Authentic Leadership

Care to Lead, Caring, Caring Leader, Caring Leadership, Coach, Coaching

Can a Leader Care Too Much?

January 31, 2014

The title to this post comes from a question I was asked after my last post. The quick answer is NO, a leader can’t care too much.
The complete answer is a whole lot longer and far more complicated. I don’t believe that an authentic leader can care too much, they can’t “over care” and it’s wrong to suggest that it’s not possible to excel as a leader when you “care too much.”
Now, here’s where it gets complicated. While you can’t care too much. caring a lot can cause an inexperienced leader to underperform. They use caring to substitute for coaching and accountability. They can have the mistaken belief that they can’t both care about and confront or coach a team member at the same time.
Let me give you a couple of examples. I have been fortunate to work for some very caring people. One was perhaps one of the nicest people I have ever met. There was never a doubt that he cared about his people. He said it and he showed it often. Absolutely 100% of his coaching comments were positive, in several years of working for him there was never any corrective action or changes suggested.
I wish I could tell you I was that good, I was not. His caring personality got in the way of true leading. He allowed me to drift and develop some poor habits. While I was comfortable and enjoyed working for him, I didn’t grow.
My experience with this leader is not uncommon. Lots of people work for a leader they would describe as “the nicest person” or as a person “who really cares”. That’s great but as important as caring is, caring alone does not make you a leader.
To be an authentic leader you must use your caring nature to coach, motivate and nurture your people. Sometimes that will mean having a difficult conversation with them. Which leads me to the second example.
Many of you know that for several years I worked with the Dale Carnegie organization. The person I reported to cared about me as a person, I never doubted that. He also held me accountable and coached the heck out of me. He used nearly every principle from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” to do it in a way that motivated me to improve.
I was motivated to improve because it was the right thing to do but more than that, I was motivated to improve “for” that leader because I knew his coaching came with my best interests in mind.
Good leaders care enough to show it and great leaders care enough to show it and make the extra effort to coach anyway. It will take a bit more effort to confront and coach in a compassionate way so that your caring nature is not lost in the process.
Authentic leaders know that the very best way to show you care is to help your people succeed.
Make no mistake about this: caring is no substitute for accountability and coaching. If you care so much for people that you just can’t hold them accountable and help them reach their full potential then you might be a great person but you’re probably not a great leader.
Care AND coach to make a difference that lasts!

Here's the link to the web site:

http://stevekeating.me/2014/01/31/can-a-leader-care-too-much/

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IPS Senior Leadership Team Retreat Summary

In January the Senior Leadership Team held a retreat to focus on results of the Employee Engagement Survey and one or two other topics, but by the time we met we had quite a list.  In this note I will touch on the highlights of this discussion, but please ask any of us if you would like more information. 

The team includes the Executive Directors of each agency, the Assistant Vice Presidents and the Vice President, and we generally meet at least quarterly to discuss trends and issues that do or may impact the Institute for Public Service.  We also hold “retreats” away from the office about every 18 months or so for greater discussion on 1 or more topics.  During the January retreat we reached consensus on several issues, and, over the next few months you can expect to see action and discussion on the following:

1.      Telecommuting and FML Policies – IPS follows University policy on telecommuting and on an employee’s ability to work intermittently from home while on Family Medical Leave (FML), but within the University’s parameters we do have some ability to modify these to fit our needs.  We have received requests to allow flexibility on these policies, and have discussed this with the IPS workforce development team.  During the retreat the Senior Leadership Team reviewed this and concluded that while there should be greater flexibility, the policies do need to be fairly applied across all IPS agencies. 

After an exhaustive discussion we agreed to consider a one-year pilot program under the following guidelines:

a.       System HR is developing a new telecommuting policy, so we will delay implementation of an IPS-specific implementation paln until after the system policy is adopted. 

b.      Pending a decision on this, individual short-duration requests to work from home will be considered on a case-by-case basis, with approval by the Executive Director.

c.       The AVPs will monitor the use of telecommuting to make sure that the application of the policy is consistent across agencies.

d.      We also discussed allowing intermittent work while a member of staff is on approved FML, and agreed that work while on intermittent FML may be acceptable with an approved outline of the plan and schedule of work.  The Executive Directors will recommend plans to the Central Office for approval.

