Right Attitudes » Ideas for Impact
» by Nagesh Belludi

In this article from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, US presidential historian Richard Norton Smith offers ten guidelines to evaluate presidents. These guidelines apply to assessing leadership performance as well.

History’s take on presidential performance is subject to change. Presidents can only be understood within the context, conventions and limitations of their time. Each generation needs to revisit its assumptions in light of new evidence, the performance of succeeding presidents and the perspective that comes with time.

Frequently, leadership assessments disregard the fact that leadership is contextual. The common belief that Mahatma Gandhi was opposed to modernity and technology ignores Gandhi’s proposal for rural development through means such as homespun cloth, cottage industry and self-sufficiency in the just-independent India. Six decades hence, this idea now seems obviously bizarre.

Furthermore, ideas, competencies, and actions that are relevant in one context can be inhibiting in others. Comparisons of General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt to his predecessor, the legendary Jack Welch, in terms of shareholder return ignore the fact that Jack Welch’s tenure intersected with the prosperous Regan- and Clinton-presidencies and Jeffrey Immelt has faced two of the worst slowdowns in modern history.

Some of the key intellectual traits demanded of a leader — risk-taking, vision and execution, organizational development, etc. — may not see fruition until long after the leader’s tenure. Hence, a broad, sincere assessment of a leader’s performance can happen only years after his tenure.

Recommended Reading

• Mahatma Gandhi on change
• How to think and perform like a CEO
• Judging People: Talent is more than skin-deep
• Home Depot Stock Underperformance: Who’s to Blame

***See other articles related to leadership assessment, performance evaluation, CEO performance, executive compensation, corporate governance

Everybody Desires to be Heard

Last week, a manager complained that his boss constantly pushes his ideas with a “here’s what I want you to do” even though the manager is a subject expert. A wife criticized her husband for never asking for her opinions; “every idea, every decision has to be his—not mine, not even ours,” she grumbled.

In coaching people, one of the most common grievances I hear is that people feel they have lost their right to be heard—their spouses, parents, friends, partners, bosses, and significant others do not “listen.” In fact, one of the foremost reasons for job dissatisfaction is that employees believe their bosses do not care for their employees’ opinions. Lack of respect and consideration can strain professional and personal relationships.

People Make Decisions for Their Own Reasons

“I tell you and you forget.
I show you and you remember.
I involve you and you understand.”
* Eric Butterworth

In making decisions and getting things done with people, if you are often unwilling to ask for others’ opinions, it is because you likely think you might seem vulnerable, insecure, or incapable of taking decisions on your own. Or, perhaps, you simply choose to be forceful and assert your influence. Over time, such behaviors can easily hurt others’ feelings and trigger resentment.

Recognize that people make decisions for their own reasons, not yours. They are less likely to be motivated at something that they did not choose. If you try to be forceful, they are less likely to comply.

Four Important Words: “What do you think?”

“The four most important words in business are ‘What do you think?’”
* Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO, General Electric

Be open and approachable. Develop the habit of asking, “What do you think,” before declaring, “You will do this,” or even, “We will do this.”

Expect differences of opinion; they are natural. Work on reaching decisions by building on the agreements.

People are Inclined to Support What They Help Decide

Quite often, when people realize they have little influence on the decision-making process, they withdraw from active participation. They are usually reluctant to participate actively in a process, idea, or system that they were never consulted on.

People want to support, defend, and enthusiastically work on anything that they help create or decide. Therefore, include people in decision-making at every level in every situation—at home, work and elsewhere.

Develop the indispensable art of persuasion by asking, “What do you think.” By incorporating others’ inputs, you demonstrate a sincere interest in soliciting their opinions. When people feel valued and cared for, you establish an atmosphere of open communication, ownership, and increased commitment.

Related Articles

• What the deaf can teach us about listening
• Building consensus
• Overcoming the temptation to please
• Accepting compliments gracefully
• Expressing regret or apologizing

***See other articles related to persuasive skills, empowerment, commitment, listening, ownership, engagement, motivating employees, interpersonal relationships, team skills

Last week, General Electric (GE) announced that its Board of Directors had accepted CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s recommendation that he not receive his bonus for 2008 and $11.7 million in compensation under a long-term incentive plan.

