Asking the Right Questions

Thoughts on change, leadership, and knowing better

Why admitting “I don’t know” builds trust

Posted by: jmaliszewski on April 3, 2012

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I’ve met a lot of people in leadership positions who exhibit decisiveness. You know the decision-making style: a problem arises; we take in the information; we make a decision to take action. It is an important trait of a good leader and that’s what we are being paid for…right? Whether in an organizational or personal setting, I admire decisiveness. I personally am much better at it in an organizational setting than when left to my own devices…but that’s a story for another time.

When we are in charge, it is expected that we have–or be able to find–the answers at our finger tips. That’s why we get paid the big bucks, right? Admitting “I don’t know” puts us in a very vulnerable place…”What am I paying you for if you don’t know?” “Why should I do what you say if you don’t know?” “If you don’t know then no one else does either and we are doomed!”

What if we are honest enough about the limits of our own capabilities and own up to “I don’t know.” And then turn this statement into something very empowering: “I don’t know…but I will find out.” The difference here is a process. “I don’t know” is a finite knowledge state. “I know” or “I don’t know” relies heavily on the “I” to be the arbiter of bits of swirling information. While I believe that one of the signs of a good leader is taking responsibility for their decisions, I also believe that those decisions are not solo endeavors.

The Vitarka Mundra hand position represents "discussion" (photo by Rigmarole/flickr.com, Creative Commons License)

“I will find out” is an active learning state. You now have the latitude to cultivate the best ideas to inform the decision. Now, we are doing what leaders should do–not owning a piece of knowledge (Hail o wise one!) but leading people through a process of discovery and engagement that gets them committed to the outcome (ah! I didn’t know that! And that’s a great idea too! How do we make them both work together to come up with a better answer?). An engaged decision-making process (truly engaged with open and honest, non-attribution communication), creates strength and trust…and far outweighs any temporary discomfort of admitting the unthinkable–that “I don’t know.”

Early in my career I learned this lesson the hard way. We had a big project, we had a deadline. “I’m sure you can get it done,” I was told by the boss. “Of course”. I was nothing if not sure of my own decisions. It was aggressive but doable with the right direction…or so I thought. I created an execution plan…and it sounded darn good to me. I briefed my team on the plan. No questions. I left the meeting to attend to the reports I had to write while the rest of the team got to work.

About 30 minutes later one of my team leaders came by. I asked how it was going.

“Not so well.” (I still give thanks for this brave soul who had the personal fortitude to confront me on my mistakes…I was known for a hot temper back then.)

“Well why not. You all understood the directions. There were no questions. We have got to get this done.”

“We feel that you don’t respect us. You are doing our jobs.”

[whoa! where did that come from?] “What do you mean I’m doing your jobs?” I am more than little annoyed since it was clear I was doing my job finalizing the close-out reports, and they were clearly not doing theirs getting the equipment re-positioned and the inventory completed.

“What I mean is that you made all these decisions about what needs to get done without consulting us. We are the ones who know what it’s going to take to make the deadline. You never included us in the planning. Bottom line is the team leaders don’t think your plan is the best way of doing it so they are dragging their feet.”

My first dose of humble pie. He was right. I hadn’t included anyone else in the planning. “OK let’s get together and fix this.”

I walked into the meeting room, much less cocky than an hour ago. “OK let’s start over. I don’t know everything that is involved here but this is what it needs to look like at the end and here’s how much time we have. How do we get this done and have a quality product at the end? And what do you need for me to do?”

Some things became much easier after that day. I didn’t have to rack my brain to come up with all the answers. I had received “permission” and even respect from my team that it is OK to admit “I don’t know.” And my team saw that I was committed to finding out the best answer by including the right people. What could have been a mutiny of sorts turned into a trust-building experience. My job was to facilitate a process and just give people enough structure and support so they could execute. The project was done with flying colors…and I never again presumed to know it all.

Book Review: SWITCH

Posted by: jmaliszewski on August 29, 2011

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The Book: Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

The Authors: Chip Heath and Dan Heath (brothers and co-authors of another business best-seller: Made to Stick)

Published: 2010 by Broadway Books

I loved this book for its readability and memorability. The first time through—I’ve just finished my third reading—I devoured a chapter each day and couldn’t wait to discuss the stories with my husband over dinner that evening. By the fourth chapter, he was hooked into reading it as well. I have recommended it to anyone who is dealing with change in their organization and have used it as the basis of change management discussions in professional groups, such as this presentation at a KM Institute event. My professional library contains many books on the applied behaviors, group dynamics, resistance, fear, and complexity surrounding change, but there are none that I have recommended more often. The value of Switch is it speaks to the layman, the middle manager in an organization that’s got some kind of change they have to deal with and knows it’s going to take more than a project plan to make it successful. There’s enough behavioral science to get one thinking, and so many creative examples that it is hard not to come away with the spark of an idea that would work in your organization. Whether you are trying to change your life or your company, there is sure to be something here to inspire you.