2.      Weather-Related Closings – We also discussed the impact of changes to the telecommuting policy on inclement weather requests, and we considered the differences in weather-related office closings in Nashville with the rest of the state.  We agreed that we will continue to evaluate the present policy linking closing of Nashville IPS offices to closings at state agencies.  We also agreed that changes to the telecommuting policy will not apply to inclement weather.

     3.      Horizon – We reviewed the compelling problems developed through the Horizon process, and agreed that the best role for IPS with these and other issues could be as a convener of the public or customer discussion.  We considered healthcare financing and the methamphetamine problems as among the more pressing problems in Tennessee, and for the first effort we are looking at convening information and discussion on healthcare and healthcare financing. 

We agreed to develop this first effort over the next year, and noted that a great deal of work will be required to develop this effort.  Initially we are considering hosting a public forum (and possibly a panel discussion) of customers on healthcare financing.  In support of this first effort we expect to develop a current assessment on healthcare and healthcare financing with a prediction for the future to support the panel discussion that we will convene.  Our goal is to help customers to think beyond today on this major issue, and to understand their options.

4.      Employee Engagement – The team reviewed the summary of survey responses, and noted low scores for IPS Senior Leadership related to direction, communication and trust by staff.  We discussed ways for members of the senior leadership team to better communicate IPS direction and messages, and noted that some of the low scores may be at least partially based on inadequate feedback to staff on the reasons behind decisions and actions.  The team discussed the process by which new initiatives are developed for and by staff and agencies, and the need to balance the internal and external focus of IPS. 

5.      Agency APRs – Team members reviewed the draft Annual Performance Review (APR) forms developed for each agency, and noted the similarities and differences. 

We discussed the employee engagement survey results that indicate that many employees of IPS are unclear on how they can achieve higher scores.  We agreed that all agency APRs should be developed using a collaborative approach.  We also agreed that the employee has the responsibility to demonstrate why the employee has earned a score of 4 or 5 on any point or category, and that the supervisor has the responsibility to demonstrate why the employee has earned a rating of 1 or 2 on any point or category.

We also discussed and reached agreement on a number of other topics:

-         Development – We agreed that we need to continue to look at options for raising funds for IPS services and projects.

-         Agency Handbooks – We agreed to finalize all agency handbooks by the end of February, 2014. 

-         Leadership Academy – Our consensus was to continue with the next leadership academy for IPS.  Applications will be accepted in April and May for the third academy, with the Academy starting with an orientation at the summer IPS annual conference.

-         IPS Annual Conference – We agreed that the proposal by the conference planning committee for the 2014 IPS conference has merit and should be brought forward for discussion at the University level.

-         IT Audit – We reviewed the limited information available on the recent audit of IT security for the University, and members of the senior leadership team plan to attend the next IPS IT team meeting on the audit recommendations.

-         Use of Outlook Mail and Calendars – We agreed that staff will only use Outlook for both calendar or E-Mail functions. No other software will be supported by IPS or our IT team.

As you see by this summary we covered a great deal of material over the course of the meeting.  I welcome your thoughts, input and engagement on these and other issues, and know that any members of the Senior Leadership Team will be pleased to expand on these discussions.

 

VP Statewide Visit Summary

VP Statewide Visits Summary

 

Orientation - We discussed the new and improved orientation process for all new employees. An email explaining all the details was distributed in January.  New employees receive a Welcome Email the day they accept our offer, they attend the UT orientation, they attend a short IPS overview and welcome in the central office on their first day of work, and each agency is updating its on-boarding process.

Handbooks - Each agency is either developing or updating its employee handbook. All will be finished by the end of February and posted on the Intranet.  Please review your agency handbook and offer suggestions for improvement.
 
APRs – We are in the midst of the review process for this year. All supervisors have received four hours of training and all staff had the opportunity to participate in a 1.5 hour overview of the process. All forms are due in the central office in March. We are starting with the assumption that all employees are scoring a three in each of the five categories of the PRS. Employees should demonstrate scores higher than three. Supervisors should demonstrate scores lower than three. We want to link individual performance to the strategic priorities of the agency, IPS and the University.

Intranet – We discussed the upcoming re-launch of our IPS Intranet. We want it to be useful for employees. The advocacy team has worked hard on the content. Please provide feedback for improvements.

