adopt, distribute, and periodically review a code of ethics as a living document that applies principles of this code and other relevant codes to the specific mission and conditions of the organization.


8. Advance Professional Excellence:

Strengthen personal capabilities to act competently and ethically and encourage the professional development of others.

a. Keep up-to-date on emerging issues, practices, and potential problems that could affect your performance and accomplishing the mission of your organization.

b. Provide support and encouragement to others to upgrade competence and participate in professional activities and associations.

c. Allocate time and resources to the professional development of students, interns, beginning professionals, and other colleagues.