The idea that captured my attention the most is that change is not analytical. If you’ve ever tried to change a habit—stop smoking, lose weight, spend less—you know that the most detailed schedule and compelling facts are usually not enough to keep you on track by themselves. The job stress, TV munchies, and super sale can too easily drag you back to that old way of doing business again. Yet that is how many organizations deal with change—a schedule, a series of messages, data and dashboards. In my early days of change leadership, I often relied on John Kotter’s Leading Change, one of the ‘gold standard’ works on organizational change management. I developed ‘change management plan’ deliverables with all good intentions…and soon recognized that even the best recommendation I could give the organization was doomed to fail if they were not willing to take the time to cultivate the personal, behavioral, and emotional aspect of the change. It was an uncomfortable situation for me–recognizing that the organization is getting the deliverable they want but not the change they really need. Since then I have incorporated organizational effectiveness processes into my change consulting work to bring out the engagement and innovation that will accelerate the move towards successful change.

Change must be supported by facts and figures and a logical plan, but underlying that is where change really happens—in perceptions and behaviors, getting people to think, feel, and act differently than they’ve been doing. Whether that behavior is avoiding junk food or dealing with a new organizational structure or mission, a successful change strategy must combine aspects that engage the mind and the heart, and create an environment that makes the change the easier thing to do than what you were doing before.

How to keep your strategic plan from getting a bad rap

Posted by: jmaliszewski on January 5, 2011

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“Planning is bringing the future to the present so that you can do something about it now.”

—Alan Lakein, author of How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life

As we kick off the start of another year, you may be focused on creating or implementing your strategic plans. I’ve met people who insist a strategic plan is a waste of time:  “Things change too fast.”   “I’m action-oriented;  I just want to get on with it.”   “I can’t be locked into a plan.”   There are others who dislike strategic planning because it seems to be an end unto itself with the output a tome of strategies and objectives that no one has time to look at. I myself have been in organizations where the strategic plan is a dust-collector volume in the bosses office that has little relationship to what is actually going on in the business.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. I’m a believer in the value of strategic planning as the underpinning of success—both for your organization as well as your personal life. If you don’t know where you are going then you’ll probably wind up someplace else. Even if I do wind up somewhere else, I’d want to have some knowledge of making that decision and not just be flotsam going wherever the tide throws me.

As I have worked on my personal and business strategic plans over the last week, I was reminded of how easy it is for even the simplest strategic plans to fail to live up to expectations. Here are three of my lessons learned from years of working with organizations to define and plan for their future.

1.       Keep strategic planning strategic.

This is not the place to define your ongoing business operations or get into the execution details. Defining too much detail usually results in people focusing on the “eaches” and losing sight of how it all fits together into the bigger picture. The strategic plan should focus people on moving forward to tomorrow not on what they are doing today.

In my experience, the most powerful strategic plans start with the vision of how your organization serves the world. That world could be global, or anytown USA…but I encourage you to think big in your contribution. That lofty vision drives values and culture; culture influences behaviors and attitude; behaviors influence your brand; brand influences whether you will achieve your target goals. I always start by identifying how what the organization does affects people and what outcome of that relationship we want to see. While revenue, profit, budgets, growth objectives are all fine and necessary components of your business operations goals, they are not your strategy. They are by-products of the implementation of your vision.  Maybe this sounds a little touchy feely to you. “Hey, I’m not a non-profit I’m here to make money”. That attitude may work for you in the short term, but if you are in it for the long haul, focusing on financial goals will not inspire the passion, commitment, and loyalty that creates growth. Your strategic plan is the road map to achieving that vision.

2.       Strategic planning necessitates change.

If you are going to get to another place, you have to stop doing some things and start doing others. You have to walk the talk.

As you determine the big goals associated with moving towards your strategic vision, there will inevitably be activities and behaviors that need to be eliminated, adjusted, or added. Keep these two factors in mind:

  1. There is only so much time in the day and so many ‘glass balls’ people can juggle. If you don’t make that manageable, something’s gonna break.
  2. Change of any kind–even if it is logical, inevitable, and for everyone’s good–has an individual personal component, and therefore there will most likely be some resistance, visible or not.

As sights and priorities are re-adjusted, there are people in your organization who are wondering about the impact on them personally—their job security, knowledge, authority, relationships. Make sure the “what’s in it for me?’ (WIIFM) is part of the communications around the strategic road map. I’ve seen organizations come out with strategic plans yet not pursue the tactical implementation step of following through on what new knowledge, behaviors, processes, or skills might be needed…and what must be eliminated. The result is business-as-usual, workforce angst, and another load of objectives piled on to an already full plate of priorities…and failure to achieve their strategic goals.

3.       Strategic planning is dynamic.

It is not an end state of itself. The plan provides the map to where you want to go but is not intended to drive you over a cliff if the conditions change.