 
Leadership Academy – We will launch a third IPS Leadership Academy this year. Applications will be available in the spring. Orientation will follow annual conference. The Academy will begin in late September or early October. Steve Thompson will lead session three.

Budget Outlook – the Governor’s State of the State address is February 3^rd. We’re expecting a modest budget this year, but no cuts. This is good news.

Telecommuting – we reviewed the status of the proposed IPS Telecommuting Policy. UT HR is developing a policy, so implementation of ours is delayed. In the meantime I am considering requests on a case-by-case basis.

Inclement weather – we reviewed the inclement weather policy. We will continue to review and modify it.

 
Knoxville office – no further plans are being made on the Knoxville move until the University purchases the building. That has been delayed for an indefinite period of time.

Strategic Priorities – I reviewed the three priorities the senior leadership team committed to during its winter retreat. They include (1) continuing our strategy implementation teams, (2) continuing to pursue the Baldrige process for accreditation as well as continuous improvement and (3) continuing our Employer of Choice efforts, primarily around the Employee Engagement Survey results.

There are two additional meetings scheduled February 24 and 25 in Jackson and Martin respectively. I enjoy meeting with the staff. About 40% of our staff attended one of the meetings. It's interesting to hear about all the various things going on around the state.

Organizational and Personal Change - Repost

In the past year, we’ve worked with several clients who are seeking to re-invent their organizations, transform their organizational culture, or successfully counter new threats in their competitive environment.  Each of these clients has grappled with the difficulty of implementing change.  As I reflected on their struggles, I began to wonder if there isn’t room for one more core value in the Baldrige Criteria – similar to one that already exists.  Is it time for a core value of “Organizational and Personal Change?” Executives who create sustainable organizations are those who can leverage change leadership skills to engage their workforce in the vision of “what could be” as well as executing the strategies and tactics necessary to achieve their new vision.  In addition to motivating their workforce to change, they role model the desired behavior by demonstrating their willingness to commit to personal change. We met with a CEO and company founder yesterday who has bold ideas for where his company can go and what they can achieve by 2020.  During our conversation, he also shared with us what he’s been reading, the networking he’s been doing, and the mentoring he’s been seeking.  He is eager to know what he needs to learn and the personal behaviors he needs to modify to successfully lead the change for his organization.  He exemplifies what we have seen in leaders of award-worthy organizations that embrace both organizational and personal change. If you’re trying to lead a large-scale organizational change, have you looked at your own attitude toward change?  Our experience has shown us that the most successful and sustained organizational changes include a healthy component of personal change on the part of the senior leaders. In closing, I’d like to share with you “The Ten Laws of Change.”* For insight into personal change, look at Laws 9 and 10. 1.     Change begins and ends with the business - not with change. 2.     Change is about people. People will surprise you. 3.     There is information in opposition. 4.     The informal network is as powerful as the formal chain of command. And you get to design your informal network. 5.     You can't draft people into change. They have to enroll. 6.     It's not a calling. It's a job. 7.     Forget balance. Create tension. 8.     No change agent ever succeeded by dying for his company. 9.     You can't change the company without changing yourself. 10.   Even if the company doesn't change, you will.  *  Fast Company; April/May 1997; pp. 64-74; "Change" {Ab No: AB3020} .    What are your lessons learned about change?

Glenn Bodinson | 826 Belt Line Plaza | Richardson, TX 75080 | (972) 489-5430 | Glenn@BaldrigeCoach.com

VP's Statewide Staff Visits

I will be visiting our offices in January and February, weather permitting. Please plan to join me during one of theses sessions to discuss the topics of your choice. Among the items I'll discuss is a proposed telecommuting policy and the APR process.

January 22 10:30 - 12:30 CTAS Conference Room, Nashville
January 23 8:30 - 10:30 Regional office, Chattanooga
January 24 8:30 - 10:30 MTAS Conference Room, Knoxville
January 24 1:30 - 3:30 LEIC Conference Room, Oak Ridge
January 28 1:30 - 3:30 VP Conference Room, Knoxville
January 30 TBD CIS Conference Room, Nashville
February 24 p.m. Regional Office, Jackson
February 25 a.m. TBD Regional Office, Martin

IPS Staff Visit UNC Chapel Hill

Guest Blog by IPS Assistant Vice President Steve Thompson:

 

December 19, 2013

 

IPS Colleagues:

 

Over the past few years Dr. Jinks has encouraged and we have discussed the need to visit and compare our operations with some of the other university-based public service organizations. On November 21 of this year we took a first step with a visit to the UNC School of Government at Chapel Hill. In this note I’ll summarize the highlights of this trip, and while I realize that this is summary is somewhat lengthy I believe that those making the trip found the results interesting and potentially useful for IPS. We will also be looking for additional ways to discuss this and future such comparisons.