In 2008, GE’s missed its profits estimates and the company’s stock declined significantly. Still, GE reported the highest revenues in its history, a profit margin of 9.59%, and a net income of $17.4 billion. Jeff Immelt could have claimed his 2008 bonus and the long-term compensation he deserved for the company’s performance between 2006 and 2008.

Additionally, he held more than 1.6 million shares in the company. The value of his GE stock has depreciated by more than $45 million since 2-Jan-2008. (GE’s stock price declined from $37.10 to $8.60 between 2-Jan-2008 and 27-Feb-2009.)

Over the last several years, the world of business has experienced a public uproar over executive compensation. This has led to a perception that corporate executives are greedy, resent shareholders’ proposals to cap compensation, and focus on short-term results. Considering this bitterness, Jeff Immelt’s initiative in turning down a substantial portion of his compensation is certainly praiseworthy and admirable.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Jeff had stated, “My compensation is never going to be an embarrassment to GE. … It’s going to be responsible; it’s going to be appropriate; it’s going to be transparent; and it’s going to reflect the financial performance of the company.”

GE has long been a model for corporate governance. Since taking over as CEO four days before the 9/11 tragedy, Jeff Immelt and the company’s board have aligned executive compensation with long-term company performance, converted over to equity-based compensation plans, stipulated that executives hold large proportions of GE stock, and committed to greater transparency and disclosure.

I shall share my thoughts on executive compensation in a separate blog article tomorrow. [Update on 1-Mar-09: Release of this article postponed due to its sensitive nature.]

Recommended Reading

• Jeff Immelt on understanding breadth, depth and context
• Jack Welch’s four types of managers

***See other articles related to executive compensation, corporate governance, Jeffrey Immelt, Jack Welch, General Electric

If you wish your merit to be known,
acknowledge that of other people.
* Oriental proverb

Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.
We get very little wisdom from success, you know…
One who doesn’t try cannot fail and become wise.
* William Saroyan

Glory is fleeting,
but obscurity is forever.
* Napoleon Bonaparte

We are not creatures of circumstance;
we are creators of circumstance.
* Benjamin Disraeli

When you awaken some morning and hear that
somebody or other has been discovered,
you can put it down as a fact that he discovered himself years ago-
since which time he has been working,
toiling and striving to make himself worthy of general discovery.
* James Whitcomb Riley

A leader is a dealer in hope.
* Napoleon Bonaparte

It is almost impossible to throw dirt on someone
without getting a little on yourself
* Abigail van Buren

Knowledge speaks,
but wisdom listens.
* Jimi Hendrix

Reason and justice tell me there’s more love for humanity
in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.
* Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door
in the face of God.
* Charles Allen

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

“Understand breadth, depth, and context. The most important thing I’ve learned since becoming CEO is context. It’s how your company fits in with the world and how you respond to it.”
* Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric

One of the characteristics of top performers is that they understand the broader picture of their jobs. They excel at understanding the purpose of their projects in the context of their organisation’s objectives. They identify how their projects help customers and recognize opportunities for further involvement.

In this first ‘Ideas for Impact’ podcast, we will discuss the importance of perspective using the Indian parable of the blind men and an elephant. We will conclude with specific questions you can ask to understand the big-picture details on your jobs.

Download the MP3 file here [8:11 minutes, 3.74 MB]

Recommended Reading

• How to broaden your thinking and grow on your job
• How to examine a process and ask the right questions

***See other articles related to podcasts, context, perspective, big-picture, career success, thought-process, ideas for impact

Introduction

Behavioral interviewing is a popular approach to assess the past experiences of a candidate to judge his/her response to identical situations on a future job. Essentially, behavioral interviewing is based on the premise that “past performance in comparable circumstances is the best predictor of future performance.”

In place of asking hypothetical questions (E.g., “How will you handle …,”) interviewers ask specific questions (E.g., “Describe a time when you had to …”) to elicit concrete examples of desired behaviors from the past. For further details and sample questions, see my earlier article on behavioral interviewing.

