McKenzie's 7 S's Model

Ok. So it seems I'm on a "seven" kick, but it just so happens that is how the authors I'm following right now write. Maybe they need seven chapters for a book. Good research question!

Anyway, this past fall I took the senior leadership team on a retreat. Alex Miller, one of my all-time favorite UTK professors, was our facilitator. We were talking about implementing our strategic plan and he walked us through McKenzie's 7 S's model. I thought I would share it with you.

Strategy - what we are trying to accomplish is affected by many factors:

• Staff - capability, recruitment, motivation, performance evaluation
• Structure - organizational structure and team structure
• Shared values - culture, expectations of customers, brand
• Systems - IT, finance and HR
• Skills - what do our people know how to do? how are they trained?
• Style - how do we conduct ourselves?

What do you think about McKenzie's model and its value to IPS?

Plates Still Spin but Senior Leaders Find Peace of Mind

As we continue our Baldrige journey it is encouraging to read about other organizations and the challenges they have faced using the Criteria to improve performance.

A recent post on the Baldrige Blog showcases Turner Broadcasting Systems' journey.  Paige Lillard, vice president of Business Excellence at Turner, made several interesting observations.

“What the framework does for senior leaders,” Lillard says, “is it takes the myriad issues and things on their minds, on their plates—the plates that they have to constantly keep spinning—customer needs, employee needs, and new technology changes—all of the pressures that without a systems approach are hard to keep straight in your head. The framework gives leaders the peace of mind that with their leadership team they have looked at multiple angles and have a realistic plan to achieve it. Even if a long-term plan is put into place, senior leaders can have the peace of mind that ‘we’re covered.’ [With the framework], we know we have a place to make changes, incorporate smart risk taking, and make situations better. Things have been thought of in a systematic way, and the people who work for them are on board. People know where they’re going. The framework offers senior leaders peace of mind. I certainly wouldn’t want to lead without it.”

Lillard says as a Criteria framework practitioner, she believes that it applies to every organization “because it’s all about humans and

• how humans work:
• how they lead,
• how they process information,
• how they want to have meaningful work,
• how they want to be part of things,
• how they want to see success.”

The Criteria encompass “human conditions no matter the culture,” she added. The Criteria’s focus on continuous improvement helps organizations “consider what’s around the corner . . . not resting on your laurels if you are doing well.”

Is you are interested in reading the entire blog, here is the link:

http://nistbaldrige.blogs.govdelivery.com/2013/01/08/plates-still-spin-but-senior-leaders-find-peace-of-mind/

The Final 7 Secrets

Last week I referenced and article by Carmine Gallo about selling your vision. The first three "secrets" were: demonstrate enthusiasm, articulate a compelling course of action and sell the benefit.  This week I will complete the list.

4. Tell more stories. People relate more to stories than data and numbers. Stories connect with people on an emotional level. We have lots of IPS stories and they are often told when two or more gather. Let's create more stories together.

5. Invite participation. Must bring employees, customers and colleagues into the process. Command and control doesn't work. Solicit input, listen for feedback and actively incorporate what you hear. We certainly demonstrated this technique in our strategic planning process.

6. Reinforce an optimistic outlook. Talk about a better future. Robert Noyce said "optimism is an essential ingredient of innovation." We have to be more optimistic than the average person. Be a beacon of hope. Aren't you encourage by the governor's positive outlook on the state - and the president's positive approach to moving the university forward?

7. Encourage potential. Praise people. Invest in them emotionally. When people receive genuine praise, their doubt diminishes and their spirits soar. Customers will want to do business with you, employees will want to work with you and investors will want to back you. It all starts with mastering the language of motivation.

What are you thoughts about Gallo's seven secrets? Do you have another secret to add to the list? The first IPS employee to respond with a suggestion will receive a gift.