I’ve seen organizations spend a lot of time creating a beautiful strategic plan, even printed on glossy picture paper with color-coordinated posters, and do one of two things: never refer to it to see where they are going or never veer from it even when conditions change.  The strategic plan should be strategic enough that it will be applicable for the next 3-5 years; there is no need to go through a full-blown strategic planning cycle each year. At the same time, the strategic plan must reflect changes in the environment; changes that these days seem to come sooner rather than later.  I recommend two ways to keep your strategic plan relevant:

  1. Incorporate a quick informal review of your strategic plan quarterly; maybe an hour with your managers to reflect on “What are we planning? How is that going? What should we do better?” The purpose is not to measure tactical progress–no dashboards allowed. This is meant to be a “gut check” to refresh the positive feelings around your purpose and objectives that can be easily lost in daily P&L decisions. Ideally, this is an open non-attribution discussion around a table, not a formal powerpoint assessment. Here is a precious hour allotted to “thinking strategically” and becomes the ideal time for ‘scanning the horizon’ for clouds at sea that may impact the strategic plan down the road.
  2. An annual formal review. This involves show of progress and a more comprehensive review of your environment to re-confirm the validity of the strategy for the upcoming year. Where the strategic planning process may take anywhere from several days to several weeks of research and collaboration, this review could be several hours or a day, depending on the organization.

The reviews make the plan a living dynamic document that is relevant to the organization.

Where are your Change Agents?

Posted by: jmaliszewski on September 28, 2010

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An article from Workforce Management on organization culture recently caught my eye.  Written by Kris Dunn of the HR Capitalist blog, the article suggests a way to identify the managers in your organization who in effect set the organizational culture. The article, “The Only Question You Need to Figure Out: Who Owns Your Culture?” suggests including a question in your annual employee survey to find out “if you could work for any manager in the company (not your current manager), who would want to work for and why?” When you start seeing trends in whose name pops up, these are the skills and abilities you want to encourage among your management team and incorporate into management development programs.

From a strategic change perspective, this same survey question will also identify those managers that can be effective change champions in your organization. These managers are already respected by many people and most likely have a propensity for responding well to change through their flexibility, planning, and motivating skills. If you can excite them about making change in the organization, you will have half your battle won.

Where are you centered?

Posted by: jmaliszewski on September 13, 2010

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I just spent an incredible week volunteering to help out at the VET Foundation COMPASS program working with wounded warriors. Originally founded in 2006, the Veteran Employment Transition (VET) Foundation (www.vetfoundation.org) is ”a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to providing service-disabled veterans with career resources and comprehensive transition support to ultimately secure meaningful employment in the civilian workplace.” It is an incredibly powerful and worthwhile program; I’d go so far as to say life-changing. I’m a vet myself and knew I had to take some action to dispel the Department of Labor prediction that veterans aged 18-24 are three times more likely to be unemployed than the national average. I’ll talk more about the transition issues in future posts, but right now I want to focus on one of the core tenets of the program—assessing and fixing the balance focus in your life.

Where are you centered? A right question to ask in an individual sense, a family sense, and a corporate or organizational sense. The term taught at COMPASS is MEPS: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. The four fundamental aspects of living a centered, balanced life. It is graphically shown as an equilateral triangle with the E in the center. It becomes the centerpiece and foundation for all the skills and techniques they teach these wounded warriors for transitioning to a successful post-military life. I learned as much as they did and realize that my “MEPS” had become seriously out of whack over the last two years. Here is how it works:

M—Mental—not your smarts or education, this aspect has to do with applying your intelligence to design a workable plan to achieve your goals

E—Emotional–your passion, your commitment, what you are put on this earth to do and how you serve. Really you’ve got to figure this one out first. That’s why it is in the center.

P—Physical–this has much less to do with fitness and strength, although that certainly is a factor in your ability to do what you want to do in your life. This is your ability to execute the plan, identify and overcome obstacles.

S—Spiritual—While your belief system in religion or your God can certainly support your foundation for decision-making, the Spiritual aspect is your moral compass. We have seen in the last eight or ten years what a lack of a moral compass can do to businesses, starting with Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay at Enron, and leading into the more recent sub-prime mortgage problems and Bernie Maddoff Ponzi schemes.

The MEPS TraingleGive yourself—and your organization—a score from 1-10 in each of these (10 is best). If you charted each side out, would your equilateral triangle look more like a lean-to with one side almost devoid of effort? Would there be an empty space in the center? Multiply each element out—M x E x P x S–ideally you should be at 10K. If you are not, start asking the right questions: Whyt? What to focus on? How to improve? Where to start? Who needs to be involved?

Each of the wounded warrior participants in this program gets a small red triangle to take home. I made one up and put it in my wallet as a constant reminder. Every morning I imagine looking through the center of a balanced triangle and it helps me center on what I really should be focused on and avoid the distractions which pull me away from my true purpose.