6 Steps to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions

1. Listen to the question carefully. Commonly, behavioral interview questions tend be longwinded and may sometimes sound vague (blame an overuse of adjectives, adverbs and trendy language.) Here is an example: “Good problem-solving often includes a careful review of the substantial facts and weighing of options before making a decision. Give me an instance of how you reached a practical business decision by an organized assessment of the facts and weighing of options.”
2. Ensure you understand the question before you begin to answer. You may paraphrase the question and ask the interviewer if you understand it correctly. If necessary, ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Do not, however, ask the interviewer to repeat every question — the interviewer may question your ability to listen and comprehend.
3. Organize your answer. Allow yourself five to eight seconds to collect your thoughts and structure your answer. Interviewers appreciate this break — they could use this time to drink some water, review their notes or rest their hands from note-taking.
4. State your answer. Attempt to conclude your answer in about three minutes. Three minutes is long enough to relate a story comprehensively and short enough to hold the interviewer’s attention.
5. Do not digress from your plan. Resist the temptation to think of new details as you state the answer. By sticking to the details and structure you had planned for, you can provide a consistent and well-reasoned answer. Be concise. Do not ramble on.
6. Answer follow-up questions. In response to your three-minute answer, the interviewer may pose follow-up questions. These questions can be confirming questions that require simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers or clarifying questions that require brief answers.

Answering a Question: Use the STAR Technique to Narrate an Experience

In behavioral interviewing, every answer should specifically address the skill being addressed. Your answer should relate an experience from a previous job assignment, project, academic studies or community work.

Present a diverse set of experiences. Suppose that you are asked six behavioral questions during a thirty-minute interview. Using a distinct context and/or experience for each question will help you portray a diversity of skills, interests and experiences.

Begin by examining the question: what is the purpose of the question, what specific skill is the question trying to address? Then, pick an experience that you could describe to address the question at hand. In your mind, recollect specifics of your experience. Structure your answer and narrate your experience using the four steps in the ‘STAR’ technique.

1. ‘S’ for Situation : Commence your answer with the background to your experience. Detail the circumstances of your involvement. Provide sufficient detail to develop a context to the rest of your narration.
2. ‘T’ for Task: Describe the challenge at hand: what needed to be done, what should have been done. Detail the outcome that was expected, constraints or conditions that needed to be satisfied.
3. ‘A’ for Action: Elaborate your specific action in response to the challenge. Specify analytical work, team effort or project coordination. Use ‘I’ and ‘we’ statements as appropriate [more details here.]
4. ‘R’ for Results: Explain the results of your efforts: what did you accomplish, what did you learn, how did your managers and team respond, how did your organization recognize you. Wherever possible, quantify your achievements and improvements — e. g., “20% improvement in …” or “reduced manufacturing costs by 1.5 million dollars per year … .”

An Example: Using the STAR Technique to Narrate an Experience

Consider a question suggested by authors Jack and Suzy Welch in a recent Business Week article on recruiting for leadership positions.

• Question: “Have you ever had to define yourself in the midst of criticism, and did you succeed?”

Below is a concise four-step ‘STAR’ answer to this interview question. This question illustrates the ability of the interviewee to listen to feedback, adapt as a manager and lead teams well.

1. ‘S’ for Situation: “My first job after business school was to lead a product development team at ABC Corporation. One of my responsibilities involved participating in weekly product planning meetings that decided on product features. After the meeting, I would meet with my staff and delegate the programming tasks. Since I am an experienced programmer, I would explain details of how each feature needed to be programmed. I expected my staff to write the programs in C++, test and debug. We seemed to work very well as a team.”
2. ‘T’ for Task: “Three months later, my manager had collected feedback from my staff. In my performance review, my manager observed that I could improve my delegation skills. I was surprised to receive this feedback. I had believed that I was good at delegating given that I would detail my expectations of each staff-member and list every step he/she needed to work on. It believed my staff was productive and continually gained knowledge from my coaching. I thanked my manager for the feedback and promised to reflect on my delegating style and consider a change.”
3. ‘A’ for Action: “I reflected on my delegation approach and realized two problems. Firstly, I assigned work to my staff only in terms of steps to take. I had habitually failed to describe the background of product features we wanted to develop and explain how their work would improve the overall product. My staff would do just what I had asked them to do. Secondly, in telling my staff how to complete each assignment, I was micromanaging. This may have tended to limit my staff’s initiative and reduced opportunities to advance their programming skills. During the next staff meeting, I thanked my staff for the feedback and acknowledged I would change. Then, each week, I explained the context to every product feature we wanted to develop, described the task in terms of outcomes and asked my staff how we could approach each task.”
4. ‘R’ for Results: “My staff was very excited about the opportunity to propose ideas, brainstorm and choose a preferred way of going about their work. It was no longer my idea they would work on; it was their own idea and their own approach. They were more enthusiastic about their work and realized they were an integral part of something bigger than themselves. During the next quarterly meeting, my manager praised me for empowering my team.”

Concluding Thoughts

In answering interview questions, the best way to impress an interviewer is to discuss your credentials and accomplishments in terms of personal success stories. The ‘STAR’ technique is probably the best method to structure answers to interview questions. By following this simple technique, you can narrate direct, meaningful, personalized experiences that best identify your qualifications.

Recommended Reading

• Introduction to behavioral interviewing and sample questions
• Avoiding second-person answers in interviews
• Avoid too many ‘I-I-I’ or ‘We-We-We’ answers in interviews
• Delegating outcomes, not just tasks

***See other articles related to job search, job-hunting tips, interviewing, hiring, recruiting, job interviews, interview questions, behavioral interviewing

A large number of professionals continue to mistakenly subscribe to the notion their organizations are responsible for managing their careers. They suppose that their Human Resources departments or their bosses would create their career paths and guide them at each stage.

Predetermined Job Ladders?

Certain organizations–the military, the police force, for example–may offer predetermined job ladders. It is customary in these organizations to award promotion based on length of service, training completed, or, to a lesser extent, on-the-job achievements.

Other organizations offer ‘development programs’. (Refer to this list of Leadership Programs offered by General Electric.) Essentially, these programs comprise of a series of rotational assignments across diverse functions of the corporation. For example, the manufacturing-leadership program at a capital goods company may involve four six-month assignments–one assignment each in supply chain management, shop-floor operations, production capacity planning and manufacturing finance. These development programs enable an apprentice to be exposed to a broad range of functions and gain valuable experience. Even with these programs, though, you are expected to pursue a longer-term assignment in one of the functional areas at the end of the rotations. Beyond that, employees are expected to manage the rest of their careers.

You Manage Your Career

Your career growth is solely your responsibility– it not the organization’s or your boss’s duty. You should be responsible for planning your own career, continually evaluating goals and implementing initiatives for your professional growth.

Here are a few suggestions to help you establish a roadmap for the skills, expertise and experience you need to get where you want to be.

• Research for job opportunities at your company and in other organizations. What skills are recruiters looking for in potential employees?
• Study the profiles of successful people in your industry. Why are they successful? What are their academic backgrounds? What are their career paths? What professional associations do they belong to?
• Reach out and network. Meet as many people as you can by joining professional associations and maintaining regular contact. Studies have shown that 70-80% of all executive jobs are found through professional networking.
• Seek a mentor’s help. Request a member of your management team or industry association, a retiree or a local business owner to help you understand your strengths and interests and develop a career plan in your chosen industry.
• Volunteer and be known. When you volunteer on cross-functional committees for product improvement or professional development, the decision-makers can get to know you, your skills, abilities and career interests. Such exposure will help them consider you for challenging assignments.

Related Articles

• Getting Recognition to Help Career Advancement
• How to Network

***See other articles related to network, networking, Ideas for Impact, mentoring, job hunting, career success, job ladders

• Interviewing Skills: The best answers to behavioral interview questions
• Etiquette & Propriety: protocol of introducing people, overcoming shyness in initiating conversations, keeping good eye contact, remembering names, around a table
• Résumé guidelines: fonts and text size, one-page rule, references, updating often, difference between résumé and curriculum vitae, avoiding clichéd superlatives and proclamations.
• Learning from General Electric: performance management and forced ranking, Jack Welch on fast execution, Jeff Immelt on the importance of context and perspective (also as a podcast / audio file,) four types of managers, Jeffrey Immelt leads by example
• On feedback: sandwich feedback technique and its ineffectiveness, suggested feedback model, accepting compliments gracefully, six steps to recognizing people, on the use of prepositions ‘but’ and ‘however’, on recognizing unhappy employees
• Managing your boss: seeking proactive feedback, four keys to an excellent relationship with your boss, never surprise your boss

Four Types of Managers

Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001, described four categories of managers in General Electric’s year 2000 annual report.

Type 1: shares our values; makes the numbers — sky’s the limit!

Type 2: shares the values; misses the numbers — typically, another chance, or two.

Type 3: doesn’t share the values; doesn’t make the numbers — gone.

Type 4 is the toughest call of all: the manager who doesn’t share the values, but delivers the numbers. This type is the toughest to part with because organizations always want to deliver and to let someone go who gets the job done is yet another unnatural act. But we have to remove these Type 4s because they have the power, by themselves, to destroy the open, informal, trust-based culture we need to win today and tomorrow.

We made our leap forward when we began removing our Type 4 managers and making it clear to the entire company why they were asked to leave — not for the usual “personal reasons” or “to pursue other opportunities,” but for not sharing our values. Until an organization develops the courage to do this, people will never have full confidence that these soft values are truly real.

Living by Values

Organizations face the challenge of developing and sustaining a culture that is both values-centered and performance-driven. They begin by developing mission and value statements that, in due course, become little more than wall decorations because the organization’s leaders and managers fail to uphold these values.

Nothing hurts morale more than when leaders tolerate employees who deliver results, but exhibit behaviors that are incongruent to values of the company. For instance, an organization that thrives on teamwork will suffer, over the long term, if a manager habitually claims all credit for his team’s accomplishments.

Call for Action

As a manager, drive accountability. Hold employees responsible for their behaviors. Reward employees for proper behaviors and publicly discourage behaviors that do not uphold values. Do not make exceptions — exceptions signify your own indifference to the upholding of values.

As an employee, understand that an essential requirement for your success in your organization is your fit. Your behaviors must be congruent with the character and needs of your organization. Even if you are talented, you will not fare well if your behaviors are inconsistent with the values of your organization. Reflect on your behavior. On a regular basis, collect feedback from your managers, peers and employees. Seek change.

***See other articles related to credibility, leadership skills, managerial skills, values, mission, behaviors, attitudes

Jeffrey Immelt on Keys to Great Leadership

In an interview in the Fast Company Magazine, General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt reveals his checklist of leadership skills. Perhaps the most significant of these skills is the understanding perspective on one’s job.

“Understand breadth, depth, and context. The most important thing I’ve learned since becoming CEO is context. It’s how your company fits in with the world and how you respond to it.”

The Problem: A Narrow Outlook of our Work

As I elaborated in a previous blog article, we get busy doing and fail to devote time for deep thinking. We concentrate on the minutiae of our work. We forget that these tasks are a part of a larger canvas–an element of a large value-addition process. If you are a metallurgy scientist, your work may be a part of the large value-addition process of converting raw material into turbine blades for jet engines that power large aircrafts. If you are computer programmer working on a small software module, your work may be a small component of software that enables customers to trade stocks directly from their cell phones.

Call for Action: Understand the Big-Picture

The key to understanding the broader aspects of your work is to make a special effort to learn more than what is in front of your face. In addition to understanding the boss’s description of your task or a work-procedure, you need to ask why you need to do what you have been asked to do. Begin by asking the following questions.

• How does your organisation make money from what you do? How does your company make money to pay you?
• How do you fit into the value-addition chain? What are the steps involved? What is the flow of information, money and materials?
• Who is the end customer? Why does he/she need the product or service your organisation is building? What is the fundamental problem the customer is trying to solve? How does you work solve this problem?
• How will the customer use with the particular product or service your organisation is developing? What other features can your organisation add to your product or service to help the customer? What else can you do to help the customer?

Employees who understand the broader context of their jobs and embrace the big-picture perspective of the value-addition process are more inclined to grow quickly because, in addition to technical skills, their repertoire includes the wide-ranging commercial viewpoint of the fundamental problems at hand.

***See other articles related to ideas for impact, breadth, depth, context, perspective, big-picture, career success, promotions, career performance

[Note: Jeffrey Immelt's photo from the biography at the General Electric Company's website]