The 7 Secrets of Inspiring Leaders

I'm a student of leadership. I love reading books and articles about leadership styles, theories and principles - and I try to implement those that make sense for our work environment. I recently came across an article that I have kept since 2008. It was written by Carmine Gallo who claimed it would provide "insights into selling your vision, your value - and yourself." The article is based on a book "Fire Them Up! 7 Simple Secrets to Inspire Your Colleagues, Customers and Clients."  I thought I would share these insights with you to see what you think.

1. Demonstrate enthusiasm constantly. You cannot inspire unless you are inspired. You can't teach passion. You either have it or you don't. Are you excited about coming to work everyday? Do you love our customers? If not, what needs to change?

2. Articulate a compelling course of action. Short. Vivid. Think of Bill Gates' vision - a computer on every desk, in every home. The power of a vision sets everything in motion. Are you inspired to "bring creative, trusted and valued solutions to government and business?"

3.  Sell the benefit. Why should you care? The answer should be clear. No guessing. Our mission says we want to "increase the prosperity and competitiveness of Tennessee." Is that worth the time and money and energy that we put into our work?

More to come in a future post....

Annual Performance Reviews

Supervisors are participating in training during the next few weeks to learn about the new forms for this year's process and how to conduct an effective annual review meeting. We have many experienced supervisors and a few new ones. These annual training programs are always a good refresher for those of us who have been doing this for a while.

As I discussed during my staff visits around the state, there should be no surprises during this meeting. Supervisors should already be aware of all your outstanding accomplishments of the year and you should already be aware if your supervisor has any concerns about your performance. This is merely an opportunity to document all of those in one place. The majority of the time should be spent developing and agreeing to your work plan for 2013.

I scan every performance review for every employee. I always enjoy learning about the exciting things that have occurred that for one reason or another I have not been aware of. I'm always impressed with the breadth and depth of our work and the strong relationships we have across the state.

We also track performance review ratings over time to look for rater consistency across each agency. Remember our starting point for every review is a "3". That assumes you are coming to work every day working your plan. It is your responsibility to document performance surpassing a "3" and it is the supervisor's responsibility to document performance below a "3." In the end, the agency director is responsible for ensuring that managers are evaluating employees fairly.

Once employee reviews are complete, agency directors have their reviews and once those are complete, the assistant vice presidents have their reviews. Ultimately, I will also have my review with the president. Like you, I am already pulling together documentation of my performance last year.

I hope the process goes smoothly for everyone. If you have any issues or concerns, please contact Judie Martin, the IPS human resource office.

New Legislators are Coming to Town

This week the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership will host the Newly Elected State Legislators Workshop in cooperation with the Baker Center for Public Policy. More than 50% of the newly elected state senators and representatives of the 108th General Assembly will spend two days in Knoxville.

The main focus of the workshop is "transitioning from campaigning to governing." They will also learn about the economic conditions of the state from Dr. Matt Murray and the state budget process from F&A Commissioner Mark Emkes. Lt. Governor Ramsey and Speaker Harwell will open the session. The president is hosting a dinner to recognize the new delegation and we will be joined by returning legislators, board of trustee members and other special guests.

This is the third biennial session that the Naifeh Center has hosted and we are looking forward to an outstanding two days.

Happy New Year!

2013 promises to be an exciting year.

With updated strategic plans in place at the UT System, IPS and all the agencies, we have a clear roadmap for what we want to accomplish. Our strategy implementation teams are preparing annual work plans and the annual performance review process is right around the corner. Our goal is to align each employee's goals directly to his/her agency goals that are also linked to IPS goals and UT System goals. If we do this successfully, every employee will clearly see how his/her daily work activities help accomplish agency, IPS and UT goals. That's perfect alignment and a hallmark of high performing organizations.

The general assembly will convene next week and the Governor will present his budget shortly thereafter. We are hopeful for a good budget year (no budget cuts!) with an increase in operating funds as well as salary and benefit increases. I'll certainly keep you updated as information is available.

There are many exciting things happening across the state and throughout the institute. I look forward to hearing about them and sharing your excitement and successes throughout the year.

Happy New Year!