 

I was joined in this visit by Macel Ely, Mike Garland, Terri Kinloch, Libby McCroskey, Robin Roberts, Jim Thomas, Jon Walden and Rick Whitehead. I hope that you will take the time to ask them about the trip and the information that we gained. The School of Government has a great operation, and is similar to and different from IPS in a number of ways. 

 

General Structure

The school is part of the UNC campus, and in addition to consulting and training it includes the MPA program. Our focus with this trip and in this summary is with the consulting and training programs. 

 

About half (49 percent) of the funding for the school is provided through a state appropriation for the campus, and the balance is raised through membership fees from cities and counties, fees from training programs, and fees from the sale of publications (a whopping $1.3 million). The school has its own foundation, and has three full-time and one part-time staff primarily dedicated to fundraising and development. The part-time staff person raises funds for the MPA program, two staff members focus on raising funds for general support as well as for special programs and initiatives, and one staff member serves as support. The school raises funds through individuals, local governments, city and county associations and private vendors for scholarships, technology and improvements to meeting and training rooms, and for specific programs.

 

Programs and Services

Programs are generally delivered by tenure-track faculty members, and the school offers the faculty model of training and assistance – there are annual programs offered, but otherwise new courses, classes and schedules are driven and developed by the faculty. The school has a staff of 150 full-time employees, about 30 part-time employees and another 30 adjunct instructors at any given time. Of the 53 faculty members 33 are attorneys. Faculty teaching in UNC-Chapel Hill’s academic programs are usually required to maintain a teaching load of four classes, but School of Government faculty teaching in the MPA program (the school’s only academic program) teach two courses, with the balance of their time spent on training, advising, and writing for public officials.

 

The blogs are extensive and provide a great supplement to the limited off-site training and consulting. I particularly recommend subscribing to Coates’ Canons, the blog of the local government legal staff. The blogs are tremendous resources for local governments in North Carolina, and are usually relevant to our work with local government in Tennessee. In addition, the school maintains a library of 136 publications, primarily books, on local government issues and topics.

 

The UNC staff is focused on training offered through the school. You see by the website (http://www.sog.unc.edu) that the school offers annual programs, including orientation for newly-elected local officials and for professional local government staff. It also assists local governments with facilitation and technical consulting. Consulting is focused on strategic and economic development planning and legal opinions, with legal opinions and advice provided primarily through e-mails and telephone calls. The school also offers training for court officials, who are considered state employees, but generally it views local government training as its primary focus.

 

The school is working to develop online training programs with cameras in each class and meeting room.

 

Marketing

Training is generally marketed both by a print postcard and one or more e-mail notifications, all with a similar template and format. They track and try not to contact the same customer more than once per week so that each note has some significance. They do require participants to register online using credit cards or purchase orders, but also offer an ability to register by telephone. They are finding that the demand for telephone registration is rapidly declining.

 

Performance Measures and Continuous Improvement

The school offers credits for continuing legal education, coordinated through the N.C. Bar Association, but does not require CEU review for training classes. Training participants are surveyed with an instrument similar to the surveys that we use, and Terri and Macel obtained a copy of the survey.  We also talked at length about performance measures and continuous improvement efforts, and the staff at the school was very interested in both, particularly performance measures in an environment of reductions in state funding. 

 

The UNC staff spent a great deal of time with us, and gave everyone ample opportunity to ask about the specifics of how the school addresses the same issues that we face. Based on the initial comments that I have heard, I believe that the consensus was that this was both interesting and provided great information for our work with IPS.

 

I appreciate your work as we serve and improve services in Tennessee.

 

 

Steve Thompson

Assistant Vice President

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe another year has nearly come and gone. 2013 was a very successful year for IPS. More to come on that right after the first of the year.

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys the long break we have between December 20 and December 30. Many of us won't be back in the office until January 2 and even the 6th. 

Enjoy the time off. Rest, relax and refresh.

I look forward to seeing you in 2014!